Hey y’all, welcome to the Kissing Books newsletter. I hope your spirit is doing well today. I’m PN Hinton, your guide through the roller coaster of a ride that the world of romance can be. If this is your first time reading this newsletter, I’m glad that you’re here. If you’re a regular reader, welcome back; it’s always good to see you.
I don’t know about y’all but my allergies have been beating me up over the last week. It has not been a fun experience overall. I mean, on the positive side I don’t have to suffer in an office around people since I’m WFH. But on the other hand, I still have to deal with it.
One thing currently bringing me joy is Lady Grey tea. In the past, I haven’t been a regular tea drinker but I’ve since discovered this and it brings me joy. On days where my stomach can’t handle coffee for one reason or another, this is my go to beverage to still start my day off with a dose of caffeine.
Romance Reflection:
So there was quite a scuffle over in the Romance wing of Instagram and Twitter late last week over the comparison of two similar covers and well…it was wild y’all. Here is a tweet from Nick where you can see the two different covers in question.
Are they similar? Yes. Are they carbon copies? Not even. Should any artist be able to claim they created the clinch cover? *laughs in over 50 years of romance novel covers*
I won’t lie. It’s giving off very “I’m going to copyright the word ‘cocky’ vibes.” And trust, that is a camp that one does not want to find themselves in.
Now, I’m not here to debate which cover is superior or prettier. As with any form of art, it comes down to a preference. The issue here is that people really need to stop trying to copyright and claim something that is part of an entire genre as solely theirs. I know I was being snide above but we all know what ‘cocky-gate’ was. Recently, there was another issue with someone trying to claim they created the three act structure. When it has been part of storytelling for, like, EVER. And now this. It’s exhausting.
This tale of two covers is not anywhere close to being copyright infringement. They are artists using what has been an available clinch pose and part of the genre literally for years. There’s bound to be overlap in some areas but it’s just that. It’s one thing if you were to write a book about a family called the Archertons who consist of eight siblings named in an backwards alphabetical order starting from Z whose comings and goings are written about by Madame Sirenup. Yeah, that’s copyright infringement and you’re gonna be held accountable for that.
But artists using various poses of clinch covers that have practically been around since the inception of romance novels? Absolutely not.
Pick a different struggle, cause this ain’t it.
And in a move that surprised absolutely no one, the cover will now be changed. Now, maybe the next one will be more accurate to the character within because the tone used for the male character caused more than a few eyebrows to be raised as well.
Book Riot Romance:
Another ode to the single person POV in romance. I’m not sure why this is such a hot button topic since it comes down to preference, but here we are.
Around the Web in Romance:
I’m almost ashamed about how many times I listened to this brief audio clip. Almost.
Take this quiz to see how old you are based on the rom-coms you’ve seen. They overshot my age by a few years, I won’t lie, it stung more than a little a bit.
Here’s an article on the 10-year anniversary of Fifty Shades of Grey, and its impact on publishing as a whole. Because, regardless of which side of the line you end up on in that debate, you can’t deny its lasting effects.
In infuriating news, apparently a library in Enid, Oklahoma is canceling the ‘bodice ripper book club’. As sucky as this is, I am one who feels that maybe now that it is hitting home for some people when it wasn’t before, there will be more pushback on censorship as a whole.
Bookstore Romance Day is scheduled for August 20th of this year. In anticipation of this celebration, check out this shirt that displays that “Love is queer.” I’m probably going to snag one myself.
Check out the cover reveal for this delightful looking holiday Sapphic romance!
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
New Releases:
Here are some of the new releases that, as of the writing of this newsletter, were showing a release date for the upcoming week. As per the new norm, this could be subject to change, depending on the supply and demand.
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The Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper(4/26)
The Long Game by Rachel Reid (4/26)
Partner Track by Cat Wynn (4/26)
Summoning Up Love by Synithia Williams (4/26)
The Bookshop Rescue by Rochelle Alers (4/26)
Hidden With You by J. Kenner (4/26)
A Fortune in the Family by Kathy Douglass (4/26)
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Love, Hate, & Clickbait by Liz Bowery (4/26)
The Beguiling Earl by Hildie McQueen (4/26)
To Love Again by Serenity King (4/29)
And that’s all I have for y’all today. I’ll be back on Thursday with a fresh newsletter. In the meantime, though, you can always give me a follow over on Twitter under @PScribe801 to see what I’m up to in between the editions. Until then!