Diabetes in Fiction

A delightfully wicked, fizzy debut romantasy--an enemies to lovers tale about a desperate mortal woman and a cursed fae prince Maddox Sinclair has run out of options. No job means no health insurance —a death sentence for a type one diabetic like herself. She flees to the forest to make a desperate deal with a dryad kill the Redwood King and be cured of the illness that threatens her life. In the redwood treetops, Prince Castor, is cursed-- anyone who loves him is doomed to die. Like Maddox, he has made an equally unwise pact with his brother, the Redwood get a mortal to fall in love with him by solstice and be free of his curse forever. When Maddox mistakes Castor for the king, sparks fly and troubles ensue. Each must decide what is more important—survival and freedom, or the love they (kind of, almost) feel in their traitorous, vile hearts. Darkly funny and brimming with magic, These Vile Hearts by Melody Robinette manages to be both wicked and warm, beguiling and moving—a richly woven story of survival and fate.

The first rule for a drama-free senior year? Don’t fall for the mysterious new football transfer. A swoony young adult romance full of undeniable chemistry and school spirit perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Friday Night Lights, from the author of Heart Check. When Sabrina and Tyler meet by accident outside (okay, inside) the football locker rooms, it’s not a big deal. After a rocky summer, Sabrina is focused on leading the Spirit Committee to its best year ever, while Tyler is eager to leave behind the mess from his old school with a second chance playing football as a transfer. Neither is looking for romance. But as the team’s newest (and most eligible) varsity athlete, Tyler is suddenly the center of attention. And Sabrina is busy dodging Ryan, her longtime flirtationship who is determined to take her to the homecoming dance. Ryan is exactly the kind of chaos Sabrina doesn’t need, so she asks Tyler to go as friends instead. Eager to fend off other unwanted advances, Tyler is happy to accept. Of course, this was before Sabrina realized Tyler is Ryan’s cousin. But as long as they’re just friends, everything should be fine. Tyler is less willing to ignore the connection he feels toward Sabrina, but he’s also desperate to keep his past buried. When the chemistry between them becomes impossible to deny, can their carefully laid plans survive the fallout, or will secrets and social pressure threaten everything they’ve built?

Wren Swallows believes wholeheartedly in three truths: their dad’s credit card has no limits, ghosts are definitely real, and Alphas are the worst. When the opportunity to indulge in their passion for the paranormal arises, the plucky Omega sets off on a clear day to visit a lighthouse in search of specters. Located on a tiny island, the historical landmark known as Pointe Highview promises a perfect night of ghost hunting for the haunted historian's debut ghost hunt. Everything is going according to plan until Wren discovers the lighthouse keeper - a man named Joel Cutter - is not only devilishly handsome, but a grumpy dominant Alpha who can’t stand the sight (or smell) of them. Tensions and pheromones spark between them, but Joel remains professional despite his seemingly instant disdain for Wren’s literal existence. The night of ghost hunting takes a turn for the worse when the perfect autumn weather grows stormy and strands Wren at Pointe Highview, forcing the clashing personalities to hunker down inside of the lighthouse until the sea calms and the skies clear...

From a young age, I knew two things to be true. Number one, I was going to play professional softball. And number two, in order to get there, I couldn't allow myself any distractions. Ever. Being a type 1 diabetic catcher at a division one college, I'm no stranger to challenges. But when my dad gets diagnosed with cancer and my mom finds herself drowning in his medical bills, losing our health insurance while my dad becomes unrecognizable has me questioning my own strength. Cane Hale is the stepson of retired NHL legend Tripp Talmage. He's also NEU's most beloved baseball player. At least, he was before one mistake has everyone second guessing his integrity, and he finds himself at odds with social media backlash. As NEU's first type 1 diabetic female catcher, I have my share of fans. And when Cane approaches me, offering to pay for my prescriptions in return for me faking a friendship to help him save his image... I somehow find myself saying yes. Under one condition-no romance. No feelings. Because I don't do boyfriends. Especially ones that look like Cane Hale. But when my dad dies, Cane is there, being everything I need him to be, making it hard not to fall for him. And though he distracts me from my grief, eventually, I know I'm going to come head-to-head with the pain. So, will I let Cane hold my hand while I face it? Or will I do what I do best and push him away? Not long ago, I would have known the answer. But now, I have no idea.

When I left Poplar Ridge nine years ago, I never expected to return to my small hometown as a single dad or to fall for a woman who’s completely off limits. Enter Jasmine Hayes. The fiery barrel racer with a smart mouth and hypnotic eyes is my new coworker, my greatest temptation, and… my best friend’s daughter. At twenty-one, she’s far too young for me, but she’s made it clear she doesn’t care about our sixteen year age gap. I doubt her father would feel the same, and since he’s also my boss, getting involved with her is out of the question. Still, she’s determined to break down my walls and steal my heart. I try to keep my distance, but when her dad tasks me with accompanying her to her barrel races, we’re forced to live in close quarters, and my restraint slowly begins to unravel. I try to fight my feelings for her, knowing that if I cross that line, I risk losing my job and my best friend, but some things are inevitable. And some people are worth risking everything for.

Celeste Muldoon is alone when the Big One finally hits, because, for the first time ever, her best friend stood her up after school. Nicky and Celeste share a birthday, matching tattoos, an obsession with the upcoming Mars mission, and pretty much everything else. So why did he ghost her on the day she needed him most? As the quake’s death toll rises and days pass, Nicky and Celeste’s parents fear the worst. But Celeste doesn’t buy it. He couldn’t be dead. Nicky’d spent their senior year selling essays to rich kids and was about to get caught. He’d told Celeste about his plan to vanish, to reinvent himself and escape the disaster he’d created. The quake would be perfect cover. But she can’t convince anyone that he could still be alive. Only Meo, a mysterious stranger who was somehow mixed up with Nicky, seems to believe, but Celeste has every reason to distrust him—even if her heart races whenever Meo shows up. When Celeste finds Nicky’s notebook, it sends her and Meo on a quest across the broken city, up the coast through towns sheltering quake refugees, and eventually all the way to Florida, where the mission to Mars is about to lift off.

Two swimmers under pressure. One trying not to get close to anyone, the other trying to save their beloved camp. And a growing connection between them that makes everything messier. Ruby Hopkins has had the worst year of her life. Dropped from her high school’s swim team, nearly kicked out of school, and now newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, she is waiting for an opportunity to show the world that she can still have a future in the water. When a comeback comes in the form of an intensive summer training camp, she takes it with no hesitation. She just has one rule: no friends, no attachments, no chances to get hurt again. Eliana Marsh, team captain and rising social media star, is used to the pressure to perform. But behind their bubbly personality, Eliana is wrestling with their gender identity and what it could mean for their career in swimming. When Eliana learns the camp could close if the team does not place at the upcoming championship, they know it’s now or never to help coach the team to a win. For Eliana’s plan to succeed, they know training one-on-one with Ruby will help both of their times improve. And despite Ruby’s irritability, she agrees, slowly opening herself up to vulnerability that she never expected. With the championship fast approaching and recruitment season starting, Ruby and Eliana must decide what they are willing to risk, both in and out of the pool.