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In The Club

💗 Meet Cutes in the Club 💗

Valentine’s Day will be here in a couple weeks, and if your book club likes to do seasonal reads, it means y’all are probably ready to get into some romance.

After you catch up on a little book-banning news (Kansas legislators are trying to ban book bans!) and the latest book world tea 🍵 (what is going on with the Hugos??), I’ve got fake dating at weddings, fated romance, a love spanning centuries, and more.

But first, a little snacky snack.

Nibbles and Sips

beignets on a red plate

Nutella-Stuffed Beignets by Sara @ TheFrayedApron

Y’all. I stumbled upon some “chocolate hazelnut” (Nutella, basically) beignets at Whole Foods, and they had me trembling for a whole week. The cheat code was spraying them with a little cooking spray and putting them in the air fryer for five minutes. Oowee.

So here I am trying to find another, more cost-effective way to get my Nutella-filled beignets. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey. You’ll need:

Donut stuff: yeast, sugar, flour, egg, salt, half-and-half, coconut oil

Nutella (obvs)

Powdered sugar and cinnamon (if you want)

Full list and instructions on The Frayed Apron.


cover of Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

When theater teacher and hopeful playwright Meghna Raman’s writing partner and secret crush Seth becomes engaged, he asks her to be his best man. And she agrees! In an effort to move on (while still planning some of Seth’s wedding activities), she agrees to be set up by her parents and meets the grumpy engineer Karthik Murthy. He agrees to stage a fake engagement with Meghna to keep both their parents at bay but doesn’t bargain for the vibrancy that Meghna brings into his life.

cover of Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

Fate and love collide in this rom-com based on the Chinese legend that says that everyone is tied to their true love by a red string. Artist Rooney Gao believes this legend so strongly that she’s even incorporated red string into her artwork. But once she starts experiencing artist’s block, she starts questioning everything. A perfect date with a new guy in her life, Jack Liu, reinvigorates her, and she thinks she’s found her one true love. Thing is, Jack isn’t a believer, and she’s not even sure they’ll see each other after their magical date.

cover of The Emperor and the Endless Palace 
 by Justinian Huang

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (March 26)

In 4 BCE, a courtier is made to seduce a young emperor, which sets off a love story that echoes through centuries. Years later, in 1740, an innkeeper helps a mysterious visitor, and finally, in modern-day L.A., a college student is coaxed out of the closet by an enigmatic artist. Across these lives is a love that is reborn, relived, and timeless.

cover of Funny Story by Emily Henry

Funny Story by Emily Henry (April 23)

Emily Henry’s joints are always popular, and I understand why. She takes common romance tropes and puts her own little spin on them. On top of that, her characters’ often undergo some meaningful growth. With Funny Story, we’ve been gifted an opposites-attract, fake-dating story that starts off a bit messy. Daphne’s fiancé Peter leaves her for Petra, and Petra leaves her fiancé Miles for Peter. Then, these two Messy Melindas invite both their exes to their wedding. So, naturally, Daphne and Miles decide to fake date and attend the wedding. But practical children’s librarian Daphne may find more than she bargained for in the chaotic Miles.

Extra mention: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Feb. 6) (I didn’t want to leave this one out in a discussion about new romance books, but also didn’t want to do another feature since I mentioned it recently. As a quick reminder, it’s: Harlem Renaissance + Romance + a Lil Razzle Dazzle!)

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

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I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica