Category: Kissing Books

Hey there, lovers. It’s been a crazy couple weeks in Romancelandia. Know how I said they needed a break? Well, they had their fun at the RT Convention, and now it’s time for all the Shitteth to Hitteth the Fan…eth.

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Let’s start with the less good news, just to get it out of the way.

Harlequin has informed authors and other relevant publishing professionals that it will be discontinuing five of its lines over the course of the next 18 months. Here’s a quick rundown. This is…distressing. And I will join the chorus that, while sad about all five lines needing to close, is most distressed about them making the decision to close the line that publishes an overwhelming majority of their romance by authors of color—black authors in particular. This makes me hope that they are going to fold their corps of authors into their other lines, making all of them much more diverse; it’ll be nice to see someone darker than a Sheikh on the cover of a Desire book. I hope Harlequin knows we’re all going to be watching its publications and acquisitions like hawks after December 2018.

Meanwhile, moments after I hit publish on the last KB, KFC decided a fun thing to do would be to commission a special romance novel for Mother’s Day called Tender Wings of Desire. I was curious enough that I downloaded it on a whim (y’know, free), but I couldn’t bring myself to open it. This felt like punch-down humor from a place that sells (admittedly delicious) chicken (that I haven’t eaten in years), and I still don’t know how I feel about it. On one hand, it’s kinda funny. A romance starring The Colonel. I chuckled. On the other, it was obviously made with the distinct purpose of making fun, and not in the Chuck Tingle or Velociraptor Sex way. Did you read it? Hit reply and tell me your thoughts.

In happier news, with RT Convention comes the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards. I haven’t read all of them, but I’ll have to get on that soon. The ones I have read include Marrying Winterborne  and Forbidden, which are definitely deserving.

Have you noticed that even with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon making so much original content, we still aren’t at the level of romcom greatness that we were two decades ago? Some of us have, and an intrepid group of women came together to start PassionFlix, which is not porn, if your friends ask. The future streaming platform will not only feature romantic favorites, but also produce new feature-length films based on our favorite romances. The list of those in production currently includes titles by Alessandra Torre and Jill Shalvis, with tons more on the way. Want to play a part in the endeavor? You can become a Founding Member.

Pardon my squeals, but Gail Carriger has finally de-secrefied her super secret project, nicknamed SAS in communiques over the course of the past several months. If you’ve read her short Marine Biology, you’ll be familiar with Biff, the main character of The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1. Carriger’s Parasolverse novels are great, but I’m excited to see what G. L. Carriger’s modern paranormal work looks like!

Over on Book Riot:

Want to make your TBR explode? Check out Amanda Diehl’s list of 100 books by International Romance Authors to check out. Oh man. Lots of good stuff and so many new discoveries to make.

Do you like tinyletters? A couple of the authors Annika mentions in her list of good tinyletters about books and writing to follow are romance writers. Maybe they can help get me off my behind and finish that first draft I’ve been working on forever.

On To Recs!

Bombshell, CD Reiss

Are you ready to fall in love? There are three people to fall for in this book, which was apparently born out of a fan feeling the need for party boy Brad to have a kid. That kid is Nicole, who we meet in quite the situation at the nanny HQ where Cara is waiting to sign a contract. She doesn’t work for Hollywood types, but Nicole doesn’t want anyone but her. The compromise Cara and Brad come up with is all kinds of precious, and the exchanges throughout the book are the same. If there’s a good word to describe this book, it’s sweet—but there is also quite the bit of spicy. Like serious spicy. Sweet, cute, heartbreaking, and sexy. What else do you want in your romance?

Concourse, Santino Hassell

This was my first Santino Hassell book, but I went ahead and got Sutphin Boulevard when I finished; I need to start this series from the beginning. And I need to get more of Santino’s writing in my brain. In Concourse, we meet Val and Ash, an Odd Couple if we ever saw one: Val is an amateur boxer who does odd jobs for his super, while Ash is a glam Kardiashanesque socialite with the Instagram following to show for it. Valdrin’s parents moved to The Bronx from Albania, and his mom was Ashton’s nanny, meaning the two pretty much grew up together. Val will do anything for Ash, as we discover very early on.

It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with these two; almost immediately, you can tell there’s something special about their relationship, even if they both drive you mad with frustration. If you’re looking for a friends-to-lovers story with complex characters who have even complexer issues, this is the book for you. Also, you can hit two Read Harder Challenge categories with this one.

As usual, some books to keep an eye out for:

Haven, Rebekah Weatherspoon (in case you didn’t last time)

Lethal Lies, Rebecca Zanetti

Buns, Alice Clayton (5/23)

Guilty Pleasure, Brenda Jackson (5/29)

In Name Only: 9 Fake-It-To-Make-It Romances (5/29)

Called Out, Jen Doyle (5/29)

Shacking Up, Helena Hunting (5/30)

Until You, Denise Grover Swank (5/30)

Time to get back to reading (catch up? what’s that?). In the meantime, 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!

Until next time, m’loves!

Happy Star Wars day! Who’s your favorite Star Wars couple? I have a special place in my heart for Ciena and Thayne from Claudia Gray’s Lost Stars, but I totally betrayed them for a few months with aaaalll the Stormpilot (and maybe some of the Jedistormpilot) fanfiction after The Force Awakens came out. Of course I am all about OG Han and Leia, but I like to pretend their story ended in Episode VI. Let me have that. 

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This week’s newsletter is sponsored by The Noble Servant by Melanie Dickerson.

New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson returns with The Noble Servant, a retelling of the fairtale classic, The Goose Girl. In this medieval tale, Lady Magdalen is on her way to join the Duke of Wolfberg in marriage when her maidservant betrays her, takes her identity, and sends her down to the lowliest household position—tending the geese. But while out in the field, Magdalen encounters a mysterious shepherd who reveals that not all is as it seems in the castle, and it is up to them—the lowest of the low—to regain all that is lost.

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(For the uninitiated non-dweebs who read Kissing Books, you can read all about the silliness of May The Fourth Be With You here.)

In other news, how has your reading gone since we last chatted?

Romancelandia has been pretty quiet (they deserve a break from all the drama!), and right now they’re all busy at RT Convention, but there are always books!

Over on Book Riot, we’ve got romances that pass the Bechdel-Wallace test.

Amanda Diehl compiled diverse romances coming out in the next quarter.

And next: book recs!

I finally got around to reading The Thing About Love by Julie James and it was great fun. I’d (gasp!) only read one other Julie James novel before and hadn’t been bowled over the way others seemed to have been, and I discovered I just hadn’t found the right Julie James novel. This one, about two FBI agents with a history that—as with most histories—is remembered very differently by the pair, is fantastic, funny, and frustrating in the best ways. If you want all the interesting undercover work without the angst of a romantic suspense, this is the book for you.

I just (literally just) finished Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Haven and holy gee whiz. You’re gonna want to get your hands on this one immediately. When Shep hears screaming from his remote mountain home, he has no idea what’s going to happen to his life or that of the beautiful woman whose life he saves. Where’s that fire emoji when you need it? This book requires heat-resistant gloves just to turn the pages. And because YMMV, if the name of the series (Beards and Bondage) didn’t give enough of a hint, you’re gonna want to be prepared for bearded heroes. And kink, of course.

Both of these books include a mountain of a man as our hero, neither of whom tries to hide how much of a sweetheart they actually are. So if that’s your thing, you’ll want to mainline these back to back.

And per usual, some books out now and coming soon:

Concourse, Santino Hassell

Necessary Medicine, MK York

Seized by Seduction, Brenda Jackson

To Me I Wed, KM Jackson

The Librarian and the Spy, Susan Mann

Dating the Undead, Juliet Lyons

Bombshell, CD Reiss

Love Me Again, Jaci Burton

Crazy for You, Rina Gray (5/ 8)

Deadmen Walking, Sherrilyn Kenyon (5/9)

The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Amanda Quick (5/9)

Lethal Lies, Rebecca Zanetti (5/16)

 

Time to get back to reading (not even gonna lie about “getting caught up”). In the meantime, 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!

Until next time, m’loves!

The countdown to RT Convention in Atlanta has begun. Are you going? (I, sadly, am not. Do all the things for me!)

Oh hey, have you heard? Book Riot has started a sweet new thing called Insiders. For as low as 3 dollars a month, subscribers can get all kinds of exclusive content and access. Depending on what level of subscription you choose, you can get access to deals from the Book Riot store, a new releases index, even an Insiders-only forum on Slack (where you can hang out in a romance dedicated chat channel with meeee…and lots of other awesome people, too). Want to know more? Read on here.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Life After by Kate Ganshert

A fiery explosion claims the lives of passengers on Chicago’s transit system. As the sole survivor, Autumn Manning is haunted by the lives of the victims. When forces come together to bring her face-to-face with reminders of devastating loss, she must decide what path to take forward. In Life After, Katie Ganshert’s most complex and unforgettable novel yet, the stirring prose and authentic characters pose questions of truth, goodness, and ultimate purpose in this emotionally resonant tale.

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Have you read Colleen Hoover’s Confess? No matter the answer, you should check out the webseries. It’s quick and sweet, and does the novel well.

Have you been hanging out on Twitter? Romance had a field day taking on Bon Appetit, who posted (and quickly deleted!) a tweet about books you don’t have to hide behind the covers of other books. I storified the highlights for you, just to get a taste.

They also dropped some truth bombs earlier this week in #WhatWOCWritersHear.

On a more heartwarming note, romance authors were very prominent in the #pocpublove hashtag last week. Authors like Beverly Jenkins and Rebekah Weatherspoon were very vocal about supporting authors of color as well as those who work behind the scenes in publishing. Have a scroll through the hashtag and find some new awesome people to follow!

Over on Book Riot, all kinds of things have been going on.

Remember how we talked about me not being a fan of Romance without the HEA? Neither is Sarah Nicolas.

Add to your TBR with some of our recent lists, including romances featuring librarians, hockey players, diverse historicals, and of course, you all gave us your favorite contemporaries.

(And since I neglected to in my post, I will take this moment to tout Ever After Box, who have a Librarians in Love box this month (and you’ve still got time to order one)!)

Meanwhile, are you overwhelmed with library holds? Teresa’s got a secret for you.

Okay, enough about them, let’s talk about books!

I cannot stop talking about Love By the Books by Te Russ. I came across it looking for books about librarians, and I just knew I had to read it immediately. First we have Carmen Jones, a literary agent who has just scored an amazing deal for a first-time author. And on her first visit to By the Books to inform said writer, she meets Sebastian, who turns out to own the joint. The two have an immediate connection, and their courtship is full of dorky, bookish, adorable goodness. I was swooning straight through to the end. How good was this book? Not even a healthy smattering of typos could take away from my enduring love for these people. Of course, it’s all about what you love; I totally decided that these two were my soulmates and that I was marrying them by the time I got to the end. But I guess I can share. 

I have to stop talking about that one to also gush about Act Like It, which several Rioters have previously expressed their love for. In direct contrast to Love By the Books, Lainie and Richard start out somewhere between antagonistic and indifferent. They are both in the same West End theater production, but barely speak to each other offstage. And then, what else? Richard’s image could use a relationship with a good girl. Fake relationship? Yes, please. Realizing it doesn’t need to be fake? Hell yes. Never losing the snark and sarcasm no matter what direction their relationship takes? All the things.  

I’m smack in the middle of LA Witt’s upcoming Back Piece, the first in a new series about tattoo artists and sailors in Virginia Beach (at least, I’m guessing future books will also include sailors). So far, loving it. These boys have definitely wrapped their way around my heart, and LA Witt’s writing is fantastic and compelling as usual. I won’t tell you not to put it on hold or preorder.

Next up is The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life. I’m so. Very. Intrigued. Have you read it? What did you think? Is it as bizarre as it looks? 

And of course, here are a few recent and upcoming books to look out for:

The Thing About Love, Julie James

How to Bang a Billionaire, Alexis Hall

Homecoming, Celeste Castro

To Marry A Prince, AC Arthur

Lavish Loving, Zuri Day

Thaw, Elyse Springer (April 25) (See my Library list to read more about that one!)

To Me I Wed, KM Jackson (April 25)

The Librarian and the Spy, Susan Mann (April 25)

You all enjoy; I’m going to take some time to catch up! (Like that’ll ever happen!)

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!

Until next time, m’loves!

Oh hey, it’s that time again!

Let’s talk about the bad news before we get into all the good stuff. If you haven’t yet heard, we’re not having Book Riot Live this year. The past two years have been awesome, and romance greats like Beverly Jenkins and Sarah MacLean have been known to be in attendance. So we’ll be sad not to have that kind of readerly fellowship, but it sounds like we’ll have some other kinds of Rioty awesomeness as we move forward.

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I can’t stop watching this video that Harlequin put out. The Cowboy one is out, too, but I can’t tear myself away from the original. Would you go out with a romance hero? I wouldn’t mind.

Over on Book Riot, we’ve got a giveaway of Alexa Riley’s His Alone, open until April 7. Go forth and enter!

I’ve been pretty good about including LGBTQ+ romance in Kissing Books, but if you’re still not sure where to start, here’s a post about some of the ins and outs. I probably could have written about it all night; but if I’d gone into the unfortunate truth that LGBTQ+ romances (much like romances by POC) are priced stupid high in comparison to their straight peers, or broken suggestions down into genres and heat levels, or contemplated the breakdown of straight woman authors vs. non-straight authors in the more popular publishing houses, we probably would have been there all night. Hmm. Guess there’s room for a part two…

Natalya Muncuff, who first wrote about her love for romance, occasionally enjoys romance without the HEA. Are you one of those people? I’ll admit, I’m very much not. Sure, I’ve bitterly read a couple romances hoping against hope that it would end without the couple getting together. But that was usually the authors’ fault, for making situations that shouldn’t have ended well, but they were obligated (by the genre, by a contract) to provide a HEA. But otherwise, when I go into a romance, I’m in it for the HEA. YMMV, though, and I’ve definitely seen more being either open ended or downright UEAs.

What are you reading, lovers?

I just finished Tiffany Reisz’s The Night Mark and I am obsessed. Have you read it? You should. It just came out last week, and neither the ebook nor the paperback are horribly priced.

Faye is a miserable woman stuck in a miserable marriage. Her first husband, Will, died too soon, and she’s spent the past few years married to his best friend. She finally calls it quits and moves to a small island off the coast of South Carolina, where a lighthouse calls to her, and to her camera. But what does she do when she gets pulled under the waves on the lighthouse’s beach only to be pulled out by a man who is the spitting image of her dead husband? And finds herself on that same island, only in 1921? Fall in love, of course.

I am a sucker for time travel romance, so if you’re looking for something to ease your Outlander itch and you’ve read all the classics like Knight in Shining Armor, Susanna Kearsley’s novels and the All Souls Trilogy (spoiler?), this one is for you.

And now I want to read All The Things about old lighthouses. And I can’t get “Brazzle Dazzle Day”  out of my head (you’re welcome).

And of course, here are some books out this week and coming soon:

What Matters Most, Georgia Beers

Rescued by a Space Pirate, Nina Croft

Dutch, Madhuri Pavamani

Loose Cannon, Sidney Bell

Boss, Tracy Brown

A Fare to Remember, Opal Carew (points for movie pun!)

72 Hours, Bella Jewel

Buck Naked, Evangeline Anderson

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!

Until next time, m’loves!

Happy Spring, lovers!

What’s the weather like in your area? I’m down in the desert, and it’s pretty much already summer here…which means by the time June rolls around…*shudder*

What’s new in the romance world? Harlequin, for one.

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This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Hard Justice by Lori Foster.

Justice Wallington knows how to harness his strength and intimidating size—skills he puts to good use as a bodyguard at the Body Armor agency. But no one has ever left him feeling as off balance as his new client, heiress Fallon Wade. It’s a risk-free assignment, until he’s required to fake a relationship with her… Fallon longs to experience life which isn’t easy with Justice shadowing her every move. Despite their differences, pretending to be a couple stirs undeniable heat. And when danger strikes again, it’s not just her safety in jeopardy, but a passion that’s real, raw and absolutely against the rules…

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First, Harlequin announced that a new imprint would be rolling out soon, and not the one you know about: Hanover Square Press, an adult fiction, general nonfiction, memoir, etc. imprint, was created, I guess, to attract non-Romance readers. Why did Harlequin decide they needed to expand their brand (and their image)? Your guess is as good as mine.

What else has Harlequin done? They had already announced that their sexy contemporary line, Blaze, would be discontinued. Then, they announced that they were starting a new line, DARE (not to be confused with the drug prevention program). This line would include hot, daring, contemporary stories with “eyebrow raising sex”. Amanda Diehl and I are both confused as to what this would actually mean. Is this their drive to bring readers of more sexually adventurous or darker romance into the Harlequin fold? We don’t know, but it could be promising. More in 2018, I guess.

And of course, the Romance Writers of America’s RITA nominations were announced this week! And oh man, do I have some reading to do! How about you?

Over on Book Riot, nod along with guest author Natalya Muncuff as she declares her love for romance. It’s all about love, baby.

Since it’s Women’s History Month, let’s talk about some awesome historical women whose stories are out (or will be out soon):

An Extraordinary Union, Alyssa Cole (Out March 28 THAT’S NEXT WEEK!!!)

I have been bouncing with excitement for the chance to talk more about this book now that it will be out soon. If you haven’t pre-ordered it yet, get on it! You’ll want to devour it immediately, I promise. This book has gotten a lot of press in the romance universe, and for good reason: this is a Civil War romance that defies the boundaries of Civil War romance, while still grasping upon the realities of history and giving us an untold story. With kissing.

And spies.

SPIES.

This is a CIVIL WAR SPY ROMANCE.

The heroine, Elle, has an eidetic memory, which makes her the perfect candidate to go deep, deep, undercover, posing as an enslaved woman in the household of a Confederate senator. She’s working with Malcolm, one of Pinkerton’s men, to discover any plans around a plot to sideline the Union in Richmond. The pair share a striking, soulful chemistry, and their banter is fantastic. If you’ve read any Alyssa Cole, you know what I’m talking about. If not, this will make an extraordinary introduction to her talents.

See what I did there? Heh.

Chasing Moonlight, Raven St. Pierre

This was…an intense experience. Set in 1941 Alabama, this book is not a sugarcoated interracial romance. Where Cole’s book is full of snark and humor, this one is much more earnest in its execution. Quinn, “the help” for a town reverend and his family, first meets Jesse when he comes to pick up the reverend’s daughter for a date. The two are drawn to each other, even though they both know that even speaking to each other is dangerous. As the two form a tenuous relationship involving roadside walks at dusk and meetings in abandoned churches, we see the effects of Jim Crow in the daily workings of life. All is not lost, in the end, but some serious sacrifices have to be made for Jesse and Quinn to reach their happy ending. The third in the Again for the First Time series, it can be read as a standalone, but you’re going to be curious about the other two books when you’re done.

I’m currently working my way through The Liberators of Willow Run and it is fascinating. We’re all familiar with the image of Rosie the Riveter, but what do we really know about the bomber factories putting together giant planes using an adapted version of Mr. Ford’s assembly line? At the Willow Run factory in Detroit, Audrey and her fellow crewmates build B-24 bombers, working faster and faster every day to improve their record. We’ll see what happens between her and Ruth, a young woman whose parents left her at a home meant to restore her moral fiber. Or something. Liberators has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for lesbian romance, so fingers crossed I make it through.

As an aside, for your Women’s History Month pleasure, here’s the newest, super awesome digital collection at the Library of Congress. 

And as usual, a few books to keep an eye out for between now and when we chat again.

Insight, Santino Hassell

Growing Pains, Cass Lennox

Hot On Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology

No One But You, Catherine Maiorisi

Hard Justice, Lori Foster

Strays, Garrett Leigh (March 27)

Dirty Filthy Rich Men, Laurelin Paige (March 27)

Forever Mine, Erin Nicholas (March 28)

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!

Until next time, m’loves!

Happy March, loves!

There have been a lot of happenings in the past couple of weeks. What have you been reading? I haven’t been very productive, but I’ve picked up a lot of new books to read…eventually.

Sarah MacLean recently did a video interview with the fine folks at Genre Bending, Harper Collins’ Library-aimed genre blog. Want to get a glimpse into why on earth Sera and Haven would stay together? She talks about that and more. Good stuff!

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This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Unbound Worlds’ Cage Match!

Cage Match is back! Unbound Worlds is pitting science fiction characters against fantasy characters in a battle-to-the-death tournament, and you can win a collection of all 32 books featured in the competition. Enter now for your chance to win this library of sci-fi and fantasy titles!

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Did you read the Beyond series? Kit Rocha just started a new series!

And have you heard? The ladies behind Christina Lauren announced that their next book is going to the Great White Way. Are you a theater fan?

Barnes and Noble announced a drop in onsite sales recently. When was the last time you wandered in and bought a novel? Digital sales on all platforms continue to rise for romance readers, and a lot of us continue to order physical books online from Amazon or Indiebound for the prices. I hope this doesn’t lead to closures; in some places, Barnes and Noble is the only physical bookstore available for those of us who just need to take a breather and surround ourselves with books.

Meanwhile, Netflix has hired a literary scout. Any ideas how we can get our favorite romances on their radar?

On Book Riot:

You voted, and we compiled Book Riot readers’ favorite romance series! Did yours make the list? I was surprised not to see Beverly Jenkins, Sherry Thomas, or Courtney Milan, but we’ll get them on your favorites list yet.

Jamie Canaves hates epilogues. Do you?

Molly Wetta tried out Harper Collins’ new Recommendation bot. What do you use when you are desperate for a new book recommendation?

Do you read in the bath? A. J. O’Connell compiled a few ideas to make it easier.

And don’t forget, you can always search the Romance/Erotica tag on Book Riot for other great posts.

Yesterday was International Women’s Day! Did you take part in the Day Without Women? Book Riot did, and it was great to be a part of the movement in that one little way. And since we’re talking about women, women, and nothing but women today, how about some great women loving other women? (Bonus: these are all going to be good for your LGBTQ+ romance RH category!)

Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Because who doesn’t want a college lesbian vampire series? And it doesn’t hurt that it’s by the amazing Rebekah Weatherspoon, who could probably write a story about falling in love with an actual spoon and we’d still love it.

Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger

While this book is set in Carriger’s famous Parasolverse, you don’t have to be too familiar with the characters to love this book. All you have to know is that a brilliant parlourmaid and a very strange inventor can find love in the British countryside. Even if they both are working for vampires.

Bound With Love by Megan Mulry

This one doesn’t have vampires, I promise. What it does feature is two slightly older Regency lesbians who have to look at their own lives when the past comes to greet them.

As La Vista Turns by Kris Ripper

In the last book in the Queers of La Vista series, we follow Zane through her fake relationship that might just become a real one. Who knows? She certainly doesn’t.

Far From Home by Lorelie Brown

We’ve got yet another fake relationship, in which a young woman who is pretty sure she’s straight agrees to marry a woman. Pari needs a green card and Rachel is willing to help. And maybe fall in love?

Blurred Lines by KD Williamson

A cold, clinical doctor and a foul-mouthed detective meet in dire circumstances, but can’t help but fall in love between jabs and banter.

Thaw by Elyse Springer isn’t out for another month and a half but you’re going to want to be ready. It’s gonna be amazing.

That’s all for me this week, lovelies!

Do you have suggestions for me? Would you like to see a particular type of coverage or feature? Drop me a line at jessica@riotnewmedia.com or catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Insagram @jess_is_reading.

Till next time, my dears!

—Jess

Hey there, love lovers! How was your Valentine’s Day? I might have gone a little overboard with the half-priced dark chocolate, but I have no regrets. No regrets at all.

Have you seen Fifty Shades Darker yet? I still haven’t, but I have the feeling that one’s going to wait for Amazon Prime.

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Todays newsletter is sponsored by Rough & Tumble by Rhenna Morgan.

A self-made man with his fingers in a variety of successful businesses, Jace Kennedy lives for the challenge and he always gets what he wants. From the start, he sees Vivienne Moore’s hidden wild side and knows she’s his perfect match, if only he can break it free. He can walk society’s walk and talk society’s talk, but when he wants something, he finds a way to get it. He’s proud of who he is and where he came from, and he’ll be damned if he lets Vivienne go before showing her the safest place of all is in the arms of a dangerous man.

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And speaking of things to watch, CBS Sunday Morning aired a segment about romance novels and novelists, including Eloisa James and Beverly Jenkins. Did you see it? I missed the original airing, but huzzah for Youtube, right? It’s always nice to see the faces and hear the voices of people whose words we read all the time! (PS, did anyone else giggle when Beverly Jenkins mentioned turning lemons into lemonade? Lemons always makes me thing of the term as it’s related to fanfiction.) 

Do you read with your ears? The 2017 Audie Awards finalists were announced recently. I haven’t listened to romance in a while, but nearly everything on both the romance and erotica shortlists are on my to-read list. Maybe I’ll try listening again!

Over on Book Riot, there’s a giveaway going on! Share your favorite romance series for a chance to win Rough & Tumble by Rhenna Morgan from Carina Books. Oh hey, and there’s another one to win $250 to Amazon. That’s a lot of novels, peeps.

On Valentine’s Day, the editorial director of Carina Press joined us for a look forward, discussing romance trends in the coming year. It looks like we might be seeing more speculative fiction of all kinds on the shelves in the coming year. I’ve already started seeing fantasy romance more often, which has not been a thing for a while.

Need a little inspiration for your own steamy romance? Check out this list of 100 Sex Education Books.

Also, if you want to walk around with song bytes in your head all day, have a look at books with slow jam titles.

Finally, quick reviews!

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

This is the first book in Charles’ new Sins of the Cities series, and boy does it set up a great series (I hope). Clem Talleyfer, an Anglo-Indian lodging house manager, is definitely more than fond of one of his lodgers, Rowley Green, a taxidermist who runs the shop across the street. Each man has his own problems: Rowley’s work leads his fellow lodgers to avoid him.  Clem thinks and processes a little differently than the average person, leading his lodgers to make attempts to undermine him. When people start to disappear and violence is committed upon both of them, they use their own strengths to keep themselves (and each other) alive, all while attempting to pursue a relationship without getting sent to jail. Not to mention, there’s a fog settling, and it feels a little different than the others. (Did I mention this whole series is going to take place during The Great Fog? No? Oh man.)

Read Harder Bonus: LGBTQ+ Romance!

The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton (Hey, I finally finished one of those football romances!)

Okay, this is an old one (it came out in 2011), but that means if you like it, you’ve got more than 15 Play by Play novels and novellas to read when you’re done. In this one, Mick Riley, star quarterback and all around beautiful man, runs into Tara Lincoln in the bowels of the stadium. He gives her directions and she’s gone. When he sees her again, it’s at the team’s end-of-season party, which she has planned. The two hit it off immediately, and have an awesome night together (and not just sexytimes, either), but she’s not interested in pursuing a relationship. Here’s where it could turn into a hard pass for some of you: he’s interested, and won’t say no until she agrees to go out with him. With a new business and a teenage son, she doesn’t think she has time for Mick, even when he’s not scared away by the fact that she had a kid at sixteen. They have a go at it anyway. And even with Mick’s agent trying to split them up every step of the way, and insecurities on both sides affecting their progress, they might actually become a family yet.

Read Harder Bonus: There’s a good amount of sportsballing in this book.

If the Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman

You might have seen this book in my list of fat heroines two weeks ago. I’m going to keep talking about this book.

Martha Aguas, accountant, fixer, and fantastic dresser, is pretty happy with her life. Sure, she has body issues, but doesn’t everyone? When she keeps running into Enzo, her first (her last, her everything), she is sure it’s fate sending her a sign. But everything comes crashing down when it turns out Enzo wants to marry her cousin Regina—who wants Martha to help her plan the wedding. To make matters worse, she has accidentally claimed that she has a boyfriend. Her extended family is delighted, and can’t wait to meet him. Unfortunately, they all think it’s Max, her BFF, an adorable bookish veterinarian who surprisingly…goes along with it? Sure, there are a few typos and there’s a factual error here and there, but I want to marry this book and kiss it every day, all the while correcting its grammar and fixing its seams.

Read Harder Bonus: Set in Manila with a Filipino narrator, this counts for the final RH challenge.

And as usual, here are some books to look out for that have come out recently or will be out soon:

Hot Licks, AM Arthur

Clean Breaks, Ruby Lang

Combatting Fear, Sandy Vaile

Rough & Tumble, Rhenna Morgan

Mine at Midnight, Jamie Pope

Delicious Satisfaction, Sabrina Sol (February 27)

Wait For it, Molly O’Keefe (February 28)

The Undateable, by Sarah Title (February 28)

No Other Highlander, by Adrienne Basso (February 28)

 

That’s probably good for now, right?

Do you have suggestions for me? Would you like to see a particular type of coverage or feature? Drop me a line at jessica@riotnewmedia.com or catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Insagram @jess_is_reading (somebody beat me to the other one, darnit).

Till next time, my dears!

—Jess

Hey there romance lovers! How’s the love going? I finally got back into my groove—though I never did finish those football romances.

Next Tuesday is Valentine’s Day. Are you celebrating? I love it for all the delicious chocolate that goes on sale on February 15, but I don’t need a holiday to celebrate the people I love. But since I love love, I love indulging in the sickly-sweet darlingness that shows up on my social media feeds and around in general. If you are a Valentine’s lover, keep an eye on Book Riot over the coming days—we’ve got stuff for you. Meanwhile, be sure to give the most important person some love. And if you want to take care of other people, too, here are some Valentines to get for them.

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Have you been reading about the drama happening in romancelandia over the past week or so? To start, the New York Times bestseller list has been macheted to the point where it really is just a practice in futility. They’ve removed the individual ebook and mass market paperback bestseller lists, which could hurt romance authors currently growing their market. It also reeks of disdain (or at least dismissal) of the two categories often made up primarily of women. The Romance Writers of America (RWA) has made a statement about it, and romance hasn’t been quiet about it on Twitter, either (when they weren’t making the #DNFTrump hashtag amazing).

While a lot of us power-readers tend to not bother with the bestseller lists, critics and non-romance readers will have one less resource to access information about the more popular titles. I guess we’ll just have to stick to editorial outlets to make sure we’re up to date on all the new stuff.

Meanwhile, the Great Ms. Bev had a Q&A at The Ripped Bodice and it was, as usual, amazing.

Romance Writers of America wants to know: why do you read romance?

Also, it’s Romance Week on Goodreads!

On Book Riot:

Trisha Brown never expected to find any need to reflect on why romance readers might find Donald Trump appealing. In fact, who would have expected anyone to even consider such a ridiculous possibility? But someone did. And she responded. And how.

On a happier note, she also wrote about the various jobs romance heroes and heroines have on National Job Shadowing Day.

Amanda Diehl couldn’t help but make this list of 100 sports romances to go along with the end of the football season. I’ve read…a surprising number of these, but damn, there’s my TBR, watch it go…

Aisling wrote about falling in love with Outlander (which, yes, I know, is technically not a romance, but romance readers tend to love it) even though she’s not a romance reader. I wonder what we can do to change her mind…

Meanwhile, Jessica Tripler noted a few romance heroines who are not interested in marriage in the most recent Buy, Borrow, Bypass. One of those heroines is actually mentioned a little further down 😉

And if you haven’t seen it, I put together a list of romances featuring fat heroines.

And now, quick reviews!

The Hating Game, Sally Thorne

Lucy spends her days playing hate games with Joshua. Co-assistants to Co-CEOs of a merged publishing company, the pair enjoys one-upping each other, much to the delight of their nosy colleagues and the despair of the entire HR department. When a new position opens up that they both want, the games go into overdrive—but somewhere along the way, Lucy begins seeing each other in a whole new light. Somehow, even though Thorne perfectly Mr. Darcys the way the reader sees many of Josh’s actions, Lucy manages to not be a TSTL heroine. Maybe it’s because she’s so funny in her own right, and all interactions seen through her eyes are therefore hilarious, making us forget about all the things she’s not seeing. This is definitely one to pick up and devour.

Read Harder Bonus: This is Sally Thorne’s first novel! Huzzah!

First Position, Melissa Brayden

Ana is on her way to becoming a household name in ballet, but she’s not quite there yet, much to the distress of her popular dancer/choreographer father. But she’s gotten a chance to show her chops in the upcoming season with the New York Ballet, only to discover they’ve brought in a new dancer using…alternative methods. Natalie, a ballet school dropout with all the passion and very little of the discipline, is fresh blood in the more traditional company. When the two get cast as alternating dancers for the same role, they must not only learn to get along, but also discover what each has to offer the other—as long as they can deal with their growing attraction to each other. While occasionally feeling long, this book has tons of heart and hope. Both women are going after what they believe is their passion, with a few discoveries made along the way.  

Read Harder Bonus: Lesbian romance!

Breathless, Beverly Jenkins

Portia Carmichael, niece to Forbidden’s Rhine and Eddy Fontaine, manages her uncle’s hotel in the hills north of Tucson. When an old friend of the family rides in on his horse Blue, calling her Duchess and instilling feelings in her that she would rather avoid, she works her hardest to maintain her decision to never marry. But Kent Randolph is more than she can resist. You don’t need to have read Forbidden to pick this one up (though if you haven’t, get moving!). Beverly Jenkins is the best at her trade today, sweeping readers off their feet with fascinating characters and captivating landscapes. This one is definitely no different, and I’m already bouncing for the next one!

Read Harder Bonus: All point-of-view characters are people of color.

The Lawrence Browne Affair, Cat Sebastian

If you read The Soldier’s Scoundrel last year, Georgie Turner is a familiar character. Outspoken and light on his feet, Georgie is nothing if not one of the best thieves in London. Having moved up from housebreaker to confidence artist, Georgie is now on a new, surprisingly legit mission: act as the Earl of Radnor’s secretary and inform (to his private eye brother Jack) about whether there is anything of madness in him. He finds he’s actually very good at being a secretary, and interested not only in the Earl’s state of mind and being, but also the work he’s doing. The Earl, meanwhile, is sure at every turn he will follow in his father and brother’s footsteps and fall off the brink of madness. But the usually reclusive scientist can’t help but find the young Londoner’s company useful. Even…enjoyable. Cat Sebastian is a new favorite of mine. She writes interesting, well rounded characters who we can see living in their time, even in the situations that many of us would see as more “modern.”

Read Harder Bonus: This one also works as an LGBTQ+ romance.

That’s probably enough for now, though I would gladly continue to share! But as usual, there are a few new titles and some coming out between now and our next meeting, so be sure to get these on your calendar:

Full Court Seduction, Synithia Williams

Beauty and the Wiener, Casey Griffin

Hot Licks, AM Arthur

This is Love (a Valentine’s Day Novella Collection)

Guarding Mr. Fine, HelenKay Dimon

A Millionaire at Midnight, Naima Simone

Pretty Face, Lucy Parker

An Unseen Attraction, KJ Charles

Dating Ryan Alback, JE Birk

Damage Control, Lisa Renee Jones

Well, I’m sure that’s plenty to keep your TBR exploding for a couple weeks, at least. Many kisses and swoons until we meet again!

—Jess

How’s your romance life going this January, readers? Have you read anything swoonworthy yet? I’ve started four—four—football romances in the past week and a half, and haven’t finished any of them. Maybe I need to change sports?

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Serial Box.

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There hasn’t been a lot of huge news in romance, but there’s some interesting stuff happening in the world.

First, it’s been announced that E.L. James has been in talks to adapt Fifty Shades of Grey as a musical. This is not to be confused with 50 Shades! The Musical, which is a parody musical that legit actually exists. It’s an Off-Broadway wonder that existed for quite some time near the Great White Way. No word whether this would be a stage musical or something that would go straight to Netflix. But it’s probably going to happen.

In the meantime, here’s some fun from Rioter Patricia.

RT Book Reviews announced their annual RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards nominations, which includes a super broad number of categories and a relatively diverse group of nominees (though some categories are better than others in that regard). It’s an interesting compilation; who are you rooting for?

Also, this past weekend was pretty exciting for library people, with lots of celebrated awards and lists being announced at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting. The Reference and User Services Association, or RUSA, put out The Reading List, which is a curated list of the best genre fiction published in the previous year.  It was no surprise that Forbidden was the favorite.

The biggest news in the world is, of course, about the women marching on ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS on Saturday. Did you march? I was in Atlanta for the aforementioned library conference, and the combined local+library+football traffic led to a heck of a turnout! And my hotel was an interesting combination of librarians and some particularly football-looking gentlemen, which led me to have all kinds of meet-cute romance novel ideas.

And with the idea of women doing awesome things and making their voices heard, here are a few romances featuring some kickass women taking a stand for what is right:

Daughters of a Nation: A Black Suffragette Historical Romance Anthology collects three stories about women living during the fight for American suffrage.

Alyssa Cole, who contributed to that anthology, also contributed to The Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance with the story Let it Shine, a wonderful Civil Rights Era story about a young black woman and a Jewish boxer who get involved with SNCC and live through sit-ins and all of the other horrors of the 1960s Civil Rights efforts.

Molly O’Keefe’s Wild Child includes a more personal stand, but finding your own voice is always the first step.

Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series is all kinds of awesome, particularly The Suffragette Scandal, the fourth in the series featuring Free Marshall, the younger Marshall sister we first meet in The Heiress Effect when her first hints of suffrage support break out.

Beverly Jenkins’ Destiny’s Captive is also not the first in a series, but if you’re up to a little spoiling of the first two, you get to meet Pilar, an awesome Cuban revolutionary. One of Jenkins’ standalone novels, Midnight, is about an informant and spy in the American Revolution.

And speaking of revolutionaries: In Pema Donyo’s Revolutionary Hearts, Parineeta becomes a spy to help her revolutionary brother in 1920s India, only to encounter trouble when the man she’s spying on turns out to also be a spy, from America.

On Book Riot:

Do you love fake relationship stories? Check out these five that Kay Taylor Rea really enjoyed.

Ready to make your already-full TBR explode? Amanda Diehl just put out her quarterly upcoming Diverse Romances list, and while some are probably already on your list, there are a lot more that you’re gonna want to add. February, in particular, is pretty exciting.

Also, did you see? There’s a new Mailbag Giveaway celebrating Kissing Books featuring some of our favorites and a few we’re excited for you to read! There is some good stuff so feel free to enter the giveaway!

Here are a few new releases and books coming out before we talk again:

Seasons of Love: Whiteout, Elyse Springer

Breathless, Beverly Jenkins (January 31)

Seven Minutes in Heaven, Eloisa James (January 31)

Falling for the Highlander, Lynsay Sands (January 31)

The Lawrence Browne Affair, Cat Sebastian (January 7)

Many swoons and sizzles until next time, my dears!
–Jess

It’s here! It’s here!

Welcome to the first issue of Kissing Books!

From here on out, every two weeks, you’ll get tons of romance fun, right in your inbox. And what, you might ask, do I mean when I say romance? For the most part, I’m sticking to books published under the category of romance by romance publishers and imprints, so it’s going to be grown-ups falling in love, with or without the sexytimes. Kelly is doing such an awesome job with her YA newsletter that I would just be repeating her work if I wanted to cover all the love stories for all the ages, but don’t come after me with pitchforks if you occasionally see one or two spectacular pieces of YA fiction that I think romance readers would love! Here, you’ll get everything from drama in romancelandia to quick reviews, and every now and then, information about those near unicorns: film adaptations!

Let’s start with those! Have you seen the newest Fifty Shades Darker trailer yet? I will admit to (*gasp!*) having absolutely no idea what’s going on because I didn’t make it to the second book in the series. But I enjoyed the movie and am looking forward to seeing this one…eventually. In the comfort of my own home.

And in future news, Jill Shalvis tweeted this page from a movie script for her book The Trouble With Mistletoe. According to her blog, casting is next, but there isn’t much out there on the project. No other info on who’s picked it up, how it’ll be released (I’m hoping for some Christmas-in-July Hallmark Channel feels), but I’m gonna keep an ear to the ground on this one!

It’s been a couple weeks, but the drama with All Romance ebooks (ARe) and their offshoots has still left quite a few people upset and unsure of what the future of independent online sales might look like. Larger publishers like Riptide have been patient with customers, offering copies of their ebooks to people who didn’t get the chance to pull their libraries from All Romance before it went dark on January 1 (as long as they provided screenshots proving they owned the titles already), allowing customers to keep the titles and (hopefully) getting more royalties to their authors if those purchases were made in Q4. But independent authors who were relying on royalties there were otherwise pretty much screwed. (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, here’s a blog post about it, and here is a quick rundown from Bree Bridges on Twitter.)

Over on Book Riot, Amanda Diehl wrote about how annoying it is when publishers compare books to Fifty Shades of Grey, and I couldn’t agree more! It was such a polarizing book, and continues to be so, so why would you potentially turn away half of your customer base when the people who enjoyed it might not need the comparison as an impetus to pick up the book?

Dana, meanwhile, wants a few tropes subverted. Don’t you love a good trope-twisting? I think that might be one of the reasons I’m such a fan of menage romance—not only is the conflict of the love triangle taken out (though in those cases, you actually end up with a real triangle, not a love V as most “love triangles” tend to be), but, in the good ones at least, the other issues with heteronormative hypermasculinity can be addressed in ways straight cishet romances often can’t or won’t address them.

Did you see Hidden Figures this past weekend? Want to read about more awesome women doing things with numbers, letters, and code? NPR put out a nice roundup of romances with women in STEM. I haven’t read any of them, but they’re all on my list!

And now, quick reviews!

Roller Girl, Vanessa North

I started out my year with Vanessa North’s Roller Girl, and it was adorable. Tina, a newly divorced physical trainer has a midnight plumbing emergency, and Joe is definitely not the person she expected the company to send. The two are immediately attracted to each other, but Joe is interested in Tina for more than just getting to know her; she wants Tina to join her roller derby team. Tina, a pro wakeboarder in her former life, is definitely interested in getting back into competitive sports, but there’s one problem: Joe is the coach. There’s nothing illegal about team members fraternizing with coaches, but it could still cause issues. The whole secret relationship concept is not usually my thing, but Tina’s relationships with everyone else in her life kept me going. And the writing is so great and the community is so gorgeous, I’m going to have to go back and read everything else North has written.

Read Harder Bonus: Not only is it a book about an uncommon sport, but it’s also an LGBTQ+ romance!

Insert Groom Here, KM Jackson

In the first book in Jackson’s new Unconventional Brides series, we open the scene with Eva getting dumped on national television. And this isn’t just any dumping; the pair have won a contest to have their dream wedding live in just a few weeks. In a fit of rage, Eva declares to the world (and the internet) that she will have her wedding; “insert groom here!” Leave it to someone at the station to come up with a new plan: push the wedding back long enough to have a Bachelor-style segment where she goes on dates to find her perfect groom. Unfortunately, there’s a problem. She and her new producer, Aidan, have a super hot chemistry, and no matter how they try, they can’t stay away from each other. Too bad she’s supposed to be getting married at the end of all this, huh?

I really enjoyed this novel; it was compelling and I really needed to see what Eva was going to do about the whole Aidan thing. I will admit to wanting to see if they were going to throw in a date that she’d end up liking more than her former fiance. It wasn’t fall down, roll over funny like I expected from some people’s descriptions, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment.

No Read Harder Bonus here, but I will admit that I spent half my time trying to actually envision Aidan in my head. His race is never mentioned, and any description of him is almost racially ambiguous—so if you wanted to, you could consider him a POC. But that’s up to you.

And just as a bonus because it’s on sale and the second book in the series is a pretty damn good price right now:

Love on My Mind, Tracey Livesay

I don’t usually go for romances that involve extensive deception, but this one pulled me in and kept me going through to the end, almost without stopping. Chelsea is a PR specialist who has been corralled into an impossible task: get tech bigwig Adam Bennett through his next big launch, without telling him he’s her job. This means getting into his life using…alternative methods, and using her best PR skills to subtly get him through interviews and public appearances. Maybe change his image, too. Adam, who has Asperger’s syndrome, has very strong feelings about liars and deception, and has trust issues to boot. What could possibly go wrong?

Other new releases to look out for until we chat again:

Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles

Taming Sugar, Rebecca Grace Allen

Finding Your Feet, Cass Lenox

Dirty Money, Jessica Clare

Driven to Distraction, Olivia Dade

 

May you have many swoons and sizzles until next time!

–Jess

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Thanks to Serial Box for sponsoring our first Kissing Books newsletter!

Serial Box, today’s hottest publisher of serialized fiction is bringing everything that’s awesome about TV (easily digestible episodes, team written, new content every week) to what was already cool about books (well-crafted stories, talented authors, enjoyable anywhere). From Urban Fantasy to Young Adult Science Fiction – they have something for every taste, and reading (or listening!) on the go has never been easier than with their iOS app. Readers longing for royalty can get their feet wet with Whitehall – the lush historical drama of Queen Catherine of Braganza, the King she loved, and the mistress he loved.