Sponsored by The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare.
Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn’t take into her home and her heart. When her imposing—and attractive—new neighbor demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes. Gabriel Duke, who clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society, finds this easier said than done. Soon he’s covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster he can’t resist.
We’re heading into what for some of us will be a three-day weekend, and I can’t wait to get somewhere near caught up. I mean, that’s never actually going to happen, but I like to feel like I’m trying. Or something.
Over on Book Riot
Natalya got to chat with Kennedy Ryan about her RITA win and all kinds of things.
I waited as long as possible to open Sil’s list of 19 great romance series to start, because I just cannot right now. But if you’re looking for a good read to dip into, you can’t go wrong with any of these.
Want a free copy of an intriguing Brenda Novak book?
Katherine wrote a rundown of what’s happening at Barnes and Noble, if you still do that kind of thing. My main thought: if their goal is now to better meet customer demand instead of selling what the publishers want them to, are we going to see a broader, larger range of romance? My local store isn’t terrible when it comes to stocking romance, but they could definitely be more aware of what people are buying from other venues.
I used to be a page folder, but some random shift happened in my brain and now I hoard bookmarks. And I want all of these.
Deals
Have you read Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Fit trilogy? All three books (Fit being the first, then Tamed and Sated) are 99 cents each right now. If your only trek into Rebekah Weatherspoon’s universe has been Rafe, you’re in for quite a treat with these. The first features a television producer who decides to try a new fitness routine and the trainer that she ends up with. There’s also a lovely D/s element (is lovely the right word? Probably not.) that just makes everything a touch more…sweltering hot.
And if that wasn’t enough, That Could Be Enough, Alyssa Cole’s historical novella that first appeared in Hamilton’s Battalion, is also 99 cents! This is an amazing bit of f/f set in Antebellum New York with two women that you just can’t help loving even when they bug you to death. If you haven’t yet tried it out, now is definitely the time.
New Releases!
So many books came out this week (and I missed a couple last week being distracted by the shinies) and it is good.
Man vs. Durian
Jackie Lau
I told you last time you’d hear more about this one, and I can tell you it did not disappoint. Jackie Lau is the queen of what some would call “low stakes” romance. Here, Valerie, who we met in The Ultimate Pi Day Party, pretends that she has a boyfriend named Peter during a bad conversation with her mother. So when she accidentally dumps durian ice cream on a guy who turns out to be named Peter, she asks him to be her fake boyfriend. And he agrees…because he’s already interested. Valerie, on the other hand, needs time to trust before intimacy blooms—I don’t think she says she’s demisexual but I wouldn’t say she’s not demisexual—and would rather this thing with Peter just be…what it is. For now.
CW for mentions of sexual harassment
There are a few other books I’m looking forward to checking out, of course:
Training My Heart to Love You by Monica Walters (I’ll admit: I judged this book by its cover)
Butterfly in Frost by Sylva Day (I KNOW)
Dalliances & Devotion by Felicia Grossman
Nothing to Fear by Juno Rushdan
Flashed by Zoey Castile
Tiny House, Big Love by Olivia Dade
How to Love A Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne
Sidelined by Suzanne Baltsar
Handle With Care by Helena Hunting
On The Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci
Bootie and the Beast by Falguni Kothari
That’s…plenty. Right?
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, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!