A smaller holiday bundle of recs
Your intrepid newsletter writer returns!
Hello, all! After a brief albeit somewhat unexpected hiatus due to an equally unexpected bout of winter illness (JUST in time for some holiday traveling; I did not want to be That Person flying sick before Christmastime but it was somewhat unavoidable), I’ve returned! Hopefully, you had a relaxing holiday if you celebrate, or a stress-free week if you don’t — and really, there’s no better time to treat yourself to some winter reading than right the heck now, so I’ve assembled some of my favorite recent-ish reads (with a pair of books I read earlier this year) on this, the last Kissing Books installment of 2019. Can you believe it?!
Note: If the book links look a little different this time around, it’s because yours truly is an official IndieBound affiliate now! So if you like any of my recs and feel inclined to buy it through my Kissing Books-specific link, I’ll receive a little kickback in return. No pressure, of course, but it’s never a bad time to support your local indie bookstore anyway.
So, if you’re a member of Romancelandia or romance-adjacent and relatively active on social media, you’ve probably noticed the absolute chicanery happening within the RWA (Romance Writers of America) and the recent suspension (and later rescinding of said suspension) against author Courtney Milan. (If you need a primer on the whole thing, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has a pretty succinct write-up — along with periodic updates as the situation continues to unfold — right here.) It’s difficult to put my own feelings into words right now, especially since it’s still a very active and burning dumpster fire, but what I will say is that as a reader, I’ve chosen to lend my support with my dollars and buy some of the books by the authors who have been negatively impacted by the circumstances. It’s a small silver lining, but I’ve found some great new-to-me voices in romance and I’m really excited to read them all.
Enticed by Chanta Rand
(contemporary romance)
This fun and flirty novella is full of all the things I love in a romance — chief among them being the killer banter between its leads, and we all know what that leads to, amirite? Action star Lucas Stone isn’t afraid of anything — except, well, maybe the big c-word (commitment), but he’s got plenty of women who would be willing to throw themselves at his feet for just one night with him. When he winds up literally running into photographer Nyla Maxwell on his flight, he thinks he just might have met his match. Too bad she can’t stand him one little bit. The chemistry between Lucas and Nyla is off-the-charts fun, and I really appreciate a romance novel about a plus-size heroine that doesn’t necessarily focus on her weight but doesn’t shy away from exploring any of the very real thoughts and issues she would explore. At one point, Lucas and Nyla pretend to be engaged so she can accompany him to his father’s wedding, and you all probably know how I feel about fake engagements by now if you don’t already. I’ll never say no to a romance heroine who can keep her love interest on his toes, either, or a hero who doesn’t understand why this one woman doesn’t give a hoot about him and finds himself compelled by her as a result. If you want a quick, immersive read about finding love in paradise while it’s cold and wintery outside, this is a great pick.
The Brothers Sinister series by Courtney Milan (link leads to #1, The Duchess War)
(historical romance)
I’ve been a Courtney Milan fan for almost as long as I’ve been reading romance; she was one of the first authors I read in the historical subgenre, and honestly, it’s been pretty tough for me to find anyone who can top her brilliance. She’s basically an auto-buy author with me, which is why this whole situation with the RWA feels additionally discouraging and heartbreaking in equal measure, but it’s given me a renewed drive to dive back into reading her stuff and I know I’m never going to emerge disappointed. If you’re looking for a place to start with Milan, the Brothers Sinister series is a great jumping-off point (and if you really want to get a good sense of what to expect, you can also read the prequel novella,The Governess Affair, a great love story between two very hard-headed people with a very emotionally satisfying payoff). My personal favorite in the series is book #3, The Countess Conspiracy, about Sebastian, a notorious yet educated rake who has been passing off his longtime friend Violet’s scientific theories as his own for years and what happens when he threatens to dissolve their scheme for good.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
(contemporary romance)
The first time I ever read this debut from Helen Hoang, I knew I’d found an author who was going to be an automatic buy for me from now on. For Stella Lane, math and numbers and algorithms are safer than the dating scene, but her reluctance to get romantically involved with anyone is complicated further by the fact that she has Asperger’s — and physical intimacy is something she doesn’t even want to entertain, but she’s not getting any younger so she might as well get it over with. In the hopes of being able to check some life experience off, she decides to hire a professional to show her the ropes, which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. Their relationship is supposed to be no-nonsense, just like running down a list of items — but the more time they spend together, the more they realize their arrangement might be based more in feelings than anything that should be a logical, transactional exchange. Stella and Michael are a couple you want to see explore all the ins and outs of their relative issues with intimacy — and the ways in which they realize they bring out the best in each other by the very end of that HEA.
Kissing Books is a weekly newsletter about, well, exactly what it sounds like, plus other non-romance novels that might have varying levels of smooching in them. Questions? Comments? Reply to this email, or find me on Twitter @carlylane. If you’re reading this on Substack or someone forwarded this email to you, consider clicking that helpful button to become a regular subscriber.