Have some book recs with your turkey
Of course American Thanksgiving falls on Thirstday.
I swear I’m not going to do this every week, but I want to take a quick sec to give a shoutout to all the new subscribers who signed on between this week and last! I’m still not quite over the fact that there are so many of you who are interested in this thing and the response has been really, really encouraging — so again, THANK YOU. (Technically, this opener is kind of in the spirit of the holiday anyway, so that’s my reasoning.)
A quick note of clarification: Before we get to the recs (aka the part you’re all here for), one subscriber helpfully suggested that it might be a good idea for me to differentiate between which books are explicitly romance and which are technically fiction with romantic elements.
For those of you who might be new or newer to the genre, romance, according to the RWA, must include two important components to be defined as such: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. This either means that the romance will have a HEA (Happily Ever After, where the romantic pairing’s future is guaranteed forever and ever the end, usually via some kind of epilogue) or a HFN (Happy For Now, where the pairing ends up together but their future isn’t necessarily fast-forwarded to by the end of the book). A work of fiction can have a central love story, but if there’s no happy ending? Sorry, it doesn’t technically count as a romance, no matter what that guy in your English lit class claims about Romeo and Juliet.
Last week’s recs were all romances (with happy endings guaranteed), and future installments of this newsletter may include recs OUTSIDE of romance, but moving forward I’ll be clarifying the specific genres for each book just so there’s no confusion. Sound good? Good.
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
(contemporary romance)
I was a relative latecomer to Tessa Bailey, but once I picked up Fix Her Up earlier this year I knew I’d found a new auto-buy author. The main trope of the book — falling for your best friend’s little sister — is one I hadn’t really delved into either, but Bailey has a way of merging emotion, humor and plenty of steamy action that makes the central romance believable in a way that will hook you immediately. Georgette Castle (who goes by Georgie) works as a clown for kids’ birthday parties, but secretly dreams of opening her own event planning business. If only she could get the rest of her family to take her seriously and not just think of her as the “little sister” who can’t get her life together. Enter Travis Ford, Georgie’s former crush and professional baseball player, who finds himself back in town after an injury sidelines his career. He’s got his sights set on a potential commentating job, but he could use some good press to increase his chances of landing the gig — and then Georgie suggests the prospect of a fake relationship, both for the media attention and the respect of her family. There’s no way there’s any harm in that, right? Except for the fact that Georgie still might have feelings for her long-ago crush, and Travis is realizing that the girl he used to tease non-stop is a vibrant, full-of-life woman with dreams he might want to be a part of.
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
(historical romance)
I’m a sucker for intelligent and capable romance heroines, and Dunmore’s debut has one of the best examples I’ve read in recent memory. Annabelle Archer is attending the University of Oxford on scholarship, but she’s also doing something that her family likely wouldn’t approve of — joining the fight for women’s suffrage. Tasked with the mission of trying to sway powerful men of influence into championing their cause, she literally ends up throwing herself in the path of the stern Sebastian Devereux, also known as the Duke of Montgomery, and manages to leave quite the impression. Of course, when she’s eventually picked to get close to Montgomery herself, the real struggle occurs from trying not to let herself develop feelings for him. Meanwhile, the cold and reserved duke has been lowkey looking for a wife, but logic dictates that there’s no way a common bluestocking would make a suitable duchess. Dunmore’s beautiful prose elevates the dynamic of the love story to such a degree that I was moved by Sebastian’s struggle to embrace his emotion and the feelings he held for Annabelle, and the journey they take to open up to each other about their pasts and their respective commitment issues is as heartbreaking as it is ultimately satisfying.
Lies by Kylie Scott
(contemporary romance)
What if your fiance was secretly John Wick? OK, that’s a snapshot summary, but it’s the fastest way I can think of to describe this laugh-out-loud-funny, action-packed book from Scott that I almost had to read in one entire sitting. Betty Dawsey has sensed that her relationship with Thom Lange has run its course; he’s nice and all, but he’s just boring, and things in bed are missing the necessary sizzle factor. Turns out her unassuming fiance Thom isn’t who he’s been pretending to be when the condo they’ve been living in together explodes — right as she’s planning to dump him and walk out the door for good. From that moment on, Betty’s pulled headlong into the world Thom really lives in, but if she wants to stay alive, she’s going to have to put her trust in a man who might as well be a total stranger to her — a man who just so happens to be a secret agent. The whirlwind journey these two are forced into, while also being forced to reevaluate the fact that their entire relationship was built on Thom’s undercover identity, is a pretty great ride to take, with plenty of suspense mixed in to keep you guessing about what will happen next. (Small caveat that I really would’ve enjoyed a little more groveling on Thom’s part, especially once Betty finds out he’s been withholding his talents in *coughs* certain areas, but it’s a minor nitpick in the scheme of the whole story.)
The Winter King by C.L. Wilson
(fantasy romance)
I’ve recommended this one on other round-ups before, but it really is a lovely, rich romance read perfect for fans of epic fantasy; if you grew up on Tolkien, et al in terms of dense worldbuilding and want to dip your toes into a romance novel that bears that same kind of expansive similarity, this is a great place to start. The kingdoms of Summerlea and Wintercraig have been at war for the past three years, and Wintercraig’s king Wynter Atralian knows that victory will soon be at hand — a victory he intends to capitalize on by taking one of the three daughters of Summerlea’s king as his bride. But his battle with the Ice Heart, the power he embraced in order to avenge his brother’s death (and the loss that kickstarted the war between the two kingdoms to begin with) is only just beginning. Khamsin Coruscate, the fourth princess of Summerlea, has spent her life in exile confined to her father’s palace, but the king’s choice to secretly wed her to Wynter in place of one of her sisters may offer the freedom that she so desperately longs for — not to mention a chance at a passionate romance. This book definitely has an old-school romance novel feel but without any of the problematic elements of that era, and when Kham and Wynter are together on the page, they’re hot enough to melt even the harshest winter chill.
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.