Written in the Stars was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it didn't disappoint. It's funny and sweet, but there's enough conflict and tension to propel the plot forward. Written in the Stars begins with something of a Meet-Disaster, with a very messy--physically and emotionally--date arranged by Darcy's brother who happens to also be Elle's colleague. It's billed as a retelling, but Pride & Prejudice parallels are limited, however, and the plot is fresh even though the set-up is familiar.

I've been on a terrible reading streak lately, abandoning so many books for so many reasons. Here are a few of them for your reading displeasure. Mini-reviews of The Princess Will Save You, Don't Hex and Drive, Tangled Twosome and Smash It!.

Today we're joined by E.J. Phillips, author of When We Were Ghosts, out October 20, 2020. It's perfect for the spooky season! Read on to find out why Phillips decided to write about two girls falling in love as they chase a ghost... and her own experience with ghosties.

At first glance, this book might give off Cinderella vibes, where a down on her luck heroine meets her Prince Charming, captivates him, runs from him, and then eventually reunites before they find their HEA. But it’s so much more than that. The second book in Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Cowboys of California series places the focus on the youngest of the Pleasant brothers, Sam. The book opens right on the heels of him winning an Academy Award for acting and celebrating his big win with a night of hot sex with Amanda McQueen, the stranger he meets at an Oscars after-party. And while she knows exactly who Sam is, he has no idea that she’s assistant to rising television star, Dru Anastasia.

This book was a reset for me after a string of awful or aggressively mediocre books. I enjoyed the first in this series, Sweet Talkin' Lover, but Like Lovers Do was even better.

Mini-reviews of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill, Fable, A Touch of Stone and Snow, Fable and Up On the Roof. That's an f/m gothic historical, an f/m fantasy romance, a YA fantasy and an f/f contemporary.

Editor's Note: This review is not in the same format as the rest/most of our reviews because there's no way I'm adding this to our searchable database and risking readers looking for say, Scottish romance, thinking we're recommending it.

Emma can be a tricky book to retell. It's a beloved classic and Emma as a protagonist is a mess. But maybe that's why I have an affinity for Emma retellings? Whatever the reason, The Code for Love and Heartbreak caught my eye. Today we're sharing a Q&A with the author, Jillian Cantor, below, but first here's a little more about the book:

As a reader of comics and paranormal romance novels, I was reeeeally excited about this anthology. While I ended up really liking it, it wasn't what I was expecting, so here are the talking points summarized for you:

• These are not explicit romance. Maybe PG-13, for some kissing, but if Love in Panels had a PG rating, I'd probably give it that.
• Lots of ghosts! I was ...

  Review based on Dates 1:

  Cravats. Latin. Rope-walking. Androgyny. Pirates. Girls in gowns running away together. Boys and boys and girls and girls and people who don't identify any particular way... This book is hard to review because not only is it an anthology, the stories within span thousands of years of history, continents, empires, cultures... it's impossible to pin down. ...

  The second volume of Power & Magic is funding on Kickstarter right now (7/14/17) and the first volume just won a PRISM Award. Since I've had the PDF on my iPad for a few weeks, I figured it was time to give it a read. It's... wow.

  What you get for your $10 (digital) is 15 stories about queer witches of color, some more magical than others, all of them accessible and ...

  I've been waiting for this since Limerence announced it, and I'm super pleased with the result!

  The first 25 pages is set-up: what are pronouns and why is it important to use the correct pronouns when referring to or talking to a person.

  The middle section is the how-to portion of the book. How to use gender neutral pronouns in a professional setting, when you don't ...

  www.loveinpanels.com/comics/queer-and-trans-identities

  www.loveinpanels.com/comics/croquette-and-empanada

  www.loveinpanels.com/comics/gender-queer

  www.loveinpanels.com/comics/quick-and-easy-guide-to-sex-and-disability

After being buried under an overwhelming pile of new books in September, we're taking a bit of a breather in October.

As we hurtle toward a life-changing election here in the States, I hope you're able to find some time to recharge between actions. I know we all hate phone calls, but consider what you might be able to do to get out the vote, to support candidates who aren't authoritarian toadies and to help protestors who are risking their lives to fight for justice. One of my neighbors makes a lot of lasagna these days.

If you are sick and terrified and exhausted, you're not alone. But please, if something good happens to or for you? Take a minute to celebrate. You deserve to enjoy that promotion, to dance around the kitchen with your just-published book, to eat birthday cake.

Now, before I go off and write more postcards, here's a list of our October anticipated new releases (and a bunch more you might be interested in).

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Publishing is a fickle mistress. Some months I’m scraping the depths of the Interwebs to find a handful of unusual historical titles and other months it’s an explosion of confetti being shot out of an air cannon.  Since September is an air cannon month, I’ll stop blathering on so we can get to the goodness. 

So let’s look at what indulgences caught my eye this month:

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