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Hello again romance readers. I’m PN Hinton, your companion for the world of romance. If you’re new to the Kissing Books newsletter, welcome and enjoy your stay. If you’re a long-time reader, it’s great to see you again.
To be honest, last week was rough one for me. So, I’m eager to see what this one brings. I’m not sure what put me in the funk I was in, but I know that I was there for a good chunk of time. I think it’s because it’s been over a year since the whole ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ and it’s really starting to weigh me down. That said, since I’m fully vaccinated, I’m not as restrictive with going places.
In fact, I went out to eat last week with in-laws as a late Mother’s Day dinner. I knew going in that it was likely we were going to eat indoors, due to what the majority wanted and was mentally prepared for that. What I was not prepared for was it being as populated as it was for non-weekend night. This means it took forever to find a parking spot. Luckily, Fortune smiled down on me since, on my umpteenth time around, someone in the front was leaving. And dinner ended up being really nice even if I was internally trying to calm down and not outwardly show my stress. Here’s hoping this week is more calming.
Romance Tidbits
Author Ali Williams recently tweeted out what her syllabus would look like if she were to teach an undergrad course over the history of the romance novel. And it is a damned impressive list. I would love to take a class like this. Hell, I’d even just audit it, since I’m sure it would fill up quickly, if this were a real college course. I’m also sure that some students would sign up, looking for the ever elusive easy A. But I doubt it would be that way, and they would be in for a rude awakening.
What I really like about this is that there are weeks devoted to both category romance, such as Harlequins, and old school romances. I know that some of the newer and younger romance readers may have issues with these types of romances and I’m not here to disparage that. Old school romance is hard to get through with a modern mindset, even if you did cut your teeth on them like I did. For example, Johanna Lindsey was and will always be one of my favorite authors. But, I can’t read a lot of her earlier stuff, even the ones that I devoured when I was younger. It has to be, at the very least, after 1990 or a Mallory book.
And category romances get a bad wrap for being formulaic. Which, granted, can be true. But the secret is, that is true of all genres. I don’t care what type it is; every genre out there has some type of formula to it and they always have. There’s nothing wrong with it, per se, once you acknowledge it because it comes down to liking what you like. Clearly though, there is something to be said that, even with the evolution it has gone through, Harlequin is still around with the category romances spread across multiple topics now. They’re doing something right.
All of that said, these are some of the roots for the romance genre. Love them or hate them, they’re still there as part of the foundation and I appreciate that this recognition exists. Because I do feel it’s important to know how something started out versus where it’s at now. Remember what those educational Saturday morning animated shorts taught us: knowledge is power.
Due to the popularity, Ali decided to go ahead and press the button on this idea. If you are interested, she will be starting an online course in September. You can sign up for her mailing list if you’re interested in taking this one.
Around the Web in Romance
Check out this list of romance novels with school ties from the Book Riot Vault.
Here’s another round-up of some other good reads with collegiate settings, if you’ve discovered that this is one of your favorite tropes.
Speaking of ‘good reads’ (see what I did there) here is one Rioter’s options for different rating systems. I know it’s not exactly romance related, but still an interesting read.
Don’t forget to click here for a chance to win a free iPad mini!
New Releases & Deals
Here are some of the new releases hitting the shelves this week.
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All Fired Up by Jenn Burke
Bastard Bartender by Jeannine Colette & Lauren Runow
Brown Sugar This Christmas by Lula White
Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam
As for deals, American Dreamer by Adrianna Herrera, String Boys* by Amy Lane, Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke, Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams, and Unthinkable by Shakir Rashaan can all be yours for the low price of $1.99.
*CW/TW for sexual assault
And that’s all for now friends. As always, if you want more of me between the emails, give me a @PScribe801 over on Twitter. See ya Thursday!