Sponsored by Carina Press and Here to Stay by Adriana Herrera.
Award-winning author Adriana Herrera delivers the sexy, modern enemies-to-lovers romance you’ve been waiting for! Running the charitable foundation of an iconic high-fashion department store is serious #lifegoals for ex-New Yorker Julia del Mar Ortiz, so she’s determined to stick it out in Dallas—despite the efforts of the blue-eyed, smart-mouthed consultant who puts her job on the chopping block. When Julia sets out to make Rocco see how valuable the programs she runs are, she’s caught between a rock and a very hard set of abs. Because Rocco Quinn is almost impossible to hate—and even harder to resist…
I hope everyone is staying safe out there, or has found a situation that will put you in…as safe a place as you can be.
Let’s talk romance novels.
News and Useful Links
How much do you know about Vivian Stephens? She is an amazing woman who paved the way for a lot of people, and then, well. Racism.
Another look at cishet men reading romance.
In case you missed it over the weekend, here’s the cover of Casey McQuiston’s next romcom!
And here’s an excerpt from Emily Henry’s next book.
Also, Adriana Herrera historicals coming our way!
Which led to quite the conversation about historical accuracy and the way certain types of people question it from authors of color in ways they don’t for white authors.
And there was also this amazing thread (with learning objects attached!) about anti-Blackness in romance.
We’re getting an anthology of romances about holidays that aren’t “holiday romances”.
This is a great thread on aromantic representation in media.
This is a fantastic essay by Sandra Kitt on the evolution of The Color of Love.
And the RWA elections are in. See who’s taking RWA 2.0 forward.
Deals
As August draws to a close and we start to enter the time that, in some parts of the country, harkens the whispers of Faire, now might be the time to use Well Met to scratch that itch. And it’s 1.99 right now, so why not? The second in the series, Well Played, comes out at the end of next month, so now would be a good time to dig in to ease the FOMO (Fact Of Missing Out).
And if you’re looking for something farther removed, Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins is also 1.99 right now! It’s the third in a series and actually, all three are 1.99, but Destiny’s Captive is my favorite—lady pirates, sea journeys, sword fights! It’s tons of fun. But read all three, honestly.
Book Recs
I was feeling unwell over the weekend and had been talking about (among other things) hockey with Trisha when we recorded the most recent episode of When In Romance, so I decided to pick up a book or two that might bring back those Check, Please! feelings. Hockey is the whitest sport, and is therefore the whitest sports subgenre in romance, so I don’t read a whole lot of it, but I have found a few authors that I enjoy, who also try to bring a bit of diversity into the game.
Game Changer
Rachel Reid
I’ve been watching this series build out since the start, and I actually have all four books? I had been hesitant to start the series because of the closeted protagonist, but I figured, might as well dive in, right?
Scott Hunter is the star captain of the New York Admirals, and he hasn’t been playing very well. When he gets a delicious smoothie (made by a very attractive barista) and has the best game in ages, he decides to get it again. And again. And by some stroke of luck, he runs into Kip in a situation where they can both get what they really want. But even as they start to build a wildly intense relationship, Scott isn’t ready to come out as the first openly gay player in the NHL. And Kip isn’t sure he’s okay with being Scott’s dirty secret forever. I wasn’t completely in love with this one, but everyone swears by the rest of the series, so I figured I should get started.
CW: Closeted character; homophobic language; fighting; casual homophobia; sports injury
I wanted to keep the hockey game going, so I picked up Kelly Farmer’s Out On the Ice, which comes out later this week. And while the story was definitely interesting, I wasn’t up to do two “keep personal life private” pro hockey stories in a row, so I set that one aside for later. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially since one of the characters has serious Megan Rapinoe vibes, but I have to balance my closets, you know?
Instead, I picked up Trade Deadline, the third book in the Hat Trick series by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn.
In Trade Deadline, Daniel has changed teams from the Atlanta Venom to the Miami Thunder. After being on the same team for over a decade, it’s nice to move back to his hometown, where he runs into his childhood BFF. Who was also his first crush and first kiss. Daniel, freshly divorced and unpracticed with men, might be into trying something new with Micah. I don’t often pick up friends-to-lovers or what would technically be a second-chance romance, but this is the kind of both of those that I enjoy. They were friends as kids and sure, had crushes on each other then, but enough time has passed that they’re kind of getting to know each other again, even though they can still joke about kid stuff. I’m almost done and it’s super delightful. And if you haven’t read the series, start with Off the Ice…which has a similar plot to Game Changer, so be prepared for that story. (The second book in the series, Goalie Interference, is an enemies-to-lovers goalie romance between two men of color. Like, when does that happen?)
What are your favorite hockey romances? Bonus if they’re queer!
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!