Category: Kissing Books

There’s a long weekend approaching in the US; how are you going to spend yours (if you have regular weekends)? I don’t know how much reading I’m going to do, but man, do I have to catch up.

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Sponsored by Harlequin DARE

A deal with the devil…

But who comes out on top?

Imogen Hargrove agrees to go on a date with notorious womanizer Caleb Allbrook if he’ll dig up dirt on her sister’s cheating fiancé. After leaving her own two-timing ex, Imogen is determined to save her sister from heartbreak. Caleb might be tempting…seductively charming, even. But Imogen won’t make the same mistake twice: no more playboys!

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News and Useful Links

So I learned a lot about a lot of things this week, including the history of the author Alexa Riley. Suffice to say, there were a lot of tweets and subtweets about plagiarism, what’s acceptable in Romancelandia, and how many releases in a short period of time is just way too many.

There’s an interesting article in the LA Review of Books, which was fascinating to my Humanities Major brain (“acolytes of Adorno” snort) and a delight to my romance-loving heart. It’s kind of “academy lite” as far as content and approach, though, so go in prepared.

Speaking of academy lite, this post about clergy in romance is interesting.

I somehow missed that there is a charity anthology (not solely romance, but with some romance in it) called Somewhere Out There that is in support of immigrant families. My Old Millennial heart is crying with delight (and will be singing songs from An American Tail for days).

Talia Hibbert has the word. (Also, have you picked up Untouchable yet?)

Romance-themed coloring books? Yes please! Penny Reid is putting out what I hope is just the first of many coloring books based on romance novels (It’s called the Knitting in the City Coloring Book so there’s no confusion what it’s related to). She also announced a crochet and knit pattern book, which will be released at the end of November. I might have to pick up some needles again!

Helen Hoang shared her dream cast (or casts, really) for The Kiss Quotient and it did not disappoint.

Deals

A bunch of Helen Hardt books are on sale, including Craving, the first book in her Steel Brothers Saga.

Are you one of those people who’s just been meaning to read The Bronze Horseman forever? It’s 1.99 right now.

In the Flesh by Sylvia Day is 1.20, if you’re looking for a new Sylvia Day book to read.

Over on Book Riot

Jessica Avery had few things to say to people who think of romance as popcorn.

Kamrun wants you to celebrate Romance Awareness Month with these picks.

Trisha and I talked about stuff, including the first ever When In Romance book club! Do you want to join? Tell us what book we should read first! (So far, the vote’s leaning in the direction of Intercepted by Alexa Martin.)

This is your ABSOLUTE VERY LAST CHANCE to enter the Recommended Giveaway, which ends tomorrow (August 31). Get 16 awesome books by or recommended by authors who have appeared on our Recommended podcast.

Recs!

Do you follow Sil on Twitter? Or maybe read her stuff on Book Riot (as Silvana Reyes)? You should. I do, and sometimes she gives me total FOMO when it comes to her excited reviews of awesome books. While I tend to read more backlist with some frontlist thrown in, she reads tons of frontlist books, sometimes way in advance. So when she started squeeing about this book, I was sad. But I did it, I got to it almost before it was actually released.

Stripped
Zoey Castile

Robyn Flores is having one of those days. Months, really. Okay, years. As an elementary school teacher, you’d think she’d have her life more together, but she’s more Bad Teacher than Stand and Deliver. She doesn’t want to be, but she can’t seem to get her act together and be more like her BFF Lily. It all comes to head when Robyn gets the wrong laundry. How does she realize it? The spangly thong and tiny tank top she pull out first are definitely not hers. And then her downstairs neighbor shows up with her laundry to swap. Her super hot, very ripped downstairs neighbor. Who it turns out is a stripper. Which she finds out at Lily’s bachelorette party.

Hoo man.

So this sounds like an awkward novel, and it sorta is. When we meet her. Robyn is the kind of woman nobody wants to be, and sometimes it’s hard to watch. But everything comes together in a pretty magical way.

So if you like this one, may I recommend some other romances with one-word titles starting with S:

• Swagger by Liz Lincoln (Out September 18) – the second book in a sexy new football series

• Shipped by Karrie Roman – two actors get cast in a new show based on a popular book and become the biggest Ship on the planet

• Seared by Suleikha Snyder – a BDSM chef stepbrother romance? Yes, please.

• Shatterproof by Xen – a suicidal artist makes a deal with an ancient fae. New and updated as of June 2018
• Sustained by Emma Chase – a gritty lawyer, a beautiful woman, and six kids make quite the combination

Want more? Check out Static, or Smut, or Strings, or Sweat. There are more still that I just don’t have the brainpower to list. So many S words. So many books.

New and Upcoming Releases

Gays of Our Lives by Kris Ripper (originally published by Riptide, but Kris pulled and rebranded them. Those covers!)
The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne
The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
A Stallion Dream by Deborah Fletcher Mello (Sept 1)
Made to Hold You by Elle Wright (Sept 1)
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren (Sept 4)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

It’s been mostly good news this week (with a few minor…hiccups), and I need to read faster because there’s so much good stuff hanging down the pipeline.

News and Useful Links

Alyssa Cole is teaching an online romance writing class! If you’ve got 300 bucks to spare (not a bad price point, honestly), you’d be learning from one of the best.

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Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp.

Misfortune begets second chances in USA Today bestselling author Sally MacKenzie’s brand new Regency-set series, filled with her signature wit, warmth, and humor. Scandal does not define the “fallen” ladies of Puddledon Manor’s Benevelolent Home. Instead, it’s a recipe for an intoxicating new future as the women combine their talents to operate their own brewery and alehouse.

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Tessa Dare left us something nice on her website.

Amazon shared their best romances for August.

In this EW article, Christina Lauren shared that, in part because they wrote the original before the most recent election, they are updating the screenplay for the film adaptation of Roomies to reflect our times better—with things being what they are, having a white undocumented immigrant might even come across as tone deaf nowadays. There’s also lots of good stuff about romcoms coming back to the movies, and the fact that romances are great content for them (who knew, right?).

Courtney Milan is giving us Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure in October and I’m super excited. If you’ve read After The Wedding you know Mrs. Martin is The Best.

Maya Rodale put some summer reads together on NPR.

And if you think Talia Hibbert’s fiction is fire, you should check out her most recent essay. *snaps*

Deals

Do you want ridiculous cute steampunk in your life? If so, How to Marry a Werewolf is definitely a thing you want.

JT Geissenger’s Burn For You is 2.49. I haven’t read it but remember reading the squeeing when it first came out.

Did I mention The Duchess Deal is 1.99? Because The Duchess Deal is 1.99.

Mariana Zapata’s Kulti is 1.49. If we’re talking pages per dollar, that’s basically the best deal on the planet.

Over on Book Riot

Our favorite BR contributors have given us some peak content this week:

• Escorts and strippers? Don’t mind if I do.
• Necromancer romances. Yes, that’s a thing, and yes, they’re awesome.
• Follow these romance authors on Pinterest!
• I uh…may have put together a must-read erotica list, which includes a whole section on erotic romance. Some of the titles might be familiar, too…
• Yes, there was dick soap.

Have you ever been curious about how to delete books from your Kindle or Kindle App? (Or maybe you bought something by accident and need to return it?)

Also! There’s still time to enter the Recommended giveaway! You have until August 31 to take the chance to get 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast. So check that out, definitely.

Recs!

I realized recently that while I have an endless TBR I’ll never be able to catch up on, there are books (or types of books) that I always have on hand to read when I need them. Maybe I’m having a bad day, or I’m not feeling well. Some romances practically have healing powers when it comes to reading them on sick days. Then of course there’s the books I am interested enough in to read but can also easily put down—those are perfect to have on my phone for times when I don’t have or can’t logically pull out a book.

The Sick Day Read

I always keep one backlist title by favorite authors around, just to have something to grab when I’m not feeling well. Sometimes, I want something heartwrenching and angsty, because I already feel like crying. Other times, I need something so ridiculously funny, I find myself smiling and laughing through every wheeze and cough. I’ve shared some of these with you before; books like Roan Parrish’s Riven and Courtney Milan’s The Heiress Effect. I also felt this way about Talia Hibbert’s Damaged Goods, which was such a great read for a bad morning.

This weekend, it was Say Yes to the Marquess.

In the second book of the Castles Ever After series, we meet Clio Waitmore–I mean, Whitmore—who has been engaged for eight years. (Spoiler not spoiler, I’d already read the book featuring the man she was originally engaged to, so…) Her husband-to-be is finally coming back to England after several years abroad, and she has finally made up her mind: she’s not getting married. She just needs his brother Rafe, the current executor of his estate, to sign some dissolution papers so she doesn’t have to actually confront Piers upon his return. But Rafe refuses to sign, determined to convince Clio that she wants this marriage. All he needs is a week at her castle to lavish her in lush wedding preparations.

The Pick-Up Anytime

I cycle through phone-books in lengthy cycles. Three or four months, at least. These are the books I read when I don’t have my current read on a lunch break, or I’m waiting in line, or I’ve just found myself with some time on my hands but it would be awkward to have a physical book or my ipad in my hand. That’s when I go back to that book I can pick up anytime. It’s not boring, but it’s not one of those books you have to devour or your brain will hate you. Sometimes, it graduates from phone-book to the devouring kind, like KJ Charles’ A Seditious Affair. That one started out slowly enough that I could read it in lines, or at IKEA. Then, wham! I was reading it for hours and hours and hours. Others that have had this position on my phone include Robin Covington’s Playing the Part and Mina V. Esguerra’s Future Chosen.

Right now, it’s Riley Hart’s Faking It.

Gary and Travis live in an apartment complex that is very much a gay community. So when Gary’s ex boyfriend (who moved in with a younger man across the hall) mentions that he saw Gary with Travis, a hot neighbor who had actually been hooking up with Gary’s roommate, Gary goes with it. Travis, hearing this conversation and feeling the need to save Gary, approaches with an unexpected move. And then all of a sudden Gary and Travis are “boyfriends” and have to do things like, I don’t know, actually know each other. Madness ensues.

I’m only about 25 percent into the book, but so far it’s helped me get through a few lines, two shorter-than-expected lunches, and a random solitary dinner at the mall. The chapters are short enough that I’m not usually left in a lurch smack in the middle of a scene, but long enough that the story does progress as I slowly inch forward. It helps that it’s one of my favorite tropes: fake dating. So I already have some investment, and want to see it through, bit by bit.

(I realize that this is how some of you read in general, and I salute you for being able to stitch everything together on the regular.)

What are your go-tos?

New and Upcoming Releases

Beautiful Skin: A People of Color Anthology
From Here to You by Jamie McGuire
All the Way by Kristen Proby
Fire and Water by Andrew Grey
Stripped by Zoey Castile (August 28)
The Governess Game by Tessa Dare (August 28)
Nine Years Away by Stella Torres (August 30)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

We’re halfway through the month and I’m counting down the days to September. Not only will it be cooler soon, but there are tons of books that come out at the end of this month and the early part of next month! Meanwhile people on twitter have thoughts, and I can’t keep up.

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Sponsored by Harlequin DARE.

Caleb might be in charge of Lily’s safety, but when they’re confined to her Silicon Valley mansion, she’s the master. And keeping his hands off her is bringing Caleb close to the edge of control…

I live my life by simple rules. Protect the innocent at all costs. And no sleeping with clients. Those are the promises I keep as one of LA’s go-to fixers. I’d never falter on rule number one, but my latest client is making that other one hard to follow. Handling her stalker should be a walk in the park—keeping things professional, not so much.

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News and Useful Links

I’m gonna tell you a not-secret. I am addicted to fanfiction. Maybe not quite Cath-style let my life fall down around me, but it’s kind of close. I have not opened AO3 in some time—not since the day I closed all my saved tabs and turned off my laptop in preparation for the move to Arizona, but I fell off the wagon last week. You see, Cat Sebastian has been on a Bucky Barnes kick, and she’s been sharing some pretty intriguing plot points so yeah…wagon, bye bye. But if you’re looking for some interesting reads in which Bucky Barnes either reads or writes romance novels, check out her twitter feed. 

We Need Diverse Romance has more options for your collection.

Corey has some food for thought about polyam romance.

This cover reveal is just magical. I can’t wait for the series to come out!

#IsThisARomance?

Romance author Kristan Higgins has been taking some heat this week (well, really, for several months) for her most recent book. I haven’t read it, and don’t plan to, but if you want to know more, I will give you these two perspectives:

• Sarah MacLean talks with the author and discusses her own body issues
• SB Sarah left a heartfelt DNF review on SBTB

Do with them what you wish.

Deals!

Have you read Pretending He’s Mine yet? It’s 99 cents!

At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec is 1.99. Her books are hilarious.

If you’re looking for a new Regency author and haven’t read Sophie Barnes, The Duke of Her Desire is 1.99.

Did you like Love on My Mind? Tracey Livesay’s The Tycoon’s Socialite Bride is 2.99.

Over on Book Riot

So you might recognize this content from this very spot, but not only did I make it so you can share it with your friends, but the actor I was talking about finally got a name on the Harlots IMDb page so I found his Instagram. I’m not usually a stalker but hoo man.

Did you read Sunfire romances? I deliberately remember finding Roxanne somewhere and being completely fascinated by the Hollywood Golden Age.

Nikki pulled together some Christian romances to start with and I’ve got some reading to do.

And Trisha and I talked about stuff, but sadly fewer books than usual.

Recs!

Y’all, I couldn’t help it. I know that The Governess Game doesn’t come out until August 28, but I had to pick it up. It was calling for me and I couldn’t ignore it.

The Governess Game
Tessa Dare

Alexandra Mountbatten sets clocks. With her handy chronometer that she sets by Greenwich time regularly, she contracts with the wealthy (or more, their housekeepers) to keep their clocks on time. What she doesn’t expect is to use what she expects to be the servants’ entrance to fall into the grasp of her Bookshop Rake, with whom she had an encounter in one of my favorite scenes in The Duchess Deal. (Do you know how much I love Alexandra? I love her so much. So much.) The Bookshop Rake, or Chase Reynaud as he is actually called, has two hellion wards who need a governess, and through a miscommunication and an unfortunate chronomocide, Alexandra ends up in said role. Well, what do you expect to happen when you put the two of them under one roof?

I ate this book. Ate it right up. It’s got all my button checkers: humor (the cackling kind); ridiculousness; sexy sexy consent; telescopes; cinnamon rolls in wolf’s clothing; and of course, Ash. So yeah, you’ll want to read this right when it comes out.

And now I want to read more “I love your darling, terrible children who just need love but you’re ridiculous” kinds of books. Or anything like them. Lucky for me, Talia Hibbert’s Untouchable just came out!

Others I’ve loved include Bombshell by CD Reiss and of course It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian. And I am pretty certain I saw somewhere on twitter that someone is writing a sexy man-nanny book. (I refuse to call them a manny. Refuse.)

I DID. IT’S REBEKAH Y’ALL.

What are your favorite nanny/governess books?

New and Upcoming Releases

Untouchable by Talia Hibbert (just in case you missed that bit before)

The Shape of You by Georgia Beers

Soul of the Pack by Jenny Frame

Wild Thoughts by Delaney Diamond

From Here to You by Jamie McGuire

When a Duke Loves a Woman by Lorraine Heath

It’s a short one this week and I’m sorry about that, but really, do you need me to tell you about any more books just yet? Let’s all give ourselves time to catch up. (Cause that’ll happen. Totally.)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

Happy Thursday, Loves! We’ve had an overabundance of riches when it comes to new books, happy news, and public clapbacks this past week.

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Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp.

One by one, the Morgan men find themselves returning to the northern California ranch where their troubled pasts first began. Together, they have a chance to leave the past behind and forge a new future based on brotherhood, hope, and love. In this fifth installment of bestselling author Kate Pearce’s popular Morgan Ranch series, Rio Martinez’s long and winding road has brought him to a legendary Western ranch—to the brothers he calls friends, and a woman who could change his roving ways…

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News and Useful Links

We try to keep up with diverse new releases, but it’s hard to catch everything, right? Well, Suzanne from Love in Panels, Thein-Kim from The Bawdy Bookworm, and Jen of Jen Reads Romance fame got together to build this bit of magnificence.

IS IT 2020 YET?!?!?

Were you a little confused by the Kindle Unlimited book stuffing business? Bree tried to make it a little more clear.

That cover. Whew.

And speaking of book announcements, check out the summary of the new Mia Sosa book coming out!

It’s been a while since we’ve had Deadly Sexy news, but hey! It’s a trailer!

And speaking of adaptations, the rights for ALL THE THINGS have been bought for The Kiss Quotient! *please do the rep right**please do the rep right*

Also, the new Driven adaptation is coming soon to Passionflix!

So Cosmo and Audible are doing a thing. Know anybody interested?

Need a new shirt? This #weneeddiverseromance campaign is going until Monday!

Deals!

Peeps! The Duchess Deal is 1.99! Get it before The Governess Game comes out!

Looking for a new family saga? Elle Wright’s Touched By You is 1.99, as well!

Or how about a new, well-established paranormal series? Cynthia Eden’s Burn For Me is also 1.99.

Curious about Selena Montgomery, the romance author persona of Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams? Well, her book Reckless is 3.99 right now.

Over on Book Riot

Angel’s got a new obsession, and we’re totally behind her.

When you start comparing heroines to the great Elle Woods, you’ve definitely got my attention.

And also, don’t forget to enter to win 16 books featured on the awesome Recommended podcast!

Recs!

If you couldn’t tell from the subject line, I wanted to talk about a couple dukes. We all know that there are more dukes in romance than there are people in the state of Rhode Island, but we love them for it. There are all kinds of impossible dukes: tall, short, stodgy, rebellious, gay, straight, somewhere in between. I have never bothered to crack an early nineteenth-century Debrett’s, so I really have no idea how many dukes there might have been at one time, but we’re drowning in them, and I love it. We do need to talk about the fact that in romance, Regency and Victorian England apparently have more dukes per capita than people of color, but that’s a very long treatise for another day. Let’s talk about a couple of my recent favorites (this will be no surprise).

A Duke By Default
Alyssa Cole

In the second Reluctant Royals book, Ledi’s friend Portia has taken an apprenticeship to a brusque Scottish swordsmith. Portia herself needs time to figure her own stuff out, and believes that this endeavor is a great start to Project: New Portia. Unfortunately, with an apprenticeship that starts out with your new boss forgetting to pick you up at the train station and then you accidentally pepper-spraying him because you think he’s attacking someone, what can you really expect? The way the relationship evolves is really about each protagonist coming to understand themselves more, and the people around them. (The people aroud Portia and Tavish, by the way, are wonderful and I love them and wish they had their own books—even the ones already or about to get married.) But Portia can get hyperfocused on a project, and her research on the history of the building Tavish inherited at age 18 leads them to a startling discovery: Tavish’s birth father, who he never met, was a duke. The last thing Tavish wants is to have to interact with the aristocracy, but he could do so much for the people with the power. Oh Tavish. Sweet, gruff Tavish.

How the Duke Was Won
Lenora Bell

If you’ve followed me long enough, you know that romance-by-deception is one of my limits. Not a hard limit, but it has to be really fascinating for me to move past it. And when Jenn Northington tells you that this is like My Fair Lady meets Willy Wonka, you push on that limit a bit. James, Duke of Harland, is just out of mourning clothes and in search of a wife. He has not really been prepared for the life of a duke, but after the deaths of his father and brother, he’s the one in charge. He’s also a chocolate magnate and wants to fight for the abolition of slavery. He’s come back from Trinidad with a Venezuelan business partner posing as a cook and a daughter of mixed racial heritage who is obsessed with her castanets. He invites four women to his estate to vie for his hand, so that he can have a mother who will treat his darling Flor right and a father-in-law who can help him lower tariffs for cocoa farms that don’t use slave labor.

And we haven’t even gotten to Charlene, the daughter of one of those potential fathers-in-law and a courtesan. When her half-sister’s mother shows up at her house late in the night offering her the means to get out of Covent Garden if she just…pretends to be her half-sister for a few days, Charlene can’t pass it up. She could get her sister the education she needs, help people like the young, hopeless women she sees every day, escape the heartless men who just want to own her. What’s deceiving one heartless aristocrat to never again have to evade the rest?

And thus begins a reluctant duke—who owns an actual chocolate factory—challenging contenders to make it through unscathed.

I know, right?

(Also, I might have made hot cocoa when I finished this. Yeah, it’s summer, but I live in Arizona and indoor temperatures lie somewhere between arctic and the surface of Saturn.)

Who are your favorite dukes?

New Releases (as in they’re all out now!)

Sweatpants Season by Danielle Allen (hoo doggy that cover)
Marriage of Unconvenience by Chelsea M. Cameron
Covet by Rosanna Leo
Surprise Baby, Second Chance by Therese Beharrie
Bad Reputation by Stefanie London
Last First Kiss by Nicole Falls
The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting (I’ll be honest, I forgot she had a new book coming out!)
Down With Love by Kate Meader (Divorce lawyer+wedding planner? Yes please!)
Just to Keep You Satisfied by Sam J.

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

It’s August! The air has changed here, and I can see the end of the hottest of the hot. Well, at least in the weather; I’m still actively seeking out the hottest of the hot when it comes to books 😀

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Sponsored by One Small Thing, new from Erin Watt, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Royals series and When It’s Real

Beth’s life hasn’t been the same since her sister died. So, when she sneaks out to a party one night and meets the new guy in town, Chase, Beth is thrilled to make a secret friend. Only Beth doesn’t know how big her secret really is…

Fresh out of juvie and looking for a second chance, Chase has demons to face and much to atone for, including his part in the night Beth’s sister died. A forbidden romance is the last thing either of them planned for senior year, but the more time they spend together, the deeper their feelings get. Now Beth has a choice to make—follow her parents’ rules, or risk tearing everything apart…again.

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News and Useful Links

If you haven’t gotten enough of Amazing Speeches That Happened At RWA, you’ll want to listen to Sonali Dev’s speech, which went up online just a little after last week’s KB went out. It’s personal and heartfelt and she is not at all afraid of calling people out. Have tissues handy.

This is one of the most poignant and upsetting responses to Suzanne Brockmann’s speech last week.

Can You Keep a Secret? No, really! Sophie Kinsella’s magical Can You Keep a Secret (my favorite of hers!) is being adapted for film! I’m excited.

How about a lovely Ode to the Romance Novel?

PS, new account to follow!

Deals!

Ana Tejano’s Keep the Faith is 99 cents through 8/15!

Have you read Jay Northcote? His Second Chance is 3.99. He writes a lot of queer romance, but this one is worth checking out if you’re looking for #ownvoices trans rep.

Been in a baseball mood? Lucky Break by Holley Trent is 1.99. Or you can get the entire Reedsville Rooster series (5 books) for 10.95.

Have you read KJ Charles’s newest yet? Unfit to Print is 2.99. (Also, one of the heroes would probably be part of my recs list if I had just…gotten to it on time?)

Over on Book Riot

And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIeiiiiiiiiiiiiiieiiiiiiiii….okay. I’m not Whitney Houston. But I do love a bodyguard.

I don’t read nearly enough medievals, and I really should. At least I’ve got some recommendations on where to start.

I was busy last week! Jenn Northington and I recorded a special romance edition of Get Booked, and of course Trisha and I talked a lot about Intercepted by Alexa Martin. It’s a thing.

And we’re having another giveaway! Get 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast! Enter by August 31.

Recs!

So. Harlots is back (and magnificent as always) and I noticed that one of the new characters was a great stand-in for the hero of the novel I was reading at the time. It also made me think about some of the other fine black men in historical romance, and I’d love to share some of my favorites with you!

Elijah Sutton – Be Not Afraid by Alyssa Cole

If you haven’t read Alyssa Cole’s way-too-short novella set during the American Revolution (and the first instance in which we meet Elijah, whose granddaughter goes to visit Eliza Hamilton in That Could Be Enough, one of the novellas from Hamilton’s Battalion), you’re in for a treat. Elijah is a Revolutionary, and he meets Kate—who is working for the British—on the battlefield in the dead of night. He’s fascinated by her, but she doesn’t have time for him and doesn’t understand him, either. Nor he her, to be honest.

Sam Fox – A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

Sam is just trying to live his life and run his pub, but his future sister-in-law needs to find out some information about a painting she posed nude for ages ago. Intrigued, he stalks the old codger’s house, only to encounter the new resident of the home instead. Hartley is not happy to have inherited the home from his godfather, but he’ll take it. Intrigued by the needs of his would-be burglar, Hartley offers to help find said painting. Sam is hesitant, but really, what can you do when a rich knob decides he’s going to start a project? Also, Sam. Sam is my favorite. He is considerate and empathetic, even when he’s being proud and stupid. He picks up on things and is all around just a good man.

This is the one I was reading when I came across the fine looking young gentleman offering his services to Charlotte Wells in Harlots. And while the character in the show is nothing like Sam, he presents a good enough figure to stand in my mind’s eye (especially once he started doing barroom prize fights).

Logan Yates – Destiny’s Embrace by Beverly Jenkins

Whoo man. This list could be all heroes from Ms. Bev’s books, but Logan was my first. Gruff but loving; a community man who will do basically anything for his mother. He works with his hands and can’t help falling in love with the woman he hired to come West in order to be his housekeeper. Logan develops as a man and a character throughout the entire Destiny trilogy, and it’s great to watch the oldest brother let go a little bit.

Adrian Hunter – After the Wedding by Courtney Milan

Oh, Adrian. The most darling man who does the wrong thing for all the right reasons. When he is forced to marry Camilla at gunpoint, his immediate next step is to make sure they take the right steps to get an annulment. Not because Camilla is horrible; no. In fact, he finds her attractive and likes her enough. But he wants a choice. He wants the love and marriage his parents had, where they would give up anything and everything to be together.

(Bonus for his great-great-uncle John, whose love story is one of my favorite long, slow burns told in too few pages. You can read that in The Pursuit Of…)

Golden Worth – A Delicate Affair by Lindsay Evans

If you haven’t checked out the Decades historical romance series, you’re in for a treat. The books, each written by a different author, capture the lives of black people as they lived in each decade of the twentieth century. In this, the first one, Golden is a young man from the South who has made his way to Washington, DC in order to realize his dreams of being a popular ragtime musician. He doesn’t have time for women, and makes that clear to the beautiful debutante who approaches him outside the club where he plays. But the two can’t seem to keep away from each other. Meanwhile Golden’s star is rising, and he has to figure out how to keep being a good man through it all.

Honorable Mention: Soap – Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger.

This book (and the other three in the Finishing School series) is YA, but tons of fun, and Soap is just The Best. You just have to read it.

There are so many more black men from historical romance that I am anxious to meet, but whose stories I haven’t gotten to yet. For instance, Virgil Smithson from The Preacher’s Promise sounds like a heck of a man. Carter Thibedeaux from Kianna Alexander’s Love’s Lasso sounds pretty great, too. And Isaac Caird from That Potent Alchemy just sounds fascinating.

And of course, I’m super anxious for Daniel’s story in An Unconditional Freedom, the third book in Alyssa Cole’s Loyal League series.

Do you have a favorite?

New and Upcoming Releases

Roughing the Kicker by Eden Butler
What Happens At Con by Cathy Yardley
A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole (I started it but haven’t finished it yet *cries*)
Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid
The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham
Acting on Love by Te Russ

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp. publisher of Dangerous by Minerva Spencer.

First in a series of Regency romances from Minerva Spencer that hits all the notes for readers seeking a fast-paced story, action, unique settings, and forward-thinking characters. In Dangerous, Minerva Spencer has combined the has all the rip-roaring adventure of Mary Jo Putney, the wit of Madeline Hunter, the fun of Tessa Dare, plus blazing sensuality, an arranged marriage of convenience, a possibly murderous marquess, and a heroine who is nobody’s doormat.

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Folks, it almost feels like a new year. The world is still trash, but some kind of way Twitter over the last week has made me feel renewed. When does that ever happen?

News and Useful Links

The RITA/Golden Heart ceremony was last Thursday, and there were definitely some waves:

• Alexis Daria won Best First Book for Take the Lead and I’m so excited for her!
• Suzanne Brockmann was the recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award and her speech was fire.
• While it was live broadcast, the recording hasn’t been posted yet. If you’d like to read a transcript, you can do that!
• (Don’t forget: if her speech inspires you, don’t just buy Hot Target; buy a book by an author of color and a book by a queer author.
• I might be compiling a personal list of folks who are now on my Fuck That Shit list if they responded poorly to the messages conveyed.
• See the full list of award recipients.

PBS is producing an adaptation of Sanditon, Jane Austen’s unfinished, final novel, for Masterpiece.

Shonda Rhimes recently announced her upcoming projects with Netflix, and I have mixed emotions about the Bridgertons announcement. Shonda creates universes filled with people of all sorts, and Julia Quinn, however entertaining her books are, does not do that. I look forward to seeing what Netflix does with it?

Buzz Books 2018: Romance is out. Check out some previews from Shelly Laurenston, Priscilla Oliveras, Meg Tilly (!!!), and more.

Another week, another interview from Corey. This time, it’s with Cole McCade. His new book, Over and Over Again, came out this week. 

Libro.fm is starting a new audiobook romance program! Have you checked it out yet?

Passes went on sale for next year’s BookLovers’ Con (the official replacement of RT Booklovers Con) on Monday. Have you gotten yours yet? The lineup is pretty fantastic.

And if that wasn’t enough, it looks like some end might be in sight for #cockygate. The most recent case has ended on a positive note, and it looks like the trademark will be cancelled. Let’s hope all the fallout that has come from this has been contained.

Deals

Delicious Temptation by Sabrina Sol is 99 cents!

Diana Muñoz Stewart’s I Am Justice is 1.99. Sisterhood of vigilante assassins, folks.

If you need more romantic suspense, Susan Brown’s The Crush is 2.99.

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks is 99 cents, too! (If you need fun in your life.)

Over on Book Riot

Romance conventions are awesome. Have you ever been to one?

Why do we love heartbreaking romances so much? (And of course, we mean romances with a definite HEA but break us on the way there.) Let’s talk about a few that really work.

Avon announced a new partnership with RWA: the Beverly Jenkins Diversity Sponsorship.

Romances with Muslim protagonists? Yes, please.

Recs!

Has extreme hype ever turned you off from a book? That’s not what happened to me with this one—I just hadn’t gotten to it yet. But I do know several people who are avoiding it because it’s so popular, and couldn’t possibly live up.

I’m here to tell you that (in this case, at least) this is the wrong idea.

The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang

Stella has a dilemma. Her parents are warning her that they’re ready for grandchildren. They know she doesn’t like surprises, so they want to get her ready. There’s only one problem: Stella isn’t married. She doesn’t have a spouse, or significant other of any kind. She’s not very good at relationships. She’s abrupt, straighforward, and doesn’t always pick up subtle nuances. Many (though not all) people on the autism spectrum display these characteristics.

Stella’s biggest problem is that she isn’t good at sex. Maybe if she’s better at that, she can get the right kind of man. So she hires Michael, an escort working to provide extra support for his family, who’s going through some tough times. Michael is intrigued by Stella, and surprises himself by accepting her proposal to be her sex tutor. But eventually, she wants something more: a practice boyfriend.

That’s right.

A practice boyfriend.

Did someone say fake relationship? I think someone said fake relationship.

So yeah. This one’s magnificent, and definitely gives you that Captain America right-in-the-feels GIF in person.

But.

I will warn you: if you are on the spectrum or have any traits of neurodiversity (hell, even if you’re on the severe end of the introvert scale), there are scenes so vivid they could trigger…something. There’s a scene where Stella suffers from overstimulation, and I had to stop reading for a minute, just to pull myself together. Just a heads up.

(Also, this is definitely not a perfect book; there are a few things that have been brought up in other reviews, like both characters’ shame in their situations—her autism and his sex work. If that’s a thing you don’t think you can read past, this might not be the book for you and that’s perfectly fine.)

When you’ve finished this one, if you haven’t read Talia Hibbert’s A Girl Like Her yet, that’s definitely the direction to go for more #ownvoices rep of an autistic woman. And it has a new cover!

New and Upcoming Releases

Casting Lacey by Elle Spencer (another fake relationship!)
Sweet on the Greek by Talia Hibbert (someday I will stop talking about her but today is not that day)
Cooper’s Charm by Lori Foster
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
Imperial Stout by Layla Reyne
Brave for You by Crystal Lacy (July 27)
Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid (July 30)
Room Service by Rochelle Alers (July 31)
A Duke By Default by Alyssa Cole (July 31)(!!!!1!!)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

Well folks, the world might actually be going to hell in a pretty big handbasket, but we can drown our denial in books. All the books.

News and Useful Links

Let’s start with some adaptation stuff!

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Sponsored by The Traitor’s Ruin by Erin Beaty

A captain with a secret.

A spy with a mission.

A kingdom on the verge of ruin.

Don’t miss The Traitor’s Ruin, book 2 in the action-packed Traitor’s Trilogy by Erin Beaty.

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Passionflix is chugging along with original production, and they’ve released the trailer for their adaptation of Driven, which is going to be their first miniseries. Up next, Brenda Jackson’s Grangers will be adapted, starting with A Brother’s Honor. And they just announced that Sylvain Reynard’s Gabriel’s Inferno (and the follow-ups) has been optioned as well.

While it’s romance-adjacent, if you haven’t watched this trailer for the new Collette movie coming out, you need to.

Have you been keeping an eye on the lineup for BookLovers Con? It’s gonna be so good and I need tickets to be available so I can get them now.

Alyssa Cole and Corey get real.

I’ve talked about the discrepancies between m/m and f/f romance, so it was great to come across this thread.

If you’re reading this early enough on Thursday, you’ve still got time to stream the RITA and Golden Heart awards on RWA’s website.

Deals

Tonight & Forever by Brenda Jackson is 99 cents right now.

Still need to read about a firefighter? Shannon Stacey’s Boston Fire Collection, which collects the first three books in the series, is 2.99.

Naima Simone’s Scoring off the Field is 2.99.

Looking for a good series to read? The Brides of Hilton Head is 6.95! That’s seven books. You know you wanna.

Over on Book Riot

Sil has been super busy! She:

• Pulled together the 50 best Kindle Unlimited books this year, including some amazing romances. Like, I’m even considering trying it out again. (I have so many books, the first time around it has all just gone to waste)
• Interviewed the magnificent Donna Hill about her decades-long writing career and all the things she’s seen alongside it.
• Made us all drool over food truck romances.

Alex talks #cockygate.

And Trisha made me take a quiz.

Did I mention we’ve got a giveaway going until July 31? Win $500 worth of YA, selected by our own Kelly Jensen.

Recs!

It’s been a good week for romance releases, but of course I didn’t get around to them! I did, however, read a couple really great backlist titles.

The Princess Trap
Talia Hibbert

I know what you’re thinking: Jess. You haven’t made it through her backlist yet? And the answer is, of course not! I’ve been spreading them out. This one has been on my radar for several months, but Talia’s cover change was the final straw. This is a heavy one, and needs a million trigger warnings for domestic and child abuse and childhood trauma but is just as well-written as any other of her books.

When Cherry Neita meets a handsome businessman from some small scandinavian country, she has no idea he’s royalty. They have instant chemistry and she is happy to quickly escalate their relationship to the sexy kind. Of course, that’s before an intrepid reporter spooks Ruben into saying that Cherry is his fiance. So now he’s in a pickle. He doesn’t want any more scandal to fall upon his head, so he’s willing to pay Cherry—who is Mad AF—to pretend to be his fiance. She agrees, but wherever they were going with their initial relationship is over.

Damn, right?

So when you’re done with the intensity that is any Hibbert, hop on down to Dareville and giggle with Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare.

The fourth book in her Castles Ever After series (and also sort of a spinoff of her Spindle Cove series), this one includes a stodgy marquess with a secret agenda and the young woman determined to save him from a loveless marriage, even if it’s to her. When they’re caught alone together during a party, they end up with “An Understanding” that keeps her mother in check but allows them to potentially part ways at the end of the house party. This book, much like everything else I’ve read by this author, is just…precious. There is laughter all around, along with some heartbreak (also hey trigger warning for discussion of suicide) and also some aggravated groaning. But it’s damn near perfect, so you should enjoy it!

New and Upcoming Releases

Competence by Gail Carriger
Fire and Granite by Andrew Grey
Acting on Love by Te Russ
Love Machine by Kendall Ryan
All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover
Sweet on the Greek by Talia Hibbert (July 20) (Yes! A new one! Already!)
Over and Over Again by Cole Mc Cade (July 23)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

It’s been a nice couple weeks for reading, lovers! Most of the regular season shows are over, and it’s pretty easy to just watch the summer shows when I’m eating or doing something else that doesn’t allow me to hold a book. It’s nice to break up every couple books with a new episode of The Bold Type or something else fun. But this is about books, so let’s get to it.

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Sponsored by DREAM LOVER by Stacey Keith

Timid social worker April Roby believes in avoiding entanglements until she meets Brandon McBride, the muscle-bound, motorcycle-riding bad boy, older brother of one of her latest client.  Neither one of them is looking for a fairy-tale ending; but in Cuervo, Texas, they just might get one anyway . . .

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News and Useful Links

The New York Times made a good start in talking about issues with diversity in romance. They name quite a few awesome authors, but could have gone a little further with less-famous authors of color and other issues facing queer romance. I hope there will be a follow-up.

Do you buy books from Smashwords? They’re having a huge sale right now. Never checked it out? Wander around!

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS COVER?!?!?! (Hint: Cat Sebastian’s got a new book called A Duke In Disguise coming out.)

This is a thing and I have questions. Like, if Harlequin was so interested in underrepresented groups, why did they discontinue their one line that only published books by authors from an underrepresented group? Why didn’t they retain all of those authors when they closed the imprint? Are they making them resubmit proposals? I’m glad that Harlequin/Mills & Boon is reaching out to even more underrepresented people, but I don’t like that it’s after they’d displaced others that already wrote for them.

In other news, is it next year yet?

What are your thoughts on mercenary librarians? You probably want to sign up for info about them, huh?

Deals!

Still Not Over You by Aarti V. Raman is 99 cents.

Several of Christi Caldwell’s Sinful Brides books, including The Rogue’s Wager, are 1.99 right now.

Jayne Ann Krentz’s Sharp Edges is 1.99, too.

Afterburn & Aftershock by Sylvia Day is 99 cents! (Have you seen the movie on Passionflix?)

Over on Book Riot

Ladies with babies, oh yeah.

Prime member? Free money!

How do you use your holds?

Recs!

Are you familiar with the #readmyowndamnbooks reading challenge? It was one I started doing a couple years ago and have never succeeded at. Books I don’t own are such a draw, I can’t avoid or escape them. But sometimes I like to give it a brief try, and this month I wanted to pull a few books off my shelf that would be good to share with you all. They’re all series starters, each of which has at least a few books out. The series aren’t all complete, but they’re all worth starting.

Taking the Lead
Cecilia Tan

If you’re looking for a new series that will just…set everything on fire, you can’t go wrong with Cecilia Tan. A master of the erotic romance, Tan is the author you can always turn to if you’re looking for something where the sex is central to the plot. In this particular series starter, a Hollywood heiress and a rising rock star hit it off almost immediately, and then have a million problems when she can’t come to terms with her own sexual needs. If BDSM isn’t your thing, this series is very much not for you. But if it is…you’re going to have a lot of fun.

Heroine Complex
Sarah Kuhn

And speaking of fun, this series is the complete opposite of the angst-ridden world of Ricki and Axel. Set in a world where superheroes have assistants and live stream their demon attacks, Heroine Complex is almost over-the-top ridiculous but absolutely great at it. When Evie has to masquerade as her boss, San Francisco’s most popular (and most difficult) superheroine, she suddenly has even more problems than cupcake demons on her hands—including unneeded romantic ones.

Lady Bridget’s Diary
Maya Rodale

Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. In the late Regency period, Lady Bridget Cavendish is one of three sisters of a new Duke. But she and her siblings are American, and Lord Darcy is not amused by her callous manners. (You see where this is going.) If you like smart women and siblings who are great for comic relief, this is the book for you. (Also, I’m looking particularly forward to Lady Claire is All That, because apparently I’m all about ladies doing math after the magic that was Courtney Milan’s Talk Sweetly To Me.)

Up next, I’d love to start a few things on my digital shelves, including Farrah Rochon’s Deliver Me, Alyssa Cole’s Radio Silence, and Courtney Milan’s Unveiled. And a million more because I can’t stop acquiring books. But these are a good start, right?

New and Upcoming Releases

Mr. Hotshot CEO by Jackie Lau
Unfit to Print by KJ Charles
My Lord, Lady and Gentleman by Nicola Davidson
The Other Lane by Marla Holt
Pushing Thirty by Necole Ryse (July 17)
Competence by Gail Carriger (July 17)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

Happy July, folks! I hope your June wasn’t terrible, and let’s get you all prepared to face the month with some romance!

News and Useful Links

That Frolic, always giving us the Good Content. And also this one about Fabio.

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Sponsored by Frolic Media

Frolic is a new media destination dedicated to all things Romance and Pop Culture. Co-founders Sarah and Lisa were both searching for a destination to indulge their inner alpha-heroines and geek out about the little things they love and their life-long obsessions. They couldn’t find it, so they decided to build it. Our mission is simple: We are devoted to building a destination in Romancelandia that celebrates optimism, romance novels and love of books and pop culture. We have daily content on our site from some of the biggest authors, bookstagrammers and bloggers.

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Are you a Passionflix member? They recently decided they had to turn their next film, the adaptation of Driven, into a six-part series, because they needed all the filmed content. That’s dedication to the cause. And also that’s what happens when you own your platform. So high five to them. I hope to see the same care given to their next project, which is the adaptation of Brenda Jackson’s A Brother’s Honor.

Do you follow bookish live-tweets? Fangirl Musings has been doing it for Wicked and the Wallflower and it’s sort of making me sad I’ve already read the book. But also glad I’ve already read the book so I can come across each tweet and be like “YES, that is exactly what I was feeling.” So if that’s your thing, check her out. And then check out her youtube page. (Also, I almost wrote “Wicked and the Wallpaper” and that would have just been the best misprint and also I want that short about a certain couple setting up house.)

Find out where authors who previously wrote for Kimani will be publishing after the line closes.

Talia Hibbert and Jennifer Hallock both wrote really interesting things about people of color in historical fiction. AND Talia might have made an announcement about an upcoming project. So you definitely want to read both of these.  

Deals!

Sarah Kuhn’s Heroine Complex is 1.99 but I’m not sure for how long. So you might want to get it ASAP 😉

Alexis Daria’s Take the Lead is 1.99 for a very limited time.

The Hellion by Christi Caldwell is 2.49 right now!

Christins Lauren’s Roomies is 1.99 this month, too. Read it before they make the movie, you know?

Tiffany Reisz’s The Siren is 99 cents right now. I’ve heard that it’s crazypants, but actually awesome. (I’ve been meaning to read it forever! Thanks for the reminder, Amazon!)

Over on Book Riot

Annika decided that there were a bunch of romcoms than need novelizations, and I definitely can’t disagree with any of these. Hell, I’ll even pull a Levithan and offer to write a couple.

Is a Tiffany Reisz reading pathyway what you didn’t know you needed in your life? Yeah, it is.

Avon True Romance, we hardly knew ye.

Dragon. Shifter. Romances.

Sexy comics. There goes my monthly buying allowance.

Missed the last giveaway? No worries! Now you can enter for $500 worth of the best new YA. Five. Hundred. Dollars’. Worth.

And of course, Trisha and I talked about some stuff. There might have been nudists involved.

Recs!

Today, instead of my mini recs, I’m doing a brief list. I wanted to share some books that end well but are also about folks in love and Making Good Trouble. Some live in our time, some in the past, but they’re always looking to make a difference in their world.

A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles

Meet Silas, whose pamphlets written under the name Jack Cade call for the people to oppose the pressures put upon them by the House of Lords and the rest of the aristocracy. The man he’s been meeting for sexytimes and conversation once a week doesn’t know that, of course. Otherwise, it would make his role in the Home Office pretty awkward.

Loving the Secret Billionaire by Adriana Anders

Veronica Cruz has been hitting the pavement trying to win an election. She’s completely grassroots, knocking on doors with the few volunteers she’s got. When she knocks on Zach’s door, she earns an unexpected supporter and ends up on the path to quite the relationship.

(And of course, check out all three Rogue anthologies, starting with Rogue Desire, where the original version of this story existed (this one has been expanded). So much Good Trouble packed into those pages!)

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan

Free Marshall runs a newspaper written by women, for women. She’s a suffragette, and will continue to be so even when it looks like it’s hopeless. Luckily for her, the snarky, negative man who falls in love with her will stand behind her to the last breath.  

His Convenient Husband by Robin Covington

Victor Aleksandrov is a visiting principal dancer in the United States. While he’s in the US, he’s also seeking asylum, as a gay man very outspoken about the injustices done to his fellow people in Russia. When that asylum request doesn’t turn out as expected, he can count upon a new friend, Isaiah, to marry him. That’s what friends do, right?

Let Us Dream and Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole

Alyssa Cole is not afraid of making good trouble with her characters. Whether it’s a woman using her position as a club owner to educate women in the working classes on their rights for when they finally get the vote, or a young woman finding her voice and joining the Freedom Riders, there’s all kinds of trouble her characters find themselves in. And these are just a couple.

Don’t Feed the Trolls by Erica Kudisch

This is more of a romance-adjacent story about self-discovery, but there is an awesome romantic element featuring a kick-ass love interest who does some kick-ass things later in the book that I can’t talk about because it’s a secret. Just read this one.

New and Upcoming Releases

Cherish Me by Farrah Rochon (THAT COVER THO)
Guarding His Heart by Synithia Williams
Inevitable Addiction by Christina C. Jones
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian (July 10) (YAAAAAY!!!!)
Concerto in Chroma Major by Naomi Tajedler (July 10)
Unfit to Print by KJ Charles (July 10)
The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely (July 10)

OMIGOD Y’ALL JULY TENTH IS GONNA BE AN AMAZING DAY. I might have to take it off just to read. 

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.comif you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!

 

It’s the last week of June! I hope everyone who celebrates had a good Pride! Let’s get down to business (to defeat the Huns).

News and Useful Links

Sarah MacLean blessed us with some stories about her book titles. So many puns.

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Sponsored by Fierce Reads

As best friend and lady-in-waiting to the princess, Branwen is guided by two principles: devotion to her homeland and hatred for the raiders who killed her parents. But when she unknowingly saves the life of her enemy, he awakens her ancient healing magic and opens her heart. Branwen begins to dream of peace, but the princess she serves is not so easily convinced. Fighting for what’s right, even as her powers grow, will set Branwen against her best friend and the only man she’s ever loved – can she succeed?

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Also, she has a brief introduction between The Bareknuckle Bastards and some other fun folks on her website.

New Bingo Love! Also, there’s a really awesome Bingo Love Jackpot Edition graphic novel coming out, this year, too.

Love In Panels has a regular Sci-Fi best bets column. This is a place where there are big holes in my reading, so I’m always happy to see what they recommend.

Have you seen the new trailer for the Netflix adaptation of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before? Precious!

And speaking of trailers, there’s word that three Jane Green novels are going to be adapted for Lifetime. Have you read any of her books?

And not to put folks in the angry mood (did you notice I shared a bunch of happy stuff), Jen reminded me of the concept of Lost Cause romance, and yes, it should be disparaged and outraged against to the same extent of Nazi romances. The concept of the Lost Cause—the same movement that led to a million Daughters of the Confederacy monuments spread across the US in the 1920s and ‘30s, that put the idea that land and states’ rights was the cause of the Civil War, that spread the sentiment that enslaved people loved their benevolent masters and hated to leave them—is a dangerous one in which to base any romance. I had already made it a personal initiative not to read slave/master romances of any kind (Captive Prince notwithstanding because the portrayal of their slave/master relationship is horrible, as it should be), and had recently expanded it to books in which slaveowners were protagonists. I haven’t read the book Jen discusses in her tweet thread, just the blurb. But it sure sounds like the beleaguered owner of a plantation is written as a sympathetic heroine, a regular pre-Rhett Scarlett O’Hara. *Shrug.* You know what I say. You read what you want to, but always think about why you like it. Some people will say that this isn’t nearly as bad as Nazis. I don’t have time for it. Now is not the time. It’s too close to home, for any generation. That is not what I go to romance for.

Okay, I’m done. Let’s move on.

Deals!

Karen McQuestion’s From a Distant Star is 1.99.

The Hating Game is still 1.99. You know you want to.

Looking for a movie star romance (featuring a romance novelist heroine?!)? Robin Covington’s Playing the Part is 2.99 right now.

 

Over on Book Riot

Firefighter romances, you say?

Romance readers can relate, I’ll bet.

Silvana put together a list of upcoming romances you really don’t want to miss!

Have you seen Cat Sebastian’s books in Barnes & Noble yet?

OOOOH Werewolves! I love werewolves!

Recs!

Before I get to my regular recs, just wanted to toss out a correction: I noticed that somehow when KB went out last week, Top to Bottom by Delphine Dryden had somehow been turned into A Hundred Thousand Words. And then I remembered that Delphine had pulled her books from Riptide and you wouldn’t be able to buy them. So, so sorry!

Okay, now let’s get down to it. (I’m so sorry. I just watched Mulan.)

When Katie Met Cassidy
Camille Perri

I saw the title of this book hanging about for several months before I knew anything about it besides the fact that it was not being published by a romance publisher and therefore I could not trust it to have an HEA. But I was at a party at RT Con and overheard a trusted publicist talking about a “cute lesbian romance” and immediately inserted myself into the conversation. A few weeks later, I got a copy in the mail, and was excited to sit down and read some loveliness.

It lived up, definitely.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Katie, to whom we’re introduced first. But I warmed up to her pretty quickly, and Cassidy as well. I’ve reached an age where most romance protagonists are younger than me, but these two weren’t that kind of young that you just can’t bear to read because you remember being that young. Their courtship is sweet and their relationships are fascinating. I will echo some people’s thoughts about Katie’s sudden and unflinching change of pace, but sometimes…well, that’s how that goes. Have you read it? What do you think?

Another crossover novel that might be interesting to some romance readers is Austin Chant’s Peter Darling, which introduces us to a bored James Hook doling out routine piracy. A newcomer to Neverland sets Hook on edge, especially when he realizes that the young man is none other than Peter Pan. There is more to the story than a romance, but there is a romantic element that might draw some readers (I’ll admit to realizing halfway through that I just…hate the character of Peter Pan too much to read that much about him, even if the story is about his growth).

I’m also a bit of a ways into TJ Masters’ Bear Among the Books. It’s the first of his books that I’ve ever picked up, and I’m curious about how he’s going to approach the power dynamics of a forty-plus librarian and the barely-legal young man he takes under his wing. I’m always more interested in gay romance by gay authors, (and also books about librarians) so I hope this one lives up!

Also, I’ve been meaning to read Xen’s Shatterproof since I got the new remastered version. I should get on that.

New and Upcoming Releases

Sweet Summer Days by Sheryl Lister
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean (in case you missed it the last few times)
Electric Impulse by Angel Hilson
Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews
Promised Land by Rose Lerner
The Pursuit Of… by Courtney Milan
That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole

So yeah, if you’d been interested in one of the novellas in Hamilton’s Battalion but didn’t want them all, you can do that now. And oh my, look at the covers. They’re marvelous.

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.comif you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!