Around the World in 80 Days Mini Reading Challenge: Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq

Based on interviews with a young woman forced to flee Iran because of her sexual orientation, Moon at Nine is a tense and riveting novel that shines a light on an issue of social injustice that continues to this day.

Fifteen-year-old Farrin has grown up with secrets: ten years after the overthrow of the Shah, her aristocratic mother is still working against Iran’s conservative revolutionary government. But when Farrin befriends Sadira, the intriguing and outgoing new student at her school for gifted girls, her own new secret is even more dangerous. Because the girls discover their relationship is more than just a friendship—and in Iran, being gay is punishable by death.

This Forbidden Romance Could Cost Them Their Lives

Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love–Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed. So they carry on in secret until Nasrin’s parents suddenly announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution: homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. Sahar will never be able to love Nasrin in the body she wants to be loved in without risking their lives, but is saving their love worth sacrificing her true self?

A subversive and original debut collection of interlinked stories about the lives of young LGBTQI people in Iran.

Golnoosh Nouris a brave and acute observer of how the human spirit fights free of social repression in all its guises. These are stories that argue for nuance in a world that wants to make things black and white. These evocative stories shine a light on the lives of young Iranians who are questioning their sexuality and identity in a culture where queerness is legal but not widely accepted.

Life is what happens when you make other plans.

Love isn’t easy when it comes dressed in camo, but Nic is resolute to keep Claire happy, no matter the cost. Claire must be strong when she finds out Nic has been injured in a bomb blast. Claire must step up and be strong for her lover, but will Nic let her?

Beyond the Checkpoint is a combination of military action, suspense, and romance.

In 2008, Intelligence officer Ali Clairmont joined her agency’s deployment program. She’s openly gay because it’s not a punishment in the federal workforce. Air Force Major and NSA SIGINT officer Lynn Stewart is deep in the closet because DADT is still in effect.

Over ten years, they cross paths three times – twice in Afghanistan and finally at home. In 2008, they attempted to keep everything professional, but add a little coffee and close quarters and the attraction ignites.

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Where can you turn when you’re caught in a crossfire of war and passion?

Colonel Rebecca Keane is an enigmatic career officer who runs the surgical unit like clockwork. Well liked and respected by those who work with and under her, she walks a fine line to preserve the military’s chain of command while connecting with those under her care and supervision. Sabine knows the Colonel is way off-limits, but can’t help fantasizing about her. Especially when she starts picking up unspoken cues—a stolen glance, a secret smile, an “accidental” brush of hands. Or is it just wishful thinking? After all, Rebecca’s wedding ring shines almost as brightly as her deep blue eyes…

If I Don’t Ask is the must-read story telling Rebecca’s side of E. J. Noyes’ best-selling Ask, Tell.

Rebecca Keane has it all figured out. With a successful career as an Army surgeon and a fresh promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, she loves her life leading a surgical team. Even if that life means she’s spent years hiding her sexuality and ignoring her desires under the Army’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Then Captain Sabine Fleischer’s arrival sets off an attraction that cracks Rebecca’s carefully cultivated armor and brings about fresh complications.

Faye Blakemore is a photojournalist for a major New York newspaper.

Faye has been taking photos since she was a small child, taught by her photographer grandfather, after spending hours in the strange blood-red light of his darkroom. Now Faye specializes in what one reviewer calls, “blood-and-guts journalism.” Her first book of photos is as celebrated as it is controversial—and as harrowing.

Faye convinces her editor to send her to Afghanistan and the Congo to report on the acid burnings, the machete attacks, and the women survivors.

A heart-pounding race to save the world and uncover a vast government conspiracy.

National Security Agent Sedona Ramos is running for her life after stumbling upon a nefarious plot that could start a world war. Ex-CIA agent Vaughn Elliott and a familiar cast of beloved Lynn Ames characters must work with Sedona to uncover the plot. Will they be in time to stop it?

When you marry for convenience, don't be surprised when love comes knocking.

Major Nic Caldwell has the difficult job of delivering death notices and her next notice will rock her world. Clair Monroe married for convince, not love, Now she must deal with a world without her husband. When the two women meet, their world collide unexpectedly, will they survive the collision?