A great summer read with a queer romance and MC with chronic illness. I feel like I have mixed feelings on this one.... I really enjoyed the chronic illness represention, the MC Andrea has cerebral palsy, which I actually didn't know much about before reading this and found it very insightful. I also really enjoyed Andrea's relationship with her family, they were very supportive throughout the book and were always there for Andrea. The one thing that kept pulling me out of the story was the fact that I had to constantly remind myself that these characters are in high school, because they seem much younger. I'm usually fine with YA books but this just felt VERY young. Im not sure if it was the narration or the writing.

I really enjoyed this one. Thank you, NetGalley for sharing this with me. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more.

I honestly wasn't able to finish this book because I could just never get into it. I really appreciated having a protagonist with a disability, especially one that's not well understood in the general public and has lots of misconceptions about it, and I appreciated the fear and uncertainty of falling in love with your best friend. However, I just couldn't couldn't connect personally with the characters, and I felt like an outsider who didn't understand the inner lives of the characters. I wanted to like it and suspect others really will, but it just wasn't for me.

https://lesbrary.com/pride-and-prejudice-and-pittsburgh/

As a current Pittsburgh resident, as soon as I saw that the Lesbrary had received a review copy of Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott, I knew that I needed to read it. A fun sapphic romance mixing regency and the steel city with added time travel? Sign me up. And it did not disappoint.

Pittsburgh native Audrey feels stuck. Her first choice of art school has waitlisted her. Her high school boyfriend has dumped her after trying to persuade her to abandon art as a career after he didn’t get accepted. And she feels stuck and unable to create anything new for the portfolio she needs to submit. When a regular at her family’s corner store offers her some cryptic encouragement, Audrey finds herself transported not only to the past but to England. In 1812, Lucy feels trapped. Her mother had wanted for Lucy to marry for the love she did not find herself, but with her gone, Lucy is at the mercy of her controlling father. He is forcing her into marriage with the rich but odious Mr. Caldwell. Isolated and increasingly depressed, Lucy greets the appearance of a girl wearing the strangest and most improper of clothing with interest and relief. Together, they resolve to figure out a way to return Audrey to her time.

The conflicts here are numerous and yet for the most part they’re romcom level problems. As Lucy spends time with Audrey, she wonders more and more how she can resign herself to a loveless marriage even more constricting than life under her father, but she doesn’t know what else she can do. Stranded in a society very different from her own, Audrey regains her inspiration in her art and confidence in herself as several eligible local bachelors show an interest in her. But Lucy is the person that fills her days and her sketchbook. How can she find love or inspiration in the rest of her life if she’s fated to leave Lucy behind? I bet we can all guess the answer, and like a good romance Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh’s charm is in the journey, not the solution.

What I liked best about this book is that it did not take its own plot device too seriously. In some stories, you want a detailed exploration of how the time traveler’s clothes or possessions make trouble, or it makes sense for the other characters to think they’re lying about time travel. And sometimes you want some mild shock about modesty and some honest delight about the magical box that plays music. Sometimes a girl can meet some bachelors that find her lack of local polish charming, as a treat. Sometimes time travel can be fun. And it contrasts so eloquently and emotionally with the bleakness of Lucy’s situation. At it’s heart this is about two girls finding connection despite all the outside events going on in their lives. Reading this felt like a return to watching the nonsense rom coms of my youth, but queer, and it was a lot of fun.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a light-hearted romp to ease your transition from summer to fall, Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh is an excellent choice. It’s got time travel, county balls, corner stores, and delightful queer awakening, all tied up with a happily ever after. Treat yourself to a little delight this fall and fall in love with time travel. And Pittsburgh.

I received an advanced audio copy of The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown from the publisher RB Media via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Andrea Williams and her friends made a Best Summer Ever list of things they wanted to do over the summer. But Andrea has just figured out she’s bisexual and she may be in love with her best friend Hailee. Scared of losing her best friend, Andrea sets out for a secret goal, fall out of love with her best friend.

What I Loved: I loved the found family element of this book. The way that Andrea’s family and friends are so connected is just really lovely to see. I also loved that the way Andrea’s chronic illness was written and the way it didn’t define her but also she was open about the challenges she faced and knew that she was a badass. I also really liked the little love story and Hailee, I totally bought the chemistry. Love a queer romance!

What I Didn’t Like: The book reads a bit young for the age period, and this might be the audio experience but it did read younger than juniors in high school. I also felt like some elements were a bit unbelievable, like her family dynamics seem a bit stretched (like the amount of freedom and final decisions she has as her age).

Who Should Read It: People who are searching for a queer romance with a lead with chronic illness.

Summary: A young girl worries about her friendship when she falls for her best friend.

The Secret Summer Promise was a cute YA queer romance. It's fast paced, innocent love, with a little bit of cheese on top.

The story was light, fun, and had great representation. I loved the main character, Andrea and her dynamic with her parents. My only criticism would be that we are supposed to be in a high school setting, and at times it felt more juvenile. All in all, it was a quick easy fun read about a young woman figuring out her own identity and complicated feelings while tackling the rollercoaster of high school.

This is a cute summer YA read! I loved the queer and disability representation, as well as the varied family dynamics that were represented. However, I wish that the conflicts did not always occur as arguments between characters. Teens are teens (and people are people, really), so arguments happen but I just felt like there was a lot of fighting for such close friends. Bickering is one thing but it just was a lot of (verbal) fighting. Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought the narrator did an excellent job. Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC!

Queer stories, especially those that center on Black queer people, disabled queer people, and queer people of color are incredibly important — and I feel that this is one of those books I needed in my adolescence. It makes me happy that queer youth today are growing up with stories like this! This book is YA, but it often read a bit younger to me. At times I felt a bit pulled out of the story because of the narrator, but I was dedicated to the journey so I made it through. Overall, it wasn't the worst audiobook, so I wouldn't let that deter anyone from reading in the future!

This book took me forever to read but it was worth it! I don’t think I’ve ever read a queer book that had a disabled MC so that was dope to see. I am usually not a fan of YA and this book reads veryyyyyy young to me, it’s surprising the characters are all like 17, it seems like they’re 12 or 13 at the oldest. Either way, it was fun and cute, and I love queer Black girls so much <3

In the Secret Summer Promise is about Andrea who has cerebral palsy and is in love with her best friend Haliee. When the two make a list of all the things they should do this summer. Andrea makes a secret amendment to the list to fall out of love with Hailee who she thinks does not reciprocate her feelings.

I thought this was a heartwarming story about the struggles of being young black and disabled. Andrea had two very supportive parents that supported her throughout the story even though they were both busy with their careers, was Andrea always their first priority. If this sounds like a book for you check it out.

I tried. I wanted to get into it, but I don't know if it was the narrator or the story holding me back. I got maybe 30% in and the narrator wasn't as fun and thriving. Or maybe the story wasn't. There definitely seemed like there was a disconnect between the two. The narrator wasn't fitting into the story. Or maybe I just wasn't catching onto the story and felt like I needed an excuse. But something wasn't working for me.

Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tours and Levine Querido for an ALC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

This was so fun!! I absolutely loved this book! It’s a little dramatic, a lot of summer fun, and has a very endearing cast of characters I absolutely loved. I loved the real romance in it with my whole heart too (IYKYK). This book makes space for queer disabled Black girls without holding anything back and I really loved it. Might have cried a little at the end too because it’s too cute and wholesome!

I also created a playlist for this book and had so much fun visiting new and old favorite artists. There’s multiple Lizzo songs because she is very prevalent in this book and it felt right. Anyway to get the full effect I recommend preordering the book, reading it all and then playing this at top volume! The Secret Summer Promise comes out June 6th!

Playlist:
1. For the Girls by Hayley Kiyoko
2. 2 Be Loved by Lizzo
3. Honey by Kehlani
4. Four in the Morning by Cassidy King
5. Say Something by Alexa Cappelli
6. Cornelia Street by Taylor Swift
7. Soulmate by Lizzo
8. She’s Mine by Eva Westphal
9. Time I Love to Waste by MAY-A
10. chance by Hayley Kiyoko
11. Like a Girl by Lizzo
12. Taking Things for Granted by Joy Oladokun
13. Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara
14. Conversations by FLETCHER
15. Special by Lizzo
16. Still Into You by Paramore
17. Cheetah Sisters by The Cheetah Girls
18. Catch Me by Demi Lovato
19. Just Wanna Be With You by High School Musical Cast
20. Wings by Little Mix

Rep: Black bisexual cis female with cerebral palsy and chronic pain, Asian American sapphic cis female side character, nonbinary side character, various queer side characters, various disabled side characters, Black cishet side characters.

I adored this coming of age romance about best friends who plan to have the best summer ever. Parts of it definitely reminded me of my childhood, and that made it really relatable.

Thanks so much for NetGalley & RB Media for sending me an audio arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars.

This book is on the young side of young adult. But i'm totally okay with that. I think everyone needs to have LGBTQIA books for all ages!! I think this a wonderful YA summer read.

I think I might have enjoyed actually reading this book than listening to it on audio. I liked the main character; she was definitely relatable when I was young. It was a cute read and the young adult genre.

As an audiobook it was a cute summery read and the narrator did a great job at it. The story as such was an okay read. The characters felt much more younger than they were told to be and this book could work for younger audiences as well. The friends to lovers was adorable and would very much like to read more books with this trope.

This read was an enjoyable coming-of-age read. Andrea's summer will be fantastic - she has her best friend, Hallie, and a list full of fun and firsts. The secret item on her list is to stop being in love with her best friend.
I loved the disability and queer representation in this book -All the characters were well-rounded with their little backstories.

I truly enjoyed how Keah went about the drama in this book because we've all read a best friend in Love with a best friend before, but this unfolded in a new and exciting way, and I was very invested in the characters' happy ending.

A few chapters at the end were not needed - Once the happily ever after happened, there was still a lot o wrap up, which I thought was a bit much.

This book is an actual teen book with all the fun-loving trappings. Tamika Katon-Donegal did an excellent job with all the voices and characters - she added a nice little touch to this book that was already a gem!

This book was really good! I liked the story, the author, and the narrator!
I liked the characters!
I hope to read more by this author soon!
A great book!

I gave this book 3 stars, meaning I would not actively recommend it, but if someone told me they were reading it I would encourage them to keep going.

I liked the overall idea of this book - teenaged girl is figuring out her sexuality while recovering from surgery and trying to complete her summer bucket list. I like that the main character lives a normal life while also having a disability. Neither her disability nor her sexuality defines her. She has a great group of friends, yes they fall out with each other and there are issues, but that's real life and I liked that. She tries dating a guy, THAT guy that dated you in highschool but hid it from his friends and convinced you to keep it secret too. She makes up with her best friend. They all have a nice summer,

Overall, a nice story but came across as quire childish to me. I would recommend for maybe 13/14 year olds.

This book is the perfect queer ya summer read. Rlly. I love it so much and it rlly goes well with the vibe of summer vacation, especially now with pride month approaching.

Thanks so much for NetGally & RB Media for sending me an audio arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review <3

I wanna start with saying that this book was amazing. The writing was so good and flowing and it was so perfect for an audiobook, like rlly, I devoured it all in one day.

The story follows Andrea, a disabled black American girl who’s in love with her best friend and her ‘mission’ for the summer holidays is to fall out of love with her. Easier said than done.

There’s something about the trope ‘friends to lovers’ that always sticks with me and it’s not a secret that it’s one of my fav tropes. Wether it’s out of self torture or because of me liking the idea that someone learns to love you first with no romantic pressure, friends to lovers rlly holds a special place in my heart, and this book portrayed it so well. The panic, the reluctance, the fear, the denial, the obliviousness, the second guessing, it was all there, written so beautifully.

I liked how the mc is not perfect, and she makes bad decisions out of bad assumptions. How she’s anxious and oblivious and sees the world only from her pov, she’s so human and relatable and I liked that very much.

This story was heartwarming and cute, it was amazing and nice, it was refreshing to read about a disabled mc whom I could relate to. It was nice to see a representation of a disability that is very similar to mine and in many ways I could rlly see myself in Andrea, wether it was in her feelings, her disability or her struggles.

Sometimes books don’t reveal you anything new, sometimes they just organize your feelings a lil better and give them coherent sentences and words. And that is what makes them so good and special.