Welcome, or welcome back, to the Kissing Books newsletter. I’m PN Hinton, your guide to all things romance-related. Thanks for taking time from your day to give this a read! I hope this newsletter helps to brighten up your day just a little bit more.
The second half of Bridgerton’s third season was released and to say it was divisive would be a massive understatement. I haven’t watched it yet, because I don’t have a Netflix account. And, honestly, I’m never been a fan of Penelope and Colin’s story. However, thanks to TikTok snippets, I have a good idea about most of the changes and can see the concerns from all sides.
That said, I’m also willing to see how it plays out, because Francesa’s story is one of my favorites out of the entire series. After all, while I was not a fan of how they pitted Edwina and Kate against one another for Anthony’s affection in season two, and, while nothing will change my mind on that, I still enjoyed it for what it was.
Bookish Goods
Bridgerton Bookmarks by AKStationeryBoutique
With what is going on in the Romancelandia sphere across all the various social medias, it seemed fitting to share these Bridgerton bookmarks as today’s goodie. You can choose from five different styles and they are just $6
New Releases
Before I get into today’s new releases, I need to apologize about a mistake I made. In the last newsletter send, I said the Ashley Poston’s latest, A Novel Love Story came out this week. It actually won’t be released until next Tuesday. Super sorry for that; I was just excited for the book!
Match Game by Brittany Arreguin
Lydia spends her days working hard as the Director of Esports Gaming at her alma mater and her nights winding down with online gaming. One night, when her usual partner co-op partner is unavailable, she takes a chance on stranger PianoPuck18 and makes a surprising connection. She wants more, but her new gaming buddy is hesitant. Then she discovers he’s Griffin, a professional hockey player for the San Jose Stingrays. He keeps people at a distance, not wanting anyone to be negatively affected by his fame. Determined to prove she can handle it, Lydia proposes fake dating. When real feelings begin to develop between them, they’re left questioning if they want to make this fake relationship a reality.
The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
After having too many beers at a baseball game, Daphne heckles Chris, one of the players, to the point of tears. Later, sober and embarrassed by her behavior, she reaches out on social media as “Duckie”, leaving out who she is. Having gone through a rough couple of months, Chris is happy to find some kindness in the online messages. But when Daphne starts working with the team in real life, their feelings deepen both on and off-line. Soon, she is left struggling with how to reveal the entire truth to him while still having a chance to hit a home run with him and love.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
With the world being what it is, I figured it was a good time for some light and fluffy romances. And while one may not think that those words go hand in hand with a monster romance, the overlap in that Venn diagram is actually fairly wide. Enjoy!
I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend by Jessica Cage
Rayna is successful in every aspect of her life except love. After another disastrous first date, she gets drunk and, as a joke, uses a spell from one of her favorite fantasy books to summon a boyfriend. To her surprise, the spell is a real one that summons the moody demon Metice. The spell also had the added effect of binding the two. In order to sever the bond, the two must put aside initial misgivings and work together. However, the closer they get to said goal, the more they begin to question if it is what they truly want.
Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett
The first time that Atlas and Tegan meet, the shifter helps the cake decorator avoid a pastry-related disaster. Deciding she needs to work on her cake-lifting skills, Tegan signs up for membership at Atlas’s gym, Leviathan Fitness. Shortly after doing so, Tegan finds herself trying to balance her career, new personal goals, and the undeniable attraction between the two of them. Is there hope for the two, or will the differences in their species prove too much?
Personally, I found this article about *the* change in Francesca’s story interesting and it gave me a lot of food for thought.
Pick a dessert and get your soulmate’s Zodiac sign. Mine ended up being accurate!
And that’s all she wrote for today. If you’re ever interested in what I do between the sends, you can always give me a follow over on Instagram under @pns_bookish_world. Until then, happy reading and stay hydrated!