Categories
Kissing Books

A Whole New (Supernatural) World

Greetings fellow romance lovers. It is I, PN Hinton, your guide into the world of romance. If you’re new to the newsletter, welcome and enjoy your stay. If you’re a long-time reader, welcome back; it’s good to see you again. 

We’re on the second to last day in April before May and the pre-summer shenanigans start. Present me is writing with the optimistic hope that future me (meaning the me on the day when this newsletter comes out) is feeling fine since I’m due for my second dose on Wednesday. I’m both excited and nervous. I’m excited because I will feel better about going out and about once it’s done, but I’m nervous about possible side effects.

Still, it’s better than getting COVID-19. 

Last weekend I made it out to my local bookstore for Independent Bookstore Day with two of my book club buddies and had a blast. I’m proud that I didn’t break my bank too much and only got two books. Surprisingly enough, both were outside the romance genre. A lot of that has to do with knowing the size of my TBR pile already and not wanting to add too much to it. There is also the fact that I do try to be mindful of money; while I would love to go all out in a bookstore, I lack both the funds and space to go full on crazy. Another part is that, while romance is my go-to, I also really enjoy other genres, with the exception of nonfiction or true crime. 

That said, the next book up for us is I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, and I am not dreading it. So yay for reading outside my comfort zone. 

Around the Web in Romance

If you’re looking to dive into Tracy Wolff, Aurora’s got just the pathway for you.

Miss Oprah came out with a list of some of her most anticipated romances heading our way this year. I will say this is a nice mixture of genres and authors, so good on them for being diverse. Luckily for me, a good number of these were ones I’ve already read or are presently on my TBR, so I didn’t add too much more.

Pour yourself a glass of wine and play this game put together by the wonderful librarians of the White Oak Library District. I may or may not have played a handful of times to get a variety of happily ever afters…Also, I love that these select your own outcome stories seem to be making a comeback, and they’re making them for adults.

Read on to find out why Sariah Wilson enjoys writing ‘sweet’ (meaning sex off the pages) romances. Personally, I really don’t mind these types of romances at all; I just like to know what flavor I’m getting into.

Recommendations

I talked on Monday about the upcoming erotic short featuring the Headless Horseman, which got me to thinking about other supernatural romances. Not necessarily dark or monster ones, but ones where the world either is completely in or co-exists with the paranormal. Now, I know the go-to for paranormal romances (or PNR) are vampires and shifters. But there are a plethora of other supernatural hotties out there if you’re looking for a little bit of variety in your reading world. Here are some of my recommendations for those if you’re looking to branch out.

Genie Knows Best by Judi Fennell

This is a light-hearted fluffy romance in where Samantha finds herself the new owner of Kal, a genie. He is surprised and pleased to have a female master and starts their relationship intent on seducing his way into freedom. I know it seems like it may be darker with that premise and there is a ‘lying by omission’ factor. But I remember it being cute and enjoyable when I read it, so it may be a good mental break. Also, it’s nice to read about a male genie for once. This is a series, but I don’t remember there being a connection, apart from the genie factor.

Phantom Pleasures by Julie Leto

Hotel developer Alexa gets her hands on a prime piece of property perfect for her next luxury resort. The reason that it came so easily to her? It’s rumored to be haunted by ghosts and dark magic. She doesn’t believe this until she accidentally releases Damon, who has been trapped in his portrait. His joy at being released is short-lived when he finds he is still confined to the castle and by the dark magic that originally trapped him. Will they be able to break the curse or will they end up being the other’s undoing?  This is another series, so if you enjoy reading about this sexy ghost, he has brothers that may also strike your fancy.

Tall, Dark, and Deadly by Kharma Kelley

Dhampir Chloe is a vampire who, due to her crimes when she was running with a group of vampires, is now working off her debt to the Bureau. Her boss is the sexy, no-nonsense Ethan who senses potential in her even as he tries to fight his attraction to her. When her old gang gets their hands on a mysterious box, they must work in close quarters to stop whatever Armageddon they may be trying to release. And, okay, so, yes there is a vampire in this novel but she’s not the only supernatural creature present. I’m listing this here for Ethan and what he is. I won’t spoil that ending though since that’s part of the surprise.


And that’s all for now. I hope y’all have a great weekend and start May off right. If you want to hear a little bit more from before Monday, give me a follow at @Pscribe801 at Twitter. Until next time.

Categories
Kissing Books

Sometimes Fading Away Is Okay

Welcome to the last week of April. We made it through another month. This makes me especially happy because it means that we’re almost to the end of the school year. With the exception of last year, I think this is one of the first years that most parents are equally as excited as the kids for the end of May to come.

Or at least this parent is. 

All kidding aside, I’m proud of my kiddo and how well he handled this last school year. It certainly was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. It did not go the way anyone was planning on but he made it. And so did a lot of other kids all over the world. In fact, we should all be proud of the younger generation. They’ve handled this unprecedented time well considering their age. Even if some don’t understand the severity of the situation, they still did a good job. And, hopefully, this year will be a good example of what we need to implement in our educational system and what can get thrown out. 

My vote for first up at the chopping block? Mandatory standardized state testing. It’s bullshit. It doesn’t teach the kids anything. And it only serves to stress them, the teachers, and their parents out. It can go the way of the dodo.

Romance Tidbits

Apparently #copypastecris is back and suing Twitter. The request is to take down the tweets and accounts that talked about her alleged plagiarism. Which is an interesting stance to take…I guess. I mean, if I was at the center of a plagiarism scandal, I would keep my head down and not call any more attention to myself. My advice would be to go the way of the force behind #cockygate and just fade away. I mean, I’m sure she’s still out there writing stuff; she’s just not as in the public face as she was a couple of years ago when she came out with her court case.

There is a MMF Headless Horseman erotic horror novella that is going be released soon. And there’s a string of words that I never thought would be put together before, although if Ichabod looks like Tom Mison then I would at the very least be intrigued. This does fall under the umbrella of monster romance, which is actually a genre of romance that I’ve haven’t dipped my toe into yet. Which isn’t to say I won’t ever. But I’ve always found the overlap of horror and/or romance and erotica to be very interesting, because there is a connection and it’s something I may research a little bit later.

We could chalk it up to how often the people in horror movies hook up during the murdering shenanigans but, I’ll be honest, I’ve never gotten that. The only time it made sense to me was in Cabin Fever because that was a situation where once you got the illness you were gone. There was no hope for you at all. So, yeah, I would totally go out on an orgasmic high. But with a serial killer chasing us? Naw, we’re gonna wait if we have a fighting chance. I promise I’ll rock your world if we make it out, but I’m not pausing for sexy times when a goalie with a machete is after us.

From Book Riot and Around the Web

Speaking about things that both excite and frighten, check out this list of erotic horror titles from the Book Riot Vault.

Enough with the bad sex awards because we know we have that in spades, especially outside the romance genre. Time to boost up those remarkably great sex scenes!

Here are some of the highly anticipated LGBTQ YA romances headed our way soon.

Here are some more awesome romances to pick up as recommended by Eloisa James.

New Release and Deals

Here are some of the new releases hitting the shelves this week.

An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley

A Wicked Bargain for the Duke by Meg Frampton

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (mass market re-release)

Wild Dreams by Mari Carr

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper* 

Up in Smoke by Annabeth Albert

It Takes a Thief by Sloane Steele

*I read this one and found it delightful because it was the first time I had read about two grumps in the same relationship. I also felt it was a good representation of someone with anxiety, and how their loved ones accommodate them in it. 

As for deals, Destiny’s Embrace and Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins is $1.99; not sure if I mentioned this before but it always bears to repeat anything about Ms. Bev. I am also not sure why the bookends in the trilogy are the ones on sale but a deal is still a deal right? She’s the One by Sandra Kitt is also $1.99. A Change of Heart by Sonali Devis currently $2.99. And you can pick up Spice and Smoke by Suleikha Snyder for free. 


And that’s it for now. As always, you can follow me on Twitter under @Pscribe801. Until we meet again.

Categories
Kissing Books

Love Through Letter Writing

Greetings fellow romance lovers. It is I, PN Hinton, your guide into the world of romance. If you’re new to the newsletter, welcome and enjoy your stay. If you’re a long-time reader, welcome back; it’s good to see you again. 

I hope that your weekend and week so far has been amazing. I did get to meet my book club in person on Saturday, which was my highlight. We’re a small enough group to where it wasn’t too huge of a concern and I’m slated for my second dose next week. So, we all decided we needed the mental boost of seeing each other in person.

The one gray spot that day was that right before I left for the meetup on Saturday, I got a notice that my package containing Jesse of Bowties and Books‘ TBR cards weren’t able to be delivered. I took this to mean that my office was closed during the small window of time that the mail tried to deliver it and resigned myself to waiting. When I got them Monday I was confused why they weren’t delivered Saturday, since they fit right in the box.

The rest of the weekend was rough as hell. On Sunday, allergies smacked me square in my face. I’m talking puffy, watery eyes, coughing…the whole nine yards. Hell, I couldn’t even wear my glasses most of the day since it just further exacerbated the situation. I stayed in PJs alternating between squinting at various YouTube videos and reading.

On a positive side I did manage to finish one book so there’s that. 

Bookish News

This upcoming Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day. For us die-hard romance lovers though that can be tricky because there isn’t always an overlap in the Venn diagram of “Great Romance Selection” and “Indie Bookstore”. I know it can be tricky to find the romance books you want on those shelves. Still, I encourage you to walk into your local one and try to find at least one thing to buy since every little bit helps. And you can always check Bookshop.org to see if your local indie is there as an option, and help them make money that way.

The winner of the next WIR book club pick was announced. Want to know what it is? Well, give this week’s episode a listen (if you haven’t already) to find out.

Talia Hibbert won the AAMBC (African Americans on the Move Book Club) for Romance Novelist of the Year, a well deserved honor. Head on over to their Twitter page to get a list of the other winners.

Due to what other recent articles have said about the romance genre, I was a bit hesitant about this recent Washington Post article. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t condescending. I’m sure a lot of that had to do with the fact that they spoke to some of the authors who were the pioneers in the genre instead of letting someone who has never read romance prattle on about it. 

Have you ever wondered what your romance life would be like if you lived and loved like the Bridgertons? Check out one Rioter’s foray into a virtual romance using the books as a guide.

Reading Recs

The first thing I did when I finally got my hands on my TBR cards was to shuffle through the deck and check out just a few of the prompts. One was an epistolary novel, which is one of my favorite ways of telling a story. I’m not sure why I love it so much, but I know it’s high up there on my list. Below are a few that I have found or read that I feel are good examples of a way to fall in love through letters and other written methods of communication. Please note that while not all are purely epistolary, that this type of written correspondence plays heavily in all the books listed here.

Cover of hold me by courtney milan

Hold Me by Courtney Milan

Maria and Jay may loathe each other in real life, but they have a very real connection between a computer screen thanks to their correspondence on Maria’s blog. However, neither one has any idea who they’re really talking to online. Of course, that is about to change. As an aside, Milan’s long awaited and anticipated The Devil Comes Courting was also released earlier this week as well, so be sure to snag that too.

Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Best-selling author Abigail should be focusing on finishing her upcoming novel, but instead finds herself pulled into the world of Twitter after her publicist creates a profile for her. After her first disastrous attempt at a tweet, regular Twitter user Mark Baynard offers to show her the ropes. As she begins to get a handle on things, the two start up an online relationship there until a revelation occurs that could change the foundation of it. This book is told almost entirely in Tweets and DMs, and is a modern example of the epistolary novel.

Relationship Goals by Christina C. Jones

This novella is about Nick and Noah who, after a literal and accidental run-in at the airport, suddenly find themselves blowing up as a hashtag on social media. While not entirely in letter format, from what I’ve read about it, there are a lot of DMs, @s and hashtags flying around to help this novel earn its place on this list. Plus, this author is a darling in the romance world and one I definitely need to pick up soon.

Honorable mention also goes to the various books that make up The Boy series by Meg Cabot. Yes, it’s more than a bit dated but they’re still good, pure, and fun reads.


And that’s all for now. Hope this weekend treats you well and that I can avoid another allergy attack. If you want to give me a follow, I’m @PScribe801 at Twitter. Until Monday!

Categories
Kissing Books

Two Steps Forward and Four Back

Hello again fellow romance lovers! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to crush this coming week. I’m back with some of the latest in the romance world and I have big feelings about both so let’s jump right in.

Last week the RWA announced the finalists for their Vivian (previously known as the Rita) awards after much aplomb. And, while I do extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the finalists…well….I was underwhelmed. Now to be fair I didn’t expect to be overwhelmed, but I expected to be at least ‘whelmed’ (Score for the 10 Things I Hate About You reference). 

I also expected to know more than two or three of the listed books. Don’t get me wrong; I was happy to see the few authors or books I knew on the list. But I feel that there should have been more BIPOC books on the list especially given everything that organization has gone through in the last year. Apparently I’m not the only one as the finalist list has caused a fair amount of grumblings on Romance Twitter.   

In case you forgot some of last year’s shenanigans, here is a quick recap. They tried to cancel Courtney Milan for calling out a racist book. They canceled the then-Rita Awards last year after more stories of mistreatment by their BIPOC authors surfaced. After that, they tried to recover ground by renaming their awards “Vivian,” in honor of Vivian Stephens, a Black woman who was a founder but was never properly recognized in the origin story.

Those last two seemed like desperate attempts to recover the trust that they lost. But, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to work that way since, for many, that finalist list just proves that nothing has changed. And in a world where we like our HEAs, that’s just sad.

In even more Bridgerton news, the latest buzz (see what I did there) was more speculation on why Rege-Jean Page will not be returning next season. It’s been rumored that, even though he was offered a large sum of money to guest star in a couple of episodes, he still declined. Some have taken this to mean that he wasn’t interested since he wasn’t the focal point of the story. Of course, as with all hearsay, take that with a grain of salt. 

If this is true, though, then I get it. I went into the first season expecting to see only Daphne and Simon and ended up with a lot of background stories for other characters. If my memory does serve me, only one or two episodes focused solely on them for the full duration. Otherwise, they had to share their love story.

Personally, I could have done without all that extra for the other characters. I know that the idea was to plant the seeds for the later seasons, but I still could have done without.

Bluntly put, we got a lot of unnecessary fluff plot devices for other characters apart from Simon and Daphne. I went in wanting to see their love story; not the other brothers sowing their wild oats. 

I will say that now that the expectation has been set, this trend better continue in all the other seasons. There was already enough of a division all around when they cast a Black man as Simon. It’s going to be a bad look if he is the only hero in the series that has to share his love story with the other characters. First season set up be damned. 

For Your Further Reading Consideration

I know I’ve said sports aren’t my bag, but if you’re a fan of that sub-genre, check out some of these hockey romances.

Looking for some books to kick off spring? This list is a good place to start.

Also as a treat, here is an excerpt from the recently released Love in Color by Bolu Babalola.

New Releases and Deals

Here are some of the new releases headed our way this week.

The Kindred Spirits Supper Club by Amy E. Reichert

Just One Night by Carly Phillips 

Legion of Kings by Danielle James

Sugarlips by Katana Collins

Rescued by the Werewolf by Jules Monroe

There is an Honorable Mention this week and that is The Son of Mr. Suleman by Eric Jerome Dickey, who passed away in January. Most of his works are more romance adjacent, but he has always been one of my favorite authors and it was a sad day when he passed. So I wanted to call out that his final book will be released on the 20th. 

As for deals, No Holds Barred by Stephanie Nicole Norris, She’s Got Soul by Aja, and Loving the Lieutenant by Elise Marion can all be snagged for $0.99 while The Lawrence Browne Affair can be yours for $1.99.


And that is all for today friends. If you want to catch up with me and maybe see snippets of what I’ve been reading, catch up with me @PScribe801 over on Twitter. See you on Thursday.

Categories
Kissing Books

Different But Still Deserving

Hello again KBers. We’re almost there at the Friday night finish line. One of the chat threads I’m in with my in-laws recently posed the question of when does the weekend start. And my response was “Friday at 5:00 pm”. Because that’s how I roll. 

Of course, those are ‘banker’s hours’; so not everyone has them. I’m fortunate enough to and I’m super grateful for it, especially since that hasn’t always been the case. My oddest weekend ever there was Monday and Tuesday off, and while it had its perks, I really do prefer at least one traditional weekend day off. 

That said, whatever your work week is, I hope that it treats you well. I also hope that you’re ready for your well deserved weekend, whenever that may fall. I’m super excited for this weekend because I get to meet with my book club. Since I got my first Pfizer dose last week, we’re all at least halfway vaccinated now. So, we may shoot for an in-person meet up. Hopefully, we will be able to move back to that permanently next month since I’ll be fully vaccinated by then.

I think this optimism is something that a lot of people are feeling right now. This time last year we were still in what we thought would be a temporary lockdown, not knowing what was ahead of us. Now that I’ve gotten the first of the Fauci Ouchies, I’ll feel more comfortable in more social settings. Which will be great for both the kiddo and me since both of us miss seeing our friends and family in person.

Romance Tidbits

If you haven’t already voted for the next WIR Book Club pick, you may still have the chance to by checking out Jess’s poll here.

Want a sneak peek at the upcoming Rebel Carter release? Well then you’re in luck!

This one is for my second chance romance lovers out there. This love tweet from actor Richard Lawson to Tina Knowles even made me swoon and feel like a big old softie.

Straight from Lady Whistledown herself, Bridgerton has officially been renewed for Seasons 3 and 4.

Recommendations

April has historically been known as Autism Awareness month, but this year the Autism Society of America has renamed it Autism Acceptance month. And I, for one, like the change. I feel that the use of ‘awareness’ makes it seem more like a disease that can be cured. When you combine that with ignorant tweets of people who want to be in the Senate likening it to an epidemic (I won’t link it per usual but trust me it’s gross) it just highlights how acceptance is still needed for people in the neurodiverse community. 

This is something near to my heart because my son has ASD. And I won’t lie; it’s hard sometimes. But I wouldn’t change anything about him. I am fiercely protective of him when it comes to how people treat him. While he may not be at the level that other kids his age are socially, he beats a majority of them by a country mile for things like emotional health and cues. So, acceptance is the much preferred term for me as well as using red rather than blue, since that serves to perpetuate the myth that ASD only affects males. 

There’s a lot of talk about needing diversity but we forget that means more than just sexual identity, ethnicity, or race. In the past, not as much attention has been paid to people who are different physically or mentally. Often in books, they were relegated to side characters and usually used to show the kindness or goodness of the hero or heroine. 

Luckily, this is something that has recently changed in the romance community. We have a lot of prolific writers out there who are neurodiverse and who write characters who are similarly neurodiverse in their books. Relationships are never easy, even with people who are neurotypical. But these books serve to show that being neurodiverse should never be a deterrent or a reason why someone doesn’t get their happily ever after.

The Kiss Quotient Book Cover

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

I would be a bit surprised if this hasn’t already been read by a majority of Romancelandia, but just in case it’s my first recommendation. What I really enjoyed is that Helen took from her own real world experience of not finding out she has ASD until an adult. Sadly, this is quite common for women because of the aforementioned misconception that it only affects men. Some of this is a bit painful to read as you can tell Stella is trying to figure out the best thing to do. Luckily, she has a wonderful supportive partner in Michael who is always patient and willing to help. Honorable mention to The Bride Test by Hoang, since that features Michael’s male cousin Khai, who also has ASD.

newest cover of a girl like her by talia hibbert

A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

I can only speak for myself on this one, but what I really loved about this book was how unapologetically sexual Ruth was. She knew that her small (-minded) town spoke ill of her and her sister, but always let it roll off her back. And Evan was the perfect balance to her grumpiness and was constantly bringing her home-cooked meals. Their slow love was a wonderful trip to go through and a great way to start out this series of books.

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

I believe this one is a favorite among Romancelandia. And while I didn’t love it as much as other historicals, I thoroughly enjoyed the support system Ian had in his brothers. While they didn’t have a word or phrase for it, they knew that their brother was different, and they rallied around him constantly and were there for him. Yes, it’s historical fiction and it’s likely not everyone back then was understanding like them. However, it is still nice to read about that happening in a non-modern setting since there had to be some people who did care and protect people with autism even before it had a name.


And that’s all for this week. Catch up with me over the weeknd @Pscribe801 over on Twitter Until Monday!

Categories
Kissing Books

Laughter All Around

Hello again! I hope that you got plenty of rest, reading, and relaxing done over the weekend. Also that you’re ready to face this week like the bad-ass that you are! I know that I am ready to face the challenge of this week. A lot of that is because I was able to get my first vaccination last week through my partner’s job. He got it at the same time so we were able to rough the waters (as it were) together. 

Up until the moment where it was actually injected, I’ll admit that I was on the fence about whether or not to get it. Historically, there is a lot of deep-rooted mistrust from people of color towards the medical field. Between the Tuskegee Experiment and Henrietta Lacks, the feelings there are rightfully warranted. Hell, I don’t even go to the doctor for myself even though I’m always right on time for my son. I know that I need to get better at it though, especially with my entire family’s health history. 

In fact, they’re the reason I decided to get it done. I realized that it would help get one step closer to being able to meet with my family for holidays. I miss that so much. A lot of the elders in my family have already gotten at least one dose themselves, if not a full vaccination. I figure if they were able to get over their own concerns, which run deeper than mine, then I figured I could bite the proverbial bullet as well. 

Speaking of vaccinations…

Romance Related Fun

Romancelandia has been fairly tame lately (furiously pounds on all the wooden furniture nearby). One pure thing that happened for us though is that a challenge went around for romance authors. It was the “being vaccinated does NOT mean” with various romance novel plot points. It was great seeing everyone dig into their bag of tropes o’tropes and come up with a unique answer. I’m not sure if Kate Clayborn came up with this or simply shared it, but since it is where I first stumbled across it, I’ll share that thread here.

Keeping with the fun Twitter trends, Really Reading Romance also threw down this gauntlet. The replies were varied on this one and hilarious. Seriously take a moment to look through some of the replies or re-tweets. It took me a moment to figure out my own opinion on this but I came up with one for books and movies. Okay, here goes. *deep breath* 

I’m not a fan of sports romances. At all. I’ve tried multiple times to get into a few but it’s just not for me. Personally, I have an issue with the idolatry that we give athletes, even the truly philanthropic ones. Of course, I’ll recommend and hype them up since I know I’ve done that before. However, chances are I am doing that at the advice of a fellow book dragon whose opinion I trust a lot and not from personal experience. 

My movie related take is that My Best Friend’s Wedding is not a rom-com. It’s a movie about a woman who acts like an entitled, spoiled brat when the ‘back up’ man that she never wanted is suddenly unavailable and tries to break up an obviously happy couple. Best part of that movie (apart from the singing scene) was the brutal verbal reality slap Rupert Everett’s George gives her at the end by reminding her no one is chasing her. Truth hurts, ma’am.

In the hustle and bustle of life and this last year, a lot of us still forget to take the time to stop and be goofy. Sometimes all you can do is laugh. Whether it’s with your partner, kids, friends, or extended family, be sure to take the time to be silly.

From Book Riot and Around the Web

I readily co-sign all the books that Jess listed here and will be ready with the popcorn and adult beverage when/if it happens!

Here are some of the romance novel based movies that are currently in the works.

If you love second chance romances, here are some books to add to your likely already massive TBR recommended by Rioter Brooke.

Do you like a bit of crying with your romance? If so, then here are some recommendations for you.

Check out debut author Ruby Barrett’s (see more info below) take on the Cinnamon Roll Character.

New Releases and Deals

Here are some of the new releases headed our way this week, including a few under the radar ones:

Hot Copy by Ruby Barrett (debut) 

Love So Beautiful by Angel Mystique 

Earn Your Extra Credit by Meghan Quinn

How to Catch a Duke by Grace Burrowes

The Marriage He Demands by Brenda Jackson

And here are some deals to help fill out your digital shelves:

Love Always, Wild by A.M. Johnson is available for $1.99

Holiday Brides by Farrah Rochon, Stefanie Worth, and Jewel Amethyst can be snagged for $1.49

Everything But a Groom by Holly Jacobs is also $0.99

Six More Minutes: New-Year Bae Solutions by A.C Arthur can be picked up for $1.99


That’s it for now. As always you can follow me @PScribe801 over on Twitter. Until next time friends!

Categories
Kissing Books

We Need Healthy IR Books

Welcome back, y’all! We’re almost at the end of the first full week in April. I hope that it was a good one for you with equal parts productive and relaxation. Despite the craziness of the world, the last year hasn’t been all terrible in that it has really shined a light on how important mental well-being is. 

I realized early on that, as tricky as it may be, I had to take time for myself to rest and relax. I haven’t always been consistent about this, but I let it go completely. Even if it is flying solo to get a frozen adult beverage to-go or using a bath bomb, I try carve out a little bit of me time each week.

Remember the airplane analogy y’all; if you don’t help yourself first, you can’t help others. 

In things I wish I could unlearn, I discovered that there is a book floating around being advertised as a BWWM abuse romance. 

*eye twitch*

I could have lived my entire life three times over and not wanted to know this. There are so many things wrong with this, where to begin? This is a huge difference from ‘bully’ romance in that there is more damaging connotation behind it. The fact that it is specifically advertised as a BWWM romance is triggering and problematic AF. 

Again let me state that, for obvious reasons, I have no problem with IR. 

My problem is that this book is outwardly being advertised as a romance between a Black woman and white man that is abusive with pride. The fact that it even got written and that it is out there getting recommended means that some twisted algorithm is beyond enraging and saddening. 

Bluntly put, being in an IR is hard enough without nonsense like this floating around the world, romance related or otherwise. While not as bad as it once was, in certain parts of the country, it’s still a dangerous thing. I don’t believe any type of love is superior to one or another. Love is love is love is love. But this is not the kind of love that Romanceladia needs or wants.

This goes beyond any shade of dark romance. It borders on some really twisted, gross form of fetishization. There’s no making this book sound appealing at all. Here’s hoping that it, and the one I’ve mentioned before, just goes away.

And, before anyone says that the critics to this book, which of course shall not be named, are being oversensitive, I pose the following question. Would anyone be okay with this if the races of those genders were reversed?

*sips tea*

Around Book Riot and the Web

In happier news, another WIR book club is in the works. The first step is to vote on said book. Be sure to listen to this week’s episode and then head over to either Jess or Tricia’s social media (or both if you really want to put all your chips on one book) to vote.

Erika Hardison has some African and Asian love recs.

Personally, I never get tired of hearing from or about Ms. Bev. In case you missed it, here is the Forbes article about how she combines history and romance into wonderful books.

If you want a new-to-romance reader’s take on why Talia Hibbert is the bee’s knees, here is your chance.

Recommendations

I had been planning on leaving this type of recommendation for closer to Loving Day in June. But, considering the recent developments in what is being pushed as IR as of late, I think it’s time to shine a light on better IRs out there that you can spend your time and money on.

Like Lovers Do by Tracey Livesay

In exchange for a recommendation from his prominent family, doctor Nicole agrees to act as roommate Ben’s new girlfriend to help him avoid his ex at a weekend getaway in Martha’s Vineyard. Of course, a weekend getaway and close quarters make the attraction they’ve been trying to avoid impossible to ignore. What I really appreciate about this book is that it tackles a lot of the microaggressions that people in an IR go through. Nicole has to deal with snide, racist remarks from Ben’s jealous ex and Ben has to realize how privileged he is even if he never took advantage of it. However, this book is still full of laughs, love, and an HEA.

Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau

Reclusive sci-fi author Will begrudgingly agrees to act as the fake boyfriend for Naomi, his friend’s younger sister. She needs a buffer between her and her ex at a friend’s weekend getaway and Will fits the part, at least for a short period of time. Even though he’s always been attracted to her, he has placed her firmly in a ‘no-touch’ zone because of his closeness with her brother. However, a weekend away from big brother means that they can play to their heart’s content. While there isn’t a lot of conflict here, it’s still a sweet depiction of an IR full of steamy love scenes.

Cover of Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue

Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue

Bailey is determined to not be another one of sexy single dad Jake’s conquests and keeps him at arm’s length, only engaging when it comes to his son. After being stuck in an elevator, both come to a mutual understanding that develops into a mutual friendship and then a mutual attraction. This is a pretty steamy novella, but it packs an emotional punch as well and will make you feel all the things. There are a few CWs here but the one I can remember off the bat is death of a parent. If this author is new to  you, trust me; take a chance on this one. You won’t be disappointed. 


And that’s it for me, fellow bibliophiles. I hope that you enjoy your weekend and get a lot of reading done. Catch up with me before Monday at @Pscribe801 on Twitter. Until Monday!

Categories
Kissing Books

Not Another One

Top of the week, fellow romance readers! I hope this Monday morning finds you well. Mondays are really a hit or miss for me. Sometimes, I wake up very much ‘the hills are alive with the sound of music’ a la Maria. Others I wake up like Garfield, detesting every second of the day. It’s always a dice roll how it will turn out. At least the week starts off with a surprise of sorts amirite? 

One particular challenge I faced over these last few weeks was getting the teenager back into the routine of going to school. You’d think only have one week wouldn’t throw us completely off track, and that he would have dived right back into it ready to count down the days to summer break. 

You’d think wrong. 

And, even if we had gotten back into our routine, it would go right back out the window, since this last weekend was a four day one for him. At least it’s the last for the school year so it should be steady from here on out. 

Still, send well wishes my way. 

In Romance News

Yet another ‘hot take’ article made its way around the Internet and came within our orbital pull. The one was about one woman’s journey into writing a ‘horny’ book about females tailored for women just like her. Fictional women who are empowered by sex and their expressions of lust. It also touched on how much of a shortage there was for books like that in the publishing market. 

*slow blink*

Because you know it’s not like there’s a genre that matches that already. 

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t set well with a majority of Romancelandia. It came across as yet another attack on the genre. The piece came off as wanting to be edgy and discussed wanting to have a literary safe space for women who may be more amorous than others, but it fell on angry ears. And with good reason. The initial reaction that I and many other romance readers had can be summed up by this image that was created by Ally Only Reads. 

In one exceedingly small defense of the article, it doesn’t outright pooh-pooh romance. The same can’t be said for other articles that come out on this topic. But, that doesn’t mean I’m giving it credit. This is because it doesn’t even acknowledge romance or erotica, which, based on the description, is what her novel would be classified as. It’s almost more insulting to not even acknowledge the genre you describe as trying to pioneer.

I’m all for wanting to write a book that speaks to your heart that you weren’t finding. If the options out there aren’t horny enough for you, go forth and pound the keyboards to write one that fits all your kinks. But don’t act like it’s something that is brand spanking (talk about kinky) new. It’s like deciding to put a brand new topping on cheesecake and then claiming that you’re the creator of cheesecake.. 

No, you’re not. You didn’t discover anything new. Yes, you put your own spin on a base that was already there and (ideally) made it uniquely you. But that is not the same as creating it or making it new. 

As per usual, I’m not linking to it here, the reason being that while it’s slightly better than other articles in that vein, it is still a garbage take. 

And also in a bit of maybe not surprising but still heart breaking news, Regé-Jean Page will not be joining the second season of Bridgerton. While we should be expecting the focus to have been off the Bassets, we still expected both of them to be around. Daphne, as a natural Bridgerton, will still be there. Optimistic me is hoping that he will at the very least do a cameo for the Pall Mall scene…which better be in there. *nerd glare*

From Book Riot and Around the Web

Looking to curl up with some steamy vampire reads? Silvana has got your back…or neck, if you prefer, on that.

Easter may have been yesterday, but you can still enjoy the sweets and books recommended here! Even better? Today is also Half-off Candy Day: The Bunny Edition!

For Outlander fans, news broke out that the new book has finally been finished. Here is a quick article for all that is known about it so far.

New Releases & Deals

Here are some of the highly anticipated new releases hitting the shelves this week. 

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

Life’s too Short by Abby Jimenez

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

And here are some of the deals I found when writing this newsletter up:

Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon is currently free

cover of He's Not My Boyfriend by Jackie Lau

He’s Not My Boyfriend by Jackie Lau is available for $0.99

Real Men Knit (Real Men Knit series)n Knit by Kwana Jackson is currently available for $1.99*

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite is also available for $1.99

*Some readers have said this reads more like women’s fiction with a romantic element. But others do consider it a romance hence the reason for the share.


And that’s all for now. Catch up with me during the in-betweens @Pscribe over on Twitter. Until next time.

Categories
Kissing Books

All the Fun And Laughter

Welcome to April! Today is the start of a new month and the next quarter of the year. While I typically view the new year as the big slate cleaner, I also appreciate the mini-start overs we get at the beginning of each month. Even though it’s a smaller refresh, it’s still a chance to wipe away any missteps that were made in the last x-amount of days and try again.

Cue the Aliyah song. 

I know that I am going to view this day as a new opportunity to start over on some of my goals, both work and personal. I hope that you do as well. I know that March was a mixed bag for a lot of people for numerous reasons. March 2022 already has a lot of pressure on it to not be so terrible although, to be fair, the bar for that is going to be really, really low. 

And, if the rhyme most of us grew up hearing holds true, April brings showers. And by showers, I mean catastrophes. But even if that is true, let’s hope that it’s not all gloom, doom, and rainy days. And that May will hold up its end of the bargain by being full of flowers. 

Today is also April Fool’s Day, a holiday which I am not fond of. I dislike jokes or pranks. They make me feel awkward and uncomfortable. If someone wants a surefire way to get me out of their lives, have a DJ play an on-air joke on me. There’s also always a bit of a malicious undertone to those, and you can’t convince me otherwise. 

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I love laughing; just not at the expense of someone else. Even better if you add romance to that comedy. I know that others feel similarly, since romantic comedies have been a thing for a very long time. While they had their heyday in the ’80s/’90s, the term was coined back in 1971. Furthermore, movies that could fit this description go back as far as the 1920s. So, it’s not a new thing.  

Unfortunately these movies also have a history of being mocked. Which is more than a bit unfair. To have such disdain for romantic comedy to the point of being dismissive or condescending is beyond rude. I am sure this is because it has the word “romantic” in front of it. We all know that romance gets a bad rep for many reasons, but it’s still standing after all these years. 

So, it’s doing something right. 

Rom-Com Recommendations

If you’re wanting a bit more romcom with no pranks in your life, here are my recommendations for you this week: 

Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton 

I was almost tempted to put Wallbanger here since that is also full of romcom shenanigans. But, if I’m being honest, this is my favorite out of the series. And one reason for that is that it has one of my favorite types of heroes: nerds. As an added bonus, both the hero and heroine here are nerds. Viv is a kick-ass designer by day and secret lover of romance novels at night. When she inherits a house from a long-lost aunt in Mendocino, California that comes complete with cowboy Hank as the caregiver, she feels like she’s been swept into her own personal romance novel. If only she could keep her mind off Clark, the local librarian, which is another one my favorite heroes. 

cover of get a life chloe brown

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

The first in the Brown sisters series is full of romantic and comedic hijinks. Secretly looking through a window at the hot property manager. Getting stuck in a tree trying to save a stray cat. Having an almost kiss with said aforementioned property manager while in a onesie. All while dealing with a bucket list that was created after a near-death experience. Not only will you get to meet Chloe and Red for the first time; you’ll get to meet Dani and Eve as well. Which should increase your desire to pick up the other books in the series. 

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Min and Cal meet when he asks her out to dinner based on a bet. Their evening ends in disaster though and they agree to cut their losses. Fate, however, has other plans. Add in some jealous exes, a freakishly intelligent cat, and chicken marsala and you have the recipe for a good laugh. There are no pranks here, but there is a bit of deception by omission, which I know a lot of people don’t like. Also, Min is plus sized and while she’s happy with herself, she has to deal with passive aggressive comments from her mother. So be forewarned. 

Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon

Bookstore worker Jordan is a die-hard romance lover who is trying to think of ways to keep his romance book club alive since it is slowly dying. However, this doesn’t mean he wants his new co-worker, Rex, to help him. Especially since Rex makes fun of him for reading these types of books. Ultimately, he decides the ends may justify the means to keep his club alive and agrees to work with Rex to resurrect the club. Along the way he realizes maybe he was too quick to judge Rex and should give him a second chance. 

Hopefully one of these strikes your fancy and helps to bring a smile to your face.

Fun From Book Riot and Around the Web

If you’re looking for even more recommendations for romcoms, check out this post from the Book Riot archives.

Speaking of romcoms, here’s a fun quiz to test your love of the genre. It’s all in good fun though so don’t put much too much stock into it.

Do you like role reversal in your romances? If so, some of those may strike your fancy.

If you’ve ever wanted to recommend romance books to your friends based on their interest, here’s your chance to shine!


That’s all for today but, if you want snippets of my bookish life, follow me on Twitter @PScribe801. Until next time.

Categories
Kissing Books

Does Art Have to Imitate Life?

Hello once again, fellow KBers. I hope that today finds you in a good place across all the checkpoints. The last few weeks of March ended up being extremely heartbreaking, due to some very real world ugliness. We had multiple mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder and it just hurts that this still continues to be an issue. I heard somewhere that last year had the least amount of mass shootings like this but that’s because most of the country was stuck inside. So, it’s not a real victory for me.

If you or someone you know has been affected by these recent tragedies, my heart goes out to you and yours.

Moving on to some lighter topics.

What with the world being grown up grounded for the last year, a lot of bookish people, authors and writers included, wondered how COVID-19 would be reflected in current and future publications. I mean, it was a historical event on a global scale. So, it’s not like we can’t pretend it just didn’t happen. The truth of it is all around us even now as the vaccine is rolling out to more and more people. 

However, there is something to be said for wanting to have a bit of escapism especially so soon after the fact. This was something that we were not prepared for. The last time something on this level happened in America was, funnily enough, in the 1920s. And we ended up doing the same thing with being quarantined, getting mad at being shut in and going on, and it staying around even longer. You would think people would learn from history but alas.

I would argue it was worse then because at least now Internet, e-readers, and streaming services are an option for most. So, there were ways to pass the days that seemed to go on forever and ever. I know I got a lot of reading done as well as started to be more mindful of what I wanted to do for myself and considered self-care. It also let me know that again I’m pretty adaptable all around, which is always a good quality to have.

Still I want to be able to go safely into the freaking outdoors now please.

Regardless of what an author chooses to do I respect it. Talia Hibbert states in the forward for Act Your Age, Eve Brown, that she wrote the book in a COVID-free world. Which I respect. Now, the Brown sisters are also written in what I would call a ‘timeless’ period; meaning you know it’s contemporary but not exactly when it is. So, there is no need to really nail down exactly what year it took place in. I haven’t read any that specifically mention COVID-19 yet, but the year is still young and who knows what my future TBR pile shall bring.

I’ve also noticed from my casual, not-at-all scientific observation, a surge in books taking place in tropical locations, such as Meet Me in Paradise, or book festivals, such as the upcoming No Words by Meg Cabot. The covers of the book even show tropical locations. This is likely an extension of some of the things that we all wished we could have done last year, as well a call of what we hope to do very soon. Which is fair. I was supposed to got to KissCon last year with a friend and well….*shrugs*. C’est la vie.

And then there were some who embraced the pandemic and wrote romance novels around it. You know what story I’m talking about. Now, this isn’t my bag, but I’m not going to yuck someone’s yum.

All of this is to say that whichever way an author chooses to work through their frustration over the last year is between them, their editor, and the publisher. As readers, we are empowered to pick and choose what we read on our own time. So, if you don’t like the blind eye an author may turn towards the year 2020, that’s fine. You can choose not to read their book. Just like you can choose to not read a book that uses quarantine as a new method of forced proximity.

Personally, I’m trying to stay positive that by this summer we may be on the upswing. That’s not just because that is when my birthday is either (although it does add to it), but with the number of people getting vaccinated it is possible. Even if not everyone does it, if enough people do it, then herd immunity will kick in and then we can start trying to live the way we did.

Romance News

Let’s hear it for more books featuring older romance couples!

Frolic put together a list of contemporary romances that may have been missed in March!

Yes, more Bridgerton. Here is one writer’s choices for the steamiest (or funniest) lines from the entire series, including the second epilogue collection.

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases hitting the shelves this week!

Custom Made by Chantal Fernando

Knit, Purl, a Baby, and a Girl by Hettie Bell*

Sweethand by N.G. Peltier

The Rebel by Kendall Ryan

Back in the Burbs by Avery Flynn & Tracy Wolff

*I read this one as an e-ARC and it’s super sweet. However, there is a lot of body shaming in it from the narrator’s mother.

Deals

As of the writing of this newsletter, here were some sweet deals I came across!

Breakfast in Bed by Rochelle Alers can be picked up for $0.99

The Remaking of Corbin Wales by Roan Parish is available for $1.99

Second Chance on Cypress Lane by Reese Ryan is available for $2.99.

The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas is $1.99


That’s all for now friends. Feel free to follow me over at Twitter under @PScribe801. Until next time!