[Wattpad's Summer Reading Checklist 2022 Pick] "'Hella heavy' is your response to seeing me with a literal fish tail?" "Sorry. Should ... should it be something else? Wait, does this mean that you can't eat sushi?" * * * * * When Alyssa shows up in Hulhazy Front a week after wiping the memory of her partner, she's terrified of ruining everything again. Her brother and dad are convinced she'll be okay as soon as she's able to "move on", which makes no sense to her, because they sound like the exact same thing. Alyssa doesn't care about moving on--she just cares about hiding the fact that she's a mermaid from this new small town, and especially her new coworker, Elliot. Elliot has spent the past year trying to figure out how to be out. It seems that every time she finds some kind of balance, something has to happen. Her parents say something homophobic before she's about to confess her "big secret," or her old friends from the swim team make some jab about all the things they're convinced Elliot did sophomore year. She's planning on her summer consisting of working at the public pool, hiding her sexuality, and third-wheeling it up with her best friends, Neema and Duncan. Until, of course, she meets Alyssa. *cover created using graphics from freepik*

Perpetual quitter Vera Kwan thinks she's got it made when her style blog catches the attention of narcissistic actor Carmen Juarez, but after egos ignite a gossip war, Vera has to learn to balance her flighty ambitions and her attraction to Carmen's prickly, gorgeous manager Sharise before her Hollywood dreams fall apart like a cheap polyester blouse. ***** It's not Vera Kwan's fault that she can't hold down a job. A fashion school dropout, she dreams of becoming a famous designer, but the life of a style influencer is more grind than glamour. She just needs one big break, one chance to prove her styles are red carpet worthy. When a snarky post about her celebrity crush Carmen Juarez catches the actor's attention, Vera wins her ticket to stardom. As Carmen's stylist, she sets out to prove that she's more than just pretty clothes and the right filters, and maybe even win the affections of Carmen's aloof manager, Sharise, who she quickly finds herself falling for. After a clever fashion stunt goes viral, Vera is suddenly the most sought-after stylist in Hollywood. She even gets a job offer from Carmen's rival. But her style success may not be getting her any closer to her designer dreams, and secrets are beginning to fray her sense of purpose. If Vera can't figure out what's important enough to see through to the end, even when it seems impossible, she risks losing both the professional relationship that made her and the romantic relationship that might be the one thing that matters to her as much as fashion. ***** Complete at 100k words. *featured on Wattpad's A Latte Love, #WrittenWithPride, From Our Stars, and In her words #IWD2020 reading lists* Cover by the incredible @AnnaofthePond