Ep #121

“FAKE RELATIONSHIPS, REAL FEELINGS”

This week Ana hosts the podcast with guests Jazmen and Bree as they introduce our February theme: Fake Relationships and Marriage of Convenience

EP 121 HOST

> ANA COQUI (she/her) A lifelong genre reader, Ana grew up reading fantasy, sci-fi & mystery novels in Puerto Rico, before finally wandering into the romance section of the library in search of HEA’s after bawling through one too many dystopian novels. When she is not reading, knitting, writing about romance for Love in Panels or running #RomBkLove on Twitter as @anacoqui, Ana is a school librarian

EP 121 GUESTS

> BREE (she/her) Bree’s love of reading began with RL Stein’s Goosebumps series & she’s basically had her head in a book ever since. She refers to herself as a ‘romance late bloomer,’ since she didn’t begin reading romance until a few days shy of turning 30. Now she’s hooked! Bree recently retired from the United States Air Force and is now a stay at home mom, full time online history major, romance blogger, Youtuber and Bookstagrammer. When not doing any of the above, she is probably catching up on Hallmark movies or trying out a new recipe from Pinterest. You can find Bree on her blog FallingForRomance.com or on Instagram @falling4romance and on Twitter @bree_thegoddess

> JAZMEN (she/her) Blogger, reader, reviewer, writer and self-proclaimed truth-teller, Jazmen is a voracious reader with an equally voracious appetite for all things romance. While you might find her with her head in the books of many genres, she’s always in search of a HEA and a hot first kiss. When she’s not reading, she’s tweeting, advocating for #ReadBlackRomance, and crying over K-Dramas. Jazmen works for a wine importer where she never drinks the supply. Find Jazmen on her blog literallyblack.com or you can follow her on Twitter @blklitreviews


EP 121 DISCUSSION

Title: White Whiskey Bargain

Author: Jodie Slaughter

Relation to theme: Marriage of Convenience

Representation: Black author, Black MC, Mexican-American MC

CW: violence, attempted murder, arson, death of mother, death of aunt due to stage 4 pancreatic cancer (side character), kidnapping (side characters)

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48213898-white-whiskey-bargain

Title: Love and Loopholes

Author: Railyn Stone

Relation to theme: Marriage of Convenience

Representation: Black author, black MCs 

CW: working poor, homelessness, recent death of a parent

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40653940-love-and-loopholes

Title: Wild Thoughts 

Author: Delaney Diamond

Relation to theme: Fake engagement

Representation: Black author, black MCs

CW: lying

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41060281-wild-thoughts

> Title: The Bride Test (Kiss Quotient #2)

Author: Helen Hoang 

Relation to theme: Test engagement 

Representation: Asian author, neuro-divergent author, Asian MCs, neuro-divergent MC 

Content Warnings: poverty, ableism, neuro-divergent MC 

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39338454-the-bride-test

NOTE: This book was also discussed in RBP ep #101 and the 2019 Favorites ep

> Title: Tempest (Old West #3)

Author: Beverly Jenkins

Relation to theme: Mail-order bride

Representation: Black author, black MCs

Content Warnings: gun violence, racism, sexism, grief, past death of spouse

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068495-tempest

> Title:  A Prince on Paper (Reluctant Royals #3)

Author: Alyssa Cole

Relation to theme: Fake Engagement

Representation: Black author, black MC, bi/white MC

Content Warnings: grief, past abuse, past death of parent 

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38622940-a-prince-on-paper

> Title: Any Old Diamonds (Lilywhite Boys #1)

Author: KJ Charles

Relation to theme: Fake friendship

Representation: White author, bi/white MC, gay/white MC

Content Warnings: murder, homophobia, criminal hero, grief, past loss of parent, past loss of sibling

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42925241-any-old-diamonds

> Title: Xeni (Loose Ends #2)

Author: Rebekah Weatherspoon

Relation to theme: Marriage of convenience

Representation: Black author, black MC, bi/white MC

Content Warnings: biphobia, grief, mentions of miscarriage/abortion, past emotional abuse & coercion

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48359637-xeni

> Title: Rebel (Women Who Dare #1)

Author: Beverly Jenkins

Relation to theme: Fake engagement

Representation: Black author, black MCs, black/gay side characters 

Content Warnings: murder, toxic family, racism, colorism, homophobia

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38135735-rebel

> Title: The Real Thing (The Westmorelands, book 28)

Author: Brenda Jackson 

Relation to theme: Fake boyfriend

Representation: Black author, black MCs

Content Warnings: co-worker harassment

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18468001-the-real-thing

> Title: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before #1)

Author: Jenny Han

Relation to theme: Fake boyfriend

Representation: Korean author, Korean MC, white MC

Content Warnings: lying

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15749186-to-all-the-boys-i-ve-loved-before

> Title: Her Naughty Holiday (Men at Work #2)

Author: Tiffany Reisz

Relation to theme: Fake boyfriend 

Representation: seasoned MCs, white MCs

Content Warnings: toxic family, virgin MC

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29568772-her-naughty-holiday


> Which #InclusiveRomance favorites of yours did we miss? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram @RomBkPod

Happy Reading!

EP 121 MUSIC CREDIT

Music: “Lift Off” by Jahzzar

From the Free Music Archive

CC BY-SA 3.0