Sponsored by Carina Press and American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera.
“A fresh and vital new voice in romance.” —Entertainment Weekly. From award-winning author Adriana Herrera comes a novel hailed as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Romance Novels of 2019 and a TODAY Show Hot Summer Read—now available in paperback for the first time!
Welcome to April! Today is the start of a new month and the next quarter of the year. While I typically view the new year as the big slate cleaner, I also appreciate the mini-start overs we get at the beginning of each month. Even though it’s a smaller refresh, it’s still a chance to wipe away any missteps that were made in the last x-amount of days and try again.
Cue the Aliyah song.
I know that I am going to view this day as a new opportunity to start over on some of my goals, both work and personal. I hope that you do as well. I know that March was a mixed bag for a lot of people for numerous reasons. March 2022 already has a lot of pressure on it to not be so terrible although, to be fair, the bar for that is going to be really, really low.
And, if the rhyme most of us grew up hearing holds true, April brings showers. And by showers, I mean catastrophes. But even if that is true, let’s hope that it’s not all gloom, doom, and rainy days. And that May will hold up its end of the bargain by being full of flowers.
Today is also April Fool’s Day, a holiday which I am not fond of. I dislike jokes or pranks. They make me feel awkward and uncomfortable. If someone wants a surefire way to get me out of their lives, have a DJ play an on-air joke on me. There’s also always a bit of a malicious undertone to those, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I love laughing; just not at the expense of someone else. Even better if you add romance to that comedy. I know that others feel similarly, since romantic comedies have been a thing for a very long time. While they had their heyday in the ’80s/’90s, the term was coined back in 1971. Furthermore, movies that could fit this description go back as far as the 1920s. So, it’s not a new thing.
Unfortunately these movies also have a history of being mocked. Which is more than a bit unfair. To have such disdain for romantic comedy to the point of being dismissive or condescending is beyond rude. I am sure this is because it has the word “romantic” in front of it. We all know that romance gets a bad rep for many reasons, but it’s still standing after all these years.
So, it’s doing something right.
Rom-Com Recommendations
If you’re wanting a bit more romcom with no pranks in your life, here are my recommendations for you this week:
Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton
I was almost tempted to put Wallbanger here since that is also full of romcom shenanigans. But, if I’m being honest, this is my favorite out of the series. And one reason for that is that it has one of my favorite types of heroes: nerds. As an added bonus, both the hero and heroine here are nerds. Viv is a kick-ass designer by day and secret lover of romance novels at night. When she inherits a house from a long-lost aunt in Mendocino, California that comes complete with cowboy Hank as the caregiver, she feels like she’s been swept into her own personal romance novel. If only she could keep her mind off Clark, the local librarian, which is another one my favorite heroes.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
The first in the Brown sisters series is full of romantic and comedic hijinks. Secretly looking through a window at the hot property manager. Getting stuck in a tree trying to save a stray cat. Having an almost kiss with said aforementioned property manager while in a onesie. All while dealing with a bucket list that was created after a near-death experience. Not only will you get to meet Chloe and Red for the first time; you’ll get to meet Dani and Eve as well. Which should increase your desire to pick up the other books in the series.
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
Min and Cal meet when he asks her out to dinner based on a bet. Their evening ends in disaster though and they agree to cut their losses. Fate, however, has other plans. Add in some jealous exes, a freakishly intelligent cat, and chicken marsala and you have the recipe for a good laugh. There are no pranks here, but there is a bit of deception by omission, which I know a lot of people don’t like. Also, Min is plus sized and while she’s happy with herself, she has to deal with passive aggressive comments from her mother. So be forewarned.
Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon
Bookstore worker Jordan is a die-hard romance lover who is trying to think of ways to keep his romance book club alive since it is slowly dying. However, this doesn’t mean he wants his new co-worker, Rex, to help him. Especially since Rex makes fun of him for reading these types of books. Ultimately, he decides the ends may justify the means to keep his club alive and agrees to work with Rex to resurrect the club. Along the way he realizes maybe he was too quick to judge Rex and should give him a second chance.
Hopefully one of these strikes your fancy and helps to bring a smile to your face.
Fun From Book Riot and Around the Web
If you’re looking for even more recommendations for romcoms, check out this post from the Book Riot archives.
Speaking of romcoms, here’s a fun quiz to test your love of the genre. It’s all in good fun though so don’t put much too much stock into it.
Do you like role reversal in your romances? If so, some of those may strike your fancy.
If you’ve ever wanted to recommend romance books to your friends based on their interest, here’s your chance to shine!
That’s all for today but, if you want snippets of my bookish life, follow me on Twitter @PScribe801. Until next time.