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.
I am officially on vacation for the week from my day job and I am so looking forward to it. It will be a lot of recharging, relaxing, reading, and hopefully catching up on shows and movies. We have plans to go visit with some friends that live in a nearby small town, maybe do an overnight sleepover. Past that though, I don’t know if we’re going anywhere because gas prices are high and we all know why that is. Regardless, though it will be great and a break that is sorely needed.
Romance Reflection:
It’s March y’all and wow…there has been a lot of drama going on in Romancelandia already this year. The latest one was about a specific book that was optioned and honestly?
I don’t want to talk about that. I feel like that specific, half-ass attempt at a redemption story arc happens at least three times a year, if not more. I know I’ve discussed it before and I’m tired of having to say it over and over again since clearly, in terms of publishing houses, it’s not being taken seriously.
I make this statement to let y’all know I’m not unaware of this book or the situation. There’s nothing more that needs to be said on it apart from a majority of the community doesn’t want it and that should alone be enough to prevent books like this from being optioned.
Instead this reflection will be something more uplifting and hopefully humorous. This is actually something I plan on doing more going forward to try to have more of an even balance between lighter things and things that should be probably be discussed more often.
This is a pondering that I’ve actually had for a while. First, let me say that what started this was the Bridgerton season two preview, which gave me LIFE this week. The Pall Mall scene, the banter between Anthony and Kate, the hand reaching scenes and of course Newton. I really hope that the bee is still used as the reason for the compromising scene because it’s still hands down one of the best I’ve read.
And the wet shirt scene? It was brief but man there was a lot to unpack in those few seconds. I loved the reaction of both Sharma sisters, especially Edwina’s reaction to Kate, because it was a very sisterly “You know I can actually see you right?” look.
That said, it did make me question what exactly were men’s shirts made of back then? It doesn’t seem like they were very useful in terms of keeping one warm since they turned positively sheer when they got wet. Our attention (referring of course to Romancelandia) was drawn to this with Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy of course and it seems that Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton will be that awakening for this generation.
Let the record state I’m perfectly fine with both.
But, yeah; it seems like it’s made of paper for how quickly it crumbles when it gets wet. And maybe I don’t see enough wet modern men’s dress shirts, which in and of itself can be a tragedy, but yeah. Seems that at least the quality of said shirts has improved since the Regency era.
That said, I fully admit I will probably rewind that scene at least three times. I’m under no illusions about the type of person that I am.
Book Riot Romance:
I’ve talked briefly about this before here, but I was able to expand on alternative terms to ‘clean’ when talking about romances with no sex scene with this article.
Click here to be entered into a giveaway for a one-year subscription to Book of the Month. They’ve actually been quite consistent with romance options in that last couple of months which is always nice.
We also opened up another giveaway for a gift certificate to the Ripped Bodice. Summer is closer than you think so perfect time to stock up!
Around the Web in Romance:
I knew I wasn’t the only person to react that way to the Bridgerton trailer but it’s still nice to see proof of it in through the written word.
This collection of covers from a now defunct publishing house that I hadn’t even heard of was gorgeous and amazing to see. I truly appreciate the OP sharing that with us.
Speaking of publishing houses, Harlequin has expanded even more on their scholarship program.
If you’re a fan of billionaire romances, then you’re in luck with this list.
To quote a popular meme, “I want to go to the there.”
The cover was revealed for Erin Sterling’s upcoming book, The Kiss Curse.
And Rebekah Weatherspoon has a new Audible Original available now.
New Releases:
The Mercy Sisters: Love Delivered by J. Nichole (3/15)
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Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma (3/15)
Hard Rush by Cali N. Tae (3/15)
To Tame a Beast by Elizabeth Silver (3/15)
The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton (3/15)
The Game by Jan Gayle (3/15)
Exclusive by Melissa Brayden (3/15)
The Spy and her Serpent by Maria Ying (3/15)
She’s the Boss by Reina Torres (3/17)
A False Start by Elsie Silver (3/18)
And that’s all I have for you lovely people today. I’ll be back on Thursday with another romance reflection, news and recommendations. I hope that the week is kind to you until then and in the meantime give me a follow over on Twitter under @PScribe801. Until then!