How’s everyone’s March going? Things are relatively quiet over here (though I have not yet infiltrated all the pockets of romancelandia that I would like, so who really knows when it’s actually quiet?). There have been a couple things worth mentioning, though, and of course, Monday’s book rec day!
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News and Useful Links
I was so behind on my email for the past couple weeks that I actually missed this (though I vaguely remember a tweet from Agata), but here, have a weekly romance roundup from Love in Panels!
Look, I know that cover art is expensive, but this is kind of ridiculous :lolsob: (thanks to Penni for doing this important work!)
Hoo man, Cris. Wow.
Sadly, Love’s Sweet Arrow didn’t make their Kickstarter goal. They’re chugging along, though! They still plan to open, just on a smaller scale. If you’re in the Chicagoland area, be sure to check them out so they can expand ASAP!
Soapbox, here she goes.
After sharing a nice article from Women.com a couple weeks ago, I was surprised to come across an article titled (something like) clean romances you can read without feeling dirty. If you have read Kissing Books for any amount of time, you know I read heavily in the area many would call “not clean.” And honestly, it’s not because I’m a romance reader who enjoys sex on the page that I have a problem with this article. It’s not the article itself, even; it’s the culture. We talk about “clean” romance when we really mean romance without sex. Why is that? Because historically, especially for women, sex has been a dirty thing. So of course, if you’re looking for a book featuring a central love story and a happily ever after, the last thing some people want to do is dirty it up with teh evil sexing. I am not indicating in any way that people who want romance without sex are in any way wrong for that. I am simply saying we need to look at the language we use in romance, and think about where it came from (“bodice ripper”) and what we can do about changing it in the future, for the sake of everyone. Calling it “nonexplicit” or “closed door” is much less snarl-inspiring than “clean” romance. Mostly because that means anything else is dirty. And while there are plenty of us who embrace the term dirty for very different reasons when it comes to sex in our books, there’s a really big swath of books that have plenty sex in them, and have absolutely no need to be called dirty. Does anyone really want to be Mrs. Shinn and her Pick-a-little ladies in this situation?
(Sarah Maclean started a conversation about this too.)
Deals
If you’re feeling like some basketball romance, Jamie Wesley’s Slamdunked by Love is 99 cents right now. It says it’s the second in the series, but it can be read on its own (though I thoroughly recommend checking out Tell Me Something Good, which is currently 2.99 and if you are not singing Chaka Khan right now who even are you). What better love interest for a basketball star than a heroine with a long-standing, personal grudge against NBA players? Oh, did I mention there is a fake relationship?
I don’t know how long this deal will last, but as of writing this on Sunday night, Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities collection is 1.99! So if you haven’t read Act Like It and the novels that followed, this is a great deal for all three of the books that are out right now. And you’ll be prepared for The Austen Playbook, which is the fourth in the series and coming out on April 22 digitally and April 30 in paperback.
Recs!
I don’t know why, but I’ve been on a bit of a hockey kick lately. Not that I’ve actually been watching it—I only know what’s happening at any point in time because Anna Zabo tweets about their precious Pens pretty regularly. But I have a strangely large number of hockey romances hanging out in my Kindle TBR, and I keep thinking “I should read those” and finally a book in my physical TBR tipped the scales.
Check, Please! by Ngozi Uzaku
Okay, so this isn’t really a romance—more like a coming of age story with a romantic element—but it is the most darling, hilarious thing and I think if you are a person who reads sequential art of any kind you will love it. I picked it up when I realized my physical, non-romance shelves were being neglected, and this looked like a delightful afternoon of sick-day reading. Check, Please! started out as a webcomic and then was kickstarted into a print publication, and then was republished in volumes by First Second. At which point I finally got around to it. Our lead is Bitty (Eric Bittle), a 5’7 gay hockey player who loves to bake. This is really his story, but you know how it goes. It’s adorable and hilarious and sweet—and you have to read the First Second version, just for the extras at the end!
Off the Ice by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn (March 25)
Speaking of books that were published somewhere else, Off the Ice is another story of second chances. Back when Riptide had its whole “books with POC on the cover don’t sell” shenanigans and they closed up shop for a bit, several authors decided to get back the rights and publish their work elsewhere. Some decided to self-publish while others found new publishing homes. Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn found Carina Press, who published the book basically as it was, with some minor copyediting and a new cover. If you already have a copy of this book, I’d recommend pulling it up your list. And if you don’t…well, you’re going to have to wait for this one to release at Carina but the wait is worth it. Our pro hockey player, Tristan, is taking some classes to finish his business degree, just in case. His summer Sociology class, however, might be a bit of a challenge; Professor Sebastian Cruz is the hottest grumpy gus this side of the sun. Sparks…watch them fly. Fly, little sparks, fly!
Next up for me is Hot On Ice, a hockey anthology that has a significant number of authors of color. Which is definitely what drew it to me, because hockey can be so…white. (Note: Check! Please and Off the Ice are also delightfully not-all-white, which is nice.)
Sadly, I recently discovered that this title is not available as an anthology anymore, but I will send you towards some of the standout standalones:
Free Agent by Robin Covington
Ransom by Nana Malone
The Warm Up by Xio Axelrod
Full Contact by Andie J. Christopher (we have talked about this one before!)
Deep Check by Kimberly Kincaid
Do you like hockey? Do you like reading about hot hockey players figuring themselves out? (These can kind of be mutually exclusive, too.) What are your favorite hockey romances? Tell me!
Are you reading anything good this week? Catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!
Tessa Dare’s 
