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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In a Not So Perfect World
Author: Neely Tubati Alexander
Released: March 19, 2024 by Harper Perennial
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceA delightful Caribbean-set romp about an ambitious designer of apocalyptic video games with a strategy for (almost) everything who discovers what happens when her best-laid plans go off course…
Sloane Cooper is up for her dream job as a designer for a top video game company. During the interview, though, she somehow promises the all-male panel that she’ll remain single and fully dedicated to the work. It’s actually fine—after her last boyfriend cheated on her, she vowed to focus on her career anyway.
Enter Charlie, aka Hot Neighbor Guy, a near-stranger who shocks her with the offer of an all-inclusive trip to a Turks and Caicos resort. The catch? Charlie originally planned the trip with his ex, and asks Sloane to pose as his new girlfriend to make his old flame come running back. Against her better judgment, Sloane says yes; she can use the time away to develop a game design that will dazzle the Catapult team and get her a job offer.
Despite sparks flying in paradise, the trip can’t lead to more. As their connection deepens, Sloane is reminded that she can’t fall for Charlie and get knocked off her professional path. Besides, he’s trying to win back his true love. Can Sloane figure out a way to move past heartbreak, land the job of her dreams, and avoid catching feelings? The zombie apocalypse would be easier to solve—at least she’s prepared for that.
A video game designer fakes a relationship with her neighbor while on a vacation!
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The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck
Author: Kylie Scott
Released: February 6, 2024 by Graydon House
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance“Be quiet and listen: He is cheating on you. The name of your soulmate is Alistair George Arthur Lennox. You will be passed over for the promotion. The winning numbers are 5-8-12-24-39-43. And I’m very sorry to tell you this, but you will die next Sunday.”
When Lilah Goodluck saves the life of Good Witch Willow as they’re crossing a busy L.A. street, the last thing she expects is five unwanted predictions as a reward. Who gives someone the winning lotto numbers then tells them they’ve only got a week to live? And who believes in that nonsense anyway?
But when the first three predictions come true within twenty-four hours, Lilah’s disbelief turns to mild panic. She’s further horrified when she nearly runs a car off the road that belongs to Alistair Lennox, who just happens to be the illegitimate son of the British king.
While Alistair is intrigued by her preposterous story, Lilah is adamant about resisting the heat between her and the playboy prince. If she denies he’s her soulmate, then the last prediction can’t come true, right? As the days count down, they become maybe friends…and then maybe more. But between the relentless paparazzi and some disapproving royals, finding time for love isn’t easy, especially when her days may be numbered.
Red White and Royal Blue meets The Last Holiday in this delightfully quirky novel from the New York Times bestselling author of End of Story, about a woman who unexpectedly finds “fall in love with a prince” at the top of her bucket list.
Kylie Scott’s books have been frequently recommended on the site, and I feel like this one flew under the radar.
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Northranger
Author: Rey Terciero
Released: June 6, 2023 by HarperAlley
Genre: Gothic, Graphic Novel, LGBTQIA, Romance, Young AdultIn this swoony and spooky teen summer romance graphic novel set on a Texas ranch, sixteen-year-old Cade Muñoz finds himself falling for the ranch owner’s mysterious and handsome son, only to discover that he may be harboring a dangerous secret.
Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary—but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas—real life can be way scarier.
When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there—in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.
But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get…complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother’s death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. Inspired by the gothic romance of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Bloom comes a modern love story so romantic it’s scary.
This is a queer, YA graphic novel inspired by Northanger Abbey!
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The Temple of Persephone
Author: Isabella Kamal
Released: February 20, 2024 by Blackstone Publishing
Genre: Historical: European, Regency, RomanceBridgerton meets Greek mythology in Isabella Kamal’s delightful historical romance debut, The Temple of Persephone.
Persephone Honeyfield is witty, intelligent, and very aware that the only way to escape the monotony of the life she shares with her father and sister in the English countryside—and the wagging, ever-critical tongues of the people around her—is through marriage. She also knows the likelihood of it being a love match is nearly zero.
Aidon Barrington has carried on the legacy of his family’s funeral furnishing business, losing himself in the process. A shell of his former charming self, he’s traded his reputation as a rake for that of a recluse and regularly appears in the scandal sheets as London’s mysterious Lord of the Dead.
When Persephone finds herself at Gallowsgate—the old Barrington estate—on a seemingly simple errand, an unexpected run-in with the Lord of the Dead himself leaves her on the brink of ruination. With no other way to silence the village rumor mill, or save her sister’s reputation, Persephone agrees to marry Aidon, becoming the wife of a man she hardly knows.
Persephone finds herself increasingly fascinated by her new husband, whose kind, patient nature stands in stark contrast to the ever-swirling rumors about him. But when the gossip begins to sound more like reality than fiction, she attempts to uncover the truth behind the Lord of the Dead while discovering she may have already lost her most guarded possession: her heart.
This is a Persephone/Hades retelling in a Regency romance package. I find the cover to be much brighter than what I’d assume for a retelling like this.
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I agree with your comment about the Persephone cover, but also my first thought was “looks like a Bridgerton cover.” I so look forward to the day (however far in the future) when Marketing Forces seize on something else to compare every romance to or try to make every cover look like (/hyperbolic rant off/)
It’s genuinely refreshing to see a contemporary with a plot point about someone promising to remain single for their job instead of needing to marry immediately for their job, because although I’ve never heard of it happening, it feels much truer to modern work culture.
I’d be excited for the Persephone book if it…actually included a Demeter figure? How do you do this myth without Demeter?
Northanger sounds adorable! I have that and Lilah on my TBR
I have a new M/M contemporary romance novella releasing March 23 from JMS Books LLC: THIRD TIME LUCKY by Alexandra Caluen. Inspired in part by my experience of watching ‘Of An Age’ and ragefully deciding to write my own version in which there’s a HEA. 🙂
I love Kylie Scott so I’m admittedly a bit biased but I really enjoyed The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck. It struck just the right tone – not played for laughs, but also not weighed down or too angsty. Lilah was strong and refreshing, matter of fact and somewhat skeptical of the prediction, but also giving it enough credence that she was willing to shake up her life for a week just in case.
All of them. I want ALL of them this month.
@Star It sounds SO plausible, though honestly I’d expect that hiring committee to straight up say “no women, they make non-job commitments in life.” I’m acquainted with a man with that exact perspective, and there’s been at least one r/legaladvice post that revealed the boss to see women that way.