||WATTY'S SHORTLIST 2023|| [LGBTQ+ New Adult Fiction] When Mia Cunningham leaves her hometown in coastal Maine at 11 years old after her mother's death, her best friend, Leila Sutherland, gifts Mia a seashell "so she can hear the ocean and remember her home." Over a decade later, the two young women are beginning to navigate their post-grad lives. Leila has remained in Maine, afraid to branch out of her comfort zone, and Mia, after spending her college years in New York and unsure of her future, returns to the only place she ever felt home--Kenneburk, Maine. After a fateful meeting between the young women, Leila and Mia slowly begin to rekindle the friendship that had once been long forgotten. Their friendship is immediately tested, however, as Leila begins to develops familiar feelings and Mia, unsure of where she belongs, cannot help but wonder the direction her life is calling her towards. Will their friendship survive these new trials of adulthood, or should it have ended permanently the day that Mia left 12 years prior? Find out in "Can You Hear the Ocean?" (Published: 2021)

"It's not every day that one can say their hot roommate is also their American History teacher..." Sam's never had an easy life. Whether she's battling the nightmares of her dysfunctional past, attempting to dodge expulsion (for the second time), or trying to outrun her problems, trouble just seems to follow her everywhere. So when her brother introduces her to their new roommate, Megan Adams, Sam immediately senses a storm in the distance. But Sam soon finds out that she can only run so far, because Megan seems to be everywhere. And maybe deep down she doesn't really want to run anymore. GRAPHIC IMAGE created by: deedl (on shuttershock)

[LGBTQ+ New Adult Fiction] On the evening of October 8th, violinist and college student Noel Miller is murdered in a mysterious explosion. The primary suspect? Her girlfriend and fellow music student, Riley Davis, who was the first on the scene of the crime. Additional suspects include third-year soccer star, Lucia (Lucy) Peterson, who had a heated argument with Noel on the day of her death and currently has no evidence to prove where she was at the time of the murder. These are the details that junior criminal justice major, Piper Watson, is given when assigned by her professor to look for an alibi for Lucy in order to prove her innocence. In her quest to help Lucy, Piper makes a deal with the soccer player. Piper will help Lucy prove her innocence, and in exchange, Lucy, a well-known lesbian, will give Piper advice on how to win over her roommate she's been secretly in love with for half a year. All the while, a spinning mystery unfolds as to who was truly responsible for murdering Noel Miller, and why, on that fateful October evening. (Published: 2021)

Elizabeth Lee has never had many friends, and she's alright with that. She enjoys the silence and she is alright with her only friends being her family. But she never talked to the girl directly across her window. The girl she had only seen a few times since her family moved in years ago. She has no desire to get to know her, but the other girl seems to have other ideas about that. Clementine Higgins never knew loneliness. Her family is large, her friends are always around. But recently she finds herself alone more and more often. Perhaps it was her friends spreading rumors about her or the rising tension in her family. So she finds comfort in the girl across from her, who she desperately wants to befriend.

As she disconnects her lips from mine, she shoots me a smirk that sends chills down my spine. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," -- Aspen Grayson has had her fair share of crushes in her life: the beautiful celebrity in her new favorite tv show, the cute girl that sat behind her in algebra, the cashier that she crossed paths with for only a few minutes at the grocery store. But those were just simple infatuations that didn't last past a day. None have ever amounted to the crush she has on Ivy Charleston, her straight best friend.

||AMBY'S FAVORITE 2024|| (Editor's Choice July 2022) [LGBTQ+ Teen Fiction] High school junior, Callie Washington, is currently in a dilemma. Attending an all-girls, Catholic high school means most of her peers are focused on college, SATs, and the nearby boys at their brother school, Holy Spirit. But since the start of the school year, Callie can't forget the silky hair and gleaming brown eyes of her former Chemistry partner, Isabella Sandoval. After escaping from her Homecoming date one October evening, Callie runs into Aurora Gray, a smart, charismatic senior, who seems to be having as rough of an evening as Callie. After realizing they are in the same Calculus class, Aurora begins to shift Callie's life in ways she cannot comprehend. Deep down, Callie knows she must confront the thing inside her that is troubling her deeply, but what hurdles will she have to face to get there? (Published: 2020)