Sponsored by Harlequin.
Join the Harlequin Connection community to connect with fellow romance readers and authors, and discuss your favorite Harlequin books, tropes, heroes, heroines, and more. All fans of romance novels are welcome. Chat live with New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels on June 23, 1 pm EST, as she discusses Ambush Before Sunrise and Double Action Deputy the newest books in the Cardwell Ranch: Montana Legacy series. Click here to join Harlequin Connection today!
Hey. Hey. Tomorrow’s my birthday. Buy books by Black authors. Read up on the history of Juneteenth at your site of choice. Be well, be safe. For me.
Let’s talk romance.
Over on Book Riot
Trisha and I had some things to say about publishing and anti-Blackness.
What are your favorite stories about forbidden love?
Whoever said romance couldn’t take you places?
Black women in love are a hell of a drug.
Enter to win a summer reading pack from Harlequin.
Or maybe a big gift card to B&N.
Deals
If there’s anything you need to repeat to yourself around now, it’s Release Some Tension, and Nicole Falls’ semi-recent book of the same name is 3.99 right now. This one is particularly about tension between professional fellows, but Nicole’s books are always a fun way to loosen your shoulders and unclench your jaw. And once you’ve read this one, check out more of her books. There are…a lot of them.
New Books
I feel like a broken record when I say it’s a good week for new books, because it’s apparently always a good week for new books. I’m so behind; I’d intended to read two whole books before writing this on Tuesday, but fell behind because Netflix exists.
40-Love
Olivia Dade
This is one of those books that you will start with no expectations and start laughing five pages in. Eventually, you’ll cry, you’ll ponder, you’ll swoon. But damn, this book. Tess is vacationing on a resort island in celebration of her fortieth birthday. When a rogue wave causes a…wardrobe malfunction…she enlists the help of Lucas, a tall, young, attractive man with…shoulders. When it turns out that he’s the once-pro tennis instructor (get it, Forty…Love? It’s a tennis joke) at the resort, and she is suddenly saddled with tennis lessons (just…out of nowhere!) the pair must get through their immediate defense mechanisms to explore this possible fling. Or maybe more?
And of course, there are more that I’m looking forward to checking out
Haunted Serenade by Anna M. Taylor (I am sooooo intrigued by the whole Haunted Harlem thing happening here! Also it looks like a rerelease, but I don’t know if any changes have been made.)
Bottle Rockets by Erin McLellan (Her first two were amaze, so this one should be just as great)
The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton (more fiction with romantic element, but her love stories are great.)
Midshipman Elizabeth Bennet by DL Carter (Yes, another one. But I’m super curious about the premise.)
Lucky by Kris Bryant (Win the lottery, open a pet daycare? Yes, please.)
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!