Sponsored by Now That I've Found You by Kristina Forest, with Fierce Reads.
“Tons of fun to read.” —HelloGiggles. “A pitch-perfect rom-com.” —Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know. Eighteen-year-old Evie Jones is poised to be Hollywood’s next big star until a close friend’s betrayal leads to her being blacklisted . . . Fortunately, Evie knows just how to save her career: an appearance with America’s most beloved actress—her grandma Gigi. The only problem? Gigi’s disappeared. With time running out and her comeback on the line, Evie enlists the help of the last person to see Gigi before she vanished: Milo Williams, a cute musician Evie isn’t sure she can trust.
The weeks go by, time moves on, and commercials for some kind of Zoom sitcom air during Sunday Sportsball. I guess this is our true new normal?
Let’s talk romance novels!
News and Useful Links
You know that Ripped Bodice shirt I mentioned last week? They have masks now!
I’m still not sure we need another Persuasion adaptation, especially if they’re not doing anything new with it. (I might still be holding onto a now-deleted dream casting of Ruth Negga and Idris Elba as Anne/Wentworth and if you’re not going to give me that, don’t give me anything…as much as I love Shiv Roy.)
Have you felt like it’s time to break that glass for your emergency read? Join #rainydaytbr for a quiet reading party.
If competence porn is your thing, this thread is magical.
Finally: there was an interesting mishap last week involving a book called The German Officer’s Girl with a certain insignia flapping on the cover. None of us wanted to have the “No more Nazi romance” conversation again, but we did. And according to the publishers, the cover art is misleading, as the protagonists are a resistance fighter and a British officer. So like, in the future, just a recommendation for anyone writing WWII resistance romance: don’t put German officers and swastikas on the cover of your WWII resistance romance? And if you’re working with a publisher and they put Nazis and swastikas on the cover of your WWII resistance romance? Change publishers.
Deals
It’s fall! I’m so excited for autumn, even though I don’t live in a place with changing leaves anymore (sadness). The cover I always think of when I think of Fall is Changing Colors by Elyse Springer, the fourth and final book in her Seasons of Love series (YES I KNOW). It can stand alone, but the other two I’ve read, Thaw and Heat Wave, are both delightful and similarly inexpensive at 2.99 each. (I have heard that Whiteout, the first, is pretty spectacular, but I was not into the type of deception at the center of the story. Total case of Your Squick Is Not My Squick, so check it out!)
Recs!
You’ll be happy to know I finished The Roommate and it was utterly delightful. Very much #romancesowhite, but you know.
As I mentioned, I’m excited about fall. Sure, here in the A-to-the-Z that just means fewer 100-degree days, but the feeling is there. The merchandise. The leggings. The scents. The food I can’t eat. The warm fireplaces and the hot chocolate. …Okay, that’s not for a couple of months. But still. The warm fuzzies are coming, and I’ve got a few books that will work perfectly for that feeling.
Her Halloween Treat
Tiffany Reisz
The only category romances I’ve read by Tiffany Reisz (maybe the only ones she’s written?) are all holiday books. She’s got one for Halloween, one for Thanksgiving, and one set during the December holidays. But Her Halloween Treat is my favorite of the three. Joey has had quite the shock—turns out she’s the woman on the side, say what? So she takes refuge at the family cabin, which is remote enough, except for visits from a family friend. A hot family friend. A hot carpenter family friend. And there’s no weirdness about him being her brother’s best friend or them having lots of rebound sex. It’s a lovely story that doesn’t quite get as raunchy as the books she’s more known for. But it’s got her quality storytelling and that’s all that matters.
sugar butter flour love
Nicole Falls
I love that Nicole Falls has found her place in the land of the novella. This one is about former home ec partners who…don’t get along. But they are corralled into participating in a holiday cooking competition and have to figure out how to work together again. Much like the rest of her holiday-connected stories, this one is fun and funny with a nice dose of sexy and a heavy heaping of title-related competence.
What about you? Do you go for a specific feeling in the fall? Fall books specifically?
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!