
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.

The Friendship Study by Ruby Barrett is $2.99! This was mentioned in both Hide Your Wallet and Dahlia’s monthly roundup of queer romances. Did any of you pick this up?
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Christine M. Larson is the author of the new book Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success, published by Princeton University Press. This book is NIFTY – it’s about us! I was interviewed for it, and we are going to talk about ALL The Things, from identity-driven ethics of care to RWA to the need for “a collective unified body for creative people.” Come for the … Continue reading 624. Academic Research about Romancelandia with Christine M. Larson →

American Royalty by Tracey Livesay is $1.99! This is a contemporary romance with a royal hero and famous singer heroine. I personally love the cover, but I know on Cover Awe, some felt it had “uncanny valley” vibes.
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This guest post is from Crystal Anne with An E. She comes to us from a sunny clime, but prefers to remain a pale indoor cat. She enjoys reading, cross-stitching something nerdy, going to see live music, and playing video games. She works as an autism consultant by day, got a degree in information science for fun, and currently serves on her local library advisory board. Ed. note: TW/CW: depictions of violence in the video … Continue reading The Continuing Adventures of the Middle-Aged Gamer: Doing a Leap of Faith into Assassin’s Creed →
Welcome back to Wednesday Links! We are roasting here in New England! I’ve been going hard on lots of crisp, fresh salads. My partner and I are in the midst of lots of planning – ring designing, elopement planning, house buying stuff. Wow, is it overwhelming and not super easy to find a central list of resources. However, we’ve started doing Planning Tuesdays, where we dedicate an hour or so on Tuesday evenings to whittle … Continue reading Links: Bridgerton, Clay Crafts, & More →

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams is $1.99! One of Williams’ other romances also has a Netflix adaptation. I remember this working well as a gateway book for people to give contemporary romances a try.
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It’s been a minute since we checked in with your viewing recommendations – so, what are you watching lately? It is HOT where I am, with my phone going off with heat advisories and all sorts of uncomfortable nonsense, so I’ve started a few new programs and am very curious what everyone’s been enjoying. While I had COVID, I started watching Sister Boniface Mysteries, in part because of Lara’s very enthusiastic post. So many of you echoed … Continue reading Whatcha Watching? →

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter is $2.99! This was mentioned on a previous Hide Your Wallet and features two characters who get hired to shout “I object” at weddings. Did any of you pick this up?
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This HaBO is from Obsessed Southern Mama, who hopes to track down this book: So I read a book awhile back that had a single mom with an infant and some fake dating/forced proximity. These are some other details but I’m not 100%. It was a sports (possibly hockey) romance where the heroine gets involved with her brother’s teammate/best friend. Basically the scene I remember is she was at a farmers market (either with the … Continue reading HaBO: Hockey Player Fake Dates at the Farmer’s Market →