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Love is in the air in Serendipity, a collection of stories inspired by romantic tropes and edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer. Contributors include Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen.
Hey y’all, welcome to the Kissing Books newsletter. I hope your spirit is doing well. I’m PN Hinton, your guide through the world of romance and the roller coaster ride that it can be. If it is your first time here, welcome, and if you’re a regular reader, welcome back.
I hope that, whatever and wherever you were, that your NYE was nice and relaxing. I ended up staying in with my family relaxing and watching Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve with Ryan Secrest. So, we saw the ball drop in two other time zones before it was for our turn. This did throw the teenager a bit, but he was happy to enjoy a bit of apple cider at midnight. All around, low-key and what I needed.
My current romance read is How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days. One thing that is bringing me joy right now is Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. That song is a lyrically genius bop. If it doesn’t get some kind of movie award, I will be very shocked and upset.
Romance Reflection
Earlier this week, Amazon took down Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians series. The reason was because her books were available on pirating sites which was stupid, because it’s not like she put it up there. This is something that was beyond her control. While it really stinks that they’re not doing their homework or trying to get the pirated sites taken down, we also need to do our part to stop this from happening.
Look, I understand not being able to afford books. But pirating isn’t the answer and is harmful. It sucks that Ruby started the new year off with this fight. If you can’t afford to buy it, get it from the library, borrow from a friend, or ask for it as a gift. I’m a huge proponent of libraries anyways, so that is always my go to. There are other ways to read your favorite authors and still support them at the same time.
Book Riot Romance
Do you love a good pining romance? If so, Isabelle has you covered with this list.
If you’re a big fan of reality TV and romance, then some of the books Jess mentions here will likely make their way to your TBR.
Alison put together a list of the 20 most influential romance reads of the century. Discuss!
Around the Web in Romance
Romance writer Jae came out with a new Sapphic Book Bingo Card for 2022 if you want to play along.
In a change of pace from the norm, here’s a romance positive article all about the lovely Talia Hibbert.
And if fake dating is one of your preferred tropes, like me, check out this round-up to see if you can find any new books to pick up.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Recommendations
Before we get to the New Year’s Eve romances I promised last time, I want to give a heads up on a change I’ll be making this year. When I took over the newsletter, my goal was to have new releases and deals happened on Monday and recommendations on Thursday. However, it’s been tricky coming up with a new theme along with three different books each week. And I know multiple books got repeated.
This year, I’m going to change how recommendations work. Don’t worry! I’ll still give them weekly! But, there may not always be a set theme for the group of books being recommended. In addition to themes, I’ll be making recommendations for any challenges I’ve mentioned, such as Jae’s above, as well as Book Riot’s own Read Harder.
Again, I want to reiterate the recommendations will still be a weekly thing. But there will be some changes that go into how they are selected weekly.
This Time Next Year by Sophia Cousens
While both Minnie and Quinn were born at the same time after midnight on New Year’s Eve, the latter is the one who got the honor and cash prize of being the first baby born, as well as Minnie’s intended name. Since then, Minnie’s birthdays have always been cursed. When they run into each other on their thirtieth birthday at a party, it becomes even more apparent to Minnie that Quinn continues to get all the luck and she’s happy to part from him. However, even though they don’t run in the same circles, they keep meeting up randomly, and each time find themselves more drawn to one another.
Year of the Kiss by Giselle Fox
Both Sasha and Noami find themselves connecting at a New Year’s Eve party and starting off 2019 with a magical kiss. Yet, as quickly as Fate threw them together, it tears them apart, leaving both women scrambling across the city to find one another in hopes of keeping the fire that their kiss ignited burning.
The Business of Love by Cherish Hodges
Shortly after leaving a New Year’s Eve party, successful business woman Jill is saved from a fire at her condo by firefighter Darren. There is an immediate attraction between the two but, having been burned by insecure men in the past, Jill doesn’t reveal that she’s a successful CEO. However, the truth always comes to light and when it does, will the couple be able to move past this initial mislead or will their romance fizzle?
And that’s all I have for you today. I’ll be back Monday with more news from the romance world and some new releases. If you’re not already, give me a follow on Twitter under @PScribe801. Until next time, happy reading.