Sponsored by Kissing Lessons by Sophie Jordan, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Wild, beautiful, and (as rumor has it) experienced, Hayden Vargas doesn’t have time for love or relationships. She’s learned the hard way that the only person you can count on is yourself, and she’s hell-bent on earning enough money to leave her small, judgy Texas town as fast as possible. So when nerdy Emmaline Martin offers to pay Hayden for lessons in seduction, the money is so easy, there must be a catch. Enter the catch: Emmaline’s older brother, popular, all-around nice guy™ Nolan Martin, who doesn’t want his sister’s reputation tarnished by the school’s resident bad girl.
It’s Thursday. It’s still June. I am writing this on Tuesday and have no idea where we’ll be when we reach that day. Black Lives Still Matter. If your Pride isn’t intersectional, then it’s not Pride at all.
There are new books out, so let’s talk about them.
Over on Book Riot
The Lambda Literary Awards were announced! As usual, I haven’t read any of the romance winners. Of course, when I tried to read one of last year’s, I got sucked into a relationship with political and personal interactions that left me needing a shower, and not in a good way. So I’m a bit wary, but I love discovering new queer romances through these categories.
Do you consider yourself a foodie? Cassie pulled together a list of books for you to check out. (It says rom-com, but YMMV with the com part.)
Casey’s lamentation on the words publishers should use regarding LGBTQ+ books is definitely one we share in romance.
I went a little more in-depth about RWA’s announcement regarding The Vivian.
Do you have an ereader that you need to recycle?
Trisha and I got the chance to chat with Tosca Musk, cofounder of PassionFlix.
This list isn’t limited to romance, but we’re always happy to find queer books with happy endings, whatever they may turn out to be.
Deals
If you’ve already managed to read Single AF and the other Social Experiments books by Sherelle Green, might I direct you towards Blessed By Malakai? It starts out with an awful invasion of privacy, but Sherelle Green, in her usual way, takes a vaguely ridiculous plot and inserts humor and depth into it, as well as a fiery relationship. The first in the series is 3.99, and the others range from 2.99 to 4.99. So it’s a pretty good deal if you just want to dive into someone else’s lives and stay there for a while.
New Books
I haven’t had the chance to read nearly as much as I’d like to have, thanks to several hours lost to doomscrolling and general anxiety and dread, but I was able to dedicate some time to a book that’s out this week.
Conventionally Yours
Annabeth Albert
Early in the COVID quarantine period, I wrote about only being able to read geeky convention books. These were mostly YA, but a few adult romances made it in. I’d been holding off on reading Conventionally Yours until closer to the release date, which was perfect for a weekend of earthbound escapism.
This New Adult romance features two young men who rely heavily on their regular Odyssey game play for their own reasons. They’re also considered “big name fans,” being the focus on a YouTube channel called Gamer Grandpa (coordinated by an older gay professor who has pulled together a lovely group of misfits to play the game). When they’re all invited to Massive Odyssey Con West in Las Vegas, they’re all pretty excited. Except for one thing: Alden doesn’t fly, ever. And Conrad doesn’t have the funds to blow on a cross-country flight. When the professor offers his boat of a car for a road trip, neither can say no, regardless of how much they dread spending so much time with each other. Their rivalry is the reason people watch the show, after all, and it is very much not an act.
I don’t read many m/m books by female authors anymore, especially if they’re not queer themselves (Annabeth is, but many others are not). I’m glad I had the chance to sit down with this one, even as I keep an eye on the horizon for the smattering of m/m and m/nb books by queer male authors coming out in the rest of 2020.
CW: bad family relationship related to sexuality; a person falling down stairs (off page) and having to be hospitalized; asthma; depiction of financial insecurity; social anxiety; general anxiety disorder
Other books came out this week, too.
The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole (The audiobook, an Audible Original, released quite a while ago, but if you’ve been waiting for the ebook, here tis! Also, I have no idea if it will ever come out in print but one can hope.)
Basketball & Ballet by Suzette D. Harrison
Marrying His Runaway Heiress by Therese Beharrie
The Best Man Plans by Jaci Burton
Let Go My Gargoyle by Tami Lund (I know absolutely nothing about it but I have never heard of a gargoyle romance before)
Scandalous Engagement by Jules Bennett
A Dark and Stormy Knight by Kerrigan Byrne
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!