15 books for The Diverse Baseline ; October 2024

The Diverse Baseline is a reading challenge created by Brittany and me. The mission is to read a minimum of 3 books by BIPOC authors per month, for the entirety of 2024 (to make a minimum of 36 BIPOC books), in order to help form the habit of reading and supporting books by nonwhite and mixed race authors.

Every month has three prompts. You can choose which books to read, as long as they each fit one of the prompts. You can’t use one book to fit two prompts — they need to be three different books.

All books need to be written by nonwhite and mixed race authors. Books with BIPOC main characters written by white authors do NOT fit the brief.

The challenge is pretty flexible, so if you’re a slow reader you can read as much as you’re able, and if you want to do the prompts in different orders that’s also fine. What we care about is the effort.

For more info on the challenge and all the rules, you should check out the official carrd. You can also subscribe to the newsletter (also linked in the carrd) to stay updated with announcements and clarifications about authors.

In this article I will be listing 5 books for each prompt that I want to read during this month, because I like to have multiple options. I will mark which ones are available via Kindle Unlimited subscription (if there are some) and I will list genre and tropes, as well.

Disclaimer: for your own safety and comfort, always look up trigger warnings online before picking up a book.

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing.In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated.

Seventh Heaven was your run-of-the-mill, quiet, sleepy town, until three meteorites fell.That's when things took a dark and twisted turn.Secrets buried with an insidious purpose in the depths of the town, begin to crawl their way to the surface, creeping and slithering its way into the light.Bloody deaths, disappearances, and violent happenings.Kimberly Abadi, and her group of friends end up in the throes of chaos and evil after a prank goes terribly wrong.As if growing up isn't complicated enough, Kim and her friends will have to unearth the evil that plagues Seventh Heaven while traversing the ups and downs of adolescence.But to fight the root of all evil, one of them must seek within.

In 1920s Edinburgh, Scotland, Evelyn Hazard is a young, middle-class housewife living the life she’s always expected―until her husband Robert upends everything with a startling announcement: he can communicate with the dead.As the couple is pulled into the spiritualist movement―an underground, occult society of ritual and magic that emerged following the mass deaths of the Spanish Flu and First World War―Evelyn’s carefully composed world begins to unravel. And when long-held secrets from her past threaten to come to the surface, presenting her with the prospect of losing all she holds dear, Evelyn finds herself unable to avoid the question: is the man she loves a fraud, a madman or―most frighteningly―is he telling the truth?

Halloween is near, and Hughie Wolfe is volunteering at a new rural Harvest House. He's excited to take part in the fun, spooky show—until he learns that an actor playing the vengeful spirit of an “Indian maiden,” a ghost inspired by local legend, will headline. Folklore aside, unusual things have been happening at night at the crossroads near Harvest House. A creepy man is stalking teenage girls and young women, particularly Indigenous women; dogs are fretful and on edge; and wild animals are behaving strangely. While Hughie weighs how and when to speak up about the bigoted legend, he and his friends begin to investigate the crossroads and whether it might be haunted after all. As Moon rises on All Hallow's Eve, will they be able to protect themselves and their community?

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.Yet she spares Cas's life.

Jordan Collins doesn’t need a man.What he needs is for his favorite author to release another one of her sexy supernatural novels and more people to sign up for the romance book club that he fears is slowly and steadily losing its steam. He also needs for the new employee at his local bookstore to stop making fun of him for reading things meant for “grandmas.”The very last thing he needs is for that same employee, Rex Bailey, to waltz into his living room and ask to join Meet Cute Club. Despite his immediate thoughts—like laughing in his face and telling him to kick rocks—Jordan decides that if he wants this club to continue thriving, he can’t turn away any new members. Not even ones like Rex, who somehow manage to be both frustratingly obnoxious and breathtakingly handsome.As Jordan and Rex team up to bring the club back from the ashes, Jordan soon discovers that Rex might not be the arrogant troll he made himself out to be, and that, like with all things in life, maybe he was wrong to judge a book by its cover.

[ Available for free in the author’s newsletter ]

One last summer with her best friend. One bed. One night she’ll never forget…Frankie’s ready to leave the city for her dream job—but when her apartment floods, she’s forced to crash with her best friend for one more week.The problem? Frankie’s been in love with sleek, femme Vivian for years. And Vivian keeps undressing in front of her, and they have to share a bed…But Frankie can’t lose the one person who’s always been ride-or-die for her. She’ll keep her feelings hidden.Even when things boil over on a hot, sleepless night…and their chemistry is off-the-charts scorching.Vivian doesn’t do relationships. There’s no way she returns Frankie’s feelings. No matter what, Frankie’s leaving with a broken heart…so why not let herself have this one unforgettable night?

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

Julián Luna has a plan for his life: Graduate. Get into UCLA. And have the chance to move away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of others that have forced Jules into an inauthentic life.Then in one reckless moment, with one impulsive tweet, his plans for a low-key nine months are thrown—literally—out the closet. The downside: the whole world knows, and Jules has to prepare for rejection. The upside: Jules now has the opportunity to be his real self.Then Mat, a cute, empathetic Twitter crush from Los Angeles, slides into Jules’s DMs. Jules can tell him anything. Mat makes the world seem conquerable. But when Jules’s fears about coming out come true, the person he needs most is fifteen hundred miles away. Jules has to face them alone.Jules accidentally propelled himself into the life he’s always dreamed of. And now that he’s in control of it, what he does next is up to him.

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

A deadly infection. Seven Strangers. The fight for survival begins...Jake didn’t think his night could get worse, but that was before his train stops deep underground and zombies attack and things go from worst-day-ever to run-for-your-life terror.Liv is good at running, mostly from other people straight into a bottle of vodka. But as chaos erupts on the city streets, depending on others may be her only chance at survival.London is gone. The world has ended. In the chaos that remains, seven strangers fight to escape the city. But as they navigate this new and dangerous world, they soon discover that surviving the apocalypse means confronting their deepest fears and making unthinkable choices.How We End is a heart-pounding diverse story with a character driven plot that explores how societal collapse forces ordinary people into extreme situations and reveals the lengths they’ll go to survive in a world gone mad. Will they make it out alive, or will they become just another casualty?

FATE IS A CRUEL MISTRESSThe daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he's drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he's worked so hard to avoid - and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Bloodworker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan's plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

Aliyah Giorgia Juliet Panimiro was never meant to be Queen. It's not in her blood. Yet, when she turned sixteen, the duty to wear the crown was thrust upon her. Now, she spends her time alone, dreaming of a day she won't have to attend balls with the dreaded goal of finding a husband.Aliyah must marry before her family disowns her, but is it too much to ask to fall in love first?Elliot despises the royal family and everything they stand for. So, he’s not quite sure how he ended up working for them this summer. There’s nothing he wants from Galinera Castle apart from a glowing recommendation and to make his mom proud for once. He has no intention of leaving with anything else.And then he meets a girl under the plum tree, and he wonders how bad it would be if, just this once, he talked to her…

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

Selah Bailey, an anxious homebody determined to become the main character in her own story, embarks on a fresh path. Creates a “F*ck It List” with goals to force her out of her comfort zone, introducing her to a life outside of her front door.However, a partner is necessary to complete her more adventurous goals, so she joins a popular dating app. After what may be the worst date ever, she meets Greyson in the elevator of her building. The pressure to complete the list is on and she seeks an arrangement with anyone tolerable—though a certain neighbor comes to mind.Greyson exceeds all her expectations and has the potential to be the perfect hero for her story. Except falling in love is against the rules and she should leave the house to find it. Greyson Park is a business-oriented divorcè, who prefers long walks with his dog and to keep things casual in his love life.As the creator of a successful dating app, he’s become quite the modern-day matchmaker. Despite his appreciation for others’ love lives, he can’t forgive himself for the past and believes romance isn’t in the cards for a second time.To silence the rumors about him not moving on, he agrees to an arrangement with his neighbor, finding himself a plus one for his ex's wedding.Selah unknowingly challenges his views on casual dating and opens his eyes to a life beyond the office. Except falling in love is against the rules, and he should use his app to find it.

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

If you told me I’d be on a reality dating show with a man I can’t stand, while the guy I haven’t been able to forget films it all, I’d tell you to kick rocks. But alas, here I am, pretending to fall in love with a man who’d marry himself if he could all while my tv producer best friend has front seats to it all. It’d be a lot easier if the if the self-centered bachelor wasn’t hot as hell and charming beyond reason when the cameras are rolling. Or if I didn’t get heart palpitations every time my best friend looked at me.Hot emotionally stunted men and old crushes aside, I’ve sworn off dating. I know people say that and then they’re with someone new next week, but I mean it. After being betrayed, I’m doing this for me, myself and I. While the other women compete for love, I’m here to collect a check and gain enough clout to help kick off my career as a makeup artist. If it’s between success or moving back in with my nagging mother, I’m not letting men knock me off my game.

For men like us, trust doesn't come easy.In this village, I’m an outcast: Griffin Everett, the scowling giant who prefers plants to people. Then I meet Keynes, a stranger from the city who’s everything I’m not: sharp-tongued, sophisticated, beautiful. Free. For a few precious moments in a dark alleyway, he’s also mine, hot and sweet under the stars… until he crushes me like dirt beneath his designer boot.When the prettiest man I’ve ever hated shows up at my job the next day, I’m not sure if I want to strangle him or drag him into bed. Actually—I think I want both. But Keynes isn’t here for the likes of me: he makes that painfully clear. With everyone else at work, he’s all gorgeous, glittering charm—but when I get too close, he turns vicious.And yet, I can’t stay away. Because there’s something about this ice king that sets me on fire, a secret vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak past his walls and see the real man again.The last thing I expect is for that man to ruin me.

[ Available on Kindle Unlimited ✔ ]

NINA Becoming the queen of a country is not part of Nina’s otherwise perfect ten-year plan.She may have graduated at the top of her linguistics program, but everything quickly unravels after that—and her cheating boyfriend is only the start. When the spontaneous family trip to Maldana turns out to be not so spontaneous after all, Nina’s father reveals that her long-deceased mother was actually the queen, and the Court wants her to ascend the throne.Yes, her. A hardheaded people-pleaser with an unhealthy obsession with french fries. She’s given the summer to decide if she wants to be the queen, to live her Roman Holiday fantasy and explore this quaint island and all its beauty—including her surly bodyguard whose empty eyes she’s determined to fill.WESLEYWesley’s worth in organized crime was defined by how many lives he took. Haunted by the good man he once was, he narrowly escapes his life of death and darkness. He’s determined to rebuild his life and accepts his first ethical job in years: protect a secret princess whose sole mission is to irritate him. No matter how much he tries to keep his head down, Nina—the most stubborn genius he’s ever met—finds a way to lift his chin and show him that life has more joy and light than he thought.But when his mistakes come looking for revenge, Wesley must find a way to control his darkness without letting it poison his light.

These are only some of my picks for the month. I won’t be able to read them all, but I need to have options since I’m a mood reader.

What will you be reading this month for the challenge?

On the bookclub “Reading Diverse Romance” on Fable, we will be reading Work For It by Talia Hibbert. Everyone is welcome to join us.

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