Sponsored by Nicholas Sparks and his new book, The Return.
Trevor Benson is a young Navy doctor who unexpectedly finds himself back in New Bern, North Carolina after a mortar blast leaves him wounded. His late grandfather’s dilapidated cabin seems like as good a place to regroup as any, and he finds solace tending to his grandfather’s beloved beehives. But unexpected encounters with two local women—the deputy sheriff, and a sullen teenage girl who lives in a nearby trailer park—will lead him on a journey of love and forgiveness. In life, in order to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.
Happy Second Monday of October, folks! If you live in the States and have the federal holiday off, check to see if your city/county/region has made a statement about the dude the holiday is named after, and if they’ve gone ahead and declared it to be Indigenous Peoples’ Day (or some iteration thereof). If you don’t have the day off, hi!
Books. Let’s do this.
News and Useful Links
I love this graphic for the surprise cover reveal of Lyssa Kay Adams’ Isn’t It Bromantic.
I cannot contain how excited I am about Disney Publishing starting an adult line for retelling their stories, starting with Julie Murphy’s If The Shoe Fits, which brings Cinderella into contemporary adulthood.
Roan Parrish is set to publish the first ever (first ever?!?) queer romance for a Harlequin series line. They obviously publish quite a bit through Carina and Carina Adores, but this is their first (EVER) category book to be published with a couple that isn’t m/f, that will have the Harlequin swoop of any color (blue, in this case) and will go to print. I am obviously very excited for Roan because I love her so much and adored Better Than People, but I do have to wonder (as others have since the announcement) about the fact that the first person to write a Harlequin with two men (I’m assuming) on the cover is a cis woman, even if she is queer. I hope Harlequin is working on something with a worthy author who is not. A cis woman, I mean. (And if they are, can we get some non m/m representation up in here?)
There are apparently quite a few romance panels coming up at Frankfurt! Check out Romance Sparks Joy’s Sunday thread, which compiles them for us.
I haven’t listened to this episode yet, but I’ve heard it’s great. “Historical women in pants” is definitely one of my problematic faves (though now that I think about it, I haven’t read one in…a while).
Speaking of podcasts? Have you checked out Romance Ever After? Allie Parker hosts other members of Romancelandia to talk about a specific romcom movie every episode, and the next one is out tomorrow! (Transparency note: Allie is a longtime friend of mine.)
Deals
Heartbeat Braves by Pamela Sanderson
If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day (or any day, really), supporting one of the very small number of Native authors in romance is one way to go. Heartbeat Braves by Pamela Sanderson is the first in a series and is only 99 cents. It features two Native protagonists and also touches on social and cultural issues. The other three are all 3.99 or less, so if you like the first one, just keep clicking 😀
Recs
Spoiler Alert dropped me into a bit of a book-reading slump. I made a respectable foray into My Hallowe’en Heartbreak by Melanie Ting, which was totally cute but not as about Halloween as I’d been looking for. I’d thought a cute Halloween book was what I was looking for, but turned out I was after something different. After countless hours minutes of scrolling through my kindle books, I settled in with The Love Study.
Readers, I want to marry it.
The Love Study by Kris Ripper
I did myself a favor by not reading the blurb to this one upon making the decision to read it. I had a vague recollection of what it was about from the initial discovery, but wasn’t certain of the specifics. But Kris has me covered.
Declan hates his friends sometimes. Mostly when the tidbit they use to introduce him include the fact that he left his last boyfriend at the altar. But that was six years ago and they’ve totally become best friends, so it was all better for everyone. He’s most embarrassed by this introduction when he’s introduced to Sidney, a new friend with a YouTube channel. They think it would be interesting to have Declan on the show in a new segment called The Love Study, where they set him up on dates and he reports back. And he’s kind of into the idea. The problem, of course, is that he might have a crush on his new friend instead, who Doesn’t Date.
Y’all know how this one goes.
I think the thing that worked best for me was Declan. He and I share a sense of humor and also have similar anxiety spiral processes, so I was all in for him as a narrator. But as usual, YMMV. I think his interactions with Sidney were precious and lovely and the endgame of their relationship was something you don’t get to see much. Never fear, though! This is still very much a romance novel with all the beats you’re looking for.
CWs: severe anxiety; panic attacks; mention of estranged family of origin (I really like that term, a character uses it to distinguish from their found family); called-out ableist language. I want to note that Kris makes this an amazingly safe space in regards to queerness, sex, and consent (unless you’re uncomfortable with the term “sex monkey”). Just as an FYI.
What are you reading this week?
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!