Step aside, enemies-to-lovers; editor-to-lover may be the newest romantic trope. Romances set in the world of publishing certainly seem to be having a moment, no doubt spurred on by the wild success of Emily Henry’s Beach Read in 2020 and her follow-up, Book Lovers (currently a Peak Pick!), this year. Get out your red pen and get ready for a sweltering summer read with these steamy romances. Who knew publishing could be so hot?
Overworked and underpaid editorial assistant Izzy needs to get her publishing house’s most difficult author, Beau, to turn in his manuscript so she can secure a long overdue promotion, in Jasmine Guillory’s By the Book. Izzy may be in over her head with said writer who’s in just as much of a rut as she is, but as she works with Beau, they discover they may have more than just a deadline to bring them together.
In Kris Ripper’s charming friends-to-lovers romance, Book Boyfriend, PK dreams of being a writer while working as an editorial assistant. PK’s best friend, Art, who he’s secretly been in love with since a drunken college kiss, needs a place to crash after a bad break-up. Unable to have a real-life romantic relationship with Art, PK writes out his HEA dreams. But when the book takes off and everyone seems to be in love with the fictional version of himself, including Art (who doesn’t know PK is the author), PK’s plan to win Art over backfires and he finds himself at risk of losing not only his fantasy HEA, but also his best friend.
When single mom and bestselling erotica writer Eva Mercy and reclusive literary writer Shane Hall meet at a literary event, sparks fly, setting the Black literati scene in New York abuzz in Tia Williams’ Seven Days In June. But this isn’t the first time they’ve met, and Eva’s not sure she can trust him again with her heart. Over the next seven sweltering days, Eva and Shane must reckon with their past, their chemistry together, and the possibility of their futures.
As the last editorial assistant at an old-school publishing house, Nora needs to find a way to pay rent with her barely-livable wage before her position gets cut too, in Shauna Robinson’s Must Love Books. She cons her way into freelancing for a rival publisher, taking a few authors with her. But when she falls for the one author her old publishing house can’t lose, Andrew Santos, she’ll have to decide where her true loyalties are: her job, Andrew, or her own future.
In directly meta-textual romance Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson, acquisitions assistant editor Savannah Cade hides her love of romance – as both a reader and writer – from her snooty bosses at a Nashville-based publishing house. But when she accidentally drops her romance manuscript in front of her hot new boss, Will Pennington, she quickly stashes the manuscript in a room she thinks no one even knows about, let alone uses. When she retrieves it later, she is shocked that someone appears to have offered edits and useful advice on her manuscript. Savannah finds herself falling for her mysterious editor through the comments while also softening towards Will.
And happy news – these books will also fill your “Books about books” category if you’re playing Book Bingo with us this year! For more ideas for books to meet your Summer Book Bingo challenge, follow our Shelf Talk #BookBingoNW2022 series or check the hashtag #BookBingoNW2022 on social media. Book bingo is presented in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures.
~ posted by Veronica H.
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