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Hello again, romance readers. I’m PN Hinton, your companion for the world of romance. I hope your spirit is doing well today. If you’re new to the Kissing Books newsletter, welcome and enjoy your stay. If you’re a long-time reader, welcome back; it’s good to see you again.
By the time you’re reading this, I’ll have started my four-day birthday celebration weekend. So far a BBQ is all that’s planned, but the week is still young. I kinda want to do a book shopping spree. But, I’m well aware of the amount of unread books I have already. So, I may try to be responsible…
But then again it’s my birthday. So, I may still do it. I’ll be sure to catch you up on my purchases next week if it happens.
World of Romance
I am getting increasingly frustrated with the misconception of what actually constitutes a taboo romance. Some people seem to think that it’s a Cole Porter song and anything goes. Proof in that pudding is this Tweet I found the other day, which referenced the latest ‘taboo’ romance. When that user looked it up, she found out it was about a romance between a girl and her biological father.
Yep. You read that right.
As per the normal I’m not going to state what the book is, since we don’t want to even more of a light on it. Books like this do nothing to help work against the stigma that the romance genre already has.
A taboo romance is one between a professor/student of legal age, or a sibling’s ex, or a best friend’s parent. It’s not a parent and child, or brother and sister. That’s not taboo; that’s illegal in most states and it’s a whole lot of *shudder*.
To paraphrase Regina George; stop trying to make incestuous romance happen. It’s not gonna happen.
All that said, I can’t give a lot of recommendations for taboo romance…yet. However, you can check out this list for some books to pick up if it is your cup of tea.
Recommendations
Roughly eight years ago, I gave up Pepsi on a whim. And oh my sweet giddy aunt, it was HELL. I had massive mood swings, headaches, feeling hungry all the time. After all that, I decided to cut caffeinated sodas out completely, and haven’t had one since. I still drink Sprite and the occasional energy drink though.
However, at the time I was still working nights with a two-year-old at home who I was still responsible for during the day. I needed something to keep me awake and coffee became my new best friend. Now, I had been a coffee drinker already. Since cutting out sodas though, my love for the beverage has grown. I’m one who loves flavored coffee, iced coffee, blended coffee, etc.
And I’m not alone here. It’s estimated that one billion people worldwide drink coffee. It was the central focus hang out location on Friends. I know it sounds like a T-shirt, but coffee is life. That’s why, for today’s newsletter, I’m going to focus on books that feature coffee or a coffee shop.
The Coffee Agenda by Jackson Tyler
Seth and Tyler are brought together by fate and friends when the latter receives a surprise inheritance. They decide to open up a coffee house called Agenda for the LGBTQ community. When they begin to fall in love with each other, it makes starting a business trickier than normal, especially with them being complete opposites. This is currently a duology, so if you find yourself falling in love with the characters and the coffee shop, you can pick up the follow-up, High on the Agenda.
Wrong by Jana Astor
Sophie’s luck with love is lackluster to say the least. So she keeps her expectations low for reality even though her fantasies are another story. After fantasizing about a regular customer in the coffee shop where she works, she is embarrassed to find out on her next visit to the student clinic that he is the doctor there. This is also the first in a four book series that seems to center around the same coffee shop so, again, you can linger with the characters a bit. It would likely be classified as New Adult and fairly steamy, so keep that in mind going in.
Java Frost by Courtney Hunt
Apparently, I’m just feeling the series vibes today because this novella is also the first in a series of books that focus around a place called Cupid’s Coffeeshop. In this one, serious single dad Ben hires carefree preschool teacher Amy to teach him how to let loose and have fun with his daughter. This is a novella so it’s a short one, and the series appears to lean more towards sweet than steamy.
Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert
Werewolf Luke wanders into Chastity’s family coffeeshop looking for his mate. Chastity sees Luke as a way to show her family of monster hunters that she is more than capable of taking up the mantle. From that premise and the fact that it is Talia, you know you’re in for a great time with this story. While he is already over the moon for her, it takes a bit more convincing for chastity to realize that there’s more to this wolf than meets the eye. I love the cinnamon roll aspect of Luke in this, and of course their chemistry practically sizzles off the page. You can’t go wrong with this one.
And that is all for today! I hope that y’all enjoy your weekend. I know I will and I will see you Monday with the next edition. In the meantime give me a follow on Twitter under @Pscribe801. Until next time.