Hey y’all, welcome to the Kissing Books newsletter. I hope your spirit is doing well. I’m PN Hinton, your guide through the roller coaster of a ride that the world of romance can be. If it is your first time here, welcome and if you’re a regular reader welcome back.
This last weekend I went to see the 1961 version of West Side Story accompanied live by the local symphony and I loved it. I always forget how much I enjoy the symphony, then I always ask myself why I don’t do it more often. In the past money was a factor but that’s not really the case now. People, sure, but the venue had strict mask mandates so that was nice. So, it’s highly likely I will do this more often than I have been, if for no other reason than rewarding myself for being an adult on a regular basis.
Romance Reflection
So I came across this tweet scrolling through my Twitter feed the other day and it somewhat shocked me that some people still think that Fabio is what makes a romance novel cover a ‘real’ one. This is a sort of naïve mindset especially since, as was pointed out in this Book Riot article, he stopped modeling between 1991 and 1998.
Now, I started reading romances when Fabio was essentially the cover model for most and while younger me dealt with the teasing and may have been a bit ashamed, middle-age me has no flips left to give with regards to that. If you want to read romance, read romance, bare-chested Fabio or otherwise. If it brings you joy and happiness, who cares what others think?
And this is in no way meant to disparage the man. He found himself a niche and made it work for him for a very long time. I respect the hustle on that and give all the props to him for making it work as long as he did. But again I couldn’t even tell you the last cover I saw him on. Whatever the reason, he hasn’t sat at this particular table for a very long time so it was really odd that this was even a reference.
Book Riot Romance
As a fan of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed Rioter Megan’s breakdown of The Love Hypothesis.
Around the Web in Romance
For your consideration, here are some more books where roommates fall in love.
Here is a round-up of some of the best romances that came out in February.
Recommendations
I love watching the symphony perform and it’s really not just about the music. I’ve mentioned before that I played the viola when I was younger and I was fortunate enough to have the same teacher all seven years of middle and high school. Since I had the same teacher, I heard a lot of the same instructions over and over again. One of the things I remember her saying is to make sure that we were careful about our bow movements because, while we couldn’t see it, from the audience it was beautiful.
And she was right. There were so many moments during the performance where I would be entranced by all the bows in the string section moving in the same way. It was like a wave and it just added to the experience. I loved it. I’m not sure she reads this but I just wanted to say, Mrs. Nero, you were right. I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you.
Yes, my music teacher’s name was Nero, or it was when I first met her since she later got married. She also played the violin. One of life’s little ironies.
I’m still on a cloud of classical music, even a week later. As such, my recommendations this week are about people who play instruments, more so in the classical vein.
Private Melody by AlTonya Washington
Kiani is a former child prodigy but the pianist is struggling to make a name for herself in the somewhat closed off classical musical world. Music is her life until she meets the charismatic Therin who is entranced by her talent and beauty. He becomes determined to prove to her that she can have music and love at the same time and she doesn’t have to choose.
Listen by Kris Bryant
Child prodigy Lily has left the classical musical world and her day is now filled with crunching numbers. When her boss sends her to a temporary assignment, she moves from working from home to an office where one day she hears strains of music coming from a nearby business while commuting by train. She is drawn to The Leading Note and its proprietor Hope and begins to fall for her, which also forces her to reconcile with her past to have a chance at future love.
Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
Marcus has promised to watch over his best friend Daniel’s sister, Honoria, while the latter lives out his exile in the country. However, Marcus’s work proves to be more taxing than he expected when Honoria tells him she is determined to get married that season, because he is beginning to look at Honoria through different eyes. Fans of the Bridgerton books will remember the Smythe-Smith family and their concerts and while they may not be great musicians, they’re still musicians.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
And that’s all I have for you today. I hope that this upcoming weekend proves restful and relaxing for y’all and as always full of reading. I’ll be back Monday with more romance round-ups and new releases. If you’re not already following me there, I can be found on Twitter under @PScribe801. Until next week!