Happy Holidays y’all!! Welcome, or welcome back, to the Kissing Books newsletter. I’m PN Hinton, here to share my love of the romance genre with like-minded readers through a myriad of ways.
Y’all, Christmas is one week away, which means that 2024 is two weeks away. My eyes bugged out just writing that, even though I’m ready to see what the new year brings. I have been through a lot over the last 12 months, so it’s been a year. However, I am fairly happy with the person I am turning into, so I am looking towards the new year with mostly optimistic eyes.
I don’t have much to update in terms of reading since I haven’t been doing a lot of that this month. Woe to my planned TBR. However, I am already starting to plan my goals for next year and, as always, will share them once I get them finalized in my head.
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that bookish special someone in your life this holiday season? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! Here at TBR, we pair our customers with a professional book nerd (aka bibliologist) who just gets them. They fill out a survey and then sit back and relax as we pick books just for them. We’ve got three levels — recs-only, paperback, and hardcover — and you can gift a full year or one time, so there are options for every budget! Get all the details at mybtro.com/gift.
Bookish Goods
Deck the Halls T-Shirt by TheDazzleDesignCo
While I love the idea of ugly holiday sweaters, the practicality of them in my home state is less than ideal. So, ugly holiday T-shirts are a nice compromise, and this is perfect for the holiday season. $25
New Releases
Swipe Right in Time for Christmas by C. Elizabeth Ward
While Naomi is content to stay single, all of her friends think it’s time for her to re-enter the dating world and sign her up for a dating app. Javier is the new owner of the lounge where Naomi and her friends have their weekly girls’ night and noticed her right away. From that moment, he has been drawn to her, but her overly cautious nature makes it hard for him to break down her walls. Will he be able to convince her to trust love again and give him a chance?
Knives, Seasoning, & a Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan
Alexander is a grumpy up-and-coming force in the culinary world. Sunshiny Eden, on the other hand, may have over-embellished her skills in order to land a position as his sous chef. As the two work closely together, tempers and other passions begin to simmer and soon spill over.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
For today’s recommendations, I’m going to highlight two of my top reads from this year. One is a Beverly Jenkins, which I’m sure no one is surprised by. The other is a *very* slow-burn M/M romance that I read for a book club and ended up enjoying more than I thought I would. As such, I am eagerly awaiting the second book, which rumor has it will be steamier than the first.
To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins
When a less than moral Pinkerton blackmails their respective families, Raven and Braxton are forced to work together for her — their mission? They pose as a married couple and domestic workers to infiltrate the home of a former Confederate official who is believed to have stolen the Declaration of Independence. Under the guise of matrimony, they quickly give in to their mutual attraction to one another while trying to recover the lost document, neither wanting to fully think about what will happen to their blossoming relationship once the mission is over.
Liar City by Allie Therin
When three people are found murdered at a Seattle marina, empath Reece is called to the scene. Once there, he finds out one of the victims is the author of a strict anti-empathy bill, which means that others like him are in danger of being blamed. Against his better judgment, he must join forces with Grayson, a government agent known in some circles as The Dead Man, to find out who is really behind the murders and stop them before it’s too late. All the while, he has to fight a simmering attraction to the other man, who is someone that he can’t get a read on, even with his empathic powers.
Here are some more Christmas romances if you’re still looking to scratch that itch.
That’s all she wrote for today, friends. Don’t worry though; I’ll be back in your inboxes on Thursday. As always, you can give me a follow over on the bird app under @PScribe801 or Instagram under @pns_bookish_world. Until we meet again, happy reading and stay hydrated.