I’ve never been to the Kentucky Derby but I love how silent the city is on Saturday (as long as you’re not downtown or near Churchill Downs). Tickets are too expensive for the locals, so Kentuckians get together for cookouts and parties. It’s very similar to Memorial Day weekend.
The Kentucky Derby has historically been rich and white and most of the romance books I found reflected that. But the truth is that the Derby was built on the labor of immigrants and Black jockeys and wouldn’t exist without them.
💃 Kentucky Derby Romance Recommendations
A Run at Love
As a Black woman in a field with little diversity, Piper is determined for her horse to win the Kentucky Derby. Her best friend and trainer Tucker is there to help her along the way.
Bourbon and Lies
The town of Fiasco, Kentucky has one rule: never date a Foxx brother. But when Laney comes into town running from trouble, Grant Foxx can’t avoid his attraction to her.
Falling for the Trauma Doc
A physician’s assistant and trauma doctor treat patients together at Churchill Downs while trying to avoid their feelings for each other.
Irish Thoroughbred
There’s nothing left for Adelia in Ireland, so she goes to her uncle’s Maryland horse farm to work in the stables. America is the land of opportunity, and Adelia finds herself interested in her boss and in one day getting to the Kentucky Derby.
Exhale
A Kentucky coal miner looks for his kidnapped daughter who was taken by the same people who killed his wife. His search leads him into a smug werewolf who’s his only chance at getting his daughter back.
🎉 Romance Releases
Contemporary | ||
|---|---|---|
King of Envy by Ana Huang | His Juliet by Emilia Rossi | One Love by Matt Cain |
The Prodigal Son by Sara Cate | My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner | Must Have Been Love by Carrie Elks |
Gold Coast Dilemma by Nana Malone | Ms. V’s Hot Girl Summer by A.H. Cunningham | Once Upon You and Me by Timothy Janovsky |
The Payback Plan by Amy Andrews | Honeyed Fables by Whitney Dean | Total Shutdown by Ruth Stilling |
Destructively Mine by Krista and Becca Ritchie | Discovering Nicola by Clare Ashton | Taming the Heart by Elliott Rose |
All Fired Up by M.K. England | The Work Trip by Chloe Ford | Royal Bride Demand by LaQuette |
Fantasy | ||
|---|---|---|
Marked by His Alpha Dragon’s Desire by Jena Wade | When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley | Broken Souls and Bones by LJ Andrews |
Storm of Shadows by Hannah Haze | Married to the Alien Mountain Man by Ursa Dax | The Artist and the Orc by Finley Fenn |
Love at Second Sight by F.T. Lukens | Demon and the Raven by Mary Calmes | A Darkness So Sweet by Emma Hamm |
Historical | ||
|---|---|---|
Miss Davis and the Spare by C.N. Jarrett | The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod | Their Second Chance Season by Ella Matthews |
Hardly a Gentleman by Eloisa James | Sloth by Christi Caldwell | The Duke Disaster by Kathleen Ayers |
Marriage Bargain with the Comte by Parker J. Cole | The Lady’s Great Escape by Allison B. Hanson | The Devil’s Own Duke by Anna Harrington |
Romantic Suspense | ||
|---|---|---|
Enigma by RuNyx | Seal My Fate by Roxy Sloane | Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey |
💌 Romancelandia News
Independent Bookstore Day was amazing. In Louisville, Carmichael’s was absolutely packed. It was the best sales day for Set and Setting Shop and A Novel Romance hit an all-time record sales day.
Small and rural libraries are feeling the cuts the Trump administration has done. Feels like a good time to learn all about library systems.
Emily Henry’s latest novel, Great Big Beautiful Life, has left people divided as it’s more plot heavy than previous novels by her. If you were left dissatisfied, why not pick up a Libby-recommended title instead?
Public library Instagram is the best Instagram. Fremont Public Library employees estimate how much they’ve saved with their library cards.
Romance authors festival RomCon is free. at the Ashland Public Library on May 7 and includes different panels on historical and monster romance, romance jeopardy, and a book sale.
Apply for the IngramSpark Reviews program.
Bibliotherapy is therapeutic.
Canva flagged Vanessa Riley’s slide deck promoting an upcoming book for including the word slavery. As she writes: “How do you tell stories of resistance, and survival—if the words our ancestors lived through are now off-limits?”
Would you write a book in 30 days while being judged?
💾 Romancelandia Jobs
Scarleteen needs positive pieces on sex and sexuality ($200/story)
Book of the Month (NYC) needs a full-time copywriter
Lee & Low Books New Voices Award is open to unpublished writers of color and Native/Indigenous writers for a picture book manuscript ($5,000)
Uncharted Magazine Novel Excerpt Prize needs submissions ($20 reading fee)
Sariah Wilson needs a designer for a new table runner and banner
Author Kier needs a character artist to draw magic lightning
Elena Moriarty needs cover designers for a contemporary romance
Kenzie C. Brooks needs character art for a gothic fantasy
Sarah Rizk needs artists for pieces promoting a romantic fantasy
E.E. Star needs artists who create animated character art
Shelby Rene’s client needs cover designers
A Novel Romance (Louisville, Kentucky) needs a part-time bookseller
Saga Press needs a full-time book cover designer
New Haven Press Books needs an animator for a 10-second video to promote dark romances
The True Romance Writing Prize closes submissions on May 1
Avina St. Graves needs artists for full-body drawings
Jillian Rink needs four portraits for a fictional character
Lindsey Hart needs a cover artist
Contrarian Publishing needs Black cover artists
Imogen Knowed needs a developmental editor
Ashley Dill needs a cover artist
Natalia N Britt needs bookish art for her rockstar book series
Rachael Chadwick needs character art
And if ya’ll know me from my main newsletter, I just opened scholarships for free yearlong subscriptions for people from traditionally marginalized backgrounds looking for work. Don’t hesitate to apply!
🥰 Free Books
Death Eternal by Richard Amos
Beyond The Red Carpet by Carol Wyatt
Paladin by Onley James
Sunset Cove by Amelia Addler
Once Upon a Devilishly Enchanting Kiss by Bree Wolf
Playbook by Rebecca Jenshak
Off the Record by Chelle Sloan
Fake Dating the Dragon by Lilith Stone
Wild Scottish Rose by Tricia O’Malley
To Conquer a Bride by Naima Simone
The Player in New Zealand by Liz Alden
Finding You by E.M. Lindsey
Her Big City Neighbor by Jackie Lau
Evil Omega by S. Rodman
Chip’s Forever Daddy by Sammi Cee
The Good Student by M.M. Phoenix
Natural Twenty by Charlie Novak
Finally Yours by Elena Aitken
When the Duke Loved Me by Lydia Lloyd
A Scot Mess by Caroline Lee
Tempted by Love by Melissa Foster
The Cowboy Meets His Match by Sarah Mayberry
To Protect by Cecelia Mecca
A Forest Between Us by Allie Winters
Now and Forever by Aleatha Romig
Seduction Games by Allyson Lindt
Kissin Irish by Morgan Jane Mitchell
The Rules of Love collection by Lauren Blakely
🛍 eBook Sales
The Crystal Alchemist $2.99
Not a Chance in Hell by Emily EK Murdoch $0.99
What I Did For a Duke by Julie Ann Long $1.99
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles $0.99
The First Sinners by Kate Pearce $0.99
Book People by Jackie Asheden
The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder $1.99
The Spinster’s Resolve by Lateefa Harris $2.99
The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman (nonfiction) $21.52
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole $1.99
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles $1.99
A Daring Arrangement by Joanna Shupe $1.99
Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
💫 The Classifieds
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