So the first set of close-ups on the books are technically a couple of days late (Available as of January 1st).
That is because of how the new year and the new month and new release day all landed At The Same Time.
Regardless I am extremely excited about these books!
The 2 new books that I will focus on in this post are The One You Fight For by Roni Loren, and The Similars by Rebecca Hanover. Interestingly enough, both are published by Sourcebooks.
The One You Fight For by Roni Loren (Paperback. $7.99)
Let's start the new year with some romance!
I am extremely excited that this book is now available. I am also excited to say that announced, just today, that this is NOT the last book in the series as was originally suggested. YAY!
I read the first book, The Ones Who Got Away, in the spring of last year. Not having read a "true" romance in a while, I was pleasantly surprised at how well written it was! I've been describing them at work as "Smart Smut". (Is that a thing? Can I make it a thing? It's a thing now.)
I know romance novels get a really bad rep, and I am very protective of the romance genre (for reasons that I will go into another time) but these... seem different. (Maybe I just need to read more romance novels?)
Anyway, the best way I can think of to describe the writing is, if you were to take out all of the steamy sex scenes (and they are quite steamy!), the story would still hold up, and be compelling.
I also found the subject matter very contemporary and relevant to current events.
Each book follows after each other, starting, in The One Who Got Away, with everyone being brought back together after they had survived a school shooting 12 years prior.
Interesting thing to note here, is that this book was published only a month before Parkland.
Everyone of the character's coping mechanisms prove to be a bit different, with that each person was written in a real and complex and human way, and each of the books is different.
I was lucky enough to meet Roni Loren a couple of months later, at BookCon in New York.
When I got home, book two was waiting for me. (Thanks to the incredible bookstore, The Ripped Bodice .) Needless to say, I quickly read through this book as well.
Then this past fall, at the Heartland Fall Forum, which is a conference for independent booksellers in the Midwest, I made it a mission to track down the publisher, Sourcebook. Wonderfully and Incredibly, they sent me an advanced copy of The One You Fight For.
While each book can be read as individuals, I recommend reading all three, because they are just that incredible.
But as I mentioned, they do contain extremely steamy scenes. So, fair warning, blushing might happen if you read these in public!
(My copies of 1-3, in front of my 2019 ARCs)
For More Roni Loren :
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The Similars by Rebecca Hanover (Hardcover. $17.99)
(My Advance Copy - ARC -)
So, I just started reading this. Not very far into it yet, but it is definitely intriguing in premise. It's set future, but a lot of the technology and social issues today can be recognized within. Precising cloning of humans has been achieved, but not exactly welcomed into society. However, news breaks out that 6 "accidental" clones were created 16 years earlier, and the DNA from very prominent families. In what might be a PR move, was decided the clones, the "Similars" will join their "Originals" at their prestigious boarding school. The twist for one of them is that the "original" of one had committed suicide earlier that year. Complete with high school drama, suffice to say that there is a lot of drama and turmoil within.
It actually makes me think a bit of the TV series, Orphan Black. But more....private boarding school.
( Above photo is from The Official Orphan Black Twitter )
Another cool thing that I am noticing about this book, is the proactive voice for diversity. Traditionally when reading private school dramas (or maybe just the last book that I read) they tend to be... pretty lacking in colour. This one, however, so far seems to better about that.
I am curious to see how every thing will unfold. An updated review to come...
(Finished Copy, Available in Independent Bookstores)
For More Rebecca Hanover:
Want To Own The Books?
Physical Copies Available at: Moon Palace Books & The Ripped Bodice
Audiobooks Available Through: Libro.fm
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