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CORMORAN STRIKE Adaptation Debuts In June: Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date April 26, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Candlewick Press.

Cormoran Strike Adaptation Debuts In June

Cinemax released the trailer for C.B. Strike, the miniseries based on J.K. Rowling’s crime novels, Cormoran Strike. The series stars Tom Burke as veteran-turned-private-detective Cormoran Strike, and Holliday Grainger as Strike’s assistant, Robin Ellacott. The adaptation premieres June 1.

The 2018 Eisner Award Nominations

This year’s Eisner Award nominations for comics and graphic novels were announced. The nominees fall under 31 categories. Topping the nominations are My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by debut graphic novelist Emil Ferris, and Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. The winners will be announced on July 20 at Comic-Con in San Diego.

The Next Stephen King Adaptation Is…

The Long Walk. James Vanderbilt (Truth) has written the script for the New Line Cinema adaptation–New Line Cinema brought It to the big screen last year. The Long Walk is a story originally published under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, set in a dystopian future where 100 teens compete to be the one winner/survivor of a long, non-stop journey.

And don’t forget to enter to win 15 of the year’s best mysteries so far!

Unusual Suspects

Trailer for Gillian Flynn’s SHARP OBJECTS adaptation is HERE!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date April 26, 2018

Hello mystery fans! It has been a week overfloweth with NEWS so buckle up!

On Book Riot and Around the Internet

Alice and Kim talked about a bunch of interesting true crime novels on the For Real podcast which has quickly become one of my favorite podcasts.

James Comey’s Book Sells Over 600,000 Copies

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date April 26, 2018

Hello and happy Friday, fellow nonfiction nerds! There’s been some big nonfiction books adjacent news breaking this week — a former California police officer has been identified as the Golden State killer. He was arrested on Wednesday, based on new DNA evidence. The recently-published true crime book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark chronicled journalist Michelle McNamara’s search for the Golden State Killer before her death in 2016. Exciting!

Sponsored by How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

From the author of The Queen of the Night, an essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist—and how we form our identities in life and in art. As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as “masterful” by Roxane Gay, “incomparable” by Junot Díaz, and “incendiary” by The New York Times. With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first collection of nonfiction, he’s sure to secure his place as one of the finest essayists of his generation as well.

Beyond that, this week’s newsletter has new books, some sales numbers for the James Comey blockbuster, and news about musicians who are writing memoirs. Let’s get going!

New Books!

The Truth About Animals by Lucy Cooke – The subtitle of this book is what convinced me I needed to read it. What would be better than a book of “stoned sloths, lovelorn hippos, and other tales from the wild side of wildlife”? Lucy Cooke is a great person to share those stories too – she has an MA in zoology from the University of Oxford and is a National Geographic explorer.

Born With Wings by Daisy Kahn – Daisy Kahn, a women’s rights activist, grew up in a progressive Sunni Muslim family in India. She came to the United States to finish high school and, after a period of questioning her faith, she returned to Islam and married the imam of a mosque in New York. The book is about her spiritual journey as well as her current mission to empower Muslim women and challenge ideas about what it means to be Muslim.

God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright – There’s something really funny to me about the idea that Lawrence Wright would go from writing about Scientologists to writing about Texas. This book is an exploration of the “history, culture and politics” of Texas, looking into the stereotypes and misconceptions many people have about the state. I think this one will be interesting.

Need more new books? In last week’s episode of For Real, Alice and I talked about The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte, The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson, The War on Neighborhoods by Ryan Lugalia Hollon and Daniel Cooper, and The Opposite of Hate by Sally Kohn.

A Higher Loyalty Rolls On

It seems that James Comey’s media tour is doing what it’s supposed to do – sell a bunch of copies of his book, A Higher Loyalty. In the first week, the book has sold 600,000 copies.

For comparison, the New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton’s memoir, What Happened, sold 300,00 copies in its first week on sale, while Michael Wolff’s White House exploration Fire and Fury sold “just” (air quotes mine!) 200,000 hardcover copies in its first week. Fire and Fury has sold more than two million copies in total.

The book has been getting so much buzz that Amazon has limited reviews to Amazon customers who they know have purchased the book through the site because of “unusual review behavior” on the book. And Comey’s book tour is going strong – no doubt this book is going to break all sorts of sales records.

Musicians Making Memoirs

Prince’s official memoir will be published before the end of the year! The musician signed a deal to produce a memoir – and reportedly handwrote more than 50 pages – before he died in 2016. Prince’s agent announced this week that the memoir will be out in 2018.

Mariah Carey is also writing a memoir! The book will include mentions of her 2001 diagnosis for bipolar disorder, which she recently revealed to People magazine.

Around the Riot

And finally, I’ve got a few recent Book Riot posts I wanted to bring to your attention:

Alice and I were guests on last week’s episode of Get Booked, Book Riot’s book recommendation podcast where we talked almost exclusively about nonfiction. It was a lot of fun!
Katie rounded up 50 must-read true crime books, many of which I can heartily endorse.
Daisy recommends a number of interesting books about the women of Golden Age musicals including Debbie Reynolds, Lena Horne, and Ginger Rogers.
Yash has some fun nonfiction pairings for new and upcoming young adult books – great picks if you’re a reader who likes to alternate between the serious and the swoony.

Don’t forget, Book Riot has an awesome giveaway going on right now – follow this link to be entered in a drawing for 15 of the year’s best mystery/thrillers!

Find me on Twitter @kimthedork, and co-hosting the For Real podcast here at Book Riot. Happy reading!

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Apr 27

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date April 26, 2018

Happy Friday, archivists and archangels! Today includes reviews of Not So Stories and Before Mars, book news from Jacqueline Carey and George R.R. Martin, a djinn round-up, theoretical ancient civilations, and more.

This newsletter is sponsored by The City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp.

Jude has been lying low since the storm, hiding from his own power, his divine former employer, and a debt owed to the Fortune god of New Orleans. But his six-year retirement ends abruptly when the Fortune god is murdered and Jude is drawn back into the world he tried so desperately to leave behind. A world where he must find out who is responsible for the Fortune god’s death, uncover the plot that threatens the city’s soul, and discover what his talent for lost things has always been trying to show him: what it means to be his father’s son.

In continued ASoIaF news, we won’t be getting Winds of Winter this year, but we WILL get a prequel about the Targaryens.

Where my Joscelin fans at: Jacqueline Carey has announced that she’ll be writing a retelling of Kushiel’s Dart from the perspective of everyone’s favorite Casseline. Sharifah and I talked about my fan-feelings on this week’s SFF Yeah! episode if you’re curious.

Wish fulfilled: I finally wrote that djinn book round-up I promised! You’ve already seen reviews of some of these in this newsletter, but there might be a few I hadn’t gushed about already. While there are others out there (and definitely leave your thoughts in the comments!), these were my top favorites.

QUILTBAG classics update: The on-going Tor.com series is talking Jewelle Gomez’s The Gilda Stories.

Haven’t dived into the McGuire/Grant universes yet? We’ve got a reading pathway for Seanan McGuire a.k.a. Mira Grant! For what it’s worth, I started with Into the Drowning Deep and regret nothing.

If there were earlier civiliations on Earth, would we be able to tell? I love this thought-experiment from NASA director Gavin Schmidt, especially since it ties into the solarpunk discussions I’ve been following. Someone write me a Paleocene sustainable high-tech novel please!

Reminder time: We’re doing a mystery book giveaway! You could also win Lit Chat (which is an a+ bookish card game if we do say so ourselves). And last but not least, you can get a two-week free trial to Book Riot Insiders until April 30th.

And now, reviews! This week, it’s folktales and space tales.

Not So Stories, edited by David Thomas Moore

A whole short story collection dedicated to decolonizing Kipling, you say? Sign me up! I was incredibly excited to see this book announced, in large part because I went through an enormous Kipling phase as a teen. I (like many kids) was gifted Just So stories, and read Kim several times over. It would take me til college to really understand the problems inherent in Kipling’s framing of India and other lands east. I’ve since read a lot of great works of folktales from indigenous authors, but to see a book that acknowledges Kipling’s work while reframing and deconstructing it makes my heart sing.

And the stories are so good! While each author takes a slightly different angle on the prompt, there are some through-lines, particularly the use of “Best Beloved” to address the reader. Some stories stick with the folktale structure, while others are set at specific moments in history. The opening story, “How the Spider Got Her Legs” by Cassandra Khaw, sets the tone beautifully — it’s a beautifully done origin myth, dark and brimming over with righteous anger. Other favorites include “Best Beloved” by Wayne Santos and “Serpent, Crocodile, Tiger” by Zedeck Siew, but it’s hard to pick — each story has its own particular strengths.

While I would not recommend this to actual children (under a mature 12, let’s say), I definitely want to give it to teenagers and other adults who grew up on Kipling. I do think it’s most effective if you have some familiarity with his work, but if you have somehow managed to escape school without reading “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” I also believe it stands on its own.

Before Mars by Emma Newman

Every now and then I will see a galley up for grabs and neglect to check if it’s part of a series or not, and that’s what happened here. I’d been hearing buzz about Emma Newman, I saw a galley available, and I clicked. I was a third into the book when I realized it was #3 in the Planetfall series. Woops! But I’m here to tell you that it stands alone just fine, and did indeed make me want to go back to read the first two. So if a copy falls in your lap, feel free to dive in.

Anna Kubrin is a geologist and artist, and both of those things have put her on a flight to Mars. Contracted by the colonizing corporation to both expand the previous geological surveys and to produce one-of-a-kind paintings (to be sold for jillions of dollars of course, since this is a private enterprise), she arrives shaken and disoriented from months of solo space travel. The experience of deja vu she has is surely just from that — but then she finds a note in her new room, written in her own handwriting, telling her not to trust the colony psychologist. What follows is both a psychological thriller — who is sane and who is lying? — and an exploration of what private space enterprise might look like. Newman also looks at the difficulties of motherhood and post-partum depression, rocky marriages, and healing from family trauma. If that sounds like a lot that’s because it is, but Newman handles it all with a fairly light touch.

I’ve been thinking more about these psychologically oriented, private enterprise space stories — recent others include The Wanderers by Meg Howrey and Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty. The concerns of current sci-fi writers are moving in an interesting direction, and I’m curious to see where else this trend takes us. In the meantime, I’ll be backtracking to read the other Planetfall books, which have promised me cults in space.

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.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Jenn

The Goods

Mother’s Day promo

Post author By Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Post date April 26, 2018

Think outside the vase and treat the bookish moms is your life to rad literary gifts. Get 20% off sitewide and a free pin with any purchase of $55 or more.

Riot Rundown TestRiotRundown

042618-BrightlyBurning-Riot-Rundown

Post author By Devin Service
Post date April 26, 2018

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne.

A romantic, cinematic, richly-imagined retelling of the classic Jane Eyre set in space, about seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley, a mechanic who takes a governess job on board the private ship, the Rochester and falls in the love with the ship’s mysterious and troubled captain. Alexa Donne’s lush and enthralling novel will seduce and beguile you. For Marissa Meyer and Kiera Cass fans.

The Stack

042618-MysteryGiveaway-The-Stack

Post author By Devin Service
Post date April 26, 2018

We’re giving away 15 of the best mysteries and thrillers of the year so far. Click here to enter, or click the image below:

Today In Books

Hogwarts Mystery Launches: Today in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date April 25, 2018

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Amazon Publishing.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Launches

For those of us who have been waiting, the Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery mobile game launched today. Jam City released the game on the App Store and Google Play. Players can explore the wizarding world of the 1980s, develop a character, enroll in Hogwarts, and select one of the school’s four houses.

GRRM Announces Release Date Of Next Book

It doesn’t seem like a stretch to say many fans were disappointed to learn that George R.R. Martin’s next book is not The Winds of Winter. Instead, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire announced the November 20th publication date of Fire & Blood. Martin described the book as an “imaginary history,” and very much “not a novel.” It’s the first book in a planned duology.

Michelle McNamara’s Husband Speaks On Arrest Of Golden State Killer Suspect

This news is kinda-sorta book-related and also a big deal: the Golden State Killer primary suspect was arrested after more than 40 years. The arrest comes only a few months after the publication of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, author Michelle McNamara’s exhaustive journalistic investigation of the serial killer and sexual assaulter. McNamara died in 2016; her husband Patton Oswalt talked about his reactions to the news.

And don’t forget to enter to win 15 of the year’s best mysteries so far!

Audiobooks

New Audiobooks for May

Post author By Katie MacBride
Post date April 25, 2018

Hey audiophiles,

I’m so glad so many of you liked the animal audiobooks! And several of you emailed to add to the list. I’m passing on a few recommendations and saving the non-animal recs you sent for the next Reader Roundup newsletter. So keep those coming if you want to want to share what you’re listening to (and hopefully loving).

We’re giving away 15 of the best mysteries and thrillers of the year so far. Click here to enter, or click the image below:

Elizabeth says, “My favorite animal audiobooks are the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series by Cressida Cowell and narrated by David Tennant.” (I have also heard that this is an excellent choice for long car trips with kids.)

Karen says, “I wanted to tell you about 2 fantastic listens. Both books are by Sy Montgomery: The Soul of an Octopus (narrated by Sy) and The Good Good Pig (narrated by Xe Sands). The Soul of an Octopus details Sy’s work studying octopuses at the New England Aquarium and you can feel her love and joy for these creatures in her voice and words. The Good Good Pig is the true story of a little sickly runt pig that Sy and her husband adopted and named Christopher Hogwood. He thrives under their care and becomes quite a celebrity in their little New Hampshire town.” Both of these sound excellent, in my humble opinion, and it sounds like someone needs to make a movie of The Good Good Pig ASAP.

Don’t forget to enter to win 15 of the year’s most exciting mystery/thrillers! Only two weeks left! Enter here.

May Releases

May is just around the corner and the audiobook gods have lots of exciting new releases in store. So many new releases, in fact, that I’m going to make this a two-parter. Audiobooks coming out in the first half of the month will be in this newsletter and audiobooks coming out in the second half will be in next week’s newsletter. As always, publisher’s description in quotes.

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain; narrated by January LaVoy; Release date: 05-01-18

The author of The Paris Wife is back with another fictionalized account of one of Ernest Hemingway’s wives–in this case his third wife, Martha Gellhorn. As with The Paris Wife, McLain bases the fictionalized account on what we know of Gellhorn, who died in 1998.

Gellhorn was a war reporter and “In the shadow of the impending Second World War, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and their professional careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must make a choice: surrender to the confining demands of being a famous man’s wife or risk losing Ernest by forging a path as her own woman and writer. It is a dilemma that could force her to break his heart, and hers.”

Fun fact: For Whom the Bell Tolls is one of my all time favorite audiobooks!

Miss Subways by David Duchovny; narrated by David Duchovny, Téa Leoni; Release date: 05-01-18

“Taking inspiration from the myth of Emer and Cuchulain and featuring an all-star cast of mythical figures from all over the world, David Duchovny’s darkly funny fantasy audiobook Miss Subways is one woman’s trippy, mystical journey down parallel tracks of time and love. On the way, Emer will battle natural and supernatural forces to find her true voice, power, and destiny.

While recording this audiobook, Duchovny had the idea of bringing his ex-wife, Téa Leoni in to voice the female characters in the book. I love Tea Leoni and what I love most about Téa Leoni is her voice. I know this is a weird thing to say, but I feel like if any people can understand what I’m talking about, it’s my audiobook pals. After watching the first season of Madam Secretary, in which Leoni is the titular character, I “watched” it again, letting it play in the background while I worked from home, just because I like her voice so much. Weird, right? But maybe you also understand? Anyway, having her as a narrator is a huge selling point for me. Also, Leoni and Duchovney got their two kids, West and Miller, to read the chapter openings and other sections. Pretty cute, right?

The Mars Room written & read by Rachel Kushner; Release date: 05-01-18

The author of the critically acclaimed Flamethrowers is back with another California-centric novel. “It’s 2003 and Romy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, deep in California’s Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: the San Francisco of her youth and her young son, Jackson. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living.”

I’m Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering written and read by Janelle Hanchett; Release date: 05-01-18

Y’all know I love me a good getting sober memoir–-especially one that deviates from the traditional “I got sober, now everything is perfect” formula, and Hanchett definitely does that. “Hers is a story we rarely hear – of the addict mother not redeemed by her children; who longs for normalcy but cannot maintain it; and who, having traveled to seemingly irreversible depths, makes it back, only to discover she is still an outsider…Hanchett’s memoir calls out the rhetoric surrounding ‘the sanctity of motherhood’ as tired and empty, boldly recounting instead how she grew to accept an imperfect self within an imperfect life.”

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam; narrated by Vanessa Johansson Release date 5-8-18

When Rebecca Stone has her first child, she’s overwhelmed. She loves her newborn boy, of course, but she’s also lost and overwhelmed. When Priscilla Johnson agrees to take a position as a nanny for the new mom, Rebecca is grateful. And she soon learns that Priscilla, who is black, has a lot to teach Rebecca, who is white, about privilege.

“When Priscilla dies unexpectedly in childbirth, Rebecca steps forward to adopt the baby. But she is unprepared for what it means to be a white mother with a black son. As she soon learns, navigating motherhood for her is a matter of learning how to raise two children whom she loves with equal ferocity, but whom the world is determined to treat differently.” Release date: 05-08-18

Alright, that’s all for this week, but I have a TON of new releases ready for next week. Say hello anytime at katie@riotnewmedia.org and/or on twitter at msmacb.

Until next week,

~Katie

Kissing Books

What Are Your Five-Star Romances?

Post author By Jessica Pryde
Post date April 25, 2018

Can you believe it’s almost May? Prepare yourself for all those ramen-haired Justin Timberlake memes, and let’s talk romance!

News and Useful Links

Four Latina authors on representation. Absorb their words.

And look who they’re talking about in the Times of India.

Sponsored by Squared Away by Annabeth Albert

In the wake of tragedy, SEAL Mark Whitley rushed stateside to act as guardian to his sister’s three young children. But a conflicting will could give custody to someone else—someone Mark remembers as a too young, too hot, wild party boy.

As the legal details get sorted out, their long-buried attraction resurfaces, leading to intimate evenings after the kids are tucked in. A forever future is within reach for all of them, if only Mark can find the courage he needs to trust Isaiah with his secrets—and his heart.

Y’all. Have you watched Siren yet? If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a show on Freeform about an adorable pair of marine biologists and the mermaid they help on a mission to find her sister. It’s not obviously a romance, but it’s definitely romance adjacent. Or at least, every romance author I follow on Twitter has been talking about it.

Lucy Parker is writing more books! Next up, London Celebrities number 4!

Naima Simone has been looking at the numbers, and folks, there are things that we need to do to help authors of color succeed.

So, this article was making a good effort. But Olivia Waite (and others) thought the journalist could have benefited from a history lesson or two, especially as far as consent in romance goes.

I’ve seen writers in residences at libraries before, but never a library specifically looking for a romance one!

Deals

Carla de Guzman’s Chasing Mindy is 2.99! I loved If the Dress Fits.

Have you read anything by Chance Carter? I have very limited experience with men who write het romance, so I’m very interested in Royal Engagement, which is 99 cents.

Melissa Foster’s The Real Thing is 1.99. If you’re into fake relationships, here’s another one for you.

Make Me Stay by Amarie Avant is 2.99 right now. She’s also a new-to-me author, so I look forward to trying out her work.

HelenKay Dimon’s The Fixer is 99 cents right now.

Over on Book Riot

In what seems to be a trend (well, not really), Alison interviewed her mother about reading romance. Romance moms for the win!

Do you like Pride and Prejudice? Check out these sequels.

Trisha pulled together 8 great M/M romances as a good place to start (or continue).

And of course, Trisha and I got to gabbing in this week’s When In Romance. Get ready for white supremacy, Nicholas Sparks, me waxing poetic about Talia Hibbert…and more stuff.

And don’t forget to enter to win 15 of the year’s best mysteries so far!

Recs!

Last week, I shared Laura’s excellent article about what inspires a five-star rating. For her, it’s a physical reaction. I would say something similar. So I thought, what are some of my five-star romances? I’ve left out a few that I might have gushed over on these pages, but some might seem familiar.

Wishes
Jude Deveraux

This is the earliest five-star read in my list. It was the first book I remember having a visceral reaction to (though I did end up having a similar reaction to Velvet Song, but that was mostly for the heroine and the side characters; the hero was trash). Why did I have a visceral reaction to it? The heroine, Nellie, was quiet and overweight, and at that point in my life, I was too—the quiet part at least; I’m still fat. Not only was this book about a quiet, overweight woman (whose kindness was often taken advantage of by her family) finding love, but the man who was destined to fall in love with her liked her just as she was; four words that I wouldn’t hear again until Mark Darcy would say them when I was in high school. On top of it all, Nellie was able to discover herself, figure out how to be the woman she wanted to be, and eventually become an amazing matriarch (as seen in The Invitation).

Take the Lead
Alexis Daria

I was crying when I reached the end of this book. All of the pent-up emotions needed an outlet, and this time, it was tears. Somehow, even when I’m not hearing it, music and the things around it have an effect of me that nothing else really does. Would I have had the same kind of reaction to the story if dancing hadn’t been involved? I have no idea. The character development is amazing, the plot is enrapturing, and the musical numbers are invigorating. So yeah, no question of “if it wasn’t.” It was.

The Heiress Effect
Courtney Milan

I love every Courtney Milan novel I’ve ever read. Actually, Hold Me was going to be on this list, as was In Pursuit Of…, her contribution to Hamilton’s Battalion. But this one is definitely my favorite. If my iPad had been a physical book, I would have hugged it when I was done. Everything about it was perfect: the heroine; the hero; the setup for the romance; the reason they couldn’t be together; the secondary romance; seeing non-alphas in a historical setting; Mrs. Battacharya. And then of course there was the kicker: I read it when I was sick and felt better by the time I was done. Phyiscal, visceral, whatever. This book works miracles.

As Long as You Love Me
Ann Aguirre

This book broke my heart. I literally had to stop to cry towards the end, when Lauren explains why she can’t be with Ben, and then later when she works to overcome that problem. But before all that, there’s a straightforward, open, friends-to-lovers story that is endearing and refreshing. The second book in what is technically called the 2B series, but what I call the BSB series, this one sent me through the emotional wringer far more than the first one. Not even a single father got me as worked up as this one. So you know it was that good.

Wrong to Need You
Alisha Rai

Interestingly enough, I gave Hate to Want You five stars (all that personal self-discovery and “I’m going to try emotions” thing), but this was basically a six-star read. I didn’t talk about it when I read it because it was the second in a series, and I tend not to discuss those, but…it looks like I have a second-book-in-a-series thing, looking at some of my five star reads. Everything great about Hate to Want You—the melodrama, the relationships, the people, the heart—was exacerbated in the second installment. Secondary characters made me cry. Family meetings made my heart swell. Sadia and her open bisexuality gave me heart (especially after my post for coming out day two years ago).

I don’t have a lot of five-star romances, but these—and the ones I left out because I gushed about them in Kissing Books already—are books that I’d recommend to anyone looking for an essential representation of romance. Wishes might need a revisit, because a lot of Jude Deveraux’s books didn’t age well for me, but the elements that made it magical for me (besides the fairy godmother part) are still there.

What are your five-star romances? I apparently want to cry more.

New and Upcoming Releases

Wanna Bet by Talia Hibbert

Co-Ed by Rachel Van Dyken

After the Wedding by Courtney Milan

Cheeky King by Nana Malone (April 30)

Life of Bliss by Erin McLellan (April 30)

Bro Code by Kendall Ryan (May 1)

That’s plenty, right?

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!