2020-2021 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Thing About Tilly

The Thing About Tilly by G. Benson

An angsty, slow burn coupling where coming to terms with intimacy and secrets is the big barrier that must be overcome. Well written, even poetic in places, this is a well-crafted character study of friendship that becomes so much more. This book will delight lovers of these tropes.

https://amzn.to/3nXTOuC

2020-2021 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: How to Steal a Star

How to Steal a Star by Geonn Cannon

Excellent character development and pacing in service of a decent if somewhat repetitive theme and plot and predictable outcome. Cannon is a very good writer and that saves this book from mediocrity.

https://amzn.to/3DZ1y5c

2020-2021 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Trafalgar & Boone Against the Forty Elephants

Trafalgar & Boone Against the Forty Elephants by Geonn Cannon

This is a charming, and yet, relatably realistic, series. This particular book shows why Geonn Cannon remains a consistently excellent writer—great characters, terrific dialog, the setting is reach-out-and-touch realistic and the storyline is superb. This book introduces some new concepts and twists in relationship status, and because Cannon is so good, one can buy into the serendipity of the relationship(s).

https://amzn.to/3E1IDGM

2020-2021 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Eye of the Damned (Terran-Novan Universe Series #3)

Eye of the Damned (Terran-Novan Universe Series #3) by Sandra Barret

This book has inventive and intriguing world building, a great page-turning pace and the kind of satisfying plot arc that one wants in such a series. The style is read-easy and comfortable.

https://amzn.to/3nUo2Pg

2020-2021 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Other Girls Like Me

Other Girls Like Me by Stephanie Davies

Aspects of this book are nearly poetry, with a unique poignancy and a lyricism that gives this author a special voice. The issues are relevant and handled beautifully. The references to music were alive and perfect as the author recasts the past in ways that have a universal appeal and tap into whatever reservoirs of healing that bravery and pride leverage for a sense of life.

https://amzn.to/313Oey4