Category: Kissing Books

Greetings from a vacationing me! I’m writing this on the official day one of my time off and I already feel less tense than I have in a while. It’s a nice feeling just relaxing and not worrying about too much of anything outside of eating semi-regularly and making sure that my son isn’t getting too feral. But oh my goodness I needed this break. 

For the first half of my time off, we went to visit my aunt and cousin. It has been well over a year since we had laid actual eyes (meaning not through a Zoom meeting) on each other. And with my aunt being fully vaccinated and my cousin being halfway, we all felt it was safe enough. Of course we were still mindful while there. When we went anywhere outside the house, we put on masks and wiped everything down. But it was a nice break that I needed. Besides visiting loved ones, it was also a chance to look at a different set of four walls for a few days.

We arrived on Sunday late afternoon and that evening watched the Grammys and let me tell you, it was an exercise in hilarity when the “W.A.P” performance came on. My elderly aunt was cackling the entire time while my cousin was flabbergasted by the performance. I was snickering, both on the inside and out, because the reaction didn’t go to the corresponding family member I expected it from. I figured it would be my aunt talking about how this is being shown on prime-time TV on a Sunday while my cousin would have just been like “Meh”. But nope; it was swapped and my aunt got a good chuckle out of it as well. 

Personally, the performance didn’t affect me one way or the other. I wasn’t offended by it because I know by the song alone it was going to cause a lot of pearl-clutching. Also, the edit they played was super clean because, well, it had to be. But seriously with as much editing as it required, what was the point of the performance? 

Bluntly put? Shock value. That’s all there was to it. Was the performance super sexualized? Of course it was…look at what the initials stand for. Did you expect anything less from it? By that mindset alone, I’m sure there were people who tuned in just to be offended by the performance and talk about which in reaction caused people to watch the reply, Youtube uploads, etc. Which ultimately comes down to money. And that’s fine of course; money still needs to be made to keep our economy afloat. 

Song still bangs though; so, there you have it.

Romance News

The 2021 Lambda Literary Award finalists were announced. I was excited to see that two of my favorite books from last year (Take a Hint, Dani Brown and Written in the Stars) were nominated. Congratulations to all of the nominees and good luck.

If cute and quirky romances are your bag, then PopSugar has some 2021 recommendations for you.

Are you wanting some more strong Black women who get their rightfully deserved HEA? Check out some of the books listed here to fill your e-reader with a variety of different romance tropes.

Recommendations

The story I shared earlier about my aunt was a nice reminder that getting older isn’t something to fear. I am looking forward to being a cranky old lady, personally. Especially if I am as strong-willed, independent, and fiery as the women in my family are showing to be. I’ve got big shoes to fill in that regard, and I’m more then ready for the challenge when I get there.

We all know that romance is not just for the young. So, in honor of my sassy aunt and all the awesome elderly people I know in my life, I’m going to highlight a few romances today that feature either an older hero, heroine, or both.

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And that’s all she wrote for now. Thanks for stopping by and if you want more of me between the editions, feel free to follow me at Twitter under @Pscribe801. Until next time.

It’s Spring Break y’all!

At least for us in my house. And boy howdy do we need it. After almost a solid year of working from home and virtual learning, we’re both feeling cooped up and could use the time off. I mean, if we’re being honest he may not need it as much since he had Winter Break and then the winter storm that the south went through. But I sure as heck do. As a matter of fact, this will be the longest vacation I’ve had since last Spring Break.

Speaking of last year, it’s weird to think that we were where we were this time last March. How sobering to realize that, originally, we were also going into what was just supposed to be a two week lockdown. Just. Two. Weeks. 

*eye twitch*

And here we are a whole calendar year later. When I think of it that way I agree with the idea that this has been the longest year ever. I look at my memories on social media and am like, “This was just a year ago?” It’s just… mind blowing. 

Generally I try not to take a Robert Frost approach to things and ponder about the road not travelled but I can’t help thinking that if people had simply taken the two weeks last year; would it have spiraled into the situation that it did? I mean, there’s no use getting too upset about it because here we are. But I’d bet dollars to donuts that one of the questions that my possible future grandkids may have is, “Why didn’t people just stay inside?”  And I won’t have an answer for them. 

While rough, the last year hasn’t been completely terrible as I’ve learned a few things about myself. The main thing is I made the right choice in not home-schooling my son. And not to disparage those that do but I just don’t have it in me. I would have loved to give it a shot but there’s only so many ways I can explain something before I get frustrated. And he needs the social interaction of other teachers and kids too, because it was hard for him to separate his mom from his mom the teacher. We are going to finish the year out virtually but, God willing and the creek don’t rise, come fall he’ll be back in the classroom. 

In keeping with the Spring Break theme, I’m going to try to keep it light today, especially given the heavier topics of the last few newsletters. Which isn’t to say that they were bad or weren’t things that needed to be said. But sometimes, it’s just nice to focus on the positive too. So let me tell you one of my latest addictive joys.

TikTok. 

Yes, I know I’m late to this game and it’s nothing new. But it has bought me so much happiness in the last couple of weeks. I’ve found a lot of very creative content creators, especially in the cosplay community. But I also love it for the BookTok aspect since I’ve discovered a lot of new, indie authors there across multiple genres. If you are a fan of reactions, check out Chelle Sloan’s reactions to thirst traps. They’re utterly priceless. 

What I love about it is that, no matter what, these people are doing what they love and taking such joy in it. And there’s such a variety of things to choose from. Besides cosplay, there’s musicians, comedians, artists, burlesque performers…the list goes on. You even have spiritual communities within it. I think finding a community is very important, even more so now since we’re still in a situation where we have to be mindful of large gatherings, that finding a place with like minded individuals is very uplifting. 

I mean of course, as with any type of social media, there are trolls. But for the most part as long as you don’t feed them they can’t grow.

Book News

Everyone in Romancelandia was excited for Eve Brown’s debut last week and I’m sure most of us that ordered online looked like this as we waited for delivery. At least, I know I was. If you haven’t picked it up yet, be sure to snag your own copy. I haven’t heard a single negative thing about this book so far. 

The cover reveal for A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria was revealed and….wow. Just wow.  That’s just amazing.

One of the first romances I remember reading was Shadow Over Bright Star by Irene M. Pascoe (you wouldn’t believe the amount of Google power it took to remember this). It is by far, even today, one of the tamest romance novels I’ve ever read. If Gothic romances are your jam, then check out the latest from Silvana.

Romancing the Stone is one of my favorite ’80s movies. The chemistry between Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas cannot be denied. There’s a reason they played opposite from one another multiple times. If you also like stories about writers, check out this list of romances. A good number of these are on my read or to be read pile but I managed to find a few more.

And, in case you want even more warm fuzzies….oh who am i kidding? Of course you do!! So be sure to check out this interview with another fellow romance lover and reviewer.

Fabio by the numbers. ‘Nuff said. On a side note, reading this article was a nice little stroll down memory lane as a romance reader.

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases headed your way this week:

What a Tangled Web by Melissa Brayden

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai (currently reading this one and loving every moment)

Emerett Has Never Been In Love by Anyta Sunday

Next Exit Home by Dena Blake

Deals

All the books listed below were showing as available for $0.99 at the time of this writing:

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden

Hometown Cowboy by Sara Richardson

Sledgehammer by P. Dangelico

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That’s all for now friends! I hope that this week treats you well. As always feel free to follow me as @PScribe801 on Twitter. I’ll see y’all Thursday.

Hello KBers! Welcome back. Next week is Spring Break for us which means both the teenager and I get a week off. No worries, you’ll still be hearing from me next week. but I will have a whole week off from the day job to rest, relax, and most importantly, recharge. 

I’ve been taking Spring Break off with my son for the last three or four years. One reason was that I couldn’t afford the additional cost for the week-long camp that his after school program did, since the monthly alone was taxing. Another is that by the time it rolls around, I legitimately need a break. I’m not one to take random days off because they don’t do a whole lot in the long run for my mental health. However, Spring Break ends up being the perfect length of time since it’s usually always nine days off with my weekend. 

Last, but of course not least, is it is an opportunity to spend time and make memories with my kiddo. He’s not always appreciative of this, especially as we’re now a teenager. A few years ago when we went to a local zoo to spend some family time together. I swear every time we asked for a picture, it was like pulling teeth. Between all the eye rolling from my niece, nephew, and him, I’m surprised they stayed in their heads. My sister-in-law was kind in her cajoling for pictures but I’ll admit I’m more demanding in my requests. While he doesn’t appreciate it now, I know in the years to come these pictures will be a source of happy memories for him. 

Even if it is a battle for now. 

On Book Riot and Around the Web

Trisha and Jess had a new episode of When in Romance this week. They discuss inclusion and diversity in romance and also touched on the Ripped Bodice’s Diversity report, among other things. Give it a listen if you haven’t already.  

Do you like fantasy with your romance? Then this quiz is perfect for you!

If you’re a sports aficionado, you may want to pick up some of these recommendations from Joanna Shupe.

Of Royals and Romance Tropes

The big news over the weekend was the Oprah interview with Meghan and Harry. It brought to light a lot of unpleasant, if not unexpected or surprising, negative things about Meghan’s experience with the royal family. I’ll state upfront that I didn’t watch it, nor do I intend to. I feel I got enough of the knowledge I needed from the various stories that broke out after it was done.

Now, not watching isn’t because I was worried it would shatter some make-believe image I had. I was not the little girl who dreamed of becoming a princess, although I don’t begrudge anyone that fantasy. And I already knew about the double standard expectation that the media had for Meghan. No matter how they tried to dress it up, it always came back to Meghan’s biracial heritage that had them treating her like she wasn’t worthy of being part of the royal family. And it hurts to not that the family of the man you love will never accept you. Clearly, it came be overcome and they’re working on distancing themselves from that. But it still hurts. 

It’s because I feel that people in power have the ability to be more terrible than your average person because the money and status allows them to get away with almost anything. This is true for political and billionaire stories (which let’s be honest are modern day versions of the princess trope) which is why I tend to avoid those. The fact that they got away with some much and Meghan felt the way she did only reemphasizes it.

Please don’t think this is a call to cancel those types of romances, whether it’s royalty or just nobility. That’s not the case here. There seemed to be concern that this would be part of the fall out of the interview, even though I saw no one flat out state that. However, it brought to light how it’s important to recognize the problematic roots in these institutions and the tropes they inspire. It’s important to recognize that if you don’t fit the archetype of what makes a royal, they’re not going to give two figs about you. This is something that was clear to me even at the young age I was at the time of Diana’s death all those years ago. Hearing about all of Meghan and Harry’s experience just emphasizes it.

Look, we all love romance and we’re here. However, there is a reason we give a content warning for old school romances. Because there are problematic roots. Another harsh truth is that the royalty tropes has very racist undertones, whether intentional or not. This is something that I’ve discussed before in another newsletter of why Brandy’s Cinderella is still so important. And it’s one of the many reasons that Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals and Runaway Royals series are so beloved, because it’s obvious from them that sometimes being a royal sucks. Lest we forget, she also wrote this amazing article back when Meghan and Harry first left.

That being said, my recommendation for the week is the Reluctant Royals series by Alyssa Cole. Personally they’re all amazing but in terms of the highlighting how draining being a royal can be, I would recommend A Princess in Theory and a Prince on Paper. 

I just want to leave you with this: it’s never too late to learn, relearn, or unlearn something. Is it hard? For sure, especially depending on how old one is. But, as long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late. It’s also not a bad thing to realize and announce that the things that you enjoy can have problematic tendencies.

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As always feel free to follow me over on Twitter under @PScribe801 for all my bookish ponderings. I also put sales as I see them there so if that’s your jam you may be able to see and snag them quicker there. Until next time.

Hey y’all! It’s me, PN once more with your bi-weekly fix of all things romance-related. As always, I hope that the last weekend found you well. I’m trying to stay in the warm fluffy cloud that is romance considering Texas is removing the mask mandate and allowing businesses to open up to 100% capacity on Wednesday. I won’t lie; it is more than a bit overwhelming and anxiety inducing. Just to alleviate any concerns there may be, I’m still planning on wearing one, no matter what the decree says. But, I know that a lot of other people, especially those that never wore one to begin with, are going to take this and run with it. Some of these may include my own family members.

The silver lining here is that I’ve already seen a number of businesses and libraries saying that they were still going to require masks. So, at least some people are still trying to keep precautionary measures in place. The cynical part of me feels we’ll be back at square one by the end of this month, especially with spring break being next week, but only time will tell.

It’s a “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst” situation right now.

The Ripped Bodice released their 2020 Diversity Report last Tuesday, to showcase the state of romance books published by authors of color and Indigenous authors. And, as in previous years, it was quickly shared across the various social platforms. Danika reported on Book Riot as a news piece and sadly it doesn’t appear much has changed in the last five years.

However, this year some good points were also brought up as to the true validity of these findings. This came from a variety of people in the bookish community, including authors, bloggers, and podcast hosts. This was something that was buzzing all around Twitter in the last days, but a good summary of the constructive criticisms can be found in this thread.

And, upon further reflection, I can see the reason for, at the very least, a little bit of concern. According to the chart listed in the report, of the 16 traditional publishing houses mentioned, one allegedly ignored all forms of communication, and five declined to participate. While on paper, that seems damning, we really don’t know why those companies chose not to participate.

They could have not felt comfortable sharing that information about their authors, especially ones who may not have their pictures on their books. This isn’t information that they can just give on demand for a myriad of reasons. Their authors may have expressed a desire to not have that information shared. And, if that information couldn’t be found out, then it was, by their own admission on the FAQ, guessed.

I wasn’t aware that this has been the case and, frankly, that is a huge concern for me, because you can’t always tell by looking at someone what their racial identity is. Depending on what part of the continental United States determines what people will guess my racial ethnicity to be. And very rarely are they correct. Now, I’m not shy about saying I’m biracial and there have been a few correct guesses in the past. But it comes down to that, most times, someone can’t tell by looking at me alone. It would have to be confirmed by me before you could put it down as fact.

One thing that seems to be constant is that the intent behind the report is pure and I don’t disagree with that. When it first started, it was very new and it did shake things up. Five years later though, the methodology needs to change. More work needs to be done to ensure that the correct information is being obtained. They even state, on the same FAQ, that they’re not statisticians so the margin for error is possible.

One way to do this would be to hire a data analyst to gather and properly calculate the findings. Otherwise, it can come across as the same information every year with a different presentation, which was one of the recurring concerns that was brought up. And honestly? It’s not like it’s new news or something that we didn’t already know. We already knew that there was a problem in traditional publishing with things like #PublishingPaidMe floating around recently.

The next step is what can be done about it. How do we make publishing houses accountable for not uplifting these types of voices? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that as readers we have a lot of power in what we read and which authors we support. And that is a good first step in the right direction.

Speaking of diversifying your reading, you may want to peruse this article all about Asian-American love stories to add to your TBR.

Check out this great piece on why we need more romances with older heroines.

Exciting announcement for all us Lore Olympus fans!

And Alyssa Cole dropped this awesome bomb on us too!

Looking for some quick steamy reads? Silvana’s got you!

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases coming this week.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

The Devil in Her Bed by Kerrigan Bryne

Everything After by Jill Santopolo

Queen’s Ransom by Layla Reyne

Learned Reactions by Jaycee Ellis*

*You can also find an excerpt from this one on Frolic.

Deals

And here are some of the deals I managed to find.

Teddy Spenser Isn’t Looking for Love by Kim Fielding is available for $1.99

Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig can be snagged for $0.99

The Wife He Needs by Brenda Jackson is $1.99

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That’s all for now! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you later this week. As per usual, you can catch me on Twitter under @PScribe801. Until next time.

Hello romance lovers! I hope that this week has been treating y’all well. It’s been fairly good over here on my end. Past Me splurged more than a little bit on books and coffee last weekend. Which means I have a lot of deliveries headed my way that I’m super excited for. True, I don’t need more books but I also don’t need Peanut Butter M&Ms. And if you offer those to me I’m going to take them, so, there you go.

We’re finally back to a semblance of normalcy in my house, at least  in terms of our distance education as the teenager is back to having regular Zoom classes. This also means that I’m back to gentle and also less than gentle reminders to pay attention. It’s tricky but we make it work and we should be back on track soon.

Of course then spring break is happening in a few weeks, and the reset will happen again. Yeah… But that’s a problem for Future Me. Maybe subconsciously, Past Me knew this and was trying to butter Future Me up with my online shopping spree. 

Here’s a fun, and quick, quiz I found while perusing the web. It’s an easy pick your Zodiac sign and get a romance recommendation. I’ve read the one that was given to my sign (and I loved it), and you might find a new read!

Check out this awesome list of YA authors trying their hands at romance.

As I’m sure we all know, March is Women’s History Month. This was established in 1995 to celebrate and recognize the contributions that women have made. Technically, I think this was started specifically for women in America. If we’re being honest though, it is something that should be celebrated worldwide. Despite the limitations that society has historically tried to put on women, there have always been boundary pushers all over the world and to this I say Huzzah!

Some of these same women invented things that we still use nowadays, such as Hedy Lamarr and signal hopping, Mary Shelley with science fiction, and Ada Lovelace and computers. Women have always had their hands in all the inner workings that make up the world, no matter what history (emphasis on the “his”) may try to tell us. 

Which isn’t to say that men haven’t done good things because they have. However, most, meaning cis-gender white men, have never really had to fight as hard as women (or men of color if we’re being honest)  to get recognized for it. Bottom line is this: everyone brings something to the table. But, until we start recognizing and, more importantly, acknowledging everyone’s contributions, the battle cry for recognition is going to be an endless refrain.

With that in mind, my recommendations today are romances where women had jobs in fields that they would have been denied access to and even today still have to fight twice as hard to get recognized for what they do in these fields. Whether they’re an old favorite, a new release, or just new to you, they are all examples of aspiring women.

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These are just a few of the offerings that I could find but there are tons more out there in a variety of sub-genres and time periods.

That’s all for now friends. Catch up with me as @PScribe1 over on Twitter. Until next time!

Happy first day of March! I’m not sure about y’all, but February seemed to drag for me this year and I’m not sure why. It normally is a tough month for me, for various reasons, and this year’s snowstorm didn’t help. Still, this year it seemed extra long. Hopefully with March starting it means that we can all look forward to a warmer spring, even if some of us are still trying to recover from last March.

Most of the last week was spent trying to do as much work as I could to make up for the week of snow as well as finishing books for the Black Author read-a-thon. While there were issues surrounding a few of the co-hosts, as mentioned in the last edition, I still wanted to finish what I could from my planned TBR. This was because I wanted to try to finish the goal that I had made for myself and still work towards uplifting and boosting these authors. In hindsight, I realize that I was overly ambitious since present me knows that future me didn’t finish them all.

Of course, you can and should always read books outside your own specific identifiers since it broadens horizons on so many levels. It’s certainly true that there is most of a boost during the associated month, such as February for Black voices, May for Asian/Pacific American voices, and November for Native American voices. But, you don’t have to wait for those months to roll around the calendar to read books from those voices.

On that note, if you’re interested in trying your hand at another read-a-thon, check out the Indigenous Romance Read-a-thon. This is going to be a six-month long event with one designated book per month. The hosts are Michelle from Thor Wants Another Letter and Bethany from Beautifully Bookish Bethany. You can check out more through Michelle’s video here and Bethany’s there. First up is Heartbeat Braves by Pamela Sanderson, which is currently on sale for $0.99.  I read this last year and highly recommend it.

In more enraging news, Meryl Wilsner announced on their Twitter that they had been uninvited to speak at a library event because their book was queer and was a F/F romance. While they wouldn’t say which library it was, it was clear from their thread that this was, understandably, quite a blow. I respect and admire their class for not naming and, by extension, dragging the library since, from what I see, this was a call that was made by county commissioners and not the library or librarians.

Regardless though, even if it is a small, conservative town, this is ridiculous for 2021. Something to Talk About was one of the most buzzed about romances from last year and that alone should have been cause for Meryl to be allowed to speak there. They had been invited and then the opportunity was taken away because some small-minded ‘official’ abused power to impose narrow-minded beliefs to quiet their voice. This not only does a disservice to the author and the library, but the patrons as well. Who knows how many were going to the event purely for this author and may now decide not to attend?

They were right in their thread that change isn’t immediate. It is a slow, long, and painful process. But blows like this still hurt because we’re all human and have feelings. This shouldn’t have happened but unfortunately it did. While there’s nothing that can be done about it now, and there is still no word on which library did it, we can work towards trying to prevent it in the future by remembering to vote in all local elections. Because I don’t know about y’all but I sure as hell don’t want someone who likely has never even cracked open a romance book tell me which authors I can and cannot hear speak.

And least you think this is just an adult romance problem, remember that a similar act of censorship also happened to Barbara Dee with her middle grade novel Star-Crossed.

*deep breath*

Moving on to lighter topics to try to stop the rage…

Apologies for not linking to the latest When in Romance podcast last time. No worries though! You can still listen to it in all its glory, and, as luck would have it, there was a bit of discussion on being Black in romance.

One happy thing I’ll be doing this weekend is meeting up with my bookclub. While it’s been tricky to meet up during the pandemic, I’m happy to report that we’ve managed to make it work via Zoom. If your own book club is looking to try their hand at romance, check out this list of options compiled by some of our contributors. 

Check out this list of some of the best romances that take place at a convention. I love a good nerdy romance, even if idea of cons and crowds make me nervous. To be fair, though, I was this way pre-Covid

Kiran wrote this delightful read about the many merits of fictional beaus.

Did you ever find yourself wondering what romance books Dani Brown’s Zaf would give for reading recommendations? Well, wonder no more!

New Releases

There are a lot of exciting new releases for this first week of March and here are a few that may peak your interest. As per usual not a full list, and just some of the notable highlights.

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Float Plan by Trish Doller

Love Like Her by Claudia Burgoa

Dotted Lines by Devney Perry

Deals

Here are some of the deals I was able to find. Again, these were the prices at the time of writing of the newsletter:

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole is currently $3.99

Dukes I’d Like to F… is available for $0.99

Courtney Milan’s The Suffragette Scandal can be snagged for $0.99

Just a Little Wickedness by Merry Farmer is available for $0.99.

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And that’s all she wrote for now. If you’re so inclined you can follow  me @Pscribe801 over on Twitter. Until next time!

Hello again! Hope that the rest of the week went well for you. I am doing fine myself because the weather is so nice that you wouldn’t even know that last week my city was effectively shut down due to the snow storm. Thanks again for the outpouring of love, support, prayers, and well wishes that were directed towards us here; it was very much appreciated. My heart goes out to those who have extensive damages that they didn’t or may not have been prepared for. And it goes out even more for those who lost loved ones during this time, since I know that is a difficult thing to go through.

Since I spent most of last weekend mentally recovering from the snowstorm, I missed the rumblings in the romance world when they were happening, and spent Sunday trying to catch up on the major drama that went down.

And I’ll be honest with y’all, I grappled with if I should bring it back up. One reason is that it was a powder keg that would require delicate treatment. Another is that I’m, or was in some cases, subscribed to a number of the panelists that were involved and have my own mixed feelings on how it all went down. Ultimately though, I realized that I had to take that aspect out, since it is still Romance news with topics that need to be addressed.

The Black Prose Club held a live stream romance panel over on their YouTube channel. While the title may have read as just romance, based on the history of the channel and panelists, the intention was to showcase and uplift Black Romance Authors. It started off well enough, but soon fell apart when the question of what actually defined Black Romance was raised. The first panelist to speak answered perfectly; it is a romance written by a Black author involving one or more Black people in love with a HEA or an HFN ending. This has always been widely accepted to be the correct definition of the genre.

Once that statement was made though, there was little talk of Black romance afterwards, and it was almost dismissed entirely. That’s a problem because the panel should have worked to lift up all types of Black romances, be it straight, poly, LGBTQ, or any other sub-genre. But it didn’t happen. In fact, there were a lot of damaging and disparaging things said about Black romance. For all the talk that Black people are not a monolith, it came across that this was the case for Black romance. Which rightfully upset a lot of people.

Besides the fact that this romance panel hosted and led by Black women had little to no talk about Black romance, the problem that Romancelandia had is that this isn’t the first time some of these panelists have made what are viewed as inflammatory statements against Black romance. And honestly? Some of the comments did come across that way. And that’s not okay, especially in this month on a panel that seemed designed to do just the opposite.

Most of the panelists admit that they didn’t actively read or seek out Black romance either, which also left a bit of a sour taste. More work could have been done to find BookTubers who primarily read Black romance or, at the very least, read more than some of the panelists here. What we ended up with were discussions on dark romance, specifically of the Mafia variety, and monster smut. And, while part of that is on the hosts, the panelists need be held accountable too. If they knew that this wasn’t a subject that they could speak at length on, they should have bowed out of the panel.

Multiple mistakes were made by everyone involved, which happens since we’re all human, and it could have been handled so much better. The next day, the hosts came out with another live stream, taking ownership and accountability, as well as promising that they were going to do better next time. Most of the panelists were there in that live stream, and apologized for their hurtful words as well as on social media. So, they stepped up, owned up and are working to do better. And for those that have done that, I believe some credit is due.

With all that in mind, I’m going to end with my recommendations for the week. In keeping with my earlier statements, I’m going to recommend indie Black romances to uplift these voices. I know this is something that I need to work on myself and will work to boost the signals here with authors.

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This is of course not a comprehensive list, but hopefully it helps to open the doors for you to other authors in this apparently still overlooked genre. I hope that we all can move on from here and continue to grow. As always, feel free to follow me over on Twitter under @PScribe801. Until next time.

Hello again fellow romance lovers! We are at the start of the last full week of February and I have to say that it has been a doozy of a month. At least for me. This arctic storm that the South faced last week was no joke. While I was blessed enough to not have suffered greatly during that time, I know a lot of my near and dears were not. And that was hard to hear about, especially considering that we were in no way prepared for this.

While there were a lot of jokes aimed at Texas, there was also quite a bit of loving support and advice from our Northern neighbors; so, thank you for that. If, come summer, the positions get reversed, and y’all are faced with heat you’re not prepared for or used to (which is possibly given the climate situation), I will be ready with tips on how to stay safe.

There was not a lot of romance news in the second half of last week and that’s not just due to me going through yet another historical event I get to tell my grandchildren about. But there were a few things that popped up. 

Simone Ashley was announced to be taking on the role of Kate Sharma (Sheffield in the novel) in the second season of the acclaimed Bridgerton series. As with last season, there will be a few changes made to the plot of the story. First is that Kate and her family will be of Indian descent and she will be a recent transplant to London. What hasn’t changed is she suffers no fools and has no time for Anthony’s shite. The show and author has caused a bit of (fair) division in Romancelandia but I’m super excited for this on all the levels.

That said, I hope they keep Edwina, her sister, and Mary, her stepmother as part of the narrative. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it many times again; The Viscount Who Loved Me is my favorite Bridgerton book. It could be because it was the first one I read. It could be because I have a thing for the eldest brother character. I’m not kidding. My first literary crush was Peter from the Chronicles of Narnia.

We can talk more on that later, and as for the preference of older brothers, I don’t really wanna unpack that right now so we’re moving on.

Cycling back, my love of this book isn’t just tied to all that. I love the relationship between Kate, her sister and her stepmother. I love how Kate was so invested in who Edwina would marry. Yes, it would have been easy to write her off as the jealous, spinster older sister that Anthony thought she was; but, she genuinely wanted her sister to end with someone who would treat her with respect.

And her relationship with Mary was amazing. Again, it would have been easy to make Mary an evil stepmother, a trope that does get used in Benedict’s book by the way, but Quinn didn’t do that. For me, this was one of the best female familial relationships in historical romances at the time. So, yes I want the steam between Kate and Anthony, I want the banter, and I definitely want the mallet of death. But, I also want Kate’s family relationship to make it to the screen as well. Preferably unchanged completely but we shall see.

Speaking of Bridgerton, take this quiz and find out which sibling you are. Apparently I’m Eloise, which makes a bit of sense since her book is my second favorite. Heads up…question six (if I counted right) is going to be a tough choice.

If you’re a fan of the getting-married-in-Vegas trope, check out some of Jessica’s recommendations.

If you’re a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited but aren’t sure what romance options are there, Tracy’s got ya covered!

I’m already excited for all these upcoming releases.

New Releases

Here are some of the few new releases coming this week and I say a few because there were a lot. We seem to have a lot of ebbs and swells in the waves of romance releases and there is no middle ground. So, I tried to pick a wide variety from across the different tropes and subgenres in it.

The Bookworm’s Guide to Flirting by Emma Hart

Love At First by Kate Clayborn

Hold the Forevers by K.A. Linde

Beneath the Stars by A.L. Jackson 

Call Me Crazy by Melanie Harlowe

Lovebug by Erin Mallon

Deals

And here are some of the deals that I managed to dig up but remember that they are fickle and may no longer be available by the time this comes out.

A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon is $0.99 for the moment. Just look at that cover. ‘Nuff said. 

Love With a Perfect Cowboy by Lori Wilde is available for $1.99. Also not a bad cover to look at. And both have cowboys. Something I know I’ve gone over before. 

What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell is also $1.99.

The Way You Hold Me by Elle Wright is available for $0.99.

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And that’s all she wrote for now. As always, you can follow me over at Twitter under @Pscribe801. Stay safe, stay warm, mask up and see you next time.

Real quick clarification about the disclaimers I gave last time. The old school disclaimer was intended with the Woodwiss that was listed last and not the first one. Middleton’s novel is not an old school romance, so it doesn’t have the issues that may typically be associated with the earlier books in the genre. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Greetings from the frozen South, a phrase I never thought I would utter. Seriously; I may not be an old hen just yet, but I’m far from a spring chicken, and I can’t recall another winter where we’ve had this much arctic weather (as in the snow actually sticking to the ground) in my entire life. And I can say with utmost assurance that I don’t like it. I’m ready for spring to show up.

That said, I am blessed in that I have been working from home. So, I don’t have to worry about going out in it or using sick days. So, I’ve been able to stay bundled up inside, drinking all types of warm beverages, and reading. The cold, much like the snow, is a bit more bearable if I don’t have to go anywhere.

But still…spring…you need to come get your seasonal sister. She’s overstaying her welcome.

The Ripped Bodice 2020 Award Winners for Excellence in Romantic Fiction were announced on Valentine’s Day, which seemed fitting. I’ve read 4/12 of the winners here and yes, I know it’s only a third of them. But that just means more books for my TBR.

If you also need more for your own TBR pile, then check out this list of love stories from Namera.

I’m a bit late to the party, but would it ever be too late to swoon over the cover reveal for Lisa Rayne’s Never Cross a Highlander? I’m sure a lot of readers have already pre-ordered this item and are looking forward to when it comes out towards the end of 2021.

I also forgot to mention that the latest from Charish Reid, (Trust) Falling For You is out today. I read this and loved every single page of it.

Last Friday, Disney+ began streaming the 1997 made for television version of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. I know I’ve mentioned this a lot but bear with me since I’m about to go into the why, because I had this discussion with my spouse. When I was talking about how the Interwebs were going bonkers over it, he didn’t understand. He had seen it when it first aired and enjoyed it, but didn’t get why it was a big deal until I told him my take.

It’s not just due to how unapologetically diverse it is, although for me that’s a big factor. A big part of it is that this was the first time a lot of Black girls saw a princess that looked like them. With all due respect to Atlantis: The Lost Empire’s Kida (another woefully underappreciated Disney movie) and Tiana, Brandy Norwood is the one who came through and shattered that mold. She showed little girls that no matter what their upbringing was, no matter how people treated them, that they had a right to a happy ending with someone who loved them unconditionally and would make them feel like the princesses, and eventually queens, they truly were. And now, these girls who are now women get to introduce their children to this and hopefully see them light up like they did. 

And, yes, it’s somewhat better now. But not completely. Remember the backlash there was when it was announced Halle Bailey would be playing Ariel in the live action remake of The Little Mermaid? Cries of ‘not my Ariel’ were heard around the world. People can call it what they want but it boiled down to racist tendencies. Completely overlooking the fact that mermaids aren’t real and if they were, their skin would be some kind of gray due to being so far from the sun and beneath the ocean’s surface? Or that they likely ate sailors rather than marry them? How about how the story originally ended, which a lot of people seem to forget? People didn’t want to see a girl of color as a princess who got her happily ever after, and my mind can’t be changed on this. So, yes, this version of Cinderella was important then and may be even more important now. 

And this isn’t just restricted to Black children. It’s important for all children of all races to see themselves in these roles. Because royalty is not just for people who are ‘fair of skin’. That leads me to my recommendations for this week, which will include royals from all different types of ethnic backgrounds.

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And that’s all she wrote for now! As always, it’s been a pleasure. Stay safe, stay warm, and follow me over on Twitter under @PScribe801 if you’d like. Until next time.

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.