Newsletters Dev – Page 1062

8 New Nonfiction Books Out This Week

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date October 4, 2018

Hello hello! This week’s newsletter features eight new nonfiction books out this week plus a couple of awards longlists, and a collection of great nonfiction posts recently published over at Book Riot.

Sponsored by How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery.

A restorative memoir from author, naturalist, and adventurer Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of thirteen animals—Sy’s friends—and the truths revealed by their grace. It also explores vast themes: the otherness and sameness of people and animals; the various ways we learn to love and become empathetic; how we find our passion; how we create our families; coping with loss and despair; gratitude; forgiveness; and most of all, how to be a good creature in the world.

Before we get started, don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library!

New Books!

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung – A memoir by an adopted woman exploring her Korean heritage and her childhood growing up as the only non-white person in a small town, ahead of the birth of her first child.

What If This Were Enough? by Heather Havrilesky – A collection of essays on the “cultural forces that shape us” and our obsession with self-improvement.

There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald – A memoir of “a boy and a generation who came of age as the world came apart.”

A History of America in Ten Strikes by Erik Loomis – An account of 10 critical workers’ strikes in American labor history.

Behold America by Sarah Churchwell – “The entangled history of ‘America First’ and ‘the American Dream.’”

A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande – The story of “one woman’s quest to find her place in America as a first-generation Latina university student and aspiring writer.”

Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister – A look at the history of female anger as a political tool. Yes, please.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry, and Minyon Moore – “A sweeping view of American history from the vantage points of four women who have lived and worked behind the scenes in politics for over thirty years.”

Nonfiction Awards!

In the last couple of weeks, two big groups have announced the longlists/finalists for their best books of the year awards. Kirkus, one of the big names in book reviewing, announced their finalists for the 2018 Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction. I haven’t read a single title on the longlist but, they sound amazing. The winners will be announced on Oct. 25.

The other prominent longlist is for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, given out by the American Library Association. I love the nonfiction list, it’s got a ton of variety. A three-book shortlist will be announced on Oct. 24, with the winners named in January.

Links and Links and Links!

These are some of my favorite recent nonfiction posts over at Book Riot. There’s a lot, our contributors do some amazing work!

9 Nonfiction Titles That Should Exist (But Don’t) by Michelle Anne Schingler
3 Great Books About Public Speaking by Emily Westrom
#ShoutYourAbortion and 9 Other Nonfiction Books About Abortion by Beth O’Brien
10 New Books on Anger, Feminism, and Unruly Women by Rebecca Hussey
10 Books That Make You Smarter by Carolina Ciucci
50 Must-Read Nonfiction Audiobooks by Rebecca Hussey
8 Memoirs From Former Obama Staffers by Kate Krug
Don’t Mourn, Organize: A Labor Reading List by Nancy Snyder
10 of the Best True Crime Audiobooks by Beth O’Brien
8 Essay Collections To Look Out For This Fall by Laura Sackton

And with that, I’m out! You can find me on Twitter @kimthedork, and co-hosting the For Real podcast here at Book Riot with questions and comments!

Today In Books

Barnes & Noble May Be For Sale: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 4, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Reckless Club by Beth Vrabel, Running Press Kids.

Barnes & Noble May Be For Sale

In the latest times-are-tough-for-B&N news, the company has said that there have been, “Expressions of interest from multiple parties in making an offer to acquire the company.” So they’ve created a formal review process. Read more about it–including how to prevent a possible hostage takeover–here.

The Hate U Give Is Offering Free Screenings

Underserved and underrepresented young adults have the opportunity to see the film adaptation of Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give Saturday, Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. The 9 participating cities are Atlanta, Ga., Baltimore, Md., Dallas, Texas, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., Miami, Fla., New York, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., and Washington, DC. Schools, community groups and nonprofit organizations can apply for free screenings at screenings.thehateugive.com.

Circe Has Been Optioned For A TV Show

Madeline Miller, the author of Circe, announced on Instagram that she was returning from a meeting where the rights to her Greek mythology novel have been sold. As a Rioter favorite novel, we all cheered and look forward to hearing more!

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library!

Check Your Shelf

Comparing Library eBook Services, How Poetry Promotes Healing, and ALLLL the Book Lists

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date October 4, 2018

Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to all things book talk worth knowing to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney, published by Imprint.

The fantasy book I’ve been waiting for my whole life. Alice is Black Girl Magic personified.” —Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Hate U Give Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, a slipping GPA, and an ongoing battle against monstrous creatures in the magical dream realm known as Wonderland. When Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally.

Libraries & Librarians

An interesting article about how public library reference is increasingly about community service.
The challenges of tribal libraries.
As a parting gift to their school, these high school seniors want to create a student library.
Buzzfeed wants to know hear from you: What’s it like to be a librarian?
The federal 2019 budget shows big gains for libraries!
A librarian/reader compares OverDrive, Libby, Hoopla, and 3M ebook services. (Spoiler alert – the librarian/reader is me!)
What being a school librarian means today.

Book Adaptations in the News

Season 2 of The Alienist will be based on Carr’s sequel, The Angel of Darkness.
Michael B. Jordan set to star in two Tom Clancy adaptations: Without Remorse and Rainbow Six.
James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty is slated for a possible miniseries.
Chris Evans will be starring in the Apple drama series, Defending Jacob.
What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli isn’t even released yet, but it’s already been picked up for an adaptation.

Books in the News

Following the success of her Netflix special, comedian Hannah Gadsen will be publishing a memoir called Ten Steps to Nanette.
Sneak peek of Josh Malerman’s new novel!
Angie Thomas on why it’s wrong to ban The Hate U Give.
Lindy West has a new book coming out!
Paul McCartney has a children’s picture book coming out called Hey Grandude, and I am now going to buy a copy for everyone in my life who has, will have, or may possibly have children.

There’s going to be a YA novel set in the Alien xenomorph universe, written by Mira Grant, AKA Seanan Maguire! GIMME!
It’s the 30th anniversary of Matilda, and Mara Wilson has some thoughts on sharing her life with the titular character.
Stephen Colbert announces a children’s book based on President Trump’s comments post-Hurricane Florence. All proceeds will benefit hurricane relief organizations.

By the Numbers

Fear by Bob Woodward breaks Simon & Schuster’s first week sales record – over 1.2 million copies sold.
Banned Books Week by the numbers.
The Kuwaiti government acknowledged that it had banned 4,390 books since 2014.
Women make up only one third of the translated books published each year.

Award News

Man Booker Prize shortlist.
2018 Kirkus Prize finalists.
Carnegie Medal promises immediate action over lack of diversity – the 20 author longlist for 2017 consisted entirely of white authors. (Also important to note that the Carnegie Medal is judged by librarians, which as we all know is a predominantly white profession.)

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? Whether or not you read and nominate titles, we’ll end every newsletter with a few upcoming titles worth reading and sharing (and nominating for LibraryReads, if you so choose!).

We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

And to make it even easier, I’ve picked a couple specific titles that are being released in February 2019. Links direct you to Edelweiss, where you can request a digital advance copy, and nominations are due by January 1st.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls – Anissa Gray (February 19, 2019). “The Mothers meets An American Marriage in this dazzling debut novel about mothers and daughters, identity and family, and how the relationships that sustain you can also be the ones that consume you.”
That Time I Loved You – Carianne Leung. (February 26, 2019). “In this exquisite American debut, Carrianne Leung evokes the legacies of Cheever and Munro with a haunting depiction of 1970s suburbia.”

And make sure to check out Episode 16 of our Annotated podcast, which talks about how Andrew Carnegie transformed the American public library!

____________________

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you again in two weeks!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins.

PS: Don’t forget to enter to win a custom book stamp for your personal library in our giveaway.

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships 10/5

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date October 4, 2018

Happy Friday, alchemists and astronauts! For those of you attending NYCC, I wish you hearty immune systems and minimal train issues (no 7 train, WHY); for those of you nerding it up at home, I’ll wish you the same because why not. Today we’re talking about Norse myths, escapism, dinosaurs, fantastical playlists, and Kiersten White’s The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.

This newsletter is sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In fifteenth-century France, the convent of St. Mortain provides sanctuary to girls seeking refuge from the cruelty of the outside world. But sanctuary comes at a price—and each of Death’s Handmaids pay it in blood. Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart make up the New York Times bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy: where romance, magic, and political intrigue collide. Fans of Marie Lu’s The Young Elites and Kiersten White’s And I Darken will love this seductive dark fantasy collection.

April Genevieve Tucholke picked five books with ties to Norse mythology, and I’d like to add Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins to the stack.

This list of fantasy novels (YA specifically) by women of color is GREAT, so many good books to choose from!

If October is anything like September, we’re going to need some escapist reads. Thankfully, Swapna has us covered.

Feelings alert: this personal essay on elder care, dementia, and fantasy worlds had me reaching for my tissues.

Quiz time: Which Greek hero are you? Build a Tinder profile to find out. (My result, Jason, made me actually LOL.) You can also find out which Wicked & Divine god you are, and which lady of Westeros (I got Daenerys, you may now address me as Mother of Dragons).

Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur, a giant one, and that has nothing to do with books but I bet I am not the only one pretty excited about it.

Need a Harry Potter playlist? Here are some suggestions for the songs you should put on it.

Remember that new Robin Hood movie that mashes up our favorite medieval thief with Oceans Eleven? The final trailer has been released, and this is the kind of fun nonsense I’m here for.

Giveaway alert! Enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library right here.

Today in reviews, we’ve got a retelling of Frankenstein that I fell for, and hard.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

Who are we, if we’ve spent our lives being what someone else wanted us to be? How do we find our voices? Who will tell our stories? Kiersten White uses Elizabeth Lavenza and Justine Moritz, the two central women in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to explore these questions in an insightful and action-packed YA novel.

In the original, Elizabeth Lavenza is the beautiful, saintly orphan Victor Frankenstein grew up with and marries; Justine Moritz is the nanny wrongly accused of his young brother William’s murder. In Dark Descent, Elizabeth is indeed an orphan but far from saintly. Trapped in an abusive home life, she’s given the chance to escape when the Frankensteins come looking for a companion to their strange young son. She makes the most of her chance, turning herself into the perfect friend for Victor and making herself essential to the family by whatever means possible. Justine, a fellow orphan, and Henry are her only other friends — but Elizabeth manipulates them too, however and whenever she needs to to keep her place in the Frankenstein household.

When the novel opens, Victor has been gone for months and she’s terrified that his father will turn her out of the house if she can’t bring him home. She and Justine set off to find Victor, and Elizabeth finds far more than she bargained for. As she starts to realize that the young man she has spent her life appeasing, the man she hopes to marry, is far more of a monster than she knew, she also has to reckon with who she has turned herself into.

White gives Elizabeth a new ending and a beautifully realized voice, recasting the creature-horror of the original Frankenstein alongside the psychological horror of a woman trapped in an untenable situation, looking for escape. Dark Descent has beautiful moments of friendship, blood-chilling moments of confrontation, and a careful balance of character and plot that kept me turning the pages, and is an ideal spooky read for your Fall.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

It’s aliiiiiiiiiive!,
Jenn

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Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date October 4, 2018

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by After the Fire by Will Hill

Father John controls everything inside The Fence. And Father John likes rules. Especially about never talking to Outsiders. Because Father John knows the truth. He knows what is right, and what is wrong. He knows what is coming.

Moonbeam is starting to doubt, though. She’s starting to see the lies behind Father John’s words. When a fire engulfs life as she knew it, Moonbeam is forced outside The Fence into a world she does not recognize.

Alternating between Moonbeam’s life before the fire, and her time spent in a government-sanctioned facility afterward, After the Fire is a fascinating look at life inside a cult and its harrowing effects on survivors.

The Stack

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Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date October 4, 2018

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Disney Publishing Worldwide

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were stripped of their powers and banished from the kingdom of Auradon to the Isle of the Lost. Mal learns from her mother, Maleficent, that the key to true darkness, the Dragon’s Eye, is located inside her scepter in the forbidden fortress on the far side of the island. She’ll just need a little help from her “friends.” In their quest for the Dragon’s Eye, these four kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain’t so bad.

Today In Books

Michael Jackson Wanted To Play Bond But Guacamole Happened: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 3, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp.

Guacamole Ruined A Michael Jackson Meeting

According to celebrity agent Michael Ovitz’s memoir Michael Jackson once requested a meeting to pitch himself as the next James Bond. But then there was a guacamole incident. And laughter. And, well, that’s probably not the reason he didn’t play Bond, but it’s still a fun story.

Incoming: Daily Poetry Podcast!

Library of Congress, American Public Media, and the Poetry Foundation have come together to create a daily poetry podcast. U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith will host The Slowdown starting November 26th. “Poetry isn’t an escape or even a luxury,” Smith said. “I’d argue it’s a necessity, a means of living more deeply with reality.”

The 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Longlist

If you scan awards’ longlists to find great books to add to your TBR have I got a list for you! Tons of favorite fiction and nonfiction we’re rooting for: An American Marriage, There There, The Incendiaries, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark, The Feather Thief, How To Write An Autobiographical Novel–seriously, so many excellent books! On October 24th we’ll find out which 3 fiction and which 3 nonfiction made the shortlist!

Don’t forget to enter to win a custom book stamp so you can stamp all your books!

What's Up in YA

📚📚Your Must-Read YA Book News

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date October 3, 2018

Hey YA Readers: Lots of great news to catch up on today! Grab a cuppa your favorite drink and settle in.

“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep. Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice–save the woman he loves, or everyone else?–while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

Movie news, new book news, and more! But before you dive in, go check out this awesome giveaway for a custom bookplate stamp we’re giving away.

Ready for more queer YA to hit the big screen? Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera’s What If It’s Us might be coming!
Speaking of Silvera, a powerful piece he wrote about the time he called a suicide helpline.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar has been tapped to write for the new Veronica Mars series. YA adjacent, but, it’s such a cool headline it deserved to be shared.
There’s a YA novel coming in the Alien universe, written by Mira Grant.
HBO will bring Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” from the BBC to the other side of the pond.
Samantha Irby shares why you should read some YA books and offers up great recommendations.
Why teenagers deserve smart books.
Another piece I pulled together: even more 2019 YA books featuring teens of color on the cover.
Ibi Zoboi called out the racism and classism in a recent review of her book Pride by the Wall Street Journal.
Drool over how beautiful the cover for Elizabeth Acevedo’s next book is.
Add some fantastical Canadian literature for young readers to your TBR.
YA author Donna Freitas highlights how you can use YA literature to encourage a conversation about consent with young readers.
The New York Times highlights how YA books can help in #MeToo culture.
Tatiana Maslany is narrating a special anniversary edition of The Hunger Games audiobook.
Speaking of The Hunger Games, where are the stars today? (Spoiler: Rue is absolutely crushing it as a hero of YA adaptations!)
Here is the cover of Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks’s upcoming graphic novel collaboration Pumpkinheads.
“What does a Dolly Parton and Sia song have to do with YA?” you ask? It’s a song off the soundtrack for the adaptation of Dumplin‘!
Renee Watson’s upcoming book, coauthored with Ellen Hagan, just hit my door and it looks so dang good.
Read this interview with YA nonfiction author Julissa Arce, as she talks about her book on being an undocumented immigrant.
YA powerhouse Nic Stone will be writing her first middle grade novel.
The YA book The Lifeboat Clique is set to be developed for a CW series.

So proud of this young king! https://t.co/GGhOw2J9FQ

— Angie Thomas (@angiecthomas) September 20, 2018

Recent Book Mail

It’s been a while since I’ve shared what’s hit my inbox, so this is a big, juicy collection of titles. Listed from top to bottom, starting with the pile on the left.

Words We Don’t Say KJ Reilly

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Witch Born by Nicholas Bowling

Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse by Shane Burcaw

Almost Invisible by Maureen Garvie

A Field Guide To The North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness

The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

A Thousand Sisters by Elizabeth Wein

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott

A Sky For Us Alone by Kristin Russell

Easy Prey by Catherine Lo

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak

Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

Sex Plus by Laci Green

Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

As She Ascends by Jodi Meadows

Anything But Okay by Sarah Darer Littman

Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrande

Cheap Reads

Grab these great books while they’re easy on the wallet. Since it’s spooky season, you’ll see a theme in this selection. Prices current as of Wednesday morning, October 3.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Rohrig is $3.

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter is $3.

Chandler Baker’s Teen Frankenstein is $3.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda is $3.

The Devil’s Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith is $3.

Madeleine Roux’s Asylum is $2.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil is $2.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out and we’ll see you next week!

–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram

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Post author By Devin Service
Post date October 3, 2018

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by #1 New York Times bestselling author Helen Hardt.

Dante Gabriel is starving. What he craves is red gold—human blood. After being held captive as a blood slave to a female vampire for years, he has finally escaped. Unchained at last, he follows his nose to the nearest blood bank to sate his hunger.

ER nurse Erin Hamilton expects just another busy night shift…until she finds a gorgeous stranger vandalizing the hospital blood bank. Though her logic tells her to turn him in, she’s pulled by stronger and unfamiliar emotions to protect the man who seems oddly infatuated with her scent. Chemistry sizzles between them, but Dante, plagued by nightmares of his time in captivity, fears he won’t be able to control himself…especially when he discovers a secret she doesn’t even know she’s hiding.

Kissing Books

Netflix Has Heard the Call of Romance Novels

Post author By Jessica Pryde
Post date October 3, 2018

Happy Halloween!

What do you mean it’s only early October?

Okay, fine. Happy Halloween month.

Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp.

Mary Jo Putney, one of the most critically acclaimed writers of historical romance, brings fans the third novel in her Rogues Redeemed series, where two outcasts must endure persecution and peril through stormy seas if their love is going to survive.

News and Useful Links

There’s more romance coming to Netflix. I haven’t read Virgin River or Sweet Magnolias. But I hope this (and of course the success of To All The Boys…) means more kissing movies and shows across streaming services.

Do you know about Maya Rodale’s newest, Duchess by Design? Check out this EW interview where she talks about the Gilded Age and subversive pockets.

I didn’t know about Food from the Heart until I saw this instagram post by theromanticbaker. That bread looks amazing, and there are other recipes from authors including Sonali Dev and Susan Mallery.

There’s still some time to get a few of these deals, I think.

Dadbod Austen Retellings. What.

Just click. You’ll thank me.

Deals!

cover of act like it by lucy parker Have you read Act Like It yet? Well, it’s 1.99, so you have no excuse.

Or if you’re looking for the opposite of fake-relationship, how about After the Wedding? It’s 2.49, and while it’s always good to read series in order, you don’t have to have read Once Upon a Marquess first. But you might want to. Because it’s hilarious. (Also, if you finish and want to read about Adrian’s uncles John and Henry? Let me point you towards The Pursuit Of…)

Okay. Done now.

Wait, one more. Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon is free right now. Good way to get sucked into an amazing series.

Over on Book Riot

Have you read all of these? There are a few I haven’t, so I can say newbies are totally in for a treat with this list!

I know it’s not technically romance related, but I’m behind most of these Idris Elba fancastings, even if he’s a touch too old for a few of them (like Thabiso, to be honest). We’d make it work.

Riotgrams are back! I’ve been…really bad at keeping up but what’s new.

I…want to read all of these.

Also, TBR is a thing and you should check it out.

These may be critical nonfiction, but they’re about romance.

We’re having a giveaway for a custom book stamp!

Recs!

This newsletter is already wildly long and overly full of TBR-busters, so I’ll be a bit more brief than I was last week.

Remember when I mentioned way way at the beginning of this newsletter that I was excited for Halloween? Well, I decided to do something different. Instead of a huge list of Halloween themed and related romances, I would do a sort of… feature creature.

Today’s creature? Dracula.

And friends, I guess.

Thrall
Avon Gale and Roan Parrish

If you’ve read Dracula, you know that it is a story told in letters, news clippings, and various other epistolary formats. Thrall is the story of several people, much like Dracula, but it still has central characters to latch onto. You’ve got Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray, who are a couple that does a true crime podcast based in New Orleans. You have Lucy’s brother Harker, who has gone missing (or at least isn’t returning her texts). You’ve got Harker’s dissertation advisor, Professor Van Helsing. You’ve got Arthur, Mina and Lucy’s social media manager, who decides to pursue the good professor romantically while also trying to figure out what’s happend to Harker. And you’ve got Thrall, the local dating app that Harker was studying for his anthropology dissertation. The story is told in google chats, emails, texts, and other alternate texts, but you still get a bit of a spooky feeling. One moment you’re laughing your eyes out, the next you’re on edge trying to figure out what the heck is happening. What you discover is maybe not what you expect, but any more from me would spoil the experience.

cover of the vampires mail order bride It’s been a while since I’ve read a good vampire romance that wasn’t part of an overarching paranormal or urban fantasy series (I’ll bet the last one was Meg Cabot’s Insatiable, which was…probably a decade ago), or even a “different” kind of vampire like JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood (similarly, Lover At Last was the last one of those I read). But. One of the Book Riot Insiders mentioned The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter and I’m totally sold.

There’s a dearth in my past reading of vampires of color in romance. (The closest I’ve come is LA Banks, and I…wasn’t really a fan of the first one?) Anyone have any favorites that are actually romantic and not…about soul-sucking demons being evil and needing to be killed?

As a bonus, let’s talk about my favorite Dracula movies. I have…three?

Dracula 2000. Yes. I love this movie. All respect to Gary Oldman, but Gerard Butler was my first Dracula. Also Johnny Lee Miller the antiques dealer. I think this movie might have introduced me to him, too?

Van Helsing. Richard Roxburgh and his weird Romania accent. Hugh Jackman and his crossbow. The brides, kicking ass. (If you listen to When in Romance, you might recall that I took the “which vampire is your soulmate” and I definitely got the Brides of Dracula.)

Dracula Untold. I don’t know why, but I latched onto this one and was really disappointed when I learned they weren’t going to continue the series. It is very pretty.

Then there’s the fact that when I try to recall Renfield the only one that comes to mind is the one from Dracula: Dead and Loving It. I have no recollection of the rest of the movie. Just that Renfield. And no others.

Okay, fun interlude. Back to books.

New and Upcoming Releases

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon (hot male nanny, anyone?)
Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert
Always There by Tiara Inserto (they have to share an apartment omgz)
Project Saving Noah by Six de los Reyes (October 6)
For the Love of Luke by David C. Dawson (October 9)
Fight or Flight by Samantha Young (October 9)

As usual, 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!