What do you think?
Rate this book
I Heart Sapphfic Pride Collection #5
Pride Festival
When Ruby Simon wanted something, she usually got it and didn’t mind working hard for it. Her small town had never done anything for Pride month, and she was determined to change that. Starting with a parade would be a little much, so Ruby started planning a festival.
Chance Curtis was used to always being pulled into her best friend’s orbit. She was an ally to the community, believing that love was love and that she’d find her person one day, but she never had anyone in her life like that, so it didn’t matter anyway.
Jo Hemsworth never fit in. When Jo’s single mother decided to move to a small town toward the end of Jo’s junior year, Jo planned not to talk to anyone and just hoped to go to college one day. Never feeling like fitting in, and only in part because of being gay, Jo had no idea Chance was helping to plan a festival and would change Jo’s life.
Jaden Hugo had been the girl with two gay dads ever since they adopted her, and she’d been questioning things about herself for a while. When her dads volunteer themselves and her to work at a Pride festival in another town, Jaden is completely taken aback because there was Ruby Simon, the girl who had made it all happen.
On the cusp of their high school graduation, Ruby and Chance were about to leave this place they’d called home and wanted to leave it better than they found it. In planning this first Pride event for their community, their lives also end up changing for the better.
This book is part of the I Heart SapphFic Pride Collection, which contains eight stand-alone books from some of the top authors in sapphic fiction today. Each one promises a Pride theme and a happy ending. The collection was organized by I Heart SapphFic, which is a website for authors and readers of sapphic fiction to stay up to date on all the latest sapphic fiction news.
Chance Curtis was used to always being pulled into her best friend’s orbit. She was an ally to the community, believing that love was love and that she’d find her person one day, but she never had anyone in her life like that, so it didn’t matter anyway.
Jo Hemsworth never fit in. When Jo’s single mother decided to move to a small town toward the end of Jo’s junior year, Jo planned not to talk to anyone and just hoped to go to college one day. Never feeling like fitting in, and only in part because of being gay, Jo had no idea Chance was helping to plan a festival and would change Jo’s life.
Jaden Hugo had been the girl with two gay dads ever since they adopted her, and she’d been questioning things about herself for a while. When her dads volunteer themselves and her to work at a Pride festival in another town, Jaden is completely taken aback because there was Ruby Simon, the girl who had made it all happen.
On the cusp of their high school graduation, Ruby and Chance were about to leave this place they’d called home and wanted to leave it better than they found it. In planning this first Pride event for their community, their lives also end up changing for the better.
This book is part of the I Heart SapphFic Pride Collection, which contains eight stand-alone books from some of the top authors in sapphic fiction today. Each one promises a Pride theme and a happy ending. The collection was organized by I Heart SapphFic, which is a website for authors and readers of sapphic fiction to stay up to date on all the latest sapphic fiction news.
158 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2022
179 people are currently reading
520 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Pyland
80 books821 followersNicole Pyland is a bestselling author of lesbian romance novels, including No After You, All the Love Songs, and the series like Chicago, San Francisco, Tahoe, Sports, Boston, and more. Since 2017, she’s published over 30 novels (not including her What Happened After shorts), and more books are on their way!
Nicole grew up in Indiana, studying English & Film and then getting a MS in Behavior Analysis and moving to California, working by day as a Head of Training at a start-up. She lives with her wife and their opinionated cat, who spends his evenings helping her write stories by occupying half the chair.
Website: nicolepyland.com
Newsletter: nicolepyland.com/newsletter
Twitter: @nicole_pyland
Facebook: @nicolepylandauthor
Nicole grew up in Indiana, studying English & Film and then getting a MS in Behavior Analysis and moving to California, working by day as a Head of Training at a start-up. She lives with her wife and their opinionated cat, who spends his evenings helping her write stories by occupying half the chair.
Website: nicolepyland.com
Newsletter: nicolepyland.com/newsletter
Twitter: @nicole_pyland
Facebook: @nicolepylandauthor
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
May 12, 2022
'ARC freely provided by The Author in exchange for a honest review'
**'Sometimes a true storyteller does not bother being strategical..'
Delightful read!
In her own follow-up to this ongoing series, Ms.Pyland delivers a pitch-perfect, timely and refreshing work on four Young Adults (Ruby, Jaden, Chance & Jo) and their spectacle of falling in love along with their organizational skills on putting together the very first Pride Festival in their small town. In telling this story, Pyland interweave their developing romances, their budding friendships, their many different intimate moments, their families acceptance, their thoughts & doubts at coming out, their decisions about colleges and high school graduation.
Cleverly scripted, 'PRIDE FESTIVAL #5' is evenly balance with each leading character's pov on their feelings of vitality that came with their coming out stories, of their parents who have tried doing everything possible to be supportive and ensure that they all developed healthy gender identities and not be skewered by both societal perceptions and negativity.
Ms.Pyland proved to be very resourceful while telling this story because of it's context which seemed realistic. I cannot think of any reader or even those that's not into this genre who wouldn't enjoy this book. Highly recommended!
**'Sometimes a true storyteller does not bother being strategical..'
Delightful read!
In her own follow-up to this ongoing series, Ms.Pyland delivers a pitch-perfect, timely and refreshing work on four Young Adults (Ruby, Jaden, Chance & Jo) and their spectacle of falling in love along with their organizational skills on putting together the very first Pride Festival in their small town. In telling this story, Pyland interweave their developing romances, their budding friendships, their many different intimate moments, their families acceptance, their thoughts & doubts at coming out, their decisions about colleges and high school graduation.
Cleverly scripted, 'PRIDE FESTIVAL #5' is evenly balance with each leading character's pov on their feelings of vitality that came with their coming out stories, of their parents who have tried doing everything possible to be supportive and ensure that they all developed healthy gender identities and not be skewered by both societal perceptions and negativity.
Ms.Pyland proved to be very resourceful while telling this story because of it's context which seemed realistic. I cannot think of any reader or even those that's not into this genre who wouldn't enjoy this book. Highly recommended!
June 5, 2022
Pyland’s strength are her characters and in this novel we have four MC’s discovering love, sexual awakening and identity. All of this is wrapped beautifully in the creation of a town’s first Pride Celebration. Enjoy!
May 10, 2022
Four girls, two couples.
To celebrate its 5th anniversary, I Heart SapphFic has come up with a Pride Collection of 8 books by different sapphic fiction authors and I believe a portion of the proceeds received from these books will be donated to charity.
Pride Festival by Nicole Pyland is the 5th book of this collection and it's a novella worth reading. It's a light and sweet YA novel about self-discovery and first loves. It revolves around four girls in either their junior or senior years who become fast friends while they plan a Pride Parade in a small town and these four girls will make up two couples. I enjoyed reading it but I was a bit confused at the start as to who's who. It took me some time, but as the dynamics between the two couples were pretty different, the problem went away pretty quickly.
Enjoyable!
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
To celebrate its 5th anniversary, I Heart SapphFic has come up with a Pride Collection of 8 books by different sapphic fiction authors and I believe a portion of the proceeds received from these books will be donated to charity.
Pride Festival by Nicole Pyland is the 5th book of this collection and it's a novella worth reading. It's a light and sweet YA novel about self-discovery and first loves. It revolves around four girls in either their junior or senior years who become fast friends while they plan a Pride Parade in a small town and these four girls will make up two couples. I enjoyed reading it but I was a bit confused at the start as to who's who. It took me some time, but as the dynamics between the two couples were pretty different, the problem went away pretty quickly.
Enjoyable!
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
January 8, 2024
This short novel is part of a series on Sapphic Pride. Ruby is an ambitious, out senior in high school who is determined to run her town's first pride festival. Ruby gets her best friend Chance, who has no orientation, to help her convince the town council and business leaders to get onside, and they do. Bring into the mix new student Jo, who is quietly out but has no friends other than Ruby and Chance, but is keen to help and Ruby's new flame Jaden, the adopted daughter of two gay dads. This was an enjoyable and informative story well done.
June 11, 2022
This is one of those multi-author serieses built around a concept (in this case, Pride month). I hate those as useless (to me) marketing. They annoy me because none of the things useful to series-designation apply. They don't share worlds, characters, events, background, or even tone. It's just marketing that has zero meaning for me as a reader. I recommend ignoring the entire series and cherry-picking authors you recognize, as I have done here.
The thing about Pyland is that I find her stories engaging pretty much regardless of any objective factor I can point to. I don't know why, but I've reached accommodation with it by simply acknowledging and moving on. I know this makes my review essentially worthless. I persist regardless.
This is very much a best-case story. Ruby organizes a pride festival with help from her friend Chase. Her parents are supportive and her small community is willing as long as she can pull the resources together with volunteers and fundraising, so it's a low-impact plot without much conflict to speak of. This effort brings two new girls into their orbit and the story is a double-romance with PoV from all four and plot driven by their hard work and life plans. It should have been boring. It was not.
I'm giving this five stars, but it probably doesn't deserve them. I could make up explanations for four stars to salve my conscience but I decided not to play that game. I enjoyed the story. I liked spending time with these girls on their exploration and discovery. I liked the low-conflict progression of the varied plotlines. It shouldn't work. It probably won't for you. But I'm all-in.
A note about Steamy: There is lots of exploration and consent-synchronization that lead to a handful of explicit sex scenes. It adds up to the middle of my steam tolerance. I really liked how well-integrated this aspect was with the relationships as they developed. It's young love, so awkward, intense, and full of wonder and embarrassment. As it should be.
The thing about Pyland is that I find her stories engaging pretty much regardless of any objective factor I can point to. I don't know why, but I've reached accommodation with it by simply acknowledging and moving on. I know this makes my review essentially worthless. I persist regardless.
This is very much a best-case story. Ruby organizes a pride festival with help from her friend Chase. Her parents are supportive and her small community is willing as long as she can pull the resources together with volunteers and fundraising, so it's a low-impact plot without much conflict to speak of. This effort brings two new girls into their orbit and the story is a double-romance with PoV from all four and plot driven by their hard work and life plans. It should have been boring. It was not.
I'm giving this five stars, but it probably doesn't deserve them. I could make up explanations for four stars to salve my conscience but I decided not to play that game. I enjoyed the story. I liked spending time with these girls on their exploration and discovery. I liked the low-conflict progression of the varied plotlines. It shouldn't work. It probably won't for you. But I'm all-in.
A note about Steamy: There is lots of exploration and consent-synchronization that lead to a handful of explicit sex scenes. It adds up to the middle of my steam tolerance. I really liked how well-integrated this aspect was with the relationships as they developed. It's young love, so awkward, intense, and full of wonder and embarrassment. As it should be.
May 10, 2022
I am super excited about this Pride collection by Sapphfic to celebrate their fifth anniversary.
Pyland is one of my favourite authors because you know you will get a solid book, no matter what. In this novella we meet 4 teenagers who are organising a Pride festival. Well actually it’s mostly Ruby and she drags her best friend Chance along with her. They both meet their partners while organising the fest. YA isn’t always my jam but I really liked this one.
At first it’s a bit hard to keep the couples straight, but they are so different you do figure it out soon enough.
The couples are cute and all characters individually deal with their own coming out in their own way. It’s good to see the different processes and different rep. It’s a fun novella and I can’t wait to read the other ones in the collection
Pyland is one of my favourite authors because you know you will get a solid book, no matter what. In this novella we meet 4 teenagers who are organising a Pride festival. Well actually it’s mostly Ruby and she drags her best friend Chance along with her. They both meet their partners while organising the fest. YA isn’t always my jam but I really liked this one.
At first it’s a bit hard to keep the couples straight, but they are so different you do figure it out soon enough.
The couples are cute and all characters individually deal with their own coming out in their own way. It’s good to see the different processes and different rep. It’s a fun novella and I can’t wait to read the other ones in the collection
June 7, 2022
Awww... the baby gays warm my cold, cold heart. I dig it.
May 8, 2022
Ruby Simons sees an opportunity to make a difference in her community by organizing a pride festival in her town. Along the way she and her best friend Chance meet some new people and end up changing their own lives as well as helping others in the community. This was exactly the light hearted, hopeful story I needed right now. Ruby and her friends are all struggling through different problems and find the help they needed by planning the festival or meeting new people once it was underway. The idea that a sense of community can make such a difference, especially for young adults still figuring things out, really resonated. Nicole Pyland’s characters always seem to have such authentic emotions and I love reading her books every time. I am looking forward to the rest of this Pride series as well and love that these wonderful authors have banded together in real life to help our community.
June 12, 2025
This lovely sapphic romance was short and sweet. The 2022-released book is part of the
I Heart Sapphfic Pride Collection Series
, which I’ve read a couple in the collection, and wanted to catch this book this month.
I need to add my standard disclaimer that I usually avoid anything with steam that is still labeled Young Adult. Partly because I have a teenage daughter and the sexy parts sometimes—not always—make me squeamish. I didn’t have a problem with that this time, because all those scenes were well-written, and were entirely in character for the four main female protagonists who grapple with issues of gay sexuality and sexual identity.
Anyway, ‘lovely’ really is the best description of this Pride Month-themed book, and I offer my recommendation. Cheers and bravo.
I need to add my standard disclaimer that I usually avoid anything with steam that is still labeled Young Adult. Partly because I have a teenage daughter and the sexy parts sometimes—not always—make me squeamish. I didn’t have a problem with that this time, because all those scenes were well-written, and were entirely in character for the four main female protagonists who grapple with issues of gay sexuality and sexual identity.
Anyway, ‘lovely’ really is the best description of this Pride Month-themed book, and I offer my recommendation. Cheers and bravo.
June 26, 2022
Cover ✅
Ruby and Jayden cute ✅
Chance and Jo cuter ✅
Pride Festival ✅
Understanding parents ✅
Navigating separation ✅
Overall a nice novella 3.5 rounded up.
Ruby and Jayden cute ✅
Chance and Jo cuter ✅
Pride Festival ✅
Understanding parents ✅
Navigating separation ✅
Overall a nice novella 3.5 rounded up.
July 2, 2022
The first book I've read by this author. This is the only one in the series by an author I hadn't read before.
This one is a multiple point of view book involving two different couples between the ages of 17-18. Juniors & Seniors in high school. Ruby Simon and Chance Curtis have been friends from forever and a day, best buds, high school seniors, never been attracted to each other. Jo Hemsworth is the junior whose mother moved to the small town shortly before the high school year was about to end. Jaden Hugo has two gay dads.
Right, so. Book opens with Ruby wanting to hold a Pride event in the small town. She's in front of the town council. One thing leads to another and she's going to be the organizer for that pride event. The book follows the progress of that as well the progress of the two couplings.
Ruby has been an out and proud lesbian for . . . I forget. But she's the out and proud lesbian of the book. Everyone else are questioning types. Chance has always thought of herself as being open to finding the person who is her love, regardless of gender or whatever, but hasn't actually ever dated anyone other than men and isn't sure she is actually interested in non-men. Until, you know, this book. Jaden has two gay dads who bring her to one of the organizing events of Ruby's. I've forgotten if it was implied, bluntly stated, or what (I think it was bluntly stated), but one of the reasons why the dads brought Jaden along to the event because they thought she might like Ruby. Or something like that. Jaden goes to a different high school than the other three in the book. And lastly is Jo. Jo is the junior (other three are seniors) who has no friends, and has just arrived in town with her single mother.
Solid enough book. Main problem I had was that it was a young adult, young love, first love type book and . . . not something I'm super excited to read normally.
... not sure what else to note or write.
Rating: 3.22
July 2 2022
This one is a multiple point of view book involving two different couples between the ages of 17-18. Juniors & Seniors in high school. Ruby Simon and Chance Curtis have been friends from forever and a day, best buds, high school seniors, never been attracted to each other. Jo Hemsworth is the junior whose mother moved to the small town shortly before the high school year was about to end. Jaden Hugo has two gay dads.
Right, so. Book opens with Ruby wanting to hold a Pride event in the small town. She's in front of the town council. One thing leads to another and she's going to be the organizer for that pride event. The book follows the progress of that as well the progress of the two couplings.
Ruby has been an out and proud lesbian for . . . I forget. But she's the out and proud lesbian of the book. Everyone else are questioning types. Chance has always thought of herself as being open to finding the person who is her love, regardless of gender or whatever, but hasn't actually ever dated anyone other than men and isn't sure she is actually interested in non-men. Until, you know, this book. Jaden has two gay dads who bring her to one of the organizing events of Ruby's. I've forgotten if it was implied, bluntly stated, or what (I think it was bluntly stated), but one of the reasons why the dads brought Jaden along to the event because they thought she might like Ruby. Or something like that. Jaden goes to a different high school than the other three in the book. And lastly is Jo. Jo is the junior (other three are seniors) who has no friends, and has just arrived in town with her single mother.
Solid enough book. Main problem I had was that it was a young adult, young love, first love type book and . . . not something I'm super excited to read normally.
... not sure what else to note or write.
Rating: 3.22
July 2 2022
June 1, 2022
Delightful
What a delightful read! Pride Festival is a YA coming of age novella that is so charming it you’ll read it with a constant smile on your face. Pride Festival is centred around four friends; Ruby, Chance, Jo and Jaden. Ruby is planning a pride Festival helped by Chance and her family. We are then introduced to Jo and Jaden and the 2 love stories begin. It’s fun and witty and it was just a joy to read.
What a delightful read! Pride Festival is a YA coming of age novella that is so charming it you’ll read it with a constant smile on your face. Pride Festival is centred around four friends; Ruby, Chance, Jo and Jaden. Ruby is planning a pride Festival helped by Chance and her family. We are then introduced to Jo and Jaden and the 2 love stories begin. It’s fun and witty and it was just a joy to read.
June 1, 2022
I wish I could give it more stars. I absolutely loved this book. Young adults finding out who they are and falling in love. This covers a wide range of the spectrum for the LGBTQ+ community. I hope a lot of people will read it and that it can help those still struggling to figure things out. I wish I had friends like Ruby, Chance, Jaden & Jo. An amazing group of friends.
June 1, 2022
This is the perfect pride story. I liked how we got 2 different versions of coming out. I loved how the story unfolded and how the author always gives us a nice epilogue!
Definitely a must read for pride!
Definitely a must read for pride!
May 10, 2022
Pride Festival is a YA coming of age novella that, to put quite simply is cute. Maybe its showing my age to say, but I think its great that younger adults have so many LGBTQI+ authors out there these days and are able to read sweet, realistic stories to inspire them, and to help form new ideas about the possibilities that lay ahead for them.
Pride Festival is centred around four friends; Ruby, Chance, Jo and Jaden. Together they plan their small town pride Festival while discovering their individual sexualalities, identities and falling in love. This is a story with no angst, a fully supportive family and community experience, and the encouragement to freely express who these kids are or want to be.
Nicole Pyland has injected her brilliant writing style, realistic dialogue, fun, witty banter between friends and a happy ending. A definite read to leave you with those feel good vibes.
Pride Festival is centred around four friends; Ruby, Chance, Jo and Jaden. Together they plan their small town pride Festival while discovering their individual sexualalities, identities and falling in love. This is a story with no angst, a fully supportive family and community experience, and the encouragement to freely express who these kids are or want to be.
Nicole Pyland has injected her brilliant writing style, realistic dialogue, fun, witty banter between friends and a happy ending. A definite read to leave you with those feel good vibes.
July 27, 2022
The fifth of collection of stand alone books from top authors that were released in June to celebrate Pride. This is the first of the collection that is a new author for me. The story is of four high schoolers; Ruby and Chance are seniors, Jo is new to the school and a junior and Jaden another senior but goes to a private school. Ruby backed by her parents and lifetime best friend Chance wants to put on the towns first Pride festival. After getting the city counsel approval the four spend weekends together getting everything in ready for the festival. Along the way they find their own romances, learn about their own sexuality and identifies. This is very sweet with first crushes, first kisses to more steaminess. I liked the characters and the couples as they paired up. I don’t think this is marketed as a YA but it would be appropriate for high school and up.
June 19, 2022
Great.
I really enjoyed Pride Festival. It sure takes a lot of bravery to initiate and organize a Pride Festival in a small town. Young love is so special.
I really enjoyed Pride Festival. It sure takes a lot of bravery to initiate and organize a Pride Festival in a small town. Young love is so special.
August 12, 2024
My TBR shelves are giving me beautiful stories to read. This is one of them! This is a joyful novella about Ruby, her bestfriend Chance, and then they're joined by Jaden and Jo, to put together a Pride Festival in their small town. They become 2 couples, Ruby and Jaden, and Chance and Jo. Plus self discovery of who they really are.
I wish there had been a book like this when I was 17. 5 stars!!
I wish there had been a book like this when I was 17. 5 stars!!
June 2, 2022
I gushed about this book so often while I was reading. This is an excellent coming of age, young adult, romance story. I loved that the families were supportive of their children so that angst (that I experienced wasn't there). Nicole Pyland is such a consistent author for me - hits all the notes I enjoy reading every time. Pride Festival was right up there.
Ps. The epilogue letter was priceless. I wish I had that when I was a teen.
Ps. The epilogue letter was priceless. I wish I had that when I was a teen.
June 17, 2022
Good book
This book is about young love. Four people trying to figure out what they are in life. They are get everything together to hold the first ever Pride Festival in their home town. You can see how difficult it is the fist time you make love how things can be very intimidating but so fantastic at the same time. A great young adult book of coming out and the different level of spectrum.
This book is about young love. Four people trying to figure out what they are in life. They are get everything together to hold the first ever Pride Festival in their home town. You can see how difficult it is the fist time you make love how things can be very intimidating but so fantastic at the same time. A great young adult book of coming out and the different level of spectrum.
March 15, 2024
This is a cute story which revolves around four girls, who are finding out about love and their sexuality’s while putting together the first pride festival in town.
Their personifies are well describes as they collide into each other becoming fast friends and also two couples as the story goes on.
Their personifies are well describes as they collide into each other becoming fast friends and also two couples as the story goes on.
October 29, 2023
Sweet and adorable with a serious topic of self discovery
August 28, 2025
A lovely shorter story about budding love between two couples of 18-year-old girls who organize a Pride festival together in a small town. As always, Nicole Pyland creates some great characters, and her flowing writing style makes it a good, easy-to-read story. Although I'm really way too old for teenage stories, I really enjoyed how sweet their first experiences with girl-on-girl love and sex were.
June 15, 2022
Enjoyable
This was a quick easy read. Its young adult with all 4 MCs being in high school or about to graduate. It was a good book with it surrounding Ruby, Chance, Jo ND Jaden. Overall I liked it, but not my favorite of this authors books.
This was a quick easy read. Its young adult with all 4 MCs being in high school or about to graduate. It was a good book with it surrounding Ruby, Chance, Jo ND Jaden. Overall I liked it, but not my favorite of this authors books.
June 1, 2022
This was yet another book by Nicole that I wasn't expecting to get an Arc for.
Pride Festival follows a group of high schoolers who work tirelessly to create the first ever pride festival and parade for their small town. Ruby, is a senior and the whole thing is her brain child. She's the only "out" person at school and wants to bring more awareness to her community. Chance is also a senior, Ruby's best friend, and tags along for the ride. As far as anyone knows, Chance is straight-ish. Enter Jaden- a senior in a neighboring town who has two dad's who volunteer her family to help Ruby's quest. Jaden is curious about her sexuality until she meets Ruby- they fall in love pretty quickly but I thought it was nice and cute. Then there's Jo- a non-binary, lesbian who turns Chance's world upside down and shows her that who we fall in love with may not always be who we always pictured.
I really enjoyed Jo and Chance's slow burn love story. Friends to lovers has always been one of my favorites and Nicole did a great job of making it believable. I also liked that the author incorporated a non-binary person. It shows that she's capable of writing many different types of characters, all of which are relatable in some way.
The love stories don't take away from the main plot all that much. I was proud of these strong young characters for managing to pull of a successful event that became an annual thing for their town.
I enjoyed this story very much and can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series because of it. Great job, Nicole!
Pride Festival follows a group of high schoolers who work tirelessly to create the first ever pride festival and parade for their small town. Ruby, is a senior and the whole thing is her brain child. She's the only "out" person at school and wants to bring more awareness to her community. Chance is also a senior, Ruby's best friend, and tags along for the ride. As far as anyone knows, Chance is straight-ish. Enter Jaden- a senior in a neighboring town who has two dad's who volunteer her family to help Ruby's quest. Jaden is curious about her sexuality until she meets Ruby- they fall in love pretty quickly but I thought it was nice and cute. Then there's Jo- a non-binary, lesbian who turns Chance's world upside down and shows her that who we fall in love with may not always be who we always pictured.
I really enjoyed Jo and Chance's slow burn love story. Friends to lovers has always been one of my favorites and Nicole did a great job of making it believable. I also liked that the author incorporated a non-binary person. It shows that she's capable of writing many different types of characters, all of which are relatable in some way.
The love stories don't take away from the main plot all that much. I was proud of these strong young characters for managing to pull of a successful event that became an annual thing for their town.
I enjoyed this story very much and can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series because of it. Great job, Nicole!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2022
This is the 5th book of the I Heart SapphFic Pride collection to be released for PRIDE Month. Each author of the 8 books is donating $ to charity. This is such an amazing community!
This book is about best friends, Ruby and Chance. Ruby is the extrovert and Chance, the introvert, goes along for the ride. Who can't relate to that? LOL They are seniors in high school, but Ruby is determined to have a Pride festival in her small town.
Jaden has 2 dads and live in another town. Her dads volunteer and she's been questioning things about herself. She meets Ruby and is blown away.
Jo's a junior in high school and just moved to town. It's tough being the new kid, especially when you are poor.
This group of 4 become great friends. They all have realistic vulnerabilities.
I love the ferris wheel scene with Jo and Chance!
It's a fast, great read that gives hope to those questioning themselves and know that you are not alone.
Nicole writes steamy scenes very well! Taking the ages and experience of the main characters into consideration, those scenes are incredibly intimate and represent what new love is like.
If you haven't read Nicole Pyland's books before, where have you been? LOL Just kidding. You really should read all of her books! I constantly find myself so invested in the characters.
This book is about best friends, Ruby and Chance. Ruby is the extrovert and Chance, the introvert, goes along for the ride. Who can't relate to that? LOL They are seniors in high school, but Ruby is determined to have a Pride festival in her small town.
Jaden has 2 dads and live in another town. Her dads volunteer and she's been questioning things about herself. She meets Ruby and is blown away.
Jo's a junior in high school and just moved to town. It's tough being the new kid, especially when you are poor.
This group of 4 become great friends. They all have realistic vulnerabilities.
I love the ferris wheel scene with Jo and Chance!
It's a fast, great read that gives hope to those questioning themselves and know that you are not alone.
Nicole writes steamy scenes very well! Taking the ages and experience of the main characters into consideration, those scenes are incredibly intimate and represent what new love is like.
If you haven't read Nicole Pyland's books before, where have you been? LOL Just kidding. You really should read all of her books! I constantly find myself so invested in the characters.
May 25, 2022
In Pride Festival, we meet two characters, Ruby and Chance, who are best friends organizing their town’s first ever pride carnival before they graduate and head off to college. Through the event planning/organization, they eventually meet their partners and fall in love.
I loved the idea of having a town event that pulls and draws in the entire community – something I wished that I had growing up to help clarify the slew of conflicting and confusing thoughts and emotions. I especially loved the storyline between Chance and Jo. The slow burn / friends to lovers love story is what I am here for! The doubts and push and pull from both these characters kept me hooked, and it was so sweet watching their story unfold.
The emotions I felt throughout the story warmed my heart and is a reminder of how first loves can feel amazing and beautiful. Another solid book from one of my favorite authors.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the idea of having a town event that pulls and draws in the entire community – something I wished that I had growing up to help clarify the slew of conflicting and confusing thoughts and emotions. I especially loved the storyline between Chance and Jo. The slow burn / friends to lovers love story is what I am here for! The doubts and push and pull from both these characters kept me hooked, and it was so sweet watching their story unfold.
The emotions I felt throughout the story warmed my heart and is a reminder of how first loves can feel amazing and beautiful. Another solid book from one of my favorite authors.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
June 1, 2022
Pride Festival is kind of this perfect little book. Reading it just makes you happy. You get introduced to Ruby and Chance who are seniors in high school. Jo and Jaden quickly make their presence known right after and you fall into step with the characters’ lives and how they become friends. The chapters alternate from each character’s POV so I feel like you get a chance to know them on an individual basis. It helps you understand exactly where each of them are coming from and what different stages in their lives they’re going through. It’s fun to witness that “moment” when each character realizes they are falling in love. You follow their journey through the end of the high school year, working together to bring the pride festival to life, the festival itself, and then after. I loved the epilogue and the message you’re left with. I highly recommend this book to anyone… It’s a light, heartfelt, cute story you won’t regret reading.
June 9, 2022
Very authentic coming of age!
Ruby, a high school senior, has taken it upon herself to put on the first pride festival for her small town. Of course, her best friend Chance is dragged in to help her. Jaden, is from a nearby town, and has grown up with two dads who adopted her. They all want to help. The fourth person Jo is new to the school and a junior, but Chance befriends her. Ruby and Jaden's relationship heats up fairly quickly while the festival planning comes together while Chance and Jo develop a slow burn friendship first. These four young ladies are delightful and the storytelling from Nicole Pyland is spectacular. With the support of their community, it's a wonderful coming of age story, accepting who you are and who you choose to love. I highly recommend this book for teenagers and young adults who are grappling with their identities and looking for a sense of belonging. Although it's a lighthearted story, its messages are powerful!
Ruby, a high school senior, has taken it upon herself to put on the first pride festival for her small town. Of course, her best friend Chance is dragged in to help her. Jaden, is from a nearby town, and has grown up with two dads who adopted her. They all want to help. The fourth person Jo is new to the school and a junior, but Chance befriends her. Ruby and Jaden's relationship heats up fairly quickly while the festival planning comes together while Chance and Jo develop a slow burn friendship first. These four young ladies are delightful and the storytelling from Nicole Pyland is spectacular. With the support of their community, it's a wonderful coming of age story, accepting who you are and who you choose to love. I highly recommend this book for teenagers and young adults who are grappling with their identities and looking for a sense of belonging. Although it's a lighthearted story, its messages are powerful!
June 5, 2022
Nicole Pyland does it again! She’s written an interesting story with very likable characters that is completely different from any of her other stories. I really appreciate an author who has such a variety of unique plots. This story was set in a small town and involved 4 main characters with diverse identities who were all in high school. The relationships were well developed and the coming out stories were sweet and felt realistic. I did find the 3 day inaugural pride celebration complete with carnival rides and booths to be a bit ambitious for a high school senior to organize. However, I would like to believe a world where that’s possible does exist, even in small towns.
I enjoyed the story and I thought it was a great idea to pull together different authors to put out a Pride Collection with a variety of stories. I look forward to reading the rest of the collection.
I enjoyed the story and I thought it was a great idea to pull together different authors to put out a Pride Collection with a variety of stories. I look forward to reading the rest of the collection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews