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Today, you can look forward to characters singing their heart out, the impending nuptials of a love disaster, and two upcoming romances to mark down now.
Bookish Goods
The Romance Alphabet by TheFictionPhantom
“A-B-C-D-E-F-G, H-I-J-K-L-M-U-S-T…” For all you readers out there who like WLW, UST, XX, JAFF, and more great letter-related romance terms, there’s this adorable romance alphabet print! It’s a must-have for any romance lover and would look great hanging over the one bed. $14+
New Romance Book Releases Out This Week
Karaoke Queen by Dominic Lim
Groove is in the heart! When legal assistant Rex Araneta learns that his college sweetheart Aaron Berry now has a failing karaoke bar in his town, this is great for him, for two reasons. One) Aaron is the one who got away, and two) Rex has a secret internet-famous drag queen alter ego named Regina Moon Dee. Faster than you can yell “FREE BIRD,” Regina begins to moonlight at Aaron’s bar, becoming the—say it with me now—karaoke queen. She uses her internet influence to get people to flock to the bar to watch her sing, and it brings the ka-CHING! But no one knows it’s Rex behind Regina, and Rex worries he’ll never feel brave enough to tell Aaron (or anyone) who he really is and how he still feels. This novel is a Regina Moon Dee-light! (Related: This title is really fun to sing to “Caribbean Queen” by Billy Ocean.)
The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean by Ann Rose
It’s Amanda Dean’s wedding day and she’ll cry if she wants to. After all, everything seems to be going wrong on what is supposed to be the happiest day of her life. It’s the day she’s going to marry…well, she’ll get to that. As Mandy, the self-proclaimed bisexual disaster, prepares for her nuptials, readers follow along as she recounts the many loves she has lost over the years. For starters, there was the water polo player, the hedge fund manager, and the fashionista. But despite several heartbreaks, Mandy hasn’t given up on love, but she’s beginning to wonder if her marriage will fall apart too. With so many bad romances and failed forevers in her past, will Mandy actually say “I do” and finally live happily ever after, somewhere that’s Dean?
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Two 2025 Romance Releases to Mark Down Now!
Since my work has me eyeballs-deep in upcoming new book releases all day, every day (it’s the best!), I thought I would share two romances that have already been on my radar for several months!
Single Player by Tara Tai (Alcove Press, January 7, 2025)
This queer enemies-to-lovers debut is already generating tons of buzz! Cat Li, a lover of love, thinks she has found her HEA when she lands her dream job writing romance storylines for the video game Compass Hollow. But Cat’s boss Andi Zhang is even more formidable and cranky than she had heard, and it makes Cat’s job difficult. Cat is also annoyed by how attracted she is to Andi. As far as Andi is concerned, love is for people with nothing better to do, and they have worked too hard to prove themselves in the gamer world to give a second thought to romance. And that includes allowing a romance storyline in Compass Hollow. But it’s what the boss wants, and they must admit, Cat is awfully cute. And when Cat uncovers a plan that jeopardizes Andi’s job, they agree to work together to beat the big boss. More like ready player hon, amirite?
Love and Other Paradoxes by Catriona Silvey (William Morrow Paperbacks, March 11, 2025)
I am a HUGE fan of Catriona Silvey’s genre-bending debut novel Meet Me in Another Life. It was probably my favorite novel of 2021, and I have read it half a dozen times. So you bet your sweet bippy I am excited for her new book! While Meet Me leaned heavily into science fiction, this one sounds like it’s more on the kissy-kissy side. It’s about a rogue attendee of a time-travel tour from the future, and a Cambridge student who dreams of being a world-renowned writer. Student Joe spends his spare time scribbling stories down between classes in 2005; Esi has slipped away from her time-travel tour group in the hopes of changing her past at Cambridge. It’s there that Esi meets Joe. What he doesn’t know is that in Esi’s future, he is known as a world-famous author. His dreams came true! But their meeting changes Joe’s future and Esi’s past and everything gets messy. (Mesi?) Especially when Esi tries to help Joe woo his crush, Diana, and he falls for Esi instead. How will this pair solve their paradox? (FYI: the author’s first name is pronounced like Katrina.)
Romance Books Links:
New on Book Riot: 10 Steamy Romantasy Books That Will Make You Blush; From Mistaken Identity to Steamy Romance; and Love Is Immortal in These Comics.
I am surprised Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is out in paperback this week, just eighteen months after it was first released in hardcover. Publishers often try and get all the hardcover cash they can for huge bestsellers, for as long as they can. (For instance, Gone Girl took two years to come out in paperback, The Da Vinci Code took three years, and after ten years, Eleanor & Park is finally being released next month.)
The Love Of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood is being adapted into a film.
That is all for me today, love lovers! Je t’aime. I had a blast talking about kissing books with you. (Okay, at you.) I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. If you want to hear about more romance books, or all sorts of other genres, be sure to subscribe to All the Books! Until next time, see ya, hope you get your HEA.
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