Sponsored by Carina Adores and The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover.
High school wasn’t the right time or place for their relationship to grow, but now, fifteen years later, a chance encounter changes both of their lives forever. “A brilliantly written LGBTQ+ take on the classic small-town romance.” —Booklist on The Hideaway Inn. Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.
Happy Thursday. I don’t have a million statements to make today. I mean. Black Lives Matter. But they will continue to matter through this time. Black stories matter. Black voices matter. And Black love stories matter.
Let’s talk about a few different love stories.
Over on Book Riot
Found family is one of my favorite elements of romance, and Laura pulled together some great examples of how that has played out in queer romance.
I’ve used this space before to talk about Netflix and their adaptations, but I had a few more words to say, too.
Maybe you want to support marginalized romance authors who are only able to publish via Amazon, but you don’t have a Kindle? You can read Kindle books in other ways, too.
This lovely, introspective piece isn’t about romance, but I think we all reach a point where we have to realize we’ve grown out of something, or someone.
I also went a little further in depth about the introduction of the Vivian award by RWA.
Deals
It’s a little higher priced than some books I’d list in deals, but Blaze by Christa Tomlinson is worth the 4.99. It’s a superhero romance (y’all know how much I love those!) and it features a Black Dom superhero saving people around St. Louis. That was enough to pull me in, and all the little pieces (and a few reviews from folks I trust) led me the rest of the way. A lot of these books, if you don’t have Kindle Unlimited, are going to be in the 4.99-6.99 range, and the authors deserve the recognition that comes from actually giving them money. Also, the second one comes out next week and is 99 cents right now.
New Books!
It’s another good week for books. I mean, I don’t know when it hasn’t been. So we continue with the only benefit of 2020: new material to read.
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
I’m not done with this one yet, but I can tell you it’s pretty great. Samiah, London, and Taylor first meet after discovering (via Twitter!) that they’re dating the same man. After making quite the scene at the restaurant where he’s on a date with Taylor (after cancelling on Samiah for “work”), the three become friends and make a “no men” pact. That causes a few problems for Samiah, because Daniel has started working a few yards away from her, and he is quite the man.
I’m also excited about some of the other titles out this week:
Why Don’t We Fall In Love by Chelsea Maria
Delay of Game by Amy Stephens
Tonight, We Love by Britt Joni
My Fair Captain by JL Langley
Next In Line for Love by Harper Bliss
Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho (I don’t actually know if this is a romance or just romantic, but it has been marketed towards romance readers like myself so maybe we’ll be surprised.)
Budding Romance by Lara Kinsey
The Marriage Game by Sara Desai
Claim the Dragon by AC Arthur (Click through just to drool over the cover, I’m serious)
As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at wheninromance@bookriot.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!