Roller Girl

This contemporary romance gets a big boost from a passionate heroine who’s determined to live life on her own terms. Tina Durham is still recovering from being divorced by her wife when she meets Joe Delario, a tattooed beauty. When Joe isn’t running the plumbing business she inherited from her father, she coaches the Lake Lovelace Rollergirls roller derby team in Lake Lovelace, Fla. Romance is in the air, but Tina is even more interested in the opportunity to join a fellowship of other women—the first group of female friends she’ll have made since her gender transition. The budding relationship is centered on respect and mutual passion, but both are strained by Joe’s desire to keep their romance a secret while she decides how to tell the team—not because Tina’s trans, but because Joe doesn’t want to be seen playing favorites. Despite this obstacle, fierce attraction keeps drawing them back together. The romance shoots sparks, but it’s outshined by Tina’s positivity and her refusal to return to any kind of closet. (July)