Riot New Media

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

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

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

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

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

Bookish News

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

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

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

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

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

Reading Recs

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

Hold Me by Courtney Milan

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

Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

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

Relationship Goals by Christina C. Jones

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

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

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