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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Here for the Right Reasons
Author: Jodi McAlister
Released: July 6, 2022 by Simon & Schuster Australia
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: Marry Me, Juliet #1A hilarious and heart-warming romantic comedy that examines how the unlikeliest of loves can bloom in – well, the most likely of places. Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and The Spanish Love Deception.
When Cece James agrees to be cast as a ‘Juliet’ on the next season of the hit television show Marry Me, Juliet, it’s certainly not for the right reasons. She’s knee deep in debt and desperate for the associated paycheck. The last thing on her mind is the hunky ‘Romeo’ waiting for her at the end of the gravel driveway.
But Dylan Jayasinghe Mellor isn’t your usual fame-hungry TV star. An Olympic gold medallist with calloused hands, kind eyes and a propensity for panic attacks, it turns out he’s not here for the right reasons either. As spokesperson for a men’s mental health foundation, and the franchise’s first non-white male lead, Dylan’s got a charity to plug and something to prove.
When Cece gets eliminated on the first night, it seems like her and Dylan’s awkward first meeting will be their last conversation. But when the TV set is shut down unexpectedly, Cece and Dylan suddenly get a little more time together than they’d expected.
Will love bloom when the cameras stop rolling?
Jodi McAlister is a romance scholar and I’m so curious about her reality show romances. So far, though, these are only published in Australia with no ebook versions. Definitely check your preferred international book supplier.
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Pregnancy, Wrestling, & Dating
Author: Quiana Glide
Released: December 5, 2023 by LR Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceWriter’s block stands between Elle Hawthorne and writing a comic book adaptation for a streaming service. Searching for inspiration, she stumbles into a video game themed bar where she collides with pro wrestler Logan Smith. Maybe one night of a sexy distraction is all she needs to find her muse again…
Logan might’ve made a name for himself wrestling in Japan but hasn’t yet in America, even though he knows his career will come to an end as he ages. He should be focused on winning a championship belt and running the bar he opened with his friends, but Elle provides the perfect reason to let go just for one night…
Sparks fly between the two, but one night of fun leads to an unexpected pregnancy!
Elle and Logan insist that just because they’re having a baby, it doesn’t mean they have to be together. But desire and late-night cuddles are stronger than logic.
In between body slams and script deadlines can the pair find a way to make things work?
Saw this cover reveal on Twitter and I knew I had to share it! Also, can we get more wrestlers in romance?
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The Santa Pageant
Author: Lillian Barry
Released: November 1, 2023 by Broccoli & Basil Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceFor fans of Rachel Bowdler and Ashley Herring Blake, a second-chance holiday romance between a sunshiney lesbian and a chilly non-binary bisexual.
Ten years ago, best friends Effie and Tove kissed in the bushes at Winter Ball…and then stood there like lemons, as if they weren’t crushing on each other so hard it hurt. In the confusion, their friendship fizzled, and Tove walked into the sunset with some guy who had nice hair.
Now a cocksure twenty-five-year-old with secretly appalling self-esteem, Effie enters the Santa of the Year Pageant to prove to her unsupportive family that Santa could, in fact, be a lesbian. Enter Tove, the grumpiest Santa in the grotto, back on the island after a harrowing break-up with Nice Hair Guy and using the Pageant to reconnect with the world.
As the Pageant eliminates Santa after Santa, Effie and Tove clash over their past: the kiss that drove them apart, and the fears the last ten years have etched into their worldviews. Effie must let go of others’ opinions and learn to love herself, and Tove must move forward despite there being no guarantee they won’t be hurt again… Or they risk losing each other a second time.
Firstly, look at this beautifully, illustrated cover! This is a holiday romances with second chances and a Santa contest. Honestly tempted to pick it up for myself.
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The Thrifty Baker
Author: Hermine Dossou
Released: September 7, 2023 by White Lion Publishing
Genre: CookbookThe Thrifty Baker presents 65 delicious, affordable and impressive recipes, complete with gluten-free options, plus advice, tips and hacks covering many areas of shopping, baking and cooking in general. Filled with clever ideas and useful features, the book is written with a realism and empathy that comes from the heart, from a lived experience. It isn’t just a book of great recipes, but an essential manual for anyone baking today.
Since appearing on The Great British Bake Off in 2023 and wowing the judges, Hermine Dossou’s career has gone from strength to strength, but life hasn’t always been easy.
As a single mother to her son Steven, she had to learn to budget and make her income stretch, especially when he was young and she could only work part-time. With a limited income, but determined that they should both eat good, nutritious food, she learned how to shop, cook, bake and eat on a tight budget. This included making savings on ingredients and cooking equipment, devising clever, thrifty recipes, planning weekly menus, and running her oven as efficiently as possible to save on energy bills.
In the process Hermine has developed a wide-ranging ethos for baking on a budget, a set of values, habits and skills that have at their heart a belief that we can all eat flavourful, nutritious food without spending a fortune on ingredients and energy. And crucially also the knowledge that making our own bakes – whether that’s bread, pies, quiches, desserts, cakes or snacks – can save us considerable sums when times are tough.
Hermine still uses these skills to this day and would now like to share with you everything she’s learned about baking on a budget.
Sarah put this one on our radar! Hermine was a Great British Bake-Off contestant and this is all about baking on a budget.
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Congratulations, I saw that blurb and cover for PREGNANCY, WRESTLING, AND DATING and had to buy it. It just sounded fun and different. I don’t know when I’ll get to it, but I’ll try to get back to you!
OK, I want to read Pregnancy, Wrestling and Dating because it’s SO clear the mmc is based on Kenny Omega and I’m dying.
Ooh excited about The Thrifty Baker. Hermine is the perfect person to develop these kind of recipes. She was one of my favorite contestants. Thanks for flagging that one, I would have missed it.
I really enjoyed Here For the Right Reasons and Can I Steal You for a Second (which is f/f) which both take place during the same show but are very different stories. I definitely recommend them. These books are also set during a Covid lockdown, pre-vaccines.
Lisa F. I’m glad I’m not the only one making the Kenny Omega connection!
I might have to read it just to see how well the matches are written!
I was absolutely delighted to see Here For The Right Reasons get a shout-out here – and as something of a holiday miracle, my publisher has now made this series available in ebook in the US for a limited time!