You know what your inbox needs? Some romance recs
Good thing I'm here to deliver exactly that.
Hi, friends! I hope you’ve all been staying well, safe, and sane since the last time you got one of these. (Also warm, if you’re living in a place where the winter has been particularly brutal this year. ) I haven’t had a very strong winter since I moved away from New York, and a part of me truly does miss snow, but more than that, I miss enjoying a snowfall from somewhere safe and warm and inside — preferably while curled up with a good book. See what I did there? It all comes back around to the purpose of this newsletter. (Did you know we’re at 850+ subscribers now? That’s still so wild to me, but thank you for being here.)
With February nearly behind us now, is it too soon to say that the Bad Romance Takes haven’t been as bad as they could have been? I’m a little disappointed that I couldn’t contribute more to countering them (I had a few cold pitches out to various places that unfortunately went unanswered), but my hope is that if you’re reading this newsletter, you’ve found some alternative options that won’t fill you with rage and loathing. At this point, it’s way better to amplify the good and critical romance perspectives than the ones that approach the genre from a place of willful misunderstanding to begin with.
Also: The 2020 Ribbies were finally announced! As previously mentioned here, I was one of the judges on the voting committee this year, and I’m so honored to have gotten to participate many of the reviewers, readers, and critics whose work I respect so much. I think the winners are truly representative of the possibilities romance has, as well as its ability to comfort in the height of an arguably tough year:
Romance-related links you might enjoy reading this week:
I Can’t Believe People Are Still Questioning if Romance Novels are “Real Books,” Cosmopolitan.com; You Should See Me in a Crown author Leah Johnson on why loving romance shouldn’t be qualified as a guilty pleasure.
8 Books With Delicious Use of the Only One Bed Trope; ALoveSoTrue.com; Me! Recommending some books with my favorite trope! Also features my new favorite imagery description of how tropes work for me as a reader.
Social media creators are pushing the boundaries of the opulent world of Bridgerton, BostonGlobe.com; It’s me! In the freaking Boston Globe this week! Talking about how the Bridgerton fandom has really pulled off some creative things inspired by this show, including Bridgerton the Musical on TikTok.
A Lady’s Formula For Love by Elizabeth Everett
(historical romance; content warning for attempted murder)
This is one of those books that will grab you from the very first sentence and then tug you along nonstop like a hand on your sleeve — and the best part is, all you have to do is settle in and enjoy the ride. Lady Violet Hughes has been using the front of a secret “ladies’ club” in her home to provide a safe haven for women who are interested in the sciences; any one of the society’s members is free to experiment on anything under the sun. But there’s a threat lurking around her labs, and with her safety in mind, protection officer Arthur Kneland is brought in to serve as her personal bodyguard. The stoic Scotsman has always kept his responsibilities as a protection officer before any personal attachments, but the longer he spends in Violet’s company, the more he can’t deny his own growing attraction to the eccentric widow. If you like your love stories with a dash of mystery, that’s here too, as Arthur’s forced to investigate the threats against Violet very personally. I said this on Twitter, but people who were probably hoping for more kissing on Miss Scarlet and the Duke will definitely be happy with this book; it’s a mature romance with older characters, dialogue that crackles with wit, and lots of fun chemistry both in and out of the bedroom.
How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
(contemporary romance; content warnings for past abusive romantic relationship, attempted sexual assault)
SO. This is one of those books that is definitely heavier than the cover may imply, but it was also one of those books that, once I started it, I did NOT want to stop reading for anything, and that’s always a marker of a great romance for me. There are a lot of familiar tropes in here (the main character wants to make a to-do list in order to get out there and live life more, for example), but Williams offers them up in a fresh and fun way, with a chemistry between leads that will ultimately put a smile on any reader’s face. Professor Naya Turner needs a night out for once, and when she meets a handsome stranger in a bar, she realizes he might be the perfect person to help her check off some things on her list. Soon, she’s growing closer to Jake than she ever thought was possible, but an unexpected link between them might threaten her position at the university where she works — and not only that, but her abusive ex is back in town. Will Naya have to make a choice between her career and an exciting new romance, or will she decide to plunge into the unknown with the one person who breathed new excitement into her life?
Love at First by Kate Clayborn
(contemporary romance; content warnings for past familial death (off-page))
Another absolutely unputdownable book from Clayborn, whose romances seem to be exactly what I need right when I need them. Her prose is just singularly good, and she has a way of writing about relationships that manages to perfectly capture all of those butterfly feelings you get when love is at its newest and most exciting. Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling sort of saw the girl of his dreams perched on an apartment balcony, but couldn’t work up the nerve to talk to her. Years later, when he finds himself back at that same building dealing with an unexpected inheritance, he realizes the woman two balconies above his own is uncannily familiar. Nora Clarke is definitely taken aback by the handsome stranger who’s just taken over her former neighbor’s apartment, but she’s not about to let her attraction to him ruin the tight-knit community that lives in the building — so she sets out to throw a wrench into his effort to offload his unit at every available opportunity. This book is one-sided-childhood-crush-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, which sounds like a tricky tightrope to walk and it IS, but one that Clayborn navigates with unparalleled ability. There were so many lines in this book I wanted to commit to memory, and by the end, I was a verifiable weepy mess. It's entirely possible that this is my new favorite of Kate Clayborn's and I want to push it into everyone's hands.
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.