I Think We Got Our Wires Crossed
Dual POV Speculative Romantic Comedy - 76,000 Words
Coworker Romance, Slow Burn, He Falls First, One Bed(ish)
If a witty Ali Hazelwood heroine fell into an Ashley Poston-esque life-altering situation, where she was forced to spend time with a yearning Tessa Bailey male main character, then you'd have I THINK WE GOT OUR WIRES CROSSED. With a slow-burn romance and banter that'll make you scream, "Just kiss already!" the novel is perfect for romance readers who may or may not be pinning after a coworker.
Chloe isn't worried when she hears a hurricane is headed toward her town. She's lived in Florida just long enough to develop a pretty good system consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and reading in the dark until the power comes back on. While she'd normally weather the storm alone, she can't get the offer of hunkering down for the storm with her coworker out of her mind. Partly because she's intrigued, and partly because her best friend Mia practically jumped through the phone to force her to go. When the lack of power gets to be too much, and the storm has only just started, Chloe decides to take Artem up on his offer.
Artem's had a crush on Chloe for longer than he'd ever admit. When he realizes he may have just used his one chance to ask Chloe out in the face of a hurricane, he spirals. He thinks he blew it, until she actually texts him asking for refuge. He's more than happy to oblige, but that refuge is short-lived when the science fair experiment he's been building with his nephew, Lukas, actually works during the power surge and transports him and Chloe 20 years into the future.
What started as a potential first date turns into a chaotic adventure through time involving putting down roots in a place you know you can't stay, figuring out what you need vs. what everyone else expects of you, and finding love when it's been waiting for you patiently. Through forced proximity, a Florida-wide futuristic road trip, and a cast of friends and family who are both happy you're back and pissed that you disappeared, Chloe and Artem work to get home and fight for the future they've been robbed of, while maybe making some improvements along the way.
Lucky Number 13
Young Adult - Sci-Fi - 98,000 Words
Dystopian Space Opera - LGBTQIA+ - Found Family
This book serves as the first novel in a planned trilogy exploring the wildly dangerous concept of resistance against imperialism and colonialism when it arrives at your front door, or in this case, your entire planet. The story combines the dystopian classism and voyeuristic society of Soyoung Park's Snowglobe with the self-discovery and competition of Aiden Thomas's The Sunbearer Trials. With heists, trials, found family, queer love, a major plot-twist breadcrumbed throughout the story, and an ever-unraveling mystery, LUCKY NUMBER 13 captures the unnerving feeling of young adulthood. Teetering on the precipice of something great and not quite knowing what's ahead of you, while being so angry at the system around you, nothing else quite matters. A real, "burn it all down" mentality.
The biggest obstacle plaguing Emerson Eldridge is deciding which college she'll be attending in the Fall and, subsequently, which adult in her life she'll disappoint. That is, until she finds herself thousands of miles from home, fighting for her freedom amidst 99 other 18-year-olds. While aboard The Haven, a spaceship harboring 12 fallen alien civilizations, Emerson learns they have now traveled to Earth to help alter the future of the planet before it becomes uninhabitable. Emerson is given the opportunity to join a training program designed to create changes across history that might collectively save humanity. To learn exactly what her future should entail, and to keep Earth from being the 13th civilization to join the ship, Emerson agrees to leave everything she knows behind and join the mission. With the help of a mentor and her three new teammates, she must undergo training and trials, which makes sense, given the mission. What doesn't make sense? The dark secrets that seem to be lurking in every corner of The Haven.
Through a past trainee's handwritten notes, sleuthing, and old-fashioned breaking and entering, Emerson and the team fight for every scrap of information they can gather, looking to prove that The Haven's mission isn't as benevolent as it claims to be. As they get closer to the truth, avoiding detection from the surveillance program monitoring them all becomes essential, all the while making allies and lovers, as well as enemies with the power to destroy the future and planet that they're claiming to protect.