We do a bunch of giveaways, and there is just something really great about a simple one like this. Two hundred books to blow on books. This is a gift card for book people. No frills, no fuss, just $200 to spend at Books-A-Million.
The giveaway is open to U.S. residents, and entries will be accepted until October 17th at 11:59pm Eastern. Winner will be selected randomly and will have 72 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.
Go here to enter, or just click the image below. Good luck!
I don’t even know where to start today, y’all.
The world still sucks, and we still have romance. I had this whole section written about the NYT article that came out last week and some awesome people’s responses to it, but I’d rather just skip to the happy parts. You want my opinions on the other stuff, hit me up. Let’s look at the good stuff in romancelandia.
Sponsored by Amazon Publishing
Anything But Love by Abigail Strom
Socialite Jessica Bullock can’t catch a break. After a lifetime of chasing perfection, hoping to please her parents, all her hard work is set to pay off. But on her wedding day, her fiancé leaves her high and dry. Humiliated, she finds her calm, cool facade beginning to crumble…until an unexpected wedding guest, her childhood best friend and crush, offers to help her pick up the pieces.
Some authors got together to do something for disaster relief. Will you donate?
Jezebel interviewed Alisha Rai and she has some bitching things to say.
We’ve got a Romance Resistance going on. And there are so many books on this list that I haven’t managed to read yet. Why are there so many books?!
Want to lift someone up? Support this start-up publisher of inclusive speculative fiction and romance. They’re gonna go places, if we can help them reach their goal!
This is romance adjacent, but I know we’ll all love watching Idris Elba read erotic fanfiction about himself. Oh my.
In adaptation news, Passionflix is chugging along with original projects, including The Trouble With Mistletoe, and their most recent addition to their streaming collection is Somewhere in Time. I LOVE THAT MOVIE. (I’ll admit I haven’t read the Matheson, though it’s been on my list for years. I imagine it’s just as good but does it have Superman and Dr. Quinn? NO. It does not.)
Have you tried out this Jane Austen game? I don’t know how I feel about it.
How about this podcast? I feel like romance readers would enjoy it. It sounds fun!
Okay, enough links. DEALS!
Hot Cop
by Laurelin Paige is 1.20 right now.
And you can get Rochelle Alers’ The Inheritance for 2.99.
And hey, it’s hockey season! Get in the mood with Changing Lines.
Mariana Zapata’s Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin is 1.99, too, if you’d rather have rock stars in your life.
Over on Book Riot:
I know I said I wasn’t gonna talk about the article but Amanda.
Erin loves Chesapeake Shoresfor people who love it just as much. And she’s got some book recs .
I was wandering through a nice, long list of time-travel romance and noticed there are very few with black leads. I knew exactly why.
It’s a bit of old news now, but did you know Google Search will now reveal if the ebook you’re looking for is available at your library? Unfortunately, it looks like it’s only for libraries that have OverDrive, but it’s still handy!
Okay, now, a couple recs.
The Duchess Deal
Tessa Dare
This book. This book just made me so happy from start to finish. Even during the part I was vocally exclaiming about punching Ash in the face, I was still enjoying the crap out of myself. Let’s go with the opening scene between our hero and heroine: Khan, the Duke of Ashbury’s loyal, long-suffering, droll butler, informs him there’s a woman at the door wearing a wedding dress. Ash thinks that’s just perfect, as he’s just written the words “I need a wife” in a letter to his solicitors. So when the woman who arrives is a seamstress asking to be paid for her labor after the woman with whom he just broke off an engagement never picked it up, Ash leaps on the case. He can pay her…or she can marry him.
With a hook like that, can you see where I was just thrilled? Close proximity, getting to know each other, sex in the library—it’s like Beauty and the Beast but without the whole forced imprisonment thing. Though the concept of marriage of convenience as its own type of long-term jailing is briefly touched upon. And I’m going to tell you: you’re going to be in love with Khan by the end. I know Tessa is working hard to get this series going, but I would not cry if she decided “hey, I think I’ll write a Girl Meets Duke 1.5 novella all about Khan.” (hint hint nudge nudge)
Take the Lead
Alexis Daria
THIS BOOK, y’all. I have no idea why I was crying at the end of this book. Well, actually, I do. It was an emotional rollercoaster and the feeling and the dancing and the resolution and even the acknowledgements got me all in my feelings. I felt very fragile and vulnerable and couldn’t pick up another book for several days.
So what’s it about? Gina is a professional dancer on The Dance Off, and we meet her as she’s headed to Alaska with a camera crew to meet her new celebrity partner. He’s a giant, lumbering, gorgeous wild man whose family has a reality tv show about living in the bush, off the grid. Think Ryan Hurst in Outsiders, but a little better groomed. And with way fewer issues. If you’ve seen Dancing With the Stars, you know the process: dance competition, eliminations, behind the scenes rehearsal footage. Apparently showmances are also a thing on competition shows, and the producers want it to look like Gina and Stone (yes, that’s his real name) are it for the season. Gina doesn’t want to fake a romance, since it never goes well for the woman involved, but their chemistry has other ideas. This is Alexis Daria’s debut novel and boy…I can’t wait for more from her. The feelings just jump off the page; the dance scenes are vivid. This is definitely going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…between Alexis and my wallet.
And if you’re looking for romance by Latinx authors, here are seven more!
That’s it for recs this week, but hey how about some new and upcoming Releases!
His Perfect Partner
, Priscilla Oliveras
Drop Dead Gorgeous, Juliet Lyons
To Love a Scandalous Duke, Liana De La Rosa
An Unsuitable Heir, KJ Charles
Her Dream Come True, Jamie Wesley
The Love Experiment, Ainslie Paton
One Summer Night, Caridad Piniero
Sightlines, Santino Hassell (October 9)
Hooked, Cathy Yardley (October 10)
Hamilton’s Battalion, Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole (October 17)
Crazy in Love, Crystal B Bright
Not to mention it’s getting to be that time: all the winter holiday books are coming out! Maybe we’ll have a look at a couple soon. I’m gonna try to read The Trouble With Mistletoe before the Passionflix release, but otherwise, I’ll wait until after Halloween to start thinking about holly and snow.
That’s probably enough for now, huh? In the meantime, 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!
Ex-FBI Agent Opens Cold Case On Anne Frank Betrayal
Retired FBI agent Vince Pankoke launched a cold case review to identify the individuals who gave up the secret of the Frank family’s hiding location to the Gestapo. I (and I’m sure many others who read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl in school) have always wondered how their location was discovered. Using current investigative techniques, the skills of 19 forensic experts, and the archives of the Anne Frank House, Pankoke and his team hope to unveil the project’s findings next summer on the 75th anniversary of the arrest of the Frank family.
Nnedi Okorafor Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
Nnedi Okorafor is writing a new Black Panther story! The award-winning author of Binti will be working on Black Panther: Long Live the King, to be released on comiXology and Kindle bi-weekly, starting this December. Writers Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay also worked on Black Panther stories before Marvel cancelled their comics. I’m wishing this one all the luck (and sales), and I can’t wait to see what Okorafor does with the world of Wakanda.
Sylvia Plath’s Bikini Book Cover
There’s an ongoing argument in the literary community about the U.K. cover of The Letters of Sylvia Plath. Here’s the thing: the U.S. cover shows a brunette Plath in a coat while the U.K. version features a blonde Plath in a bikini. Some, like Plath scholar Cathleen Allyn Conway, argue that this depiction of Plath in semi-undress disrespects her literary contributions, and others, like writer and feminist Anne Thériault think it’s all a lot of pearl clutching.
Thank you to Bethany House, publisher of Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.
When a terrorist investigation leads FBI agent Declan Grey to a closed immigrant community, he turns to crisis counselor Tanner Shaw for help. Despite the tension between them, he needs the best of the best on this case. Under imminent threat, they’ll have to race against the clock to stop a plot that could cost thousands of lives—including theirs.
Hello fellow mystery fans! Kristen Bell and Anna Chlumsky have a new dark comedy murder mystery series podcast, Deadly Manners, and I’m going to drop everything and go listen. Er–I mean first newsletter, then listen!
Sponsored by GANGSTER NATION by Tod Goldberg, published by Counterpoint Press
It’s been two years since the events of Gangsterland, when legendary Chicago hitman Sal Cupertine disappeared into the guise of Las Vegas Rabbi David Cohen. Now, in September of 2001, Sal wants out. He’s almost made enough money to slip away and start fresh, but when his cousin falls into the hands of a former FBI agent, he’s suddenly trapped in Las Vegas, with the law, society, and the post-9/11 world closing in around him. With the wit and gritty glamour that defines his writing, Goldberg traces how the things we most value in our lives have been built on the enterprises of criminals.
Interesting “Past and Present” Mystery:
The Last Day of Emily Lindsey
by Nic Joseph: This was a page-turner for me for two reasons: Even though it isn’t fabulism, it felt like it could be; the detective character was unique and intriguing. Detective Steven Paul was raised in foster care before being adopted by a loving couple and he’s spent his life with night terrors that no one can figure out, but that have taken a toll on his life. His wife divorced him and is making it difficult for him to see her son (who he’d raised with her), and an incident at work has his partner and boss doubting his ability and stability. Then he gets the case of a woman covered in blood and holding a knife who draws a symbol from his terrors–what is happening?! In between the current chapters of Paul trying to solve the case while keeping his life from crumbling any further are chapters with another storyline about a group of kids who are communally parented and are trying to solve a mystery of their own. Good read especially for fans of “then and now” and novels that mix adult and child POV.
Links Worth a Click:
On Book Riot: Inclusive Mystery/Thrillers From September and October (Some of the year’s best mysteries are on the list.)
Over on Bust: Rioter Jaime R. Herndon interviewed Sarah Perry: How “After The Eclipse” Author Sarah Perry Wrote A Memoir About Her Mother’s Murder
Rincey and Katie talk Miss Fisher’s Kickstarter and books, plus the mysteries they’ve recently finished and just picked up on Read or Dead.
Whoopsie: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sought an apology when the Who Shot Biggie & Tupac? documentary aired the wrong police photo.
Sarah Phelps is adapting Tana French’s 1st two novels in the Dublin Murder Squad (In the Woods ; The Likeness) for the BBC.
In true crime news: Thanks to DNA advances there’s finally been an arrest in a nearly 30 year cold case of a killer dressed as a clown having fatally shot Marlene Warren.
For fans of Dick Wolf (Law & Order creator): CBS ordered a 13-episode procedural for the 2018-19 season tentatively titled F.B.I.
Never a fan of authors talking about not being readers in what they write, but here’s an interview with Dan Brown on Origin, his 5th book in the Robert Langdon series. (And the book is officially released out into the wild so you can finally read it!)
Students Conquering Cold Cases: “At the University of Pittsburgh, there’s a student club devoted to solving crimes, one that’s taken seriously by law enforcement. And it’s run by young women.”
The Behind Her Eyes Author is Back with a YA Mean Girls Mystery:
13 Minutes
by Sarah Pinborough: 13 minutes is the amount of time Natasha was dead before being pulled from the river. She has no memory of how she ended up there or why she escaped from her bedroom window in the middle of the night. But her brush with death now has everyone wondering if she accidentally fell in, or if someone had tried to murder her? As the popular girl in school, her surviving has thrown the social order at school into chaos now that she’s back and reviving an old friendship with Becca, an outcast. But really how dangerous could a potential murderer be when you have to compete with mean girls?
Suspense With a Bite (Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse):
White Bodies
by Jane Robins: Callie is worried about her sister Tilda: She thinks Tilda’s boyfriend Felix is abusing her. There have been moments that she witnessed that don’t feel right and now her sister’s arms always seem to have bruises. But Tilda doesn’t want help, she’s in love and Felix is quickly becoming her everything. Callie, needing to do something, joins an online support group in hopes of getting advice on how to save her sister. After befriending two other members Callie finds herself in the unwanted position of being offered a trade: Felix will be murdered if Callie will murder another abusive spouse. What will Callie do?
Kindle Monthly Deal:
Good Behavior
by Blake Crouch is $1.99 (Con artist crime novel that has been adapted into a TNT series. You can stream the 1st season on Hulu and season 2 returns Sunday, Oct. 15 at 9/8c on TNT.)
I Have To Go Shopping Now:
I am Sherlocked Geekery Bicycle Art Print by DexMex
Nancy Drew Book Pin by JaneMount
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.
Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.
Happy Friday, explorers and ectoplasms! Today we’re talking about An Unkindness of Ghosts and the Riddle-Master trilogy, upcoming books for your list, short stories, space swag, and more.
This newsletter is sponsored by The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli.
Kristen Ciccarelli’s debut fantasy explores an intricately woven world that fantasy fans won’t be able to resist!
Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, is the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land. But no kill can free her from the shackles that await her at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient legends of the past than she ever could have expected.
Charles Yu has been a favorite author of mine since I read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, so I’m delighted he’s editing this year’s Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology. Wired interviewed him and John Joseph Adams, and there are some gems in here about the writing process, Westworld, and more.
Curious about what’s coming in October and should be on your list? Here’s a round-up of some highly recommended and inclusive sf/f, including today’s reviewed book An Unkindness of Ghosts!
Do you love short stories? Thea James of The Book Smugglers (and this sf/f-themed episode of Get Booked) has a list of six that you definitely need to read if you haven’t already.
Scientists unearthed 3.95-billion year-old evidence of life, and primordial life is definitely something that I now want science fiction about. Here is my question, though: is “historical” science fiction possible? (And I don’t mean steampunk or time travel.)
I know you love space-related swag because you’re getting this email. Here are 30 non-book things you might want to own or gift; sorry not sorry.
And now for some cheap e-books! Fledgling by Octavia Butler (a formative book for me) is only $3.99 right now on Kindle. And if you’re interested in Golden Age sci-fi, The Day of The Triffids is only $3.49 and is a weird and interesting read.
Today in reviews, we have a very timely and innovative sci-fi debut, and an immersive high fantasy series to get lost in.
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Trigger warnings for physical and sexual violence.
I love a generation-ship premise, so it’s no surprise that I was eager to read An Unkindness of Ghosts. What I wasn’t expecting was how Solomon takes a classic trope in a new direction, and does it with skill and verve.
Aster, the primary narrator, is a self-taught healer onboard the enormous spaceship Matilda, which has been traveling through space in search of a new home planet for many generations. Instead of creating a new society and culture, humanity has fallen back on its worst history. The upper decks are landscaped, lush, beautiful, and populated entirely by white people, while the lower decks arepopulated by the darker-skinned inhabitants of the ship: enslaved, rationed, and patrolled and abused by armed guards. Ruthless violence keeps them working for the upper-deckers, and a religious dictatorship enforces class and race order across levels.
Aster, a lower-decker, doesn’t have any plans to be a revolutionary. She says more than once that if she knew how to kill the Sovereign and blow up the ship, she would; in the meantime she takes solace in science and medicine. But when her friend Giselle points out a coded message in Aster’s dead mother’s diaries, everything begins to shift.
Aster is a neurodiverse character, who sees clearly enough the world around her but can’t always communicate like she wants or like others want her too. The web of relationships, fraught and tender, that Solomon has built around her are beautifully rendered and layered. The world-building is detailed, thoroughly envisioned, and all too familiar. I’m still processing my feelings about the ending. An Unkindness of Ghosts is the debut of a powerful new voice in science fiction, and a must-read for fans of Ursula Le Guin, NK Jemisin, Octavia Butler, and Margaret Atwood.
The Riddle-Master trilogy: The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip
I grew up reading Patricia McKillip — never very systematically, it always felt like I was discovering her by chance each time. I first found the Riddle-Master books whilst digging through the fantasy section in a used bookstore, and definitely bought them because of this cover. I started rereading them last week, and two decades later they’re even better than I remember.
The Riddle-Master of Hed is a classic high fantasy hero’s journey. Morgon of Hed has inherited the rulership after his parents’ sudden death, and he’s still learning to be kingly. Meaning, the book opens with him and his brother Eliard getting in a fist-fight in the rose bushes, at which point his sister Tristan empties a jug of milk on them. Morgon also won a crown in a riddle contest with a ghost, and the “prize” is the hand of Raederle of An, the second most beautiful woman in the realm. (Eyeroll, I know. BUT WAIT.) As he heads out on a journey to her court, he discovers that the three stars on his brow have marked him for a mysterious destiny, and shapechangers hidden for centuries are coming back to prevent him from fulfilling it. Classic, right? Where it gets interesting is in the sidelong humor (witness the rosebush fight) and depth of character that McKillip roots the story in.
And then things get even better in Heir of Sea and Fire. Morgon has gone missing, and Raederle is tired of waiting around to see what’s going to happen next. So she steals a ship with the help of Morgon’s sister Tristan and ultimate bad-ass Lyra of Herun and heads off on her own quest to find him. In the process, she finds out that her own history is far from what she thought, and that she has powers no one could have expected.
I am not, obviously, going to tell you anything about Harpist in the Wind.
Morgon and Raederle both fight their destinies every step of the way, regardless of the forces pushing them forward. The way they choose their battles; the choices they make when all the options are terrible; the way that they come to own themselves, even as they become unrecognizable to those around them; these are what makes The Riddle-Master series stand the test of time, and give me all The Feels to boot.
And that’s a wrap! 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.
So long and thanks for all the fish,
Jenn
Be An Upside Down Thinker! We have a Beatrice Zinker, UpsideDown Thinker Prize pack to give away!
One winner receives:
Copy of Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker
“Upside Down Thinker” beanie
And branded pencil case and notepad!
Here’s more about Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker:
Beatrice does her best thinking upside down.
Hanging from trees by her knees, doing handstands…for Beatrice Zinker, upside down works every time. She was definitely upside down when she and her best friend, Lenny, agreed to wear matching ninja suits on the first day of third grade. But when Beatrice shows up at school dressed in black, Lenny arrives with a cool new outfit and a cool new friend. Even worse, she seems to have forgotten all about the top-secret operation they planned!
Can Beatrice use her topsy-turvy way of thinking to save the mission, mend their friendship, and flip things sunny-side up?
Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click on the cover image below. Good luck!
Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by TarcherPerigee, publisher of Rescue Road by Peter Zheutlin.
In the follow-up to his New York Times bestseller Rescue Road, acclaimed journalist Peter Zheutlin offers a heartwarming and often humorous new look into the world of rescue dogs. Sharing lessons from his own experiences adopting Labs with large personalities as well as stories and advice from dozens of families and rescue advocates, Zheutlin reveals the surprising and inspiring life lessons rescue dogs can teach us. For anyone who loves, lives with, or has ever wanted a dog, this charming book shows how the dogs whose lives we save can change ours for the better too.
Today’s The Stack is sponsored by KOBANE CALLING, written and illustrated by Zerocalcare. In stores October 24.
Resistance is a force to be reckoned with …
The autobiographical memoir of a young Italian humor cartoonist who volunteers to support and observe the Kurdish resistance in Syria as a journalist and aid worker. He winds up in Ayn al-Arab, a majority-Kurd town in the Rojava region of Syria, on the front lines against the encroaching Islamic State, and there he receives a heartbreaking education into the Syrian Civil War.
Kobane Calling: Greetings from Northern Syria, is a detailed contemporary eye-witness account of the ongoing Syrian Civil War and the Kurdish struggle for independence from Syria and their other neighbors, and a travelogue through modern Turkey, Syria, and Kurdistan.
An Original Graphic Novel Memoir in Black and White
In Stores October 24 wherever great books are sold!
Inkitt’s (Not-So-) Secret Trick For Identifying Bestsellers
Berlin-based publishing company Inkitt recently raised $3.9 million to expand, and the internet is abuzz about the company’s ability to identify bestsellers. Forbes reported that Inkitt has so far published 24 Amazon Bestsellers (out of 37 total published books). The company’s CEO and founder Ali Albazaz said he studied the statistics of successful authors, including J.K. Rowling and Stephen King, who had been rejected multiple times by publishers, and decided to create a publishing house that made decisions based on reader engagement instead of connections or a track record. Basically, Inkitt collects and analyzes reader engagement data from their community-driven platform to identify successful manuscripts, and then puts marketing power behind those books. Next up, the company plans to focus its attention on audiobooks, print books in brick and mortar stores, and selling film rights.
The Literary Community Hosts An Auction For Puerto Rico
#PubforPR created an auction to benefit Puerto Rico’s relief efforts after Hurricane Maria, with authors, editors, illustrators, and literary agents contributing their time and talent to help raise funds. Marie Lu, Roxane Gay, and Rainbow Rowell are a few of the authors contributing to the fundraiser. Participants have the opportunity to bid on signed book bundles, personalized artwork, one-on-one conversations with editors or agents, and more. All of the funds will go to vetted local charity organizations, Unidos por Puerto Rico and ConPRmetidos.
Maybe We Won’t Be Getting That MY IMMORTAL Memoir
Earlier in September, Vox detailed the strange story of Rose Christo, the until-recently-anonymous alleged author of the infamous fanfic My Immortal. We also learned that Christo would publish her memoir Under the Same Stars: The Search for My Brother and the True Story of My Immortal in 2018. Well, according to Christo’s Twitter and Tumblr, that book isn’t happening after all. The Tumblr post states that the memoir will not be published because Christo altered documentation during the publication process to protect the identities of her family members. The details so far are vague. Between the theory that Lani Sarem of the Handbook for Mortals NYT Bestseller scandal wrote My Immortal, the troubling and unusual details of Christo’s past, and this recent update, I’d say this story can’t get any stranger. But that would be naive.
Thanks to Scout Press, publisher of The Visitors by Catherine Burns, for sponsoring today’s newsletter.
Catherine Burns’s debut novel explores the complex truths we are able to keep hidden from ourselves and the twisted realities that can lurk beneath even the most serene of surfaces.
Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother John in a crumbling mansion on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties, Marion does her best to live by John’s rules, even if it means turning a blind eye to the noises she hears coming from behind the cellar door…and turning a blind eye to the women’s laundry in the hamper that isn’t hers….
Book Riot’s birthday week is coming to a close. There’s just one day left to enjoy 25% off sitewide and get a free Book Riot logo tee when you spend $75 or more.
Keep scrolling for rad bookish gifts to put in your cart. And yes – all these deals can be combined!
Rock out in one of the Riot’s signature phrases with a limited-edition Books Are In My Wheelhouse tee.
And get $5 off any tote when you buy Lit Chat, our new card game for book lovers.
