Full disclosure: I am, to use a highly technical term, a giant lesbo, so I’m not exactly the target audience for this one. I don’t seek out romances between men and women anymore, not since I came out. But I picked this one up because of the trans rep, and I’m glad that I did, because Penny Aimes is one hell of a writer. She took me for a whirlwind emotional ride and introduced me to the most intense book crush I’ve ever had.

Because jeez, April had me pining from page one. A tall, nerdy sub who plays D&D and drops Terry Pratchett references? I was a goner. I wanted to give her the world. And watching Dennis, a supremely good guy, work for the relationship and to make her feel like she deserved the world, kept me turning the pages. I rooted for them both so hard, and seeing them succeed in their lives together and separately was so satisfying. (Even though I was jealous of Dennis and wished I could be a romance novel millionaire instead of a humble real-life librarian.