We're back with more romances to provide some escape

Because, let's face it: things are A Lot right now.

Hi, friends! The past week or so has felt like an eternity, hasn’t it? Unofficially, I took a break from sending out a new version of the newsletter last Thursday because, what with everything that’s been happening here in the U.S., it didn’t feel like the right time — and if I’m being honest, I didn’t have much mental energy to devote what I could spare to reading. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that things are totally back to normal, but I wanted to make sure I had good books to recommend to you all, so the good news is we’re back up and running this week! I hope you’re all staying safe, staying healthy, and taking care of yourselves in whatever way that looks like. Maybe you need an opportunity or five to spend the time reading a romance novel?

In addition to reading, I’ve definitely been leaning on escapism through TV shows; I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t wholeheartedly encourage everyone to watch both Dickinson (an irreverent and modern take starring Hailee Steinfeld as the famous poet herself) and Ted Lasso (a wonderfully sincere comedy with a charmingly non-toxic male lead played by Jason Sudeikis), as well as A Discovery of Witches (I haven’t actually read the books by Deborah Harkness yet, but the show seems to be leaning fully into those star-crossed romance vibes — the leads are a vampire and a witch who fall in love in spite of all the odds — and the new season involves time travel, if any of that sounds appealing to you). Next up is Crash Landing on You, which several people from Romancelandia have enthusiastically recommended to me and which looks Extremely My Sh*t.

LOOK AT THESE ADORABLE BABES. Also, apparently they just started dating in real life? You can’t fake that kind of chemistry, I’m telling you.

Romance or romance-adjacent links you might be into this week:

• I’m a Romance Novelist Who Writes About Politics — And I Won’t “Stay In My Lane,” OprahMag.com; Alyssa Cole (also recced downward in this email) is someone whose opinions about romance I always want to read.

• How Bridgerton flipped the script on The Duke and I, WashingtonPost.com; Dr. Vanessa Riley, herself a romance author, shares her thoughts on how the Netflix adaptation is so much more than its source material.

• Shondaland’s Regency: On Bridgerton, LAReviewofBooks.org; Associate Professor of English Patricia A. Matthew writes an insightful examination of the new series.

• 10 Romance Novels to Read After Binging Bridgerton, Vulture.com; last but not least, I got to have my first solo byline on Vulture doing one of the things I love most: recommending books!

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The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

(fantasy/historical romance)

I’ve always been a sucker for alternate-history worlds in romance; I was already familiar with Polk thanks to her fantastic Kingston Cycle series, but this standalone story promises everything you love about the Regency plus its own incredible worldbuilding and magic system to really make it stand out from the rest. Beatrice Clayborn dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus, but she has to practice magic in secret; women are forbidden from performing any significant casting in a patriarchal society, and when they are married they are locked into a marital collar that subdues their powers. But her family is in serious debt and the creditors are already knocking, so marriage to a wealthy man could save the people she loves. In her pursuit of a hidden grimoire, the book gets snatched from her by a rival sorceress, Ysbeta Lavan, and in an attempt to get it back, Beatrice makes a bargain with a summoned spirit. Its condition? To secure a kiss by midnight — and with her adversary’s brother, Ianthe. But as Beatrice becomes more and more entangled with the Lavan family, she realizes that she cannot easily make the choice between marriage and her identity as a sorceress as she originally believed — especially when she might be marrying for love after all.

When a Rogue Meets His Match by Elizabeth Hoyt

(historical romance; content warnings for familial death mentioned (occurs in the past) and the hero struggles with post-traumatic stress)

There’s somewhat of a misconception that histroms are all dukes and earls and lords — that’s partly true, but I’m always on the lookout for books that boast characters who don’t necessarily live in that world, because it often leads to some fascinating interpersonal dynamics on-page. Enter When a Rogue Meets His Match, the latest in author Elizabeth Hoyt’s Greycourt series. I wasn’t as invested or as into the first installment, but this one sparked for me pretty much from the first page. Gideon Hawthorne has worked his way up from the streets of St. Giles to become the Duke of Windermere’s fixer, completing every task that’s required of him no matter how dirty his hands might become — but right when he’s ready to leave the Duke’s employ and strike out on his own, he’s asked to perform one last job: marry the Duke’s beautiful niece. Messalina Greycourt is shocked at her uncle’s request, but eventually strikes a bargain with the imposing Hawthorne, that theirs will be a marriage in appearance only. Of course, the closer she gets to the seemingly closed-off man, the more she starts to see who he truly is beneath the dangerous veneer.

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

(contemporary romance)

Cole is an author who can genuinely do it all — from terse thrillers to deftly-plotted romances, she’s become an auto-buy for me, and part of the fun of following her as a reader is discovering the brilliance of whatever future novels she has in store for us. It takes skill to tell a story like this one — a modern-day marriage of convenience! — and for it to genuinely resonate because of its tropes and how they’re reenvisioned. When Shanti Mohapi weds the king of Njaza, she thinks her dream of becoming a queen might have finally come true. But being married isn’t the fairytale she thought; her subjects consider her an outsider and more often than not, she’s encouraged more to be seen and not heard. Meanwhile, King Sanyu is having some growing pains adjusting to his new role after the death of his father led to his inheriting the throne. Taking Shanti as his wife is a necessary requirement, but he doesn’t expect he’ll actually fall in love with her — or that she might have all the answers to help him fix his failing kingdom, but only if they embark on a true partnership together.

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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, or leave a tip on Ko-fi.