Celibacy A Love Story

Mimi Bull grew up secure in the love of family, friends, and neighbors, never questioning the unusual circumstances that caused her to be adopted by two women in the late 1930s. It was years before she learned the secret truth: that one of the women was her grandmother, the other her biological mother, and that the story of her adoption had been concocted not only to shield her mother's reputation, but to hide the fact that her father was the gregarious young parish priest everyone adored. It has only been very recently that the Catholic Church has begun to acknowledge the existence of other children of priests, and Bull writes candidly of the emotional toll that this policy of secrecy and denial took on her--"I should like to have lived a life with my loving parents, knowing who we all were, knowing my father's family from the beginning, and without the forty years of depression that compromised me and those I loved."

Forbidden to Love is a true story of a woman who, after barely escaping from a violent relationship with the father of her twins, is newly married with a man that helped her make that escape but—he is dying of AIDS. She ends up with her little family in this huge metropolis with no English-language skills. One day, on her way to her new church, she meets a Catholic priest. They fall in love. After her husband's death, they become closer as she begins to grasp the reality of her dream to be with him. But once his superiors catch wind of it, they put him under very harsh restrictions—and brush her aside, with no care of how she is coping, while single-mindedly determined to keep them apart. The "scandal," had to be kept quiet. She would go through many years of hardships and persecution from some of the priests and parishioners of that church. Will she end up with the love of her life?

There are many rules a priest can't break. A priest cannot marry. A priest cannot abandon his flock. A priest cannot forsake his God. I've always been good at following rules. Until she came. Then I learned new rules. My name is Tyler Anselm Bell. I'm twenty-nine years old. Six months ago, I broke my vow of celibacy on the altar of my own church, and God help me, I would do it again. I am a priest and this is my confession.

Winner of the Bisexual Book Award for Best Novel Natalie has made a promise: a vow of celibacy, signed and witnessed by her best friend. After a string of sexual conquests, she is determined to figure out why the intense romantic connections she's spent her life chasing have left her emotionally high and dry. As Natalie sifts through her past and her present, she confronts her complicated feelings about her plus-sized figure, her bisexuality, and her thwarted career in fashion design. Piecing together toxic relationship patterns from her past, Natalie finds herself strutting down fashion runways and rekindling her passion for clothing design in the present. All the while, her best friend, Anastaze, struggles with her own secret--whether or not to reveal her true identity to the thousands of fans of her popular blog and her potential first sexual partner. Clever, sexy, and hilarious, Vow of Celibacy delves into the perilous terrain of love and relationships, the uncertainty of early adulthood, and the sustaining force of friendship. This is an irresistible novel about the stories we can't help but tell ourselves about others, and it captures in perfect pitch what it's like to be a young woman coming of age in America today.

Welcome to the Omega Celibacy Club. No sex until graduation. No unexpected pregnancies. No alphas needed. SIMON Even if it's not politically correct to say so anymore, everyone still knows that alphas and omegas are ruled by their biology. Sure, it's the twenty-first century now and most people have given up believing in archaic ideas like fated mates, but just take a look at college drop out rates and you'll see that some things haven't changed at all. Alphas still dominate, omegas still submit, and horny college kids in heat let their hormones dictate poor choices every day. Not me and my roommates, though. Not if I have anything to say about it. Too many of our classmates here at Preston College have gotten knocked up and then dropped out. Given up their goals and dreams just because they've met an alpha with a big... ego. The point here is that there's only one surefire way to avoid that trap, and that's why I started the Omega Celibacy Club. No sex until graduation. No unexpected pregnancies. No alphas needed. And no, I'm not just saying that because I've been hung up on one particular alpha for approximately ever. I'm totally over Hunter King. I mean, not that there was ever anything to get over. Our families have been friends forever and he dated my sister back when I was still just a kid, but even if me and my right hand may have pined for him once upon a time, I barely ever think of him anymore. I mean never. I never think of him anymore. Did I mention I'm over it? HUNTER Weddings are a great place to get laid, but when I show up for my ex's big day, I'm hoping to get a lot more than that. I've never admitted it, but the reason I broke up with her all those years ago was because of her brother. One look at little Simon Lawson and I was a goner. Of course I didn't say anything though, not back then. I didn't touch him. Always kept my distance. I had to, because he was just a kid... but he's all grown up now. I've bided my time for years, but now I'm ready to see if the feeling is mutual. And if it is, I know exactly what I want. I want Simon. I want a family. And I want it forever. And even though I've never been the kind of alpha who imposes his will on omegas, when I finally realize just what it is that my omega needs, I know I'll do anything at all to make that forever happen. In fact, I'll do everything. MAKE ME GIVE IN is the first book in the Omega Celibacy Club series, a contemporary omegaverse world where the only thing stronger than an alpha's will is his desire to keep his omega happy, and where even omegas who don't believe in fated mates sometimes still find them.

Now, when celibacy for Roman Catholic priests is being questioned as never before, Evelyn McLean Brady shares a memoir of her own lived experience. Based on her journals and Father Hugh Brady's love letters written from 1965-1970, Evelyn intimately chronicles the interior conflict between her desire to become a Catholic nun to "live only for God to serve others" and the unexpected attraction she feels for the handsome, charismatic Father Brady. When this novice and priest finally confess their feelings for each other, the mystery of human love unfolds, as do tests and trials they could not have imagined. The tension between Evelyn and her mother also adds unexpected turns and detours to the tale. In the tradition of Abelard and Heloise and St. Francis and St. Clare, this is a love story of two celibates who desire to follow the ways of God yet are lured by the pull of the human heart.