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Kissing Books

Cloaked in Stars and Sorcery

Hoo man, y’all. I hope everyone reading is safe and at your usual level of health today, and if you’re not, that you’re in a situation where that can change for the better. The world has changed a lot since last week, huh?

Let’s make our social distancing the best it can be with some romance.

News and Useful Links

Unsurprisingly, BookLovers Con and Researching the Romance Conference, two romance-specific gatherings happening this spring, have been cancelled. I haven’t heard anything yet about Avon’s Kiss Con Weekend Affair in Chicago, which is set for mid-April, and from what I’ve heard, Girl Have You Met will still be happening unless St. Louis or Missouri limit gathering numbers. The Ripped Bodice also announced late yesterday that they were closing the store to foot traffic starting today, but would be paying their staff and still taking online orders. If you’re curious about other book news and events surrounding efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, Publishers Weekly has been keeping a running list.

Chuck Tingle (Bless) has released two books that are available on his website as PDFs, requesting that the $3 you’d usually spend on his books be donated to some recommended health services.

The Lambda Literary Award Finalists were announced last week, and I have only read one of the sixteen titles in the Gay and Lesbian Romance categories. (Surprise, it was Once Ghosted, Twice Shy. Of course.) (Also, there needs to be at least one more romance category covering everything that isn’t those two parts of the spectrum, but that’s another story).

If you follow Alisha Rai on Twitter, you might have been privy to her tweet about Cake Pop Guy. This is what happened afterwards.

Romance Sparks Joy did their thing per usual.

And for those of you who might be grasping for things to focus on during self-isolation or social distancing:

(Also, if you know of other romance authors who are offering free isolation reads, let me know!)

Deals

It’s been a while since I’ve read Victoria Dahl. I was happy to see that Looking For Trouble, the first book in her Girls Night Out series, is available for 2.99 right now. There are three books in the series and they’re loosely connected to the Jackson Hole and Donovan Family series. (And you might recognize some of the library folks if you’ve read Taking the Heat, which is one of my favorites of hers). Looking for Trouble, though, introduces us to the Jackson Hole library and Sophie, who has a run-in with the son of the woman her father left her family for. So yeah, there’s that. Get ready for a lot of sniping and sexytimes, because Dahl is nothing if not known for her sexytimes.

Recs!

I thought it might be a good idea to just…completely escape from what we’re all dealing with right now. So let’s talk about a few books that exist in worlds that are nothing like our own. There’s always Polaris Rising and A Heart of Blood and Ashes, both of which could keep you busy for extensive lengths of time, but what do you do after that? The lovers in these books might be dealing with some of our same real-life shit, but at least it’s cloaked in stars and sorcery.

cover of the fifth gender by gl (gail) carrigerThe 5th Gender
Gail Carriger

Tristol is a lavender, humanoid being whose hair has a mind of its own. He lives on a space station, in exile from his people. When a ship belonging to his race arrives at the space station in search of the human detective Tristol has a monster crush on, he must help bridge the gap in understanding between the two very different types of people. And also, he doesn’t mind helping Detective Hastion at all.

cover of erstwhile by HE trentErstwhile
HE Trent

While many alien romances seem to stem from the concept of being taken captive by an alien race, Erstwhile and the Jekh Saga begins with a young woman in search of answers about an ancestor who meets a pair of lovers who are also fugitives from the ruling race. (Also, it’s Terrans who are the colonists here, and they act just like we know Earth-born colonists to act. So consider that a bit of a content warning.)

a curved dagger with a white hilt and jeweled base, set against a red-tinged backdropEmpire of Sand
Tasha Suri

This is technically not a romance; instead it’s a fantasy with strong romantic elements. But I know the romance was very strong and a bunch of my romance-loving reviewer friends have loved the crap out of it. Inspired by Mughal India, this book features a young woman who has inherited magic from her mother, which has led to some interest from the big bad.

What is your favorite method of escaping the real-life issues that can sometimes crop up in contemporary romance?

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at wheninromance@bookriot.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!