Happy Monday! I’ve got some news and some follow-up to last week’s Monday newsletter.
Sponsored by Somewhere Only We Know from Maurene Goo and Fierce Reads
“The perfect rom-com for dreamy spring afternoons.” —Bustle Sparks fly between a K pop starlet and a tabloid reporter in this heartwarming rom-com from Maurene Goo. 10:00 PM.: Lucky is a huge K-pop star who just performed her hit song to thousands of adoring fans. She’s tired but dying for a hamburger. 11:00 PM: Jack sneaks into a fancy hotel on assignment for his tabloid job. He runs into a cute girl wearing slippers — a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. 12:00 AM.: Nothing will ever be the same.
News and Useful Links
Congrats to Golden Heart finalist Valen Cox, the first recipient of the Beverly Jenkins Diverse Voices Sponsorship, which covers the necessary funds for attendance at this year’s RWA conference and a one-on-one with a member of the Avon editorial team. While the sponsorship is named for Beverly Jenkins (as well it should be), it is a complete project of Avon Books.
Did you see? Suleikha Snyder is writing “bonkers romantic suspense” for Sourcebooks Casa. I’m down. But seriously, is it 2021 yet?
I had to read a different Book Riot newsletter to come across this list and see ya, I’m going to be busy for…a while.
As I mentioned last week, it’s #RomBkLove, with daily prompts (mostly on Twitter) about inclusive romance. I have added so many books to my TBR, and it’s only been a week.
You know what else it is? It’s National Masturbation Month! Bawdy Bookworms is hosting #RubOneOutBingo, collaborating with 19+ romance authors, sexperts, and romance book bloggers to encourage romance readers to try their hand at something new. (Hah. Hah.)
Do you have a favorite “there’s only one bed” book? Here are a few to check out!
The Bride Test is out tomorrow, and Helen Hoang had a chat with NBR. Get ready for the tears, and then get ready for more of those tears when you actually read the book because oh man.
OH MY GOD THIS ILLUSTRATION. (Have you read A Prince on Paper yet?)
And also: Jasmine speaks the truth.
Deals
With the newest, latest, last book in Talia Hibbert’s Ravenswood series out, now is a good time to start at the beginning (if you haven’t been listening to me, or somehow missed my gushing in previous Kissing Books). A Girl Like Her is 2.99 right now, and I recommend you just…go ahead and buy it all because you’ll want to marathon the whole thing. This one starts with a grump who gets lured out of her comics-filled apartment by the food her new neighbor makes. It’s good food. And he’s a good neighbor 😉
Looking for a big anthology that will introduce you to a bunch of authors? Check out the Crossroads anthology, featuring almost 2000 pages by Savannah J. Frierson, Aliyah Burke, LaVerne Thompson, and a bunch more. It’s got stories in all kinds of subgenres, and is 2.99 for 21 of them.
Recs!
Last week, I gushed about The Rose, my third Tiffany Reisz book and my first in a long time that centered mythology. I wondered aloud about other romances featuring gods and myths (because we’ve all read plenty that weren’t romantic at all, or if they were, they didn’t end well). Well, I found a few!
A Touch of Greek
Tina Folsom
This book is definitely much more fun than The Rose. Here, we’ve got a scorned god in need of a lesson gets tossed into the human world to get his act together and the human woman who allows him to get there. Tina Folsom’s writing is fun and funny, and can make books featuring tropes that I don’t expect to enjoy…enjoyable.
Making Love by Aidan Wayne and Crazy Cupid Love by Amanda Heger
These are both books featuring Cupids, which I’ve discovered is actually not an infrequent occurrence in romance. These two stand out in particular, not just because they’re pretty recent, but also because they feature Cupids as the people falling in love, instead of creating love between others or acting as secondary characters in a larger series.
How to Reprimand Your Rock Star
Mina Vaughn
I’m including this here because the heroine has some kind of oracular powers that are not really explored as much as they could be—though maybe that changes in later books, I dunno. What really drew me to this book was the characters: a college athlete and the rockstar who wants her to tie him up. Seriously, y’all. This book. And there’s some kind of magic involved.
Have you read any of these? I’d love to see an approach or two to this kind of thing from authors of color and maybe some more queer authors (or both!). Do you have any favorites?
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, book recs, or just want to say hi!