Fake relationships. Enemies to lovers. Love triangles and best friends, mistaken identities and missed connections. This collection of genre-bending and original stories take common romance plots and reimagine them in new, exciting ways. Look out for powerful flora, a superhero and his nemesis, a fantastical sled race through snow-capped mountains, a golf tournament, the wrong ride-share, and even the end of the world. Featuring YA writers Gloria Chao, Mason Deaver, Sara Farizan, Malinda Lo, Natasha Ngan, and more, this collection is sure to sweep you off your feet.
Hey y’all, welcome to the Kissing Books newsletter. I hope your spirit is doing well. I’m PN Hinton, your guide through the roller coaster of a ride that the world of romance can be. If it is your first time here, welcome and if you’re a regular reader welcome back.
It’s hard to believe that we’re halfway through February and March will be here soon. With it comes spring and hopefully warm but not surface-of-the-sun level heat for my area. At the very least, maybe our weather will stay consistent for a full week because this flip-flopping is not for me.
Romance Reflection
I’ve mentioned this in passing in a previous edition but there have still been untruths flying around recently. I feel like this most recent discussion is the direct result of this tweet and by extension other lists of Black romance books making the rounds. However, there are a good number of interracial romances on that list, so to call it an all Black Love list is incorrect.
So again I state that Black love is a romance where all involved partners are Black. Always. If there is one Black person and all other involved parties are a different race, then it’s interracial and/or multicultural. I really don’t understand why this is such a hard concept to get. But it seems to be something that needs to be repeated, specifically when it comes to Black love stories. I haven’t really seen this discourse pop up for other types of love stories.
Sometimes it’s an honest mistake to classify a book as Black Love when it’s not. This is something that has even happened here at Book Riot, so that I can understand up to a certain point. And again let me state that there is absolutely nothing wrong with interracial and multicultural romances at all; they just aren’t Black Love.
Other times it’s a deliberate way to try to cash in on that specific cash flow. Romancelandia gets accused of gatekeeping a lot and sometimes it’s valid. Such as when a would-be writer tries to cash in on the romance money without having to, you know, actually write a romance. Those are the ones who claim that they’re ‘rocking the boat’ and it will be a different type of romance novel. Which always equals no HEA which means it is not a romance.
This happens a lot within the romance genre, and this situation is a prime example of that. While the publisher is sometimes at fault, other times it’s just the author flagging it as Black love and it isn’t until later that the truth comes out. Either way, it’s not a good feeling and it’s an argument that apparently we will still need to keep having until everyone catches up with the rest of the class.
Book Riot Romance
Celebrate Black History Month with some of these romances.
Also check out this introduction to Romance BookTok.
And this list of Eros and Psyche inspired books.
Don’t forget to check out our limited edition Wordle-inspired merchandise!
Around the Web in Romance
I really loved this Dul-Sayin’ bit featuring some awesome Black romance authors from a recent episode of The Daily Show.
Be sure to check out this upcoming Men Romance Roundtable episode of the Romance in Color podcast.
While many would argue diversity has been around longer than non-romance readers may think, this was still an enjoyable read.
Here are some rom-com recommendations to help brighten up your day.
And a few more recommended romance reads.
Romance novel covers on rocks! I can’t sufficiently express how much joy these pieces of art bring me.
The Swoon Awards winners were announced so be sure to click here and view them all.
Make sure to get your own Read Harder Book Journal from Book Riot to track your reading for the year!
Recommendations
Following today’s reflection, this week’s romance recommendations are going to be centered around Black love. This means these are all stories that feature two Black characters falling in love and finding happiness therein.
Finding Forever by Christina C. Jones
After a one night stand, both Tori and Avery are content with never seeing each other again. However fate in the form of Avery’s little sister bring them back into each other’s social spheres. Tori is fine with writing Avery as a playboy who only is looking to get another notch in his belt and at first Avery is okay letting her think that. Until he slowly comes to the realization that he may not be okay with that after all.
Learned Behaviors by Jayce Ellis
Co-workers and empty nesters JaQuan and Matthew couldn’t be more different. Of course this means that the two are thrown together on a work project that will keep them busy up until Thanksgiving weekend, which also happens to be the week that Matthew’s son is getting married. As the long hours increase, so does the sexual tension and it leads both men to wonder if there’s always a second chance at a new love.
Wild Sweet Love by Beverly Jenkins
Teresa July is looking forward to leaving her past as a train robber behind and embracing her new career as a cook to the elite Nance family. However, her employer’s son, Madison has seen her mother being taken advantage of multiple times in the past. So, he’s determined that won’t happen with Teresa and keeps a close eye on her. Even though their initial meetings are combative in nature, there’s no denying the attraction between the two. And when someone from Madison’s past threatens Teresa’s future, they must work together to stop the threat. It’s been said time and again you can’t have a Black Love romance list and not include a Jekins and I’m not going to go against that here.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
And that is all I have for you today. I’ll be back next week with another round-up of romance news and new releases. Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading.