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Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across �ʹڲ�����ַ. This week, the staff from Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends a coming-out memoir, a romance and a story built around a hungry orchid.

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From the publisher: Shaun David Hutchinson was 19. Confused. Struggling to find the vocabulary to understand and accept who he was and how he fit into a community in which he couldn’t see himself. The voice of depression told him that he would never be loved or wanted, while powerful and hurtful messages from society told him that being gay meant love and happiness weren’t for him. A million moments large and small over the years all came together to convince Shaun that he couldn’t keep going, that he had no future. And so he followed through on trying to make that a reality. Thankfully Shaun survived, and over time, came to embrace how grateful he is and how to find self-acceptance.

From Sterling, bookseller: Sean David Hutchinson’s achingly honest memoir is a punch in the gut and the hand to help you up, wrapped in one devastating book. A love letter for a set of people who have felt unable to see a place for themselves in the world and their communities. You matter.

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From the publisher: After losing her job and her fiancé and moving back from the city to live with her parents, Shell Pine needs some help. And according to the sign in the window, the florist shop in the mall does, too. Shell gets the gig, and the flowers she works with there are just the thing she needs to cheer up. Or maybe it’s Neve, the beautiful shop manager, who is making her days so rosy?

But you have to get your hands dirty if you want your garden to grow — and Neve’s secrets are as dark and dangerous as they come. In the back room of the flower shop, a young sentient orchid actually runs the show, and he is hungry . . . and he has a plan for them all.

When the choices are to either bury yourself in the warmth of someone else’s fertile soil, or face the cold and disappointing world outside — which would you choose? And what if putting down roots came at a cost far higher than just your freedom? This is a story about desire, dreams, decay — and working retail at the end of the world.

From Revati, manager: This book confirmed my suspicions that plants are creepy and alive in a chilling way! It’s weird with the nostalgia of a crumbling mall that sets the perfect scene. I wouldn’t say it’s romance but there are flirty relationships. I listened to the audiobook, which was excellent.

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From the publisher: When her boyfriend of seven years suddenly breaks up with her, relationship advice columnist Gemma Cho is convinced that real love doesn’t exist. As a bisexual woman who’s had zero luck with both men and women, she’s ready to give up on her own romantic prospects. That is, until she’s paired up with world-renowned photographer Celeste Min on a potentially career-saving piece on modern love.

Heightened by the unmistakable sparks that still fly between them, Gemma and Celeste struggle to keep their relationship strictly professional. For the sake of her career, Gemma needs this piece to do well. And for the sake of what’s left of her beaten up hopeless romantic heart, she wants to fall head over heels for Celeste again.

But can she trust Celeste to feel the same this time around?

From Teresa, bookkeeper: Determined to put personal feelings aside, both women decided to clear the air about this past relationship and focus on the job that could really catapult them to the next level professionally. But as the saying goes, you make plans and God laughs … sparks fly and pretty soon both Gemma and Celeste are struggling with how to proceed with their relationship.

Type of Story: Review

An assessment or critique of a service, product, or creative endeavor such as art, literature or a performance.