Sponsored by Wattpad Books, publisher of The QB Bad Boy and Me by Tay Marley
Everything changed the day Drayton Lahey crashed into Dallas’s life… Dallas Bryan is a no-nonsense cheerleader who has her sights set on a dance scholarship to CalArts. Drayton Lahey is the bad-boy quarterback from football royalty who’s completely wrong for her—at least, that’s what she tells herself. The longer Dallas tells herself she doesn’t need Dray, the quicker she realizes it might be time to forget what she needs and go after what she wants.
Thursday brings all kinds of things. But first, let’s talk about what’s happening over on Book Riot proper.
Over on Book Riot
Kelly has some thoughts about illustrated covers. While I can see where she’s coming from, I think they’re incredibly useful, even if they do indicate a different price point than your average mass market paperback. Think of a cover like Get a Life, Chloe Brown, and how perfectly that depicts the couple, based on what might be available in stock. (Though I now hold all books with “non-traditional” pairings to the Can’t Escape Love standard as far as book covers go.) I don’t think I fully support her thesis of these new covers being essentially born out of sexism and infantilization of women, though. It’s just one of many ways to market to the American puritanicalist society that remains uncomfortable with clinch covers, clothed or not. They did it in the nineties, too, like when they reprinted Jude Deveraux’s The Velvet Promise and the rest of her Montgomerys.
OOOH! Sea creatures!
Do you follow non-romance awards? If you do, you might have seen that the Hugo Awards were this past weekend. If you saw that, you know that Archive of Our Own, the largest and most popular fanfiction site, is now an official Hugo Award winner. So when you’re over there reading your favorite Ben/Maddie/Ryn fics, you’re reading award winning fiction.
Do you use Goodreads? Here are some great hacks to using it better.
Deals
You know how I was all over Christina C. Jones last time? Maybe you want another title to check out. Right Kind of Trouble is older, but still has that same feeling that I Think I Might Love You gave out. Also, it’s 99 cents, which is less than a lot of the other 30 books in her repertoire (30!) so you can drop the dollar on the first and then spend a lot more on the rest (lolsob).
Book Recs
I have to tell you: I haven’t finished a book in ages. And for some reason, all the books are coming out next week.
If you’re looking to offer up some preorder money that will definitely give as it gets, here are a couple of titles to look for ahead of time:
Man vs. Durian by Jackie Lau
The third full novel in her Baldwin Village series, we once again return to the hungry world of Jackie Lau’s Toronto. Jackie is great at food and fake relationships, and this one gives us both. For anyone who isn’t fond of the smell of durian, this one’s for you. And for anyone who will do just about anything to keep their parents off their backs, this one is also for you.
Tiny House, Big Love by Olivia Dade
The follow-up to Desire and the Deep Blue Sea takes us from island vacations to choosing a tiny house on the fictional equivalent of HGTV. Lucy needs her BFF to help her pick out a tiny house on a reality show, but the crew is particularly interested in getting them together. Which Sebastián wouldn’t mind, since he’s totally in love with her.
(Here’s a fun fact: this one isn’t out on kindle until the 29th, but you can get it immediately in paperback!)
Flashed by Zoey Castile
In the third of Zoey Castile’s Happy Endings series, Pat Halloran, once a stripper, is now a recluse. The only person allowed into his house is his housekeeper, Lena, who he doesn’t allow to see his face. Yes, you are correct that this is very reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, down to him frightening her into the forest at some point. I’ve been waiting to read this one, but I might have to just…go ahead and do that now.
Of course, if you haven’t yet tried out Three Part Harmony, it came out earlier this week. I will continue to sing its praises for the time being, until Holley Trent comes out with a next one, of course.
What are your reading plans this weekend?
As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!