Tag Archives: Sarah Nicolas

Fave Five: Second Chance F/F Romance

Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas (YA)

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole

Once in a Lifetime by Harper Bliss

You’re My Kind by Clare Lydon

Second Chance by Chelsea M. Cameron

Bonus: Coming up in 2021, Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler (YA)

Fave Five: YAs in Which the Bi MC is Already Out

(For the purposes of this list, these are books set in worlds where Coming Out is a Thing.)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

A&B by J.C. Lillis

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas

Bonus: Coming in fall 2017, Top Ten by Katie Cotugno and They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Bonus #2: Over You by Amy Reed‘s main character is out, but not in her new setting. Ditto the main character in Christina Lauren’s upcoming Autoboyography.

Rainbow heart

TBRainbow Alert #4

For those of you who feel like you’ve already read every LGBTQIAP+ book in existence, not to worry – there’s plenty still to come! Every TBRainbow Alert will have a mix of five LGBTQIAP+ titles to make sure are on your radar, along with three reasons why you should know them. If you missed the earlier alerts, you can check out those titles here. And now, the final TBRainbow Alert for 2016!

Title: Cherry (August 16)
Author: Lindsey Rosin
Genre/Category: Contemporary YA
Rainbow details: one of four MCs is bi
Why put it on your radar?
1. It really is a YA version of American Pie for girls
2. The friendships and honestly and awkwardness and all of that is so killer
3. This is the kind of book that has only just started getting queer POVs (see Tumbling by Caela Carter, Winning by Lara Deloza) and it’s so, so great. The romance is adorable and it has multiple on-page sex scenes between girls and even that elusive discussion about what constitutes sex between girls.

Title: Keeping Her Secret (August 23)
Author: Sarah Nicolas
Genre/Category: Contemporary YA Romance
Rainbow details: f/f
Why put it on your radar?
1. Contemporary f/f YA Romance! Sorry, is that not an auto-add for you somehow?
2. This seems like a book with kissing. I am a fan of such things.
3. You can read a delightful excerpt from it here!

Title: Bad Boy (December 6)
Author: Elliot Wake
Genre/Category: Contemporary
Rainbow details: trans male MC
Why put it on your radar?
1. Trans lit by trans authors is super rare and desperately needed, even more so by trans guys
2. Contains characters from author’s earlier works, so if you’ve been looking to see what they’re up to…
3. Wake has a solid track record of having books with the only rep of their kind on brick-and-mortar shelves.

Title: Overexposed (September 20)
Author: Megan Erickson
Genre/Category: Contemporary NA Romance
Rainbow details: m/m, LI is demisexual
Why put it on your radar?
1. Demisexuality on the page! Demisexuality on the page!
2. I love this series of Erickson’s, so it’s all instabuy to me.
3. Appalachian Trail setting and recurrence of a familiar character from Out of Frame

Title: Interborough (October 24)
Author: Santino Hassell
Genre/Category: Contemporary Romance
Rainbow details: m/m, one MC is bi
Why put it on your radar?
1. Contains the same characters as Sunset Park, which ordinarily wouldn’t be my thing, except…I’ve read Sunset Park. Yes. I will take another book of them, thanks. (And of course, if that is your kind of thing, this is a dream come true.)
2. I love this series of Hassell’s, so it’s all instabuy to me. (And yes, if that looks familiar above, you may be not at all surprised to learn their coauthored series is also instabuy to me. #sorrynotsorry)
3. On-page rep in m/m romance other than Gay is tough to find, so I love this series in particular for having bisexual Raymond, among others.

Cover Reveal: Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas

Happy cover reveal day to Sarah Nicolas! Today on the site, we’re revealing the cover for her upcoming f/f YA Romance, Keeping Her Secret, and sharing an excerpt from it, too! The book comes out from Entangled on August 22nd (just 19 days!) and judging by this blurb, you’re not gonna wanna miss it…

Two girls. One kiss.

The last person Riya Johnson expected to run into at her new summer camp is Courtney Chastain—her childhood best friend and the girl who broke her heart after a secret, mind-blowing, life-altering kiss. She definitely didn’t expect to be sharing a bunk bed with her for four long weeks.

Courtney has what every girl wants—she’s beautiful, rich, and the object of every boy’s desire at Camp Pine Ridge. Too bad none of them make her feel an iota of what Riya’s kiss did all those years ago. But Courtney needs to uphold appearances at all costs—even if it means instigating an all-out prank war with Riya as her main target.

Neither girl can stop thinking about the other…but that doesn’t mean they can give up past hurts and take a chance on a future together.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains drinking, sexual situations, and a fairy-tale romance sure to make your heart melt.

And now, the adorable cover…

KeepingHerSecret

Want more? (Of course you do.) Check out this excerpt!

Courtney laughed. “You are so adorable sometimes.”

Riya swiveled her head again to find Courtney staring at her. Riya’s previous heartbeat-slowing efforts proved immediately futile. Her pulse thundered through her entire body.

Adorable. That was a good thing, right? It was like cute, but better. Or she could mean adorable like a six-year-old asking too many questions at Thanksgiving.

“What are you thinking?” Courtney’s eyes opened and closed ever so slowly, giving her a sexy, sultry expression. “I can see your brain turning behind those ochre eyes of yours.”

Riya caught herself staring at Courtney’s lips. This time, she didn’t look away. “What do you mean by adorable?”

Courtney bit her lip as a smile slid across her face. If Riya didn’t know better, she’d think Courtney was teasing her. “Cute. Charming. Endearing.” Her left eyebrow shot up in a suggestive gesture. “Kissable.”

The word struck her like a flash of lightning. Riya’s entire cardiovascular system froze for a second, before jump-starting into double-time. “Courtney,” she warned. “Don’t do this.”

“What?” Courtney asked, her voice dripping with faux innocence. “This?” She reached a hand over and stroked a single finger from Riya’s knee, up to her hemline. A line of fire flared across its path.

“You are drunk,” Riya reminded her. She’s drunk; she doesn’t know what she’s doing, Riya reminded herself.

Courtney turned onto her side, tucking one arm under her head. “And I told you”—she raised her other arm and trailed two pink-polished fingernails up the length of Riya’s arm with the lightest touch—”alcohol makes me honest.”

The air Riya pulled into her lungs felt as thick as pancake syrup. Her hands fisted the material of her shorts as she resisted the urge to return Courtney’s caress. “You haven’t spoken to me in public except to mock me.”

“Talking to you frightens me,” Courtney said. “My brother was right about that at least.”

Her brother? How much did he know? Neck aching, Riya rolled over on her side to face Courtney. “What are you scared of?” Riya asked. “Why do I scare you?”

Courtney’s fingertips traced up from Riya’s shoulder, across the heartbeat pulsing in her throat, ghosting across her jawline before tickling her lips. Riya couldn’t have moved if she wanted to—and as long as Courtney touched her, she definitely didn’t want to.

Courtney whispered her answer. “That what I felt that day in the tree wasn’t a fluke.”

Riya wasn’t asthmatic, but she swore she was on the verge of an asthma attack. Or a heart attack. She’d daydreamed about this, imagined this scene in her head a hundred times, knowing it could never happen.

“That I’m not broken,” Courtney added, so quietly Riya could barely make the words out.

Confusion cleared her mind for a second. “How would talking to me prove you’re not broken?”

“I date a lot of guys.” Courtney pulled her hand back from Riya’s face but immediately grabbed Riya’s hand. “I kiss a lot of guys.”

Riya knew she should, but she didn’t pull her hand away. Courtney’s fingers felt so warm, impossibly soft. Courtney’s pale skin made her seem even darker, and the contrast made Courtney’s hand practically glow in the dim light. Riya made a vague sound of agreement. “So I’ve heard.”

Courtney closed her eyes, her mascara-coated lashes fanning out against her pale cheeks. She squeezed Riya’s hand, as if to say, Stay with me. I have a point. After a long, slow breath, Courtney said, “I feel nothing. None of the boys. No jitters, no sparks, no butterflies, none of the things you’re supposed to feel.” She opened her eyes. “None of the things I felt when…” Courtney trailed off, closing her eyes again.

Riya believed there were moments in every person’s life, turning points that permanently altered their path. If this was one of those moments, she needed to be absolutely sure. Riya could hardly dare to hope the rest of the sentence. But she needed to know. “None of the things you felt when I kissed you.”

Preorder Keeping her Secret here!

sarah_nicolasSarah Nicolas is a recovering mechanical engineer, library event planner, and author. She lives in Orlando with a 60-lb mutt who thinks he’s a chihuahua. Sarah writes YA novels as Sarah Nicolas and romance under the name Aria Kane. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing volleyball or drinking wine. She is a contributor for Book Riot and at YAtopia.

Author Website: www.sarahnicolas.com
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