Welcome to Book Beat!
Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.
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Girly Drinks
Author: Mallory O'Meara
Released: October 19, 2021 by Hanover Square Press
Genre: Nonfiction“At last, the feminist history of booze we’ve been waiting for!” —Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist
From Los Angeles Times bestselling author Mallory O’Meara comes a lively and engrossing feminist history of women drinking through the ages
Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colors and fruity flavors—these are the Girly Drinks.
From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?
With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book—and proudly have what she’s having.
Source: Sarah!
Sarah posted about this on Slack and she’s correct in that it’s relevant to our interests.
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Magic Dark, Magic Divine
Author: A.J. Locke
Released: November 15, 2021 by Entangled: Amara
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Warrior of the Divine Sword #1Falling asleep for almost 300 years was never part of Pennrae’s plan.
Of course, when you’re a mercenary with magical abilities and defy a spellbinding prophecy…bad stuff happens.
Now, magic is long gone from the world. So Penn works as a karate instructor, trying very hard to dodge her hot, flirty, and super annoying colleague, Callan. All is well until a Jigori – a nightmarish magic-eating monster – shows up at a New York City street fair, forcing Penn to use her Shaper magic, which allows her to transform wood and metal into deadly weapons.
Now, the Jigori’s master has her scent, and their eye on stealing her 300 years of life. If they succeed, Penn succumbs to centuries of sleep again, and magic will be unleashed on a completely unprepared world.
And to add to her ridiculously complicated life, something isn’t quite right with Callan. Which she could figure out if it weren’t for that evil, apocalyptic plot she’s trying to stop. But Penn may not have a choice – Callan could be the secret weapon she needs to save the world…
Source: Entangled reviewer newsletter
New urban fantasy series ahoy!
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Read Between the Lines
Author: Rachel Lacey
Released: December 1, 2021 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Ms. Right #1From award-winning author Rachel Lacey comes a playful romance about a Manhattan bookstore owner and a reclusive author who love to hate—and hate to love—each other.
Books are Rosie Taft’s life. And ever since she took over her mother’s beloved Manhattan bookstore, they’ve become her home too. The only thing missing is her own real-life romance like the ones she loves to read about, and Rosie has an idea of who she might like to sweep her off her feet. She’s struck up a flirty online friendship with lesbian romance author Brie, and what could be more romantic than falling in love with her favorite author?
Jane Breslin works hard to keep her professional and personal lives neatly separated. By day, she works for the family property development business. By night, she puts her steamier side on paper under her pen name: Brie. Jane hasn’t had much luck with her own love life, but her online connection with a loyal reader makes Jane wonder if she could be the one.
When Rosie learns that her bookstore’s lease has been terminated by Jane’s company, romance moves to the back burner. Even though they’re at odds, there’s no denying the sparks that fly every time they’re together. When their online identities are revealed, will Jane be able to write her way to a happy ending, or is Rosie’s heart a closed book?
Source: SBTB comments!
This one isn’t out until December 1st, but many of you mentioned it’s a First Reads pick for Amazon Kindle users.
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The Unofficial Bridgerton Cookbook
Author: Lex Taylor
Released: November 23, 2021 by Adams Media
Genre: CookbookDine like the lords and ladies and bring the high society meals and treats home with these 100 delicious recipes inspired by Netflix’s most-watched series of all time—Bridgerton.
Blue satin ball gowns, chocolates and high tea, five course meals with family, scandal, and romance. Welcome to the dashing world of Bridgerton. Grosvenor Square is buzzing with ladies and lords dressed to the nines, promenading in the park, and sharing lemonade at the evening’s ball. And while you might not be able to score the jewels and frocks of the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons, you can still eat like them with The Unofficial Bridgerton Cookbook.
From dazzling canapes, savory meat pies, sparkling wine, gooseberry pie, delicious finger sandwiches, and more, you’ll be eating like a Bridgerton in no time. Nevermind what Lady Whistledown says, it’s time to eat! These 100 recipes inspired by the delectable foods from Regency England will have you dining Duke and Duchess style with recipes like:
-Daphne’s Lemonade
-The Duke’s Gooseberry Pie
-Penelope’s Cucumber Sandwiches
-Queen Charlotte’s Cakes
-And many more!Now you can feast like high society and devour these delectable recipes perfect for any social event.
Source: Bookstore
I shelved this one this week, and considering the food talk that happens here, some of you may be interested in giving it a peek.
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I’d like to throw in a quick word for Cate C. Wells’s THE TYRANT ALPHA’S REJECTED MATE, a wolf-shifter romance that caught my eye when it was mentioned in the earlier November releases post. I’m about halfway through and so far I’m loving it: excellent world-building (especially wolf-pack politics); a scrappy and self-sufficient heroine, who refuses to give in to self-pity because of her damaged leg or the fact that she’s never been in heat or shifted; and an alpha hero, bordering on alpha-hole, who is completely baffled by the heroine claiming he is her mate. He doesn’t believe it, but the fates have other plans. And I love the way Wells describes how the MCs’ wolf personalities interact with their human (for want of a better word) hosts. She’s also good at stoking some nice sexual tension between h&h. If the story continues on this trajectory, I think it will be a favorite book of 2021 for me. Thank you to whoever mentioned it in the previous post.
OK, I need that Bridgeton cookbook! And also Read Between the Lines!
“Read Between The Lines” reminds me a lot of Melissa Brayden’s “Back To September” (which I loved) from that plot blurb. I love a good romance about Romance, so this one has been on my radar for a minute.
@DDD, thanks for the endorsement of The Tyrant Alpha’s Rejected Mate. I have it near the top of my TBR, and I’ll need to read it next.
Again, late to the discussion, but after serious contemplation about READ BETWEEN THE LINES, a total replay of YOU HAVE MAIL, I realized that while initially I would have given it a B or B+, I really admired the author’s (Rachel Lacey’s) excellent balance in presenting both the MC’s struggles and growth. In fact, I remember both of the MC’s HEA individually (and even separately) with the relationship just one small part of the equation. I would probably move the B/B+ up a notch to B+/A- given the post-reading reflection.
And @DDD, I’m currently reading THE TYRANT ALPHA’S REJECTED MATE (in KU) and I’m finding it really well done. Thanks for the rec.
@Qualisign: I finished it yesterday and immediately added it to my list of favorite books of 2021. I hope Wells will continue to write about the Quarry pack. I’d especially like to read about Kennedy, the woman who, when she shifts, becomes a male wolf. That should be a very interesting book.
@DDD-I read the book yesterday, and really enjoyed it! I think I saw she has the next book title, so hopefully she will be writing more about the
Quarry Pack. Now I’m reading her Steel Bones series, I’m on the third one, Scrap. Thanks for spotlighting a new to me author!