Top Ten Tuesday | June 1, 2021

Happy Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is a Bookish Meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s theme is FREEBIE!

Happy Tuesday! As I’m sure you know, today is the first day of Pride Month! What you might not know is that I am represented by two letters in the LGBTQIAP+ label- A and B! The A stands for Asexual and Aromantic (I’m ace, not aro) and the B stands for Bisexual (or in my case- biromantic!) So with that in mind, today I am featuring my TOP TEN ACE BOOKS! And now without any further ado, here’s this week’s Top Ten Tuesday!

The Marvelous by Claire Kann
Published on June 8, 2021 by Swoon Reads
Genres: Contemporary, Queer, Aspec, Thriller, YA
Pages: 336
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Everybody knows Jewel Van Hanen.
When Jewel inherits a not-so-small fortune, she decides to throw a party to celebrate at her new estate. Except she isn't hosting an ordinary high school party: she's hosting a bash with an exclusive guest list of her most loyal "friends" and a life-changing cash prize awarded at midnight.
Once the party begins, her friends embark on an unforgettable game solving cryptic clues, confessing their darkest secrets, and conquering fear-based dares. But as the game grows tougher and intensely more personal, they all begin to wonder: Who exactly is Jewel Van Hanen and why would she put them through this?

A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg
Published on June 1, 2021 by Feiwel & Friends
Genres: Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Queer, Aspec, Romance, YA
Pages: 352
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Behind every powerful man is a trained woman, and behind every trained woman is the Society. It started with tea parties and matchmaking, but is now a countrywide secret. Gossips pass messages in recipes, Spinsters train to fight, and women work together to grant safety to abused women and children. The Society is more than oaths—it is sisterhood and purpose.
In 1926, seventeen-year-old Elsie is dropped off in a new city with four other teenage girls. All of them have trained together since childhood to become the Wife of a powerful man. But when they learn that their next target is earmarked to become President, their mission becomes more than just an assignment; this is a chance at the most powerful position in the Society. All they have to do is make one man fall in love with them first.

Speak for Yourself by Lana Wood Johnson
Published on June 1, 2021 by Scholastic Press
Genres: Contemporary, Neurodivergent, Queer, Aspec, Retellings, YA
Pages: 352
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Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy. Girl gets friend to help win boy. Friend ends up with crush on boy...
Skylar's got ambitious #goals. And if she wants them to come true, she has to get to work now. (At least she thinks so...) Step one in her epic plan is showing everyone that her latest app is brilliant. To do that, she's going to use it win State at the Scholastic Exposition, the nerdiest academic competition around.
First, she'll need a team, and Skylar's not always so good with people. But she'll do whatever it takes to put one together ... even if it means playing Cupid for her teammates Joey and Zane, at Joey's request. When things get off to an awkward start for them, Skylar finds herself stepping in to help Joey. Anything to keep her on the team. Only, Skylar seems to be making everything more complicated. Especially when she realizes she might be falling for Zane, which was not a #goal. Can Skylar figure out her feelings, prove her app's potential to the world, and win State without losing her friends--or is her path to greatness over before it begins?

The [Un]Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez
Published on June 1, 2021 by Katherine Tegen Books
Genres: Contemporary, Queer, Aspec, YA
Pages: 416
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Vaseline on the teeth makes a smile shine. It’s a cheap stunt, but Mark Adams knows it’s optics that can win or ruin an election.
Everything Mark learned about politics, he learned from his father, the congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son. To protect his father’s image, Mark promises to keep his past hidden and pretend to be the cis guy everyone assumes he is. But when he sees a manipulatively charming candidate for student body president inflame dangerous rhetoric, Mark decides to risk the low profile he assured his father and insert himself as a political challenger.
One big problem? No one really knows Mark. He didn’t grow up in this town, and he has few friends; plus, the ones he does have aren’t exactly with the in-crowd. Still, thanks to countless seasons of Scandal and The West Wing, these nerds know where to start: from campaign stops to voter polling to a fashion makeover. Soon Mark feels emboldened to get in front of and engage with voters—and even start a new romance. But with an investigative journalist digging into his past, a father trying to silence him, and a bully front-runner who stands in his way, Mark will have to decide which matters most: perception or truth, when both are just as dangerous.

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria
Published on February 2, 2021 by Inkyard Press
Genres: Fantasy, Queer, Aspec, YA
Pages: 384
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Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.
In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible—she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father—their nation’s greatest traitor—once tried to destroy the automatons.
Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries.

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
Published on February 4, 2020 by Sourcebooks Fire
Genres: Fantasy, Neurodivergent, Queer, Aspec, Romance, YA
Pages: 384
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Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome wor.
Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.
Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.
But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies.

Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia
Published on October 1, 2019 by Greenwillow Books
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Queer, Aspec, Thriller, YA
Pages: 357
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Zora Novak has been framed.
When someone burns down the home of the school janitor and he dies in the blaze, everyone in Addamsville, Indiana, points a finger at Zora. Never mind that Zora has been on the straight and narrow since her father was thrown in jail. With everyone looking for evidence against her, her only choice is to uncover the identity of the real killer. There’s one big problem—Zora has no leads. No one does. Addamsville has a history of tragedy, and thirty years ago a similar string of fires left several townspeople dead. The arsonist was never caught.
Now, Zora must team up with her cousin Artemis—an annoying self-proclaimed Addamsville historian—to clear her name. But with a popular ghost-hunting television show riling up the townspeople, almost no support from her family and friends, and rumors spinning out of control, things aren’t looking good. Zora will have to read between the lines of Addamsville’s ghost stories before she becomes one herself.

Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor
Published on October 15, 2019 by Scholastic Press
Genres: Fantasy, Futuristic, Queer, Aspec, Romance, Science Fiction, Steampunk, YA
Pages: 372
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A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher's chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog -- donning the moniker Technician -- to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner's tyrannical laws.
Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner's son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father's respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father's elusive affection is worth chasing at all.
Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner's secrets at any cost -- even if it means betraying her own heart.
When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic -- before the Commissioner ends them first.

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
Published on October 9, 2018 by Amulet
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, Queer, Aspec, YA
Pages: 480
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In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. For centuries, the high council has stayed in power by virtue of the prophecies of the elder seers. After the last infallible prophecy came to pass, growing unrest led to murders and an eventual rebellion that raged for more than a decade.
 

In the present day, Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council, which governs Eldra from behind the walls of the citadel. Her only allies are no-nonsense Alys, easygoing Evander, and perpetually underestimated Newt, and Cassa struggles to come to terms with the legacy of rebellion her dead parents have left her — and the fear that she may be inadequate to shoulder the burden. But by the time Cassa and her friends uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city — or themselves.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children #1
Published on April 5, 2016 by Tor.com
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mythology, Queer, Aspec
Pages: 173
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Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests
Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.
But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.
Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.
But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.
No matter the cost.

What theme did you choose for this week? Let me know in the comments below and have a splendiferous week!