After the Dragons is a subtle, tender love story set in a near-future Beijing in which dragons are as real as the climate change which has brought drought to the city. Eli, the biracial son of two professors, has come to Beijing as an exchange student, wanting to learn more about the city that his grandmother loved too much to leave, even when faced with a terminal diagnosis. Kai has received the same diagnosis as … Continue reading After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang →
How can it be that it has taken me this long to discover Thirsty Mermaids, the graphic novel by Kat Leyh? This bawdy, body positive, inclusive story is my new favorite, and I’ve been reading a lot of mermaid stuff recently so that’s saying a LOT. When mermaids Pearl, Tooth, and Eez decide to use magic to become human, they only plan to be human for long enough to get some booze. But once Eez … Continue reading Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh →
The Queen’s Bargain by Anne Bishop is $1.99! This book was mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet and is part of the Black Jewels series. I didn’t keep up with the series as a whole, so I’m unsure how this fits in. I think it focuses on secondary characters now, but correct me I’m wrong?
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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.
This post is brought to you by Kobo Plus! Some links may be affiliate coded, which brings a portion of your purchase back to us at no extra charge to you. Thank you to Rakuten Kobo and Kobo Plus! Hey, Canadian readers! This post is only for you. Just you, no one else. If I’ve done things correctly, only you and I will be able to see this post. Just you! Why? Because I’m going to … Continue reading Hey, Canadian Folks! Have You Checked Out Kobo Plus? →
Feral Creatures is the sequel to one of my favorite books, Hollow Kingdom. I liked Feral Creatures a great deal, but it very much has the feel of a middle book in a series (which it is) given that it relies too much on Hollow Kingdom to work as a stand alone and it has a cliffhanger ending. As a stand alone, it probably is good but not life-changing, but as part of a series … Continue reading Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton →
YA Author, reviewer, and editor Dahlia Adler joins me to talk about all the Badass Anthologies she’s editing, about her upcoming book, Home Field Advantage, and her latest, Cool for the Summer. And, inspired by a recent Instagram pic of her Bantam Love Stories collection, we also talk about vintage YA romances. Stay tuned for the outro where I have a special announcement of a new podcast project inspired by this conversation! TW/CW: discussion of … Continue reading 475. Badass Anthologies and Vintage YA with Dahlia Adler →
Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase is $2.99! This is the first book in the Carsington Brothers series, which I know is beloved here. Which book in the series is your favorite? Do you think they hold up?
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Trigger warning for on-page suicide attempt Claudia and I (CarrieS) are suckers for good historical fiction, good historical romance, and Beauty and the Beast retellings. So we were excited about At Summer’s End, in which an artist (Bertie, short for Alberta) takes a job at an English estate following WWI and meets an isolated, traumatized, and scarred survivor named Julian. While this book did a decent job with the tricky themes of PTSD and disfigurement … Continue reading At Summer’s End by Courtney Ellis →
Hey hey! It’s Wednesday! As usual, still very tired. In person news, I got me a Peloton! I did my first ride last night with Cody Rigsby, which everyone recommended, and it was definitely a religious experience. I can’t wait to do another one, even though my butt is one big bruise. Are any of you on the Peloton train? … This wild story is making its rounds in Romancelandia, about a fraudster using Judith … Continue reading Links: Gay Witches, Piano Man, & More →
