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.
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.
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.
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!