Author: P.N. Hinton

Happy Day After Valentine’s, also known as half-off all the chocolate day!  That’s almost more exciting to me than the actual holiday. Don’t worry, I always give equal attention and adoration to its cousin; the Day After Halloween. Yesterday also put us officially halfway through February, something I am still astonished by.

No matter your personal feelings on the day of love, I hope that you had a great weekend and spent it the way you wanted and were able to relax. I’m forecasting that I spent it bundled up in my apartment because of the Arctic snap that swept through my home state (see what I did there?). Seriously though… I was not happy with that. I’m not Elsa. The cold bothers me. A lot. So, I’m sure I did my best to stay indoors all weekend.

Even though the day is officially over, there is still Valentine’s fun to be had. Author Christine Ragland threw down a “You can only choose one” trope challenge last week. There were a lot of interesting and difficult choices there. If you want to read over the options there were and see how your personal favorites fared, check out her tweet from last week.

Personally I only had strong feelings about a few, which were Wild West, Ravish, Sex in an Elevator, and Grump & Sunshine. For that last one I don’t care which is which either. I also like nerds, but I don’t necessarily want them to end up with the jocks, so on that one either one being the last trope standing would have worked for me.

Speaking of the Wild West, I also want to take a moment and wish Beverly Jenkins a Happy Birthday!! Miss Bev’s latest Wild Rain has been receiving all the recognition and I am. Here. For. It. This was such a wonderful read for so many reasons. The Black cinnamon roll hero, two things that don’t typically get put together. A non-virginal heroine who refuses to be shamed for that and is independent, proud and, while she wants her man, she doesn’t need him. And they are able to learn how to live on and love on their times and not society’s. So. Much. Goodness. 

I linked to Carole’s review last time (and I’m going to do it again), but be sure to also check out this podcast episode she was part of. You can also hear direct from the Queen herself in this interview.

I know I’m looking for fun ways to pass the time or, more accurately, sanity breaks between WFH and/or juggling distance education. If you’re in that same boat, I wanted to share some of the things that gave me that mental break last week. Like this list from Vulture on what books to pair with your favorite rom-com. My favorite off the list is When Harry Met Sally, which gives me a reason to read another Christina Lauren. I also kind of want to pick up House Rules now because of the comparison to The Lovebirds, which I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. I mean I expected to enjoy it because of the stars, but not quite as much as I did. 

Or check out this list of books on the fake-dating trope, which is going to be a very popular trope this year. Book Riot also had a quiz to find your perfect Valentine’s book.

I was remiss in linking this list of YA romances last time, but I shan’t repeat it with this one.

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases headed our way this week. There is quite a bit and I’m sure I missed some, so, apologies if I missed one you were personally looking forward to.

My One Week Husband by Lauren Blakely 

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai 

Blindsided by Victoria Denault

Slapshot by Rebecca Jenshak

Holdout by Jacqueline Snowe

Hard to Score by K. Bromberg

Crossed Hearts by J.R. Gray

Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

Close Quarters by Kandi Steiner

Submission Impossible by Lexi Blake

Like You Love Me by Adriana Locke

Deals

And here are some of the deals that you can snag up now or soon.

Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye by Jacquelyn Middleton is going to be $0.99 * 

Heart of Stone by Chiquita Dennie is free right now. That’s a price almost no one can argue with.

The Rancher Returns by Brenda Jackson is $1.99

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodwiss is also $1.99 +

*Please note that this doesn’t actually go on sale until the 18th. But since I like putting deals with new releases I am including it in today’s newsletter + This is very old school romance. As in it’s genuinely recognized as one of the first. So, it has all the problematic themes that go hand in hand with those older books. Please exercise caution before deciding whether or not to read it.

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That’s all she wrote for now. Catch up with me over on Twitter under @PScribe801. Thanks for taking the time to read and you’ll be hearing from me again later this week.

Hey y’all! We’re almost to the end of another week and, while I can’t speak for everyone, this month seems to be going by fast. It’s not even a matter of it being the shortest month of the year. It really does seem to be breezing by quickly. Of course, this was the case last year. Then we got to the March that never seemed to end and well…

Yeah.

Anyways.

In case you missed it in the last one, this is just a reminder that the 1997 version of Cinderella will begin streaming tomorrow over on Disney+. I’m excited and will likely queue up to watch it as soon as I get out of work and make sure all my other tasks are taken care of. I plan on singing along too, much (I’m sure) to the chagrin of my now officially teenage son.

Sorry not sorry kiddo; your mom had unfulfilled dreams of being in musical theater and this is how she comes to term with that.

One thing I’m putting out there in the world is that soon Disney will also bring back or reimagine the sing-along videos. I’d totally be down to follow the bouncing ball again and sing my heart out to old classics. 

A few pieces of not as pleasant news. I did hear about that condescending Slate article that was making the rounds earlier this week. This kind of disparagement is not new to us in Romancelandia. It’s nothing we haven’t heard before as these types of articles seem to get published once a quarter. And no, I didn’t read it. I’ll hate-read a book, but I refuse to give a piece that mocks the genre I love and likely has no type of original thought behind it any more clicks than it already has received. At best, it deserves a cursory mention if for no other reason to warn fellow romance lovers to not waste their time. Read this review from Book Riot’s very own Carole Bell instead.

Also, a few weeks ago I mentioned the new S.M. Soto book as a new release and allegations have come to light that it was heavily plagiarized from one of Kim Jones’ books. And the screenshots that were floating around online are extremely damning. Soto has since made a statement on the situation and, as of the writing of this newsletter, I haven’t found one from Jones.

Unfortunately, this isn’t anything new to the romance genre (#copypastecris anyone?). Hell, even Nora Roberts went through this in the late ’90s with the late Janet Dailey lifting at least three passages from her books for her own. But, it still always leaves a bad taste in readers’ mouths because plagiarism feels like betrayal. Readers, no matter the genre, are loyal, sometimes to a fault. And to find out that one of the authors we enjoy took the creative work of another? Feels bad. This is all still developing but, since I had mentioned the Soto book a few weeks ago and it was newsworthy, I wanted to make sure to mention that update.

And, since I take the sandwich approach to feedback and news, there was a new episode of When in Romance this week. Give a listen to what Jess and Trish have thought about some of the recent shenanigans in the romance world.

Guest author Naima Simone wrote about some of her favorite first kisses of all time over on Frolic. This was a delightful read about some first kisses from all the various areas of the genre. The first kiss is still one of the most swoon-worthy parts of the book for me.

Valentine’s Day is Sunday and I know that there are always a lot of mixed feelings about this holiday. A good number of people will be actively throwing anti-Valentine’s Day parties in direct opposition to it. Some may prefer Galentine’s Day, an idea popularized by Parks & Rec that is well on its way to being a legitimate holiday. Or, you may embrace the holiday, even if its history is a bit murky at best. Whatever the case, you can likely find a book that matches your stand on the holiday.

True story time; I told my spouse the synopsis of that last book and his eyes almost got stuck in the back of his head, he rolled them so hard. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t hate romance at all, but he was like, “Really?” But that level of cuteness actually made me enjoy the series just a little bit more!

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And that’s all she wrote for now. As always, catch up with me over on Twitter under the handle @PScribe801. Until next time.

Good morning! Or, depending on when you read this, good afternoon, good evening or good night! I hope that your weekend treated you well and that you will be able to get some relaxing in. The me that is currently writing this newsletter is putting it out there in the universe that Monday-morning me managed to get at least one or two books read so I can mark off more on my Bingo board.

And yes, I am doubling or even tripling up on some of these prompts. This is a challenge where I can and I am taking advantage of it.

February is already off to an interesting start, what with the drama that I got into last time with the now unpublished book. I got drawn into the dumpster fire that hot mess was, so I missed that February 4th was Derek Craven day in Romancelandia. I’ll admit that I did not get the reference when I kept seeing this on Twitter all day last Thursday. (Please don’t come for me.) But, clearly he’s important because a lot of people I follow and respect are tweeting about him, so I dug into it a bit.

After doing my research, I discovered that he is the hero of Lisa Kleypas’s Dreaming of You, and that this holiday was created by the Fated Mates podcast. I honestly can’t recall if I’ve ever read Kleypas before so I didn’t feel too bad. However, it lit Twitter up and for once it was for a happy reason. If you search the hashtag over on Twitter, even today, you’ll likely still find a bunch of the tweets including a laundry list of things that Derek Craven wouldn’t do. All of this is to say that, apparently, this needs to be the first book of hers that I read. *adds to list*

That this united Romancelandia, even if briefly, is kind of awesome. Twitter is usually shown in a very negative light and, while a good portion of that is very much warranted, honestly? All of the social media platforms are toxic in their own specific way. So, it’s nice to have a positive unification on the app, and that it involves a romance hero gave me all the warm fuzzies.

Speaking of warm fuzzies, Goodreads came up with a Romance Pen Name Generator which was just delightful. When Charish Reid shared what hers would be, I had to check out my own.  If you’re interested, mine would be Lark Montague which….I kinda dig. True, it reminds me of those sweeping familial tragic epics that were predominant in the early ’90s, but it does have a nice ring to it.

Are you signed up for Alyssa Cole’s newsletter? Because you really should be.

In romance adjacent news, it was announced that the beautifully diverse 1997 version of Cinderella will start streaming on Disney+ starting February 12th, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Everyone rightfully lost their collective minds at this happy news. I know a lot of people will be sitting in their own little corner and in their own little chairs watching this movie on repeat once it goes live.

I really hope their servers are ready. The traffic that day will rival, if not surpass, the one for Hamilton. 

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases coming this week!

Reckless Road by Christine Feehan 

Smoke Bitten by Patriciai Briggs

Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins

Tempting in Texas by Delores Fossen 

Dancing with Danger by Kerrigan Byrne

Only One Touch by Natasha Madison

I was fortunate enough to be able to read an e-ARC of Wild Rain and y’all…I fell in love with Garrett. He was such a sweet cinnamon roll hero. And I adored Spring as well, for the bad-ass female she was. We definitely need more of that in Western romances.

Deals

Here are some of the deals that I noticed when perusing the interwebs. As per usual, these were the prices at when this newsletter was written so it may have changed:

The Love Bet by (Love Unexpected Book 1) by G.L. Thomas is $0.99

Long Time Coming by Rochelle Alers is $1.99 

Tender Kisses by Sheryl Lister is also $1.99

Written in the Stars, which was one of my most favorite reads from last year 3.99 for a limited time!

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And that is all she wrote for now Catch up with me under @Pscribe801 over at Twitter. ’ve actually been tweeting more! Until next time.

Happy Thursday KBers! I hope your week is going well. I’m trying to not freak about my TBR pile for this month. As previously mentioned I am participating in the Black Author Readathon this month and my list consists of nine books. Which normally isn’t terrible on its own.

However, this in addition to the three books I started last month but didn’t finish (including one for my work related book club), and the one I still need to read for my girlfriends book club. All in all I have a lot on my actively reading pile, but it’s okay. I’ll make it.

I think.

Thanks to an author presenting themselves as Black in an attempt to sell her latest book, Black History Month started off roughly in Romancelandia. As per usual, I won’t link directly to them but I will link to this tweet from C.M. Lockhart that helped to break the story.

One would think that in this day and age people would learn that this type of elusive behavior is not the way to go, but apparently this memo still keeps getting missed. And, to further compound this insult, she allegedly defended herself by stating that she wrote this after noticing there were no OwnVoices authors writing these types of romances.

I did some digging, but wasn’t able to find this statement, likely due to it being redacted. But…where the hell has she been? Black romance authors have always been here. Just because it maybe didn’t enter her periphery doesn’t mean that they weren’t already there. Black romance authors have always been around. Farah Heron put it perfectly with her response to that weak line of reasoning.

Let me be clear; I do not have a problem with writers writing about diverse characters. In fact, I welcome it. What I have a problem with is people presenting themselves as ‘OwnVoices’ when they are not. This has always been a big no-no. And when you get caught don’t get defensive or make excuses. Admit you made a mistake and do better. Don’t double down on it by making excuses, crying NWL tears, or ‘unpublish’ said book. It ultimately won’t end well for you.

And now that that is out of the way, on to vastly happier topics.

The winners of the Swoonies were announced!

It’s always a good time for a holiday romance.

I apparently like the fake-dating trope more than I thought I did, based on how many of these I’ve read.

If you’re someone who likes numbers and lists, check out this rundown of the top romance books of 2020. Mind the disclaimer at the beginning though. I personally wouldn’t classify a large number of the titles here as romance, but it wasn’t classified by Kelly or me.

In addition to being Black History Month, February is also National Library Lover’s month. Now, I know that a majority of libraries are closed to the general public right now, which is a decision I completely support. While I miss my wandering around my local libraries aimlessly, I would miss my librarians more. So, I’m content to wait until it’s safe to do it again.

That said, they still need support, so be sure to check your local library to see what virtual events they may be having. I know mine is doing a Romance Lover’s Social next weekend. And yes I signed up literally seconds registration opened up to ensure my spot in the event and for a goody bag. Free bookish swag is always awesome.

In honor of that, I decided to recommend a few books where librarians play a huge part. I haven’t read all of these but they all seem to be very popular and well loved by the romance community.

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And that’s all she wrote for now. Catch up with me over on Twitter @Pscribe801. Until next time friends!

Hey y’all! I hope your Monday is going well. On top of it being the beginning of a new week, it’s also the start of a new month. And despite being the shortest month, there always a lot packed into February. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, although with some people still staying indoors and not venturing out, I am guessing that it doesn’t matter whether or not Phil sees his shadow.

Personally, I’m trying not to freak out at the fact that, as of this exact day, I officially have a teenager. A TEENAGER. It’s mind-boggling to think about it. Sometimes, I feel too young to have a teenager and other times it seems like we just finally made it home from the hospital for good, since we had a few health scares when he was born.

Other times though it’s painfully obvious that I do. Over the last almost-year the pre-teen hormones have been very real, which made quarantine just a bit more exciting for me. And by exciting I mean it drove me up the proverbial wall. I felt the parental memes of this last year to the very depth of my soul.

Although I have not appreciated all facets that come with being a mom to a teenager, my kid is pretty sweet overall. Super protective of me, even when we’ve just had a big blowout fight or I’ve given a lecture, something I’m very good at. So, it could be worse. But still, mothers of teenagers past and present…light a scented candle for us. Please.

I know I mentioned my love of cowboys last week. If you’re like me and looking for more cowboy romances, check out some of the books listed here.

Book Riot had a fun quiz to find out which eligible Bridgerton character should be your suitor and I was overjoyed to end up with Anthony. And I totally didn’t game the answer to try to get this result. At least, I tried not to. He’s my favorite from the book. I know some had issues with him in the show, but…I still stan him. He’s my boo. And now it’s official because this very official quiz said so! I was happy to read that the second season would follow the books and focus on him. Otherwise I would have rioted. And by riot, I mean pout while still begrudgingly watching the second season and likely just re-read The Viscount Who Loved Me for the umpteenth time.

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s read, check out this list of books with queer couples. Or, if you like all types of romances no matter the age, you may want to review this list of YA romance titles coming out in 2021. I can attest to the awesomeness that is Happily Ever Afters, as it was my first full read of the year and it was amazing.

Talia Hibbert recently tweeted that she will be releasing a series of rom-coms inspired by the work of Jane Austen. I can’t wait. Even though I’ve never read the original works (I know, I’m a terrible English major), I love Jane Austen adaptations. And Talia is an author who I am never disappointed with. So, I’m eager to see what she has in store for us and the marriage of these two worlds. 

Netflix recently announced that they will be adapting Nora Robert’s Brazen Virtue. While another Nora adaptation is usually cause for celebration, there has already been blowback over this from Nora’s more Conservative fans. This is because it will star Alyssa Milano and the actor is not shy about how liberal she is. Nora, being the wonderful wordsmith she is, showed she has no time for this type of nonsense. She was also very clear about where she stood on this and how her politics were aligned and that she was happy with how the movie was progressing.

Honestly, it’s sad that she had to make that statement. I understand feeling a certain way about a celebrity. We all do in some way, shape, or form. And, clearly, I understand wanting to revoke your support of them. What I don’t understand is the need to yell about it, all the time, on all the platforms at one’s disposal and to be so vitriolic about it. Being nasty about it and threatening to burn books (which seems somewhat redundant to me since the money has already been spent) is just too much effort. Just file it away as something to avoid and simply scroll on.

And because it always bears repeating: Netflix, you’re really sleeping on making adaptations from Beverly Jenkins, Barbara Jackson, Alyssa Cole, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Alexis Daria, Adriana Herrera…

I could literally be at this forever.

Here are some of the releases hitting bookshelves this week. It’s a relatively short list but that may be kinder to your wallet.

The Seasons of Callan Reed by S.M. Soto

Still Standing by Kristen Ashley

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

Saving Grace by Elizabeth Doherty

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And that’s it for today. I hope that your February gets off to a great start. You can reach me over on Twitter under @Pscribe801.

We’re almost to the end of January 2021 and it would be a bit of an understatement to say that the beginning of this year was a bit of a rollercoaster. There were both good and not so good things that happened. But, overall it was an okay start to the new year. At least comparatively to the gauntlet we ran last year. I’m trying to continuously choose positive this year, but as with everything else, it’s a work in progress.

Speaking of that, the end of January may cause some people to reflect on the resolutions or goals that they made at the start of the year.  I’ve noticed over on Book Twitter people mentioning that Goodreads is already calling them out for being ‘behind’ their goal to which I say…really, Goodreads? It’s January. There’s plenty of time.

Although, to be honest, I’m in this same boat. A very small part of me is freaking out about this very much self-imposed challenge. It’s my competitive nature. I set the number and I can change it (but I won’t). I will continue to push until I meet or exceed where I should be at a specific point in time. Then I will be a bit calmer.

When I need the extra boost to my reading challenge or read-a-thon numbers, novellas are my go-to friends. I don’t just love novellas for the number padding they can give you. They can sometimes be the epitome of good things coming in small packages. I also gravitate towards them when I need to break a longer book up. I’m the opposite of the popular meme; there are some books out there that were too long for me. Even some of the books I have on my TBR now I’m waiting to tackle because they’re loooong and I know I will need something on standby.

Maybe you’re like me and wanting to get a jump on the number of books you’re planning on reading this year. Or, maybe your life is just banana pants busy right now and you can’t commit to a regular sized novel just yet. Whatever the case, here are some of my recommendations, should you want to pick them up in the future.

This week brought us another When in Romance episode, where, in addition to giving a brief Bridgerton follow-up, they talked about some exciting romance debuts coming out. I’m having to prepare my wallet for some of these (told you we were all enablers here). And apparently we pre-emptively celebrated the pod-aversary. Buuuuut….people have birthday seasons so the same can be said for anniversaries of any kind. So I’m totally down for celebrating a full month of the WIR podcast. Grats y’all!! 

Frolic put out this list romance novels that need to be put on the big screen. I give this list two thumbs up (and pray to God I didn’t just really age myself with that reference). 

Miss Bev got her own spread in February’s Orange County Library System’s magazine!!

Also, please, just list the CW and TW. Trust me. It will endear you to more readers in the long run. And if you don’t want to, don’t brag about it, since that may ostracize you simply on how the statement sounds.

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That’s it for today! Next time we see each other, it will be February. I hope that this weekend treats you well. Catch up with me over on Twitter under @PScribe801.

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m starting this week off feeling more hopeful than I have felt in a long time. I’m sure it’s a combination of a lot of things, but I’ll be honest in admitting that the Inauguration is the majority of it. I didn’t catch it all due to my day job but the bits I did see, I loved. 

And I will also admit that I lost my s**t when Garth Brooks sang. What can I say? I love cowboys. AND HE SHOWED UP IN BOOTS!! I’m sure my book club got more than a few chuckles at my reaction in our group chat because I do love me some Garth. That’s in large part thanks to my older sister. Since she was the one driving me around a lot, since our widowed father was usually working, I was subject to her music and it greatly influenced what I chose and still choose to listen to now.

Speaking of childhoods, did any of y’all ever have reading fundraisers? I’ve heard that this was a thing back in the day. I know that there was a promotion where you could get your own personal pizza from Pizza Hut for reading x-amount of hours. But, believe it or not, I participated in that one. My household was strictly a Mr. Gatti’s one. I honestly don’t think I even had Pizza Hut until I was in my late teens.

Anyways, apparently this was an option for some kids and when I heard, besides being super jealous, I remember thinking that I really missed out. The only scholastically related fundraiser I remember doing was for math. It was for a good cause since the proceeds went to St. Jude’s, but math wasn’t my strong area. I would have crushed it in a reading fundraiser.

Le sigh.

I bring this up because read-a-thons are super popular in bookish social media. So much so, it seems like there is a new one every month. I have found that I only have the energy for the month-long ones. The weekend and week-long read-a-thons are nice in theory. But, I feel that is a young person’s speed. And I am not young. But you’re never too old to enjoy any kind of a-thon. So, I’m always on the lookout for the longer ones.

And, as luck would have it, there is a new romance themed read-a-thon happening next month. It’s hosted by a group of well-known Black content creators from both Instagram and YouTube. It is designed to lift up Black authors, specifically in the romance genre.

This will take place in February, in honor of Black History Month. If you want to check out the Bingo board (yes there’s a Bingo board) as well as other templates, you can find hem on mommywhatchureading’s Instagram page. It should be the first template you see on the left hand side of the screen. You will see all the information you need to get started. You don’t have to participate on the socials if you don’t want to and can play on your own. But if you do post about it, you’ll be in the running for some prizes.

And, just so there’s no confusion, I am in no way affiliated with this. I’m just participating. Which is a bonus for me since it means I have a chance at winning! My Bingo luck is always terrible though, so, we’ll see.

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases for this week. Get your wallets ready, because some of them look really good!

Follow Me Under by Helen Hardt 

The Cowgirl’s Surprise Match by Nina Crespo 

Won’t Go Home Without You by Cheris Hodges 

The Bachelor Cowboy by Jessica Claire 

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Architect by Nikki Sloane

The Would be Witch by Rita Boucher

If you love cowboys, then this is the week to either mask up and go check out some of the new releases or to fill your virtual shopping cart. 

And, if you also have a frugal nature like me, here are a few deals. Heads up, these were the prices as of the submission of this newsletter so they may have changed.

Deals

Matzah Ball Surprise by Laura Brown, which just sounds delightful by the title alone is on sale for $0.99

Virgin River by Robyn can be picks up for $1.99. If you’re a fan of the show and have never read the book, now is a good time to pick it up! 

Not Dead Yet by Jenn Burke, the first in a paranormal trilogy can be snagged for $1.99

Alyssa’s Cole Let Us Dream is currently $1.49. I read this last month and just adored it. I’m never dissatisfied with Alyssa.

Also there are quite a few books in the aforementioned lists if you’re going to join me next month on a read-a-thon adventure! Be sure to also check out the romance books you may have missed in 2020.

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And that’s it for now. Follow me over on Twitter where I post semi-regularly as @PScribe801. Until next time!

Hello once more KBers! I hope that this week finds you well. This newsletter is going out the day after Inauguration Day. I’m writing it beforehand, so I am not going to forecast anything since, out of all the powers I do possess, precognition is not one of them. I just hope that, no matter what, it is a step in the direction of the healing that our country needs. 

This may be a bit of late news, but there was a big hullabaloo last weekend over fanfiction over in the Twitter-verse and a lot of people had a lot of things to say. I debated whether or not to link to the original tweet that started this, but ultimately decided to not give that individual more press than they deserved with their close-minded opinion.

However, I will link a few of the awesome take-downs of that not-so-much-hot as hateful tweet. Courtney Milan chimed in as did YA author Andrew Shvarts.

The fact that it was even an issue just…(sighing, pinching bridge of nose) felt bad, friends. Not only was it dismissive of something that has brought countless people joy for as long as anyone can remember, it is also due to how condescending it was. Not to mention how presumptuous it is to speak on the behavior of all writers everywhere. Also, just because you’re part of one marginalized community doesn’t mean you get to speak on behalf of all of them. On that topic, I’m very much of the mindset to maintain your own lane. 

It really comes down to if it’s not for you, walk on by. And the reason I bring this up here is a good portion of fanfiction is in the romance genre. A lot of writers started writing it because they wanted to pair up the two (or more) characters that they felt went together. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all. This tweet from Eric Smith pretty much sums it up.

I bring this up here because of how much fanfiction and romance have in common. First, they both tend to have a lot of kissing and HEAs or HFNs. There is also the unfair reality that lit-snobs consider both genres beneath them and subpar. Nowadays, romance authors proudly proclaim that they write kissing books, but it wasn’t always that way. Romance writers, much like fan fiction writers, were shamed because they weren’t working on the “great American novel” (whatever the hell that is supposed to be).

Well, no more! If you’re looking to return to fanfic, whether it’s the writing, reading, or, hell, both, go forth. If you want to enter it for the first time, go searching. There’s tons of fandoms out there to choose from. I recommend taking baby steps because you could find something you’re not prepared for. Just do it.

Do. You. Boo.

We here at Book Riot love fanfiction, so much so that it’s even part of our Read Harder Challenge this year. If you would like some recs, check out this list. And, with that in mind, I’m going to highlight a few books that embrace the love of writing what makes you happy. Because it’s pointless to write, or read, something that doesn’t bring you joy.

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Remember friends, no matter what, reading is reading and writing is writing. Ignore the negative voices in your life for reading and writing what you love and embrace it. If you want more snippets of me during the in-betweens, you can follow me on Twitter at @Pscribe801. Until next time.

Greetings and Salutations, fellow citizens of Romancelandia! I hope you had a wonderful and restful weekend, mostly full of doing whatever the heck you wanted to do. And I say mostly because I know that for some of us, weekends aren’t days off like they are for others.

Hopefully, I spent a majority of mine reading, which is always a win in my book. And I say this since I’m writing this newsletter shortly before mine is set to begin. But, if present me is going to be honest with soon-to-be-future me, there will be domestic duties sprinkled in as well.

Things were still relatively quiet in the world of Romance which I’m not complaining about. Lest we forget, we were knee-deep in the unfolding and banana pants drama of the RWA trying to take down Courtney Milan this time last year. And, with the not-so-ambient-noise that is current events still playing in the background, a little bit of quiet is good. Personally, I’m taking Dory’s advice to just keep swimming.

That said, there were still be some interesting updates that you may have missed while you were living out the second full week of 2021.

As I’m sure everyone is aware of, Stacy Abrams, on top of being a bad-ass in general, is also a published author. She recently talked to Entertainment Weekly about her new thriller novel. The novel doesn’t come out until May, but you can read a bit about it in this article.

While you wait, be sure to check out some of her backlist that she wrote under the pen name Selena Montgomery. My book club and I plan on reading at least one of hers this year and, while we haven’t made an official choice, Hidden Sins is the front runner for the moment.

Speaking of bad-ass romance authors, check out Vanessa Riley’s article from the Washington Post on her feelings about the Bridgertons. There’s a lot of good food for thought here, but of course there always is with her. If you haven’t read her yet, A Bittersweet Moment is currently free. This is the prequel to The Bittersweet Bride, the first in her Advertisements for Love series. So, if you want to continue Ewan and Theodosia’s story, you can pick that up as well.

Sarah Ferguson, still fondly referred to as the Duchess of York despite her divorce from Prince Andrew, wrote a historical romance. While already a relatively well known children’s author, Her Heart for a Compass will be her first adult novel. This is her fictional take on the life of one of her ancestors and namesakes, the Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott. Since there is not a lot known about her life, Fergie has already stated that a lot of liberties will be taken. This will be released from Mills & Boon this August.

And the cover reveal for Thien-Kim Lam’s debut Happy Endings was announced this week! I’m excited from this alone and can’t wait.

Over on Book Riot, Jess released this very thoughtful piece on the Black casting choices in Bridgerton, while Namera put this delightful list of diverse romantic comedies together.

Here are some of the new releases you can look forward to this coming week. I know that I’m probably adding quite a bit to your already insurmountable TBR. In the spirit of being honest, that’s likely not going to change anytime soon. If it is any consolation, I am also doing the same to myself there are a few of these I will pick up myself at some point in the future. On that note, be sure to enter our giveaways for a Kindle Paperwhite and a year subscription to Kindle Unlimited!

The Invitation by Vi Keeland

How to Get Lucky by Lauren Blakely

Not My Match by Isla Madden-Mills

How to Save a Life by P. Dangelico

The Stud Next Door by Kendall Ryan

Stealing Home by Carrie Aarons

And in case you’re like me and occasionally book on a budget, here are a few deals that may be easier on your bank account

Historical anthology Royal Bridesmaids is available for $0.99. I have a love/like relationship with romance anthologies since the stories are too short for me or too long. Either way though, this price for that gamble ain’t bad!

Forged of Steele Collection by Brenda Jackson is going for $2.99. You get two wonderful books for the price of less than one.

Everything Changes by Melanie Hansen is also $0.99. Jase and Carey are two former battle buddies who reunite for one fateful weekend that forever changes the landscape of their relationship.

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That’s all I have for y’all today. As always, you can follow me over on Twitter under @PScribe801. I haven’t been tweeting a whole lot, since I’m still trying to get my bearings for the new year. That should change soon though! Until next time.

Hey y’all, it’s PN again. I hope you’re all doing well today. I know that the tension of four years came to a head last week. Thanks to social media, I’ve read about how the cracks that were developing in some of my friends’ relationships with their families finally broke completely apart.

I’m not here to say that you have to forgive anyone for anything. Nor do you have to put up with the presence of anyone you do not want in your life. That’s not healthy at all, since there are legitimate reasons some people don’t talk to their parents. However, for me it is still a bit sad to see parents and children no longer on speaking terms because of an individual who doesn’t care one iota for them. I know a lot of that sentiment has to do with my own parents being gone. So, I don’t even have the option of having these types of disagreements with them (although, for what it’s worth, I don’t think I would be).

That’s why for this week’s recommendations, I’m going to focus on romance series centered around healthy families. I won’t say that a certain Netflix show (see below) didn’t also influence this. But a lot of it also has to do with wanting to give suggestions for those readers who, for whatever reason, may be separated from their own and want to read about some loving families out there.

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Jess and Trisha are back with the first When in Romance podcast of the year! It’s been about a month since that last one and I have missed hearing these two discuss romance. They naturally discuss the Bridgertons since, much like Lady Whistledown’s gossip, this Regency family is still on everyone’s lips. They also discuss their reading plans for 2021. Oh and Happy Podcast Anniversary y’all!!

If you’re looking for Bridgerton read-a-likes, check out this list of recommendations. Or, if you want to stay in that world, check out this helpful reading pathway guide. This includes all the books in the original series as well as the prequels. It also includes spin-offs, revolving around the Smythe-Smith family. They weren’t in the TV series, at least not yet, but their annual musicale is the focus of many scenes in the book series.

That’s all for now friends. Remember you  can follow me over on Twitter @Pscribe801. Until next time!