Welcome to the Kissing Books newsletter. If you’re a regular reader, I’m glad to see you again. Or, if this is your first time here, I’m glad that you joined us. I’m PN Hinton, and I’ll be your guide through all things romance-related.
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
Y’all…we’re almost through January. This is hard for me to wrap my head around because it really feels like 2024 started yesterday. Maybe this month flew by because I’ve been super busy and have had a lot of milestones occur. Either way, I’m still shooketh about how quickly this first month of the year has gone by. And the beginning of February will see me officially having a 16-year old, which I can’t even with right now. So, let’s move on to the rest of the newsletter.
Bookish Goods
Book Ring by WittingCraft
This ring is amazing all around! It’s a minimalistic yet stunning way to showcase one’s love of reading. Normally, this is priced at $33, but at the time I wrote this, it was on sale; so, you may still be able to snag it for $27.
New Releases
Her New York Minute by Darby Baham
Olivia heads to New York with only one thing in mind: to become the best portfolio manager in that city’s branch and secure a promotion back in the UK. She is certainly not looking to find Mr. Right or even Mr. Right Now. However, when she meets Thomas through a chance plane connection, the sparks instantly fly, leaving Liv to wonder if there is room in her plans for romance as well as ambition.
The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
When rising superstar Riley’s ex-husband tries to claim credit for being the inspiration behind her break-out break-up song, she calls up Max, her college boyfriend and actual inspiration behind the music. While they haven’t spoken since their break-up, Max agrees to go public as the reason for the tune, provided he can join her band on tour. Once on the road, old feelings quickly get unearthed and rekindled, leaving them both wondering if they gave up too soon.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
For us book dragons, the beginning of the year is when we set the goal for how many books we want to read in the coming year. I typically set mine for 52 since that averages to one a week, which I can definitely do, even in the hustle and bustle of life. But some people have very high aspirations and set a goal for triple digits on the regular.
Now sometimes, these lofty goals can lead to panicking towards the end of the year when the actual number is well below the goal. This usually results in people picking up more novellas. If that is your MO, then I’m going to challenge you to flip the script, as it were, and start the year off with a few shorter reads to help get ahead of that number. And here are a few to consider.
That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole
As maid and assistant to Eliza Hamilton, Mercy has a front-row seat to seeing the effect that love can have on a person, even after that person has departed this earth. Determined to not open herself to that type of pain, she resolves to close her heart off completely. Then Andromeda shows up as her grandfather’s proxy to be interviewed by Eliza, and she finds herself being drawn to the vivacious woman who is making her second guess her approach to love.
Stone Heart by Katee Robert
In Olympus, Medusa is known as Athena’s knife, dispatched whenever Athena needs someone to disappear. This is a task Medusa only takes on due to the fact that she owes Athena her life. When she’s dispatched to go after Calypso, though, the beautiful target is willing to do anything to stay alive, including seducing the other woman. Soon, something real develops between them, but with Athena still gunning for Calypso, will their happiness have a chance to flourish?
And that’s all I have for y’all today. I’ll be back in your inboxes on Thursday with a fresh newsletter. In the meantime, you can find me over on Instagram under @pns_bookish_world and every now and then on Twitter under @PScribe801. Until then, happy reading and stay hydrated.