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.
Monday was a challenging day for me. I lost power mid-morning and didn’t get it back until mid-afternoon, which meant I couldn’t do anything at all but sweat in the darkness. The perk of the day was the installation of my new dishwasher, even with the lack of light.
In things bringing me joy, since ‘lort’ knows I could use the boost, I recently discovered the game Spiritfarer and am thoroughly enjoying it. On Saturday night, I spent at least four hours just playing it and only stopped when I got the low battery warning.
Romance Reflection
Today’s reflection is brought to you by this tweet that I saw the other day. While I will agree that unrealistic expectations are put on women and their personalities, even in romances (more on that later), I have to disagree with the first sentence.
Real talk; a man can be too much of an arsehole for me to root for their HEA. I have DNFed romance books because I couldn’t stand the hero and their arsehole tendencies. I avoid entire sub-genres since that is exactly what the heroes are like. Hell, I will even skip books in a series if the hero is someone who previously was a jerk. I tried this with one series and it was a grudge read at best. I shan’t make that mistake again.
There is also a huge difference between being grumpy and being an arsehole. Typically, with grumpy people, there is a reason for it. And, while your baggage shouldn’t be anyone else’s problem, it makes sense if someone is closed off because of it. When someone in a romance novel is an arsehole, they typically tend to be one just because they can.
Give me a grump or a cinnamon roll but an arsehole is always a pass for me.
Book Riot Romance
Jessica is out there paving the way for would-be Resident Romance Librarians everywhere!
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Around the Web in Romance
Here is the cover reveal for Priscila Oliveras’ November release.
Take this quiz to see if you can match the wedding dress with the rom-com.
Recommendations
Following up on the previous expectation, it really does bother me that a lot of readers out there feel a woman who has to Pollyanna in order to be ‘worthy’ of love. It’s really fracking annoying to say the least. This is even further compounded when you factor in that a lot of readers who feel this way are the same people who cry that romance is for women only. So one would think that there wouldn’t be unrealistic expectations about how a woman should act in those novels.
Make it make sense.
I feel that women have the deck stacked more against them, by far. And no one can change my mind on that. So, it logically follows for them to be grumpy every now and then. Between the expectations that our world, work, family, and friends have of us all at the same time? Hell, sometimes I wonder why we’re not all more grumpy to be honest with you.
All of this is to say that if arseholes can get an HEA, then prickly females can too. Fair is fair after all. So, with that in mind, I’m going to highlight romances where the heroine would be considered the grumpy one or prickly.
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
Liya is happy with her life as a single biochemical engineer. So much so that when she goes to dinner at her parents and finds they have used it as a set-up attempt, she escapes out the back door. Imagine her surprise when the guy turns out to be Jay, the lawyer hired to save her company. Will their unsuccessful beginning allow for them to work together on this endeavor and maybe even find love along the way?
Man vs Durian by Jackie Lau
Peter and Valerie have an interesting first encounter when they run into each other and she spills her durian ice cream all over him, a fruit that he detests. Soon after this meet cute, Valerie asks Peter to pretend to be her fake boyfriend to get her family off her back about getting back into the dating world. Intrigued by her, even her fondness for durian, Peter agrees. Slowly he begins to learn more about Valerie and why she is the way she is, and works to move his boyfriend status from ‘fake’ to ‘real’.
Mangos and Mistletoes by Adriana Herrera
Kiskeya leaves her home of the Dominican Republic to travel to Scotland, determined to win the Holiday Baking Challenge. She will not let anyone, not even attractive teammate Sully, deter her. Sully comes to the challenge to find her purpose after caring for others for years. She is equally as determined to show Kiskeya that they make partners both in baking and in love, before outside forces threaten the futures in both fields.
And that is all I have for you today. I’ll be back on Monday, where I’ll hopefully keep power all day, with a fresh new edition. In the meantime, I can be found posting on Twitter under @PScribe801 random, and usually bookish related, things. Have a great weekend, full of reading and relaxation.