#anna zabo

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Fae Fiction

Shatterproof by Xen Broken Wings by L.-J. Baker The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell The Fae Queen’s Captive by Sierra Simone Close Quarter by Anna Zabo Bonus: This is all Adult fiction, but you can find YA titles here, plus The Halfling Saga by Melissa Blair and The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton  

[bettslovesromance]

Happy Pride my friends.

I want to highlight some of my favorite LGBTQ+ books.

One of my goals for this year is to read more diverse and I'm really happy about it, so far I have found beautiful stories 💕

I hope everyone have a great and safe Pride Month

[arojenniferwalters]

Pride Month 2023 (15.6/29.6.2023)

[bookloveravenue]

On the Board (book 2): Scoreless Game by Anna Zabo & L.A. Witt

At nearly thirty-one years old, Pittsburgh Griffins captain Elias Karlsson’s hockey years are numbered. Everything is changing around him, including his eleven-year friendship with Nikolai Sidorov. Elias would give anything for Nisha to be a permanent part of his life, but their once bedrock-strong bond has broken into a million pieces, and Elias doesn’t know why. More than anything, Elias wants his friend back, but if that isn’t an option, maybe it’s time for him to look outside of hockey for someone to be there with him when hockey isn’t an option anymore.

Nisha’s world is splintering apart. He’s been in love with his two best friends for years, but now one of them has someone. The other, Elias, is searching for everything Nisha wishes he could give him… but he’s looking for it in anyone but Nisha. The farther his friends slip away, the deeper the loneliness sinks in and the bleaker his empty future looks. What can he do but numb the pain in the only ways he knows how?

On the eve of the season opener, Nisha’s unexplained absence threatens the cohesion of the team and puts him and Elias on a collision course of strong wills, broken hearts, and shattered trust. In the end, they may lose the very thing that matters most to them both: each other.

Scoreless Game is approximately 180,000 words, including a bonus short story. This asexual-pansexual romance is book 2 in the On the Board series.

CW: on-page struggles with alcoholism and binge-drinking, suicidal ideation, toxic family dynamics, acephobia

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75487434-scoreless-game

********

March 2, 2023 

My Review: 5/5 Stars

Elias and Nisha's story has finally arrived and boy was it a tough one. Not gonna lie, the beginning of this book is rough. Nisha is falling down a rabbit hole and he can't really climb out. He was in love with his two best friends and things are changing to the point where he is having trouble handling it. His one friend, Julien is happy and in a relationship and Nisha is definitely happy for him. How can he not be after everything Julien has been through? And Isaac is the best thing for Julien. But with that can come changes. Then there is Elias. Elias who he has loved for years and though he had feelings for Julien too, Nisha knows and feels that there is something more about Elias that he wants more of. But then Elias says he wants to try to date and Nisha's heart just breaks because he knows Elias doesn't have feelings for him and never will. In addition to this heartache, add is verbal abusive parents, a hockey season about to start with a shaky future, and just so many other things and you understand why Nisha's drinking to feel numb has taken on a whole new level. He pushes away from those he loves because he feels he doesn't deserve them. He is nothing to his own parents, so why would he believe he is something to others? For Elias, he has always loved Nisha but hasn't seen evidence of Nisha feeling the same. Then with a past relationship that went sour when Elias revealed he was ace, it's been hard for him to be who he is without worrying about others reactions. Then when Nisha keeps pushing him away, he can't help but feel like he's done something wrong in their friendship and it's his fault their relationship has been so rocky. The lack of communication between the two of these best friends is insane. If only they were honest from the beginning maybe things would be different. Instead, there is constant pressure and pressure that has been on them and eventually they just finally break. Nisha in more obvious ways but Elias gets a hit of that pain as well. Because it is only a matter of time before that happened. Rock bottom arrives and the good news for them is, you can only go forward from there.

Elias and Nisha's journey back to one another is a long slow burn as they both get the help they need to overcome the destruction and chaos that very nearly broke them for good. But you can't help rooting for them every step of the way. It is so clear how much they love one another, but you have to love yourself and help yourself first in order to be ready for any sort of relationship. These two out in the work and it is a beautiful story. You'll laugh and cry and cheer for these two as they find a way back to one another. I adored these characters and both books of this series so far. And I learned there is another on the way! I can't wait to see where this series goes.

[amergina]

Hockey + Writing = Hockey Romance

So, yes, hockey. Also writing.

This spring, @gallagherwitt and I put out a hockey romance. It's basically a 150,000-word high heat m/m original fic between a rookie forward not quite sure of himself and a veteran defenseman who buries his trauma with meaningless hookups. It's an exploration of them dating, building a relationship, and dealing with said trauma.

Big CW for past abuse and sexual assault. All other content notes are in the preview.

[hannaedits]

Book Review: Scoreless Game (On the Board #2) by Anna Zabo & L.A. Witt

Read my review of the first book in the On the Board series, Rookie Mistake. I generally try to stay away from overt cliches in my book reviews, but sometimes I can’t resist a few when I’m taking notes to myself as I read. This book is far from cliché, but the emotional impact hits just right in two ways I can’t help sharing here: (1) These guys don’t have issues, they have volumes, and (2) This…

[betterbooksandthings]

"A-spec and asexual romance novels might just be my favorite kind of romance novels. The communication is next level, the interpersonal plots are to die for, and, even better, at least one character is ace.

Really, the A-spec community has a lot to offer romance readers who’ve already bought into the project of romance at large. I.e. readers buy into the idea that the characters are going to have a happily ever after or happy for now (HEA/HFN). The joy of romance is figuring out just how those two people will get from point A to point B.

A-spec characters introduce an added layer of communication and consideration into the character’s interpersonal relationship that can sometimes get glossed over or assumed in other relationships. Allosexual and alloromantic couples do not always separate their layers of attraction (sexual, romantic, platonic, aesthetic, etc.). Don’t get me wrong: they can consider the varied ways they are attracted to and want to interact romantically, platonically, or sexually with another person. It just doesn’t happen all too often.

In contrast, I love the range of interactions asexual romance novels give readers. Some decide to do an info-dump style AVEN (Asexual Visibility and Education Network) definition. Others describe how they experience attraction and go into their feelings about what they are comfortable with the people they are in a relationship with. However they happen, these are conversations that clarify and crystalize relationships on the page for readers in satisfyingly intricate ways.

The Range of A-spec and Asexual Romance Novels

There are more and more a-spec and asexual romance books being published every year in every romance subgenre. So, there are more and more opportunities for new approaches to representing a-spec characters in interpersonal relationships with an HEA/HFN that feel more authentic to individual readers. Not every book is going to land for every reader. What I like in these a-spec and asexual romance novels might be something you dislike.

All that being said, I had a terrible time narrowing down my list to just the 16 best asexual romance novels. These books have a range of a-spec characters who are aromantic, asexual, demisexual, demiromantic, and gray ace. I have broken them up into contemporary romance, historical romance, romantasy, horror romance, and paranormal romance."

[rosieethor]

Aromantic Books Let's Go!

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath

Black Wings Beating by Alex London

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

The Siren, the Song, and the Spy by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

Immoral Code by Lillian Clark

Tarnished are the Stars by Rosiee Thor

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Take Me To Your Nerdy Leader by Hailey Gonzales

Being Ace edited by Madeline Dyer

Queerly Loving edited by G Benson and Astrid Ohletz

Common Bonds edited by Claudie Arseneault, C T Callahan, and RoAnna Sylver

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

Godly Heathens by H. E. Edgmon

The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl

The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman

At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp

Switchback by Danika Stone

Tell Me How It Ends by Quinton Li

Awakenings by Claudie Arsenault

Stake Sauce by RoAnna Sylver

The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by Dove Cooper

The Threads That Bind by Cedar McCloud

Not Your backup by C. B. lee

Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter

Natural Outlaws and Fractured Sovereignty by S. M. Pearce

Wander the Night by Sydney Cobb

Stones Stay Silent by Danny Ride

The Story of the Hundred Promises by Neil Cochrane

Two Dark Moons by Avi Silver

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

Syncopation by Anna Zabo

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford

Lord of the Empty Isles by Jules Arbeaux

Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson

The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Pansexual & Panromantic Pride

✨💖💛💙✨

💖 Happy belated Panromantic & Pansexual Pride Day (December 8)! To all my pan bookish bats, I see you. 💛 As always, I can't stress the importance of having these books on our shelves, to boost awareness and support for our queer community. Here are a few books featuring pansexual and panromantic characters! 💙

✨ What’s your favorite pan book? Share the title and tag the author in the comments!

💖 Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer 💛 In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland 💙 Scoreless Game by Anna Zabo and L.A. Witt 💖 Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed 💛 Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min 💙 Bad at Love by Gabriela Martins 💖 A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth 💛 Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore 💙 The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli 💖 Final Draft by Riley Redgate 💛 Get It Right by Skye Kilaen 💙 The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

💖 Chef’s Choice by TJ Alexander 💛 How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok 💙 For Never & Always by Helena Greer 💖 In the City of Time by Gwendolyn Clare 💛 Ship It by Britta Lundin 💙 It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland 💖 Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur 💛 Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly 💙 Man O’ War by Cory McCarthy 💖 The (Un)popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez 💛 Loveless by Alice Oseman 💙 A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

💖 The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith 💛 Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan 💙 One Step at a Time by Lily Seabrooke 💖 For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes 💛 Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas 💙 Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta 💖 This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke 💛 Pyre at the Eyreholme Trust by Lin Darrow 💙 Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues 💖 Extra Witchy by Ann Aguirre 💛 Ben and Beatriz by Katalina Gamarra 💙 The Adventures of Isabel by Candas Jane Dorsey

[fated-mates]

$2 book deals!

JR Ward's THE BELOVED amzn.to/4d8o2la

Judith McNaught's REMEMBER WHEN amzn.to/3ZfoE57

Joanna Shupe's A DARING ARRANGEMENT amzn.to/3ZfoOJL

JT Geissinger's BURN FOR YOU amzn.to/4ehjVUD

Anna Zabo's SYNCOPATION amzn.to/3AShKsc

Tracey Livesay's LOVE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER amzn.to/3MHDSZ7

We talked about THE BELOVED in Beauty and the Beast Retellings, REMEMBER WHEN in Marriage in Trouble, A DARING ARRANGEMENT in Freewheeling with Joanna Shupe, BURN FOR YOU in Food Romance, SYNCOPATION in Rock Star Romance, and LOVE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER in Amnesia Romance.

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: M/M Hockey Romance

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei (YA) Gravity and The Rest of the Story by Tal Bauer On the Board by Anna Zabo and L.A. Witt Penalty Box by Ari Baran Scoring Chances by Avon Gale

[bettslovesromance]

I know pride month is over, but still I wanted to post about my favorite books featuring LGBTQ+ characters.

Let's continue reading queer books all year long!

[poisindonottouch]

Queer Reads: Anna Zabo

Recommendation #13 is the aforementioned Anna Zabo. 

Zabo has written a number of books, and I’ve only read four of them, so this is a recommendation post, and also me putting some more books on my tbr. 

The hockey books co-written by LA Witt I already posted about, so this post is about Zabo’s rockstar books: Twisted Wishes. These books follow three members of a rock band, starting with the singer, then the guitarist, and finally the bassist. I’ve read the first two, and the third is going to make it to the top of my tbr sometime. (I’m so bad with a tbr pile. It’s all vibe, all the time on my kindle. Something not making it to the top of the tbr is not a reflection of the book, I promise.)

So, Syncopation and Counterpoint. These books are great. Ray, the singer, has just lost the drummer of his band, has the world’s worst agent, and is a bundle of anxiety and nerves. He’s also really good at taking care of other people, and really bad at taking care of himself. Enter his highschool crush, the classically trained Zavier. He went to Juliard. Ray wants Zavier, and wants him in his band, but the two have a lot to work through to make things work. I really loved their dynamic, and I think Zabo is another author who does really good mental heath rep. 

Counterpoint follows the band’s guitarist, Dom, who lives a double life, and likes to stick to meaningless hookups to keep his band-persona and his real-persona separate. Of course, that is not what happens in this novel. 

Check out Anna Zabo if you like good writing, great tension, fun characters, and spicy kinky spice. 

Remember folks, read queer books.

[bookloveravenue]

On the Board (book 1): Rookie Mistake by Anna Zabo & L.A. Witt

Rookie forward Isaac Rivera is still finding his footing in the big leagues where he’s no longer the best player on the roster. It’s a whole new world, especially now that several of his hockey idols have become teammates. Friends, even.

There’s one who’s more than a hockey idol, though… and he might end up being more than a friend.

Julien Landry is a powerhouse on the ice. In eight years, he’s become one of the league’s top defensemen and the heartthrob everyone wants to bed. But fallout from a painful mistake as a rookie, followed by years of rough-and-tumble hookups, have him itching for something more.

When a connection sparks between him and Isaac, he discovers what he’s been missing: someone he can trust with his body and his heart. As long as Isaac and Julien keep the heat between them off the ice, what could go wrong?

But Julien’s past is never far behind him, and when it comes crashing in, he might lose everything—his career, his friends, and the first person he’s ever really loved.

CW: discussions of past abuse and sexual assault

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60734417-rookie-mistake

********

January 13, 2023

My Review: 5/5 Stars

Isaac's world of hockey has changed when he steps on to the ice for the first time as a pro player. He's a rookie who has to prove himself on the ice and to his team. Even if that time includes his hockey idols and his hockey crush, Julien Landry. As Isaac finds his place, he is drawn into the orbit of Julien and his two best friends, Nikolai and Elias, and slowly realizes that he may have found his people. Teammates and friends that make the whole experience going pro the best it can possibly be. Add in the fact that his crush on Julien just may be reciprocated. This could be the best year of his life. Julien has one rule when it comes to his dating life: don't date teammates. But the moment he meets Isaac, his world tilts. The attraction he has for Isaac is undeniable and the more he gets to know him? The more he wants to spend time with him. But his past comes with many dark and painful memories. Specifically his memory as a rookie and a toxic relationship he formed with a much older teammate. One that still follows him despite it being more than over and many years later. His insecurities are always haunting him and when him and Isaac decide to give in to their attraction and dive into a real dating relationship, Julien is petrified he'll screw it up. Isaac too has his own insecurities. He's never had a real relationship before and he falls for Julien a little more each day, and worries about messing it up. Together, they'll have to overcome their fears and learn to be together because the connection they have is one that neither are willing to let go without a fight. I really loved this story! Julien and Isaac were great characters and such a wonderful pairing. It's clear they have a deep connection and balance one another out in so many ways. Julien's whole past was rough, but handled so well and the story did a wonderful job of showing that. You can't help but love Julien and Isaac. And I can't wait to get the next one in this series!

[princessfbi]

FINALLY! Top 9 Books!

Tagged by @renecdote

I have been waiting all day for this let’s go! In no particular order:

1. Secret Service - Tal Bauer

2. Green Creek Series - TJ Klune

3. Red, White, and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston

4. Icebreaker - A. L. Graziadei

5. All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness

6. Elemental Series - Brigid Kemmerer

7. Rookie Mistake - LA Witt and Anna Zabo

8. The Last Summer (of You and Me) - Ann Brashares

9. Hooked - Emily McIntire

I’m going to tag @homerforsure @mellaithwen @mistmarauder @bigfootsmom @lovebuck

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (1-7 Jan 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 2022 Holiday Epilogues (Cat Sebastian) - all the previous years' holiday epilogues + new story for 2022

🥰👂‍ The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (The Lord of the Rings #0) (J.R.R. Tolkien, author; Andy Serkis, narrator) - Serkis is a great narrator, full-stop but he does a very good McKellen Gandalf voice and then, of course, he IS Gollum (which I totally didn't even think about until he did the voice!)

😊 Burns Like a Gin (And I Like It) (Ennaess) - 51K, Geraskier - pt 2 of Might Ignite It - very hot series but of course these two can't do anything without some tasty angst LOL

🙂 Star Star (poorlittlegreenie) - 93K, steddie modern fake dating AU

🥰 Are You Flagging? (soidade) - 40K, steddie, canon-divergent AU - very enjoyable with the key tags being: Friends to Lovers, idiots to lovers, Bisexual Disaster Steve Harrington

🥰 After the click of the shutting (aesc, pearl_o) - (pt 3 of a series) 96K, cherik age-difference AU, really loved how this dug into how they have to work to make their broken edges fit together

💖💖 +270K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Caleb Murphy Gets a Hug (Dira Sudis (dsudis)) - The Cabots series [Cat Sebastian]: Peter Cabot/Caleb Murphy, 2.3K - Yuletide 2022

Save the Date (Nabielka) - The Cabots series [Cat Sebastian]: Peter Cabot/Caleb Murphy, 1.3K - Yuletide 2022

Lifting (Spatz) - Sins of the Cities Series & Lilywhite Boys Series [KJ Charles]: Sukey & Emma, Justin Lazarus & Susan Lazarus, 1.8K - Yuletide 2022

a map of everyone who loves you (phonemicengineer) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 7K - gorgeous soulmark/soulflowers AU, tender and lovely

The Alexandrian Solution (Bexless) - Teen Wolf: Sterek, 5K - reread of a classic forever fave, still absolutely hilarious

Some Things Cosmic (stereobone) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 12K - a dream-sharing fix it fic, loved it

fate's in my hands (wearing_tearing) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 3.4K - very short but cute soulmark fic!

we miss being ruffians - Chapter 20: try to keep my skeletons in (napricot) - MCU: Stucky, 8K - this continues to be one of my fave series!!!!!

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Leverage: Redemption - s2, e8-9

Julie and The Phantoms - s1, e1-9

Hot Ones - Neil Patrick Harris Needs Magic to Escape Spicy Wings

Glass Onion

Uncoupled - s1, e1-2

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Our Opinions Are Correct - The Incredibly Strange Career of Anne Rice

Big Gay Fiction Podcast - Ep 411: From Hockey Fan to Hockey Romance Collaboration with L.A. Witt and Anna Zabo

It's Been a Minute - Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen

Vibe Check - A Test of the Emergency Rhythm Section

Switched on Pop - ICYMI 90s Music Canon

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Plant

Ologies with Alie Ward - Oneirology (DREAMS) with G. William Domhoff

Shedunnit Book Club - Book Club: Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Renegades: Born in the USA - Our Unlikely Friendship

Into It - 2023 is the Year of Hollywood in Recession

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Medical Clowning Program

Off Menu - Ep 91: Joel Kim Booster

Our Opinions Are Correct - Encore Episode: Has JK Rowling destroyed Harry Potter fandom?

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Campfire Classics

Julie and The Phantoms (Season 1 soundtrack)

I'm Blue, Skies [Cheyenne Jackson]

Renaissance [Cheyenne Jackson]

Presenting Bonnie Raitt

By Women, For Women

Rockin' Around the Living Room

Endless R&B Throwbacks

This Is How We Do It: '90s R&B Party