Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by HMHTeen
Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market—and seeks revenge when she is betrayed.
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Win a Custom Bookplate Stamp!
There’s something so official and fancy about a bookplate stamp with your name on it, and we’re giving one away so you can have your own official and fancy library! Take that, people who borrow your books and then tell you they “lost” it when you can see it sitting on their shelf! To enter, just sign up for Check Your Shelf, our weekly newsletter about all things libraries and librarians.
Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below. Good luck!
This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by HMHTeen.
Stephen King Short Story Adaptation Sold For $1
Nope, not missing zeros or a typo! Stephen King has a section on his website, Dollar Babies, of short stories that is encouragement for film students to adapt his stories. Way to support education!
Here’s An Awesome Rabbit Hole To Get Lost Down
The Archive of Hispanic Literature has added new recordings to its historical collection of close to 800 audio recordings of Luso-Hispanic writers. It also includes, for the first time, recordings of works in indigenous languages, such as the recording of Mexican scholar Ángel María Garibay (1892–1967), who reads Aztec poetry in Nahuatl and Spanish… It’s so awesome, click the link in the article and listen to amazing writers you’ve probably never heard of before! (Technology and libraries are amazing!)
An Edgar Allen Poe Adaptation Has Been Found After 50 Years
Okay, so I for one think this is the beginning of a horror movie and no one should watch it, but I guess I’ll be the character in the movie no one listens to. A 20-minute adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart from 1953 (directed by J.B. Williams and starring Stanley Baker, produced by Adelphi Films) has been found in the attic of a Scottish home. People, clean out your attics more often!
Remember to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library!
We have 10 copies of Legendary by Stephanie Garber to give away to 10 Riot readers!
Here’s what it’s all about:
After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and the time to repay the debt has come.
Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below. Good luck!
Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by NaNoWriMo, a nonprofit that believes your story matters. Write your novel this November during National Novel Writing Month!
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. Every year, hundreds of thousands of writers around the world take on the challenge of writing 50,000 words of a novel in the 30 days of November.
Track your progress on our website with personalized writing stats and graphs, meet local writers for neighborhood write-ins, and receive pep talks from authors like Justina Ireland, Min Jin Lee, and Andy Weir.
Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel. Sign up today!
I’ve been trying to figure out different ways to say “what a week, amirite?” But I’m running out of options.
Sponsored by Harlequin DARE
With a multibillion-dollar deal on the line, billionaire playboy Gideon Mortimer can’t afford another tabloid scandal. He’s committed to a chastity contract, but being on the same yacht as Leonie Branson—temptation personified—is pure, unadulterated torture. Relinquishing control of their thrilling sexual chemistry to tenacious Leonie feels tantalizingly worth the risk—to his reputation and his well-protected heart.
News and Useful Links
You know how I was whining about wanting something dark and atmospheric to read? Rosanna Leo came through with a list of gothic romances, most of which I haven’t even heard of!
There was a bit of a kerfuffle on Twitter over the weekend when an author decided to double down about cover model selection. The heroine, who is biracial, apparently makes comments about her darker skin and the plight of a black woman, but the cover model reads white at first glance. I like to think that covers make a statement about a book, and if you’re going to call your heroine a black woman, she should probably read as such at first glance. It’s not about the fact that black women come in all shades; it’s about the fact that when representation is a problem across the board, visual cues are key.
Twelfth Night is my favorite Shakespeare comedy, and there’s a MUSICAL SERIES based on it coming to our televisions and streaming devices. This version will have a protagonist who ends up being genderqueer because someone has been digging through my soul’s desires (though according to an Electric Literature article a while ago, I have strong feelings about bi erasure WHICH IS ALSO TRUE and I would love to read a retelling in which good ole Viola gets the Duke AND the Countess).
The Ripped Bodice is hosting a Great Big Romance Read in December, and When In Romance is totally participating, so listen up for more news about that!
Olivia Waite. F/F Regency Romance. Can’t. Wait.
Also. Also! Alexis Daria has a Dance Off Christmas novella coming out! It’s called Dance All Night and it’s available for preorder! (It’s out December 11.)
Deals!
Riven by Roan Parrish is 1.99 right now! Rend comes out in a couple weeks (and the bits of it I’ve been able to snatch are excellent) so now’s the perfect time to grab it!
Kendall Ryan’s The Room Mate is 1.99, if your looking for some raunchy fun.
I know it’s not Halloween yet, but if you’re ready to get into the Christmas spirit, Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert is 2.99.
Over on Book Riot
Westerns. Westerns that have protagonists who aren’t white. I know, right?
TBR worth toppling? Here are some “speed reading apps” to help you get through it.
Erotic poetry. Do you have favorites?
And of course, there’s still time to enter for a custom book stamp for your personal library!
Recs!
You know how we’ve been doing a “feature creature” for October? Well, today’s feature creature is The Patriarchy, and it’s time to crush it. Or something.
This has been some kind of week, and instead of our usual thing, how about some trans and enby authors to support?
Anna Zabo (they/them/their) writes primarily m/m romance featuring various kinds of kinky folks. They* write rock stars, like in Syncopation; vampires, like in Close Quarter; and businessmen, like in Takeover. Recently, I read Outside the Lines, which is an adorable installation of the Bluewater Bay series.
Kris Ripper (ze/zem/zir) writes romance featuring all kinds of people. The Queers of La Vista series (starting with Gays of Our Lives) features what’s on its way to an LGBT paradise—with a twist, since there’s a murder mystery involved. The Scientific Method series, on the other hand, is angsty and very much real world and just features people trying to figure their own shit out. Start with Catalysts.
Jay Northcote (he/him/his) writes m/m adult and new adult romances. His college romances like Helping Hand occasionally feature Gay For You type stories (so heads up if that’s not your thing). Looking for a sweet Christmas novella with a bonus fake relationship? A Family For Christmas is probably a good place to start.
Cole McCade/Xen (he/him/his) writes all kinds of things under multiple names, including contemporary erotic romance and urban fantasy. Basically all of his books are sex incarnate and you should check them out. If you’re down for some elf magic, check out Shatterproof. If you’d rather enjoy the hell out of a May/December romance, try Over and Over Again.
This isn’t exhaustive, but I don’t want to make this too long. If you’re curious, check out Austin Chant, EE Ottoman, Chace Verity, Xan West, or Francis Gideon. LA Witt, Vanessa North, and Courtney Milan aren’t #ownvoices writers, but they also write pretty interesting trans characters. Courtney Milan’s Hold Me is one of my favorite contemporary romances.
Who are your favorite trans romance authors? What are your favorite novels?
New and Upcoming Releases
Duchess by Design by Maya Rodale (I love purple. Don’t you love purple?)
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (October 30) (FINALLY!!!)
Love in Catalina Cove by Brenda Jackson (October 30)
Archangel’s Prophecy by Nalini Singh (October 30)
Royally Yours by Emma Chase (October 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!
*Corrected
Hello mystery fans! This week I have for you three very different backlist titles that have great audiobook narrators.
Sponsored by The Kingfisher Secret from McClelland & Stewart
October 2016: In America, the election is a few weeks away. Journalist Grace Elliott has just landed a scoop that she believes will make her career. A porn star is willing to talk about her affair with the man some hope and many fear will become the next president of the United States. But no one will touch it. Not even Grace’s boss, the right-wing publisher of America’s leading tabloid. Instead, Grace is sent to Europe where she discovers a story so big, so explosive that it could decide the American election and launch a new Cold War. As long as she can stay alive long enough to tell it.
Smart and Entertaining Cozy Crime I Should Have Read Years Ago (TW rape mentioned/ alcoholism/ suicide)
Blanche on the Lam (Blanche White #1) by Barbara Neely: This is one of those series that was groundbreaking at the time it first published (early ’90s) but doesn’t read outdated. It is literally what the title states–Blanche White is on the lam! She’s a middle-aged African-American housekeeper who after some issues with an employer ends up going on the lam. But soon she’s “employed” again as she pretends to be a white family’s housekeeper while she figures out her next move. Except, she picked the wrong family to pretend to be the housekeeper with… I loved Blanche so much, she’s open, and insightful–especially a keen observer when it comes to race and class issues–and ends up making a great amateur sleuth. For fans of having the mystery on the first page, the actual murder mystery doesn’t start until halfway through, the first half of the novel is a crime novel where Blanche is on the run while planning how to get out of her trouble. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series and loved the audiobook narrator Lisa Reneé Pitts.
For Tana French Fans! (TW rape/ suicide)
The End of the Wasp Season (Alex Morrow #2) by Denise Mina: This series has an excellent balance for me between procedural solving the case, character focus, and it also follows the criminals. Plus, the lead is a Scottish detective with a criminal family she needs to hide and, in this book, is pregnant. I really like being in Morrow’s head as she’s both sensitive and tough and very intuitive. It’s also interesting to watch her try to solve the case of a woman beaten to death while having to prove that a woman being pregnant doesn’t suddenly make her useless. If you’re a fan of procedurals, character driven novels, and getting behind the “why” people do things, I really recommend Denise Mina. If you’re an audibook listener I really enjoyed having Jane MacFarlan in my ears.
Delightful!
Beastly Bones (Jackaby #2) by William Ritter: This series is such a treat and I love it to pieces. Imagine if Sherlock had a young woman assistant who had run away from home to join a dinosaur dig. Then add in some “fantastic beasts” and you have this highly entertaining series. Abigail Rook and her boss Jackaby have their hands full with shape shifting monsters that can look like wittle innocent kittens, and recently discovered dinosaur bones that have been stolen! Fun and delightful, if you have yet to discover this series do yourself a kindness and get on that! Also the narrator, Nicola Barber, has the loveliest most soothing voice if that’s what you like in audiobooks.
Recent Releases
Dead Ringer by Kate Kessler (Currently reading: FBI agent/serial killer.)
The Midnight Witness by Sara Blaedel (TBR: A Danish author I always pick up.)
Pulse by Michael Harvey (TBR: 1970s detective mystery set in Boston.)
Black Diamond Fall by Joseph Olshan (On my TBR after reading this article.)
Paper Gods by Goldie Taylor (TBR: Political thriller I’m looking forward to reading.)
Go to My Grave by Catriona McPherson (TBR: Sounds like a for-Clue-fans read.) (TW child sexual assault)
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.
Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.
If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.
This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Flatiron Books, publishers of Be The Person Your Dog Thinks You Are.
I Mean Wizards Need Lawyers Too, Right?
An interface between Fantasy Fiction Literature and Law: Special focus on Rowling’s Potterverse will be an available course for 4th and 5th year law students at the National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkota. “Students will learn to apply legal principles in a completely new scenario, and understand how things will work through insights into a wizarding world constantly under government surveillance.“–Fun and educational!
Turns Out John Carpenter’s The Thing Was Based On A Novel
An unpublished novel-length manuscript has been discovered and a small press wants to publish it. Read more about the Kickstarter campaign to get it published and about the discovery. I’ll just be hiding under the covers.
Wonder Woman Wait Is Now Longer!
Originally set to release in fall of 2019 Wonder Woman 1984 has now made us all wait longer to see some rocking ’80s fashion: It will now be in theaters June 5, 2020. Yay for getting the summer blockbuster treatment but, I mean, can we have good things sooner, please?!
Remember to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library!
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📚Let’s Pile Up Your YA TBR
Hey YA readers: Let’s catch up on YA book talk from around Book Riot this month.
“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Easy Prey by Catherine Lo, from Amulet Books and PiqueBeyond.
Only three students had access to a teacher’s racy photos before they went viral. There’s Mouse, a brainy overachiever so desperate to get into MIT that he would do almost anything, legal or not. There’s Drew, the star athlete with a history of passing private photos around. And there’s Jenna, a good girl turned rebel after her own pictures made the rounds last year. All three deny leaking the photos, but someone has to take the fall.
Before diving into a round-up of recent YA book talk over on Book Riot, there’s this worth dropping in:
Jennifer Aniston wearing a crown is how the world should always be. Here's your first look at her new film, Dumplin', set to come out on December 7th. pic.twitter.com/H58IzDjVFD
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) October 23, 2018
Dumplin’ will be airing on Netflix beginning December 7. I don’t know about you, but I’m grabbing my tiara and preparing for it.
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, a Judy Blume classic, is getting adapted.
- Reflections on The Princess Diaries as it celebrates its 18th birthday.
- Audrey Coulthurst’s Inkmistress presents a necessary and powerful look at bisexuality.
- Hankering for a YA revenge thriller? Here you go!
- Continue being inspired to resist and act with these quotes from A Wrinkle in Time. Technically middle grade, but y’know. It’s worth including.
- Why I’ll let my daughter read Twilight.
- Itching for a YA subscription box? Here are 7 of the best.
- Add these YA audiobooks narrated by the authors to your to-listen pile.
- A response to yet another bad think piece about YA lit.
- An interview with author Taran Matharu on “The Summoner” series and more.
- 25+ new collective biographies about rad women and non-binary people through history.
- A couple of fun YA quizzes: discover your next romantic read and discover your next fantasy series read.
- Add some UK YA to your Instagram feeds.
- Cameron Post, coming out, and me.
- Queer teens offer insights into how to better create an inclusive library.
- 30 YA horror novels from 2018 that are worth reading.
- Must-read YA books by Native American authors.
- 20 of your favorite YA psychological horror novels.
Two new episodes of Hey YA have dropped, too. Tune in for discussion of YA friendships and recent/upcoming reads for your TBR, as well as talk about YA anthologies and small/indie press YA books.
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Recent Book Mail
I just got back from a YA lit conference, so the top few books are things I bought while there. From top to bottom!
500 Words or Less by Julia Del Rosario
Hope Nation edited by Rose Brock
Kens by Raziel Reid
We Regret To Inform You by Ariel Kaplan
Cold Day In The Sun by Sara Biren
The Dysasters by PC and Kristin Cast
Wind Rider by PC Cast
Snow In Love by Nic Stone, Melissa de la Cruz, Kasie West, and Aimee Friedman
That’s Not What I Heard by Stephanie Kate Strohm
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Cheap Reads
Grab these YA books while they’re available for just a few bucks or less. Deals current as of Tuesday, 10/23.
Looking for a haunted twin story? Into The Grey by Celine Kiernan is $2.
Laurie Devore’s How To Break A Boy (that cover!) is $3.
Want to revisit or pick up The Princess Diaries for the first time? It’s only $3.74.
Speaking of classics in YA, Louise Rennison’s Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging is $2.
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Thanks for hanging out & we’ll see you again next week!
“All the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen.”
Celebrate Matilda’s bookish spirit with our new collection, featuring tees, a tote, a sweatshirt, and more!
