Romances that will make you feel All The Feels
AKA Carly talks about some of the books she read while she was in the woods.
Friends! Subscribers! Romance lovers! No doubt you’ve been oh so patiently waiting for the next installment of this newsletter, which was delayed for various and sundry reasons — the biggest one being that I decided to take a short sojourn up to the mountains of northern Georgia for the opportunity to disconnect, play board games, and read as many romance novels as I could reasonably get through, all while spending time in a very minimalist cabin that only boasted a bed, a small kitchen, an equally tiny bathroom, and a fire pit outside that we cooked all our meat on like cavepeople. It was GLORIOUS.
Our only complaint was a minor ladybug infestation, but apart from that (we WERE in the middle of the woods, after all), having the chance to exist largely without our phones or the internet was exactly the mental reset that my husband and I needed. Would highly recommend if you’re looking for something on the more remote side; it was honestly so liberating to be staying in a place where we didn’t have to worry about wearing masks or getting too close to any other people, even for a handful of days.
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
(contemporary romance; content warnings for fatphobia and fat shaming as well as emotional abuse from parental figures)
This book is a love letter to both fandom and the value of online communities and romance. I pretty much had a smile on my face from beginning to end, and it's so refreshing to read a fandom-centric romance where mediums like fanfic are handled with respect and love and not any kind of disdain. I've written before about how I feel like there's such a cross-section of potential for the fandom and romance communities to support one another (especially considering how many romance authors get their start IN fanfiction!), and this is the perfect example of what happens when the two intertwine for a sweet, body-positive, swoony, steamy story. TV star and actor Marcus Caster-Rupp may play a dreamy lead on Gods of the Gates (the Game of Thrones winks jump OUT in this book, and they are HILARIOUS), but he has a secret of his own: he writes and publishes fanfiction as a way to rectify places where he thinks the show went wrong. When he notices a fan of the series has posted her cosplay photos on Twitter — and is getting all the predictable responses from dudebros — he decides to ask her out on a date to spite the haters. But what Marcus doesn’t know is that April Whittier has been one of his longest-running online friends in the GotG fanfic community — and when he learns the truth for himself, he has to decide whether he can share his biggest secret with her or if this match made in fandom will fizzle out before it truly starts.
To Catch an Earl by Kate Bateman
(historical romance)
I’ve already recommended the first book in this series, This Earl of Mine, but with the release of the follow-up in the Bow Street Bachelors series, Bateman has officially solidified her place as one of my new favorite histrom authors. If it’s tropes you want in your romance, then look no further — because Bateman will deliver a truckful to you in every single book. Alex Harland never asked to be Earl of Melton, but with his new title in his back pocket, he’s been assigned to a new case too — investigating the mysterious thief known as the Nightjar, who’s been behind some of the most notorious thefts to reclaim France’s crown jewels. Little does he know that the person behind the stealing is the mysterious woman he also hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since they shared a single kiss at a masquerade party four years ago. Emmy Danvers has taken up the mantle of the Nightjar since the passing of her father, but now she has to navigate her long-running feelings for Harland and try to stay one step ahead of him — while stealing the last set of jewels in her sights in order to protect her family’s reputation from a blackmailing enemy. This was such a FUN read, with lots of simmering tension, clever repartee, and engaging cat-and-mouse shenanigans between heroine and hero. I really love Bateman’s use of classic romance tropes for even more memorable effect (my all-time fave of “only one bed” pops up in very distinctive fashion here), and I always enjoy reading histroms about characters who aren’t necessarily part of the aristocracy (the hero is titled, but it’s more something that’s bestowed on him for service than anything he was born into).
Press Play by Ash Dylan
(contemporary romance)
I love it when Twitter plot bunnies conjure up one of the biggest emotional journeys of a romance I’ve read this year. Seriously, y’all, this one is a novella and somehow manages to pack the punch of a FULL-ON novel (while boasting some super-steamy love scenes to boot). Reviewer and professor Riley Daniels thought taking her friend and roommate Paul Holder to the movies would be a good idea, especially since he’s still getting over a breakup. When they both spot an ad for an amateur adult video contest, they come to the conclusion that a little sex between friends couldn’t hurt anything, right? And once they’ve gotten the footage they need, they’ll both go their separate ways. Never mind that they’ve both been harboring secret feelings for each other for almost the entire time they’ve been roommates — or the fact that once they start baring themselves to one another, they’re not sure they ever want to stop. This was hot, hot, HOT, with so much tension and pining, laying the emotional groundwork in the background the entire time to render the HEA that much more satisfying. The premise alone hooked me, but the story itself slayed me.
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.