It's Tuesday! Which means the publishing goddesses have delivered again. Here's what dropped today that you should know about.

Eyes of Kings by Chloe Gong

The third book in the Flesh and False Gods series. The kingdom of Talin is unraveling — a recently dethroned king is ready to go to war against the woman who took his crown, and nobody in this world is walking away clean. If you've been following this series, you already know Gong doesn't do easy endings. If you haven't started yet, this is your sign to catch up before everyone else finishes it first.

A Clash of Carnivores by Liselle Sambury

Book two in the Mastery of Monsters trilogy. A girl bonded for life to a monster has to prepare for something called the Monster's Ball, and their relationship is exactly as complicated as that sounds. YA horror that doesn't flinch. Sambury writes fear the way it's supposed to feel — visceral and personal.

Find My Way Down to You by Julian Winters

A grieving teenager accidentally stumbles into the underworld while mourning his boyfriend, and has to choose between an ordinary life with his grief or a love that might undo him entirely. YA fantasy romance with real emotional weight behind it. Bring tissues.

The Lion & the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent

Opens the Bloodborn Duet, set within the wider Crowns of Nyaxia universe. If you're already living in this world, this is the one you've been waiting for.

I'm so thankful to everyone who has joined me here since my launch a few weeks ago. I'm really hopeful that we can build this up into a robust bookish community!

As a Bindery Tastemaker, I'm able to offer perks to the members of my page as well as bonus perks to those who choose to support me by joining one of the paid membership tiers. I realize that everyone's situation is different and committing to a monthly membership fee is not something everyone can do, so please know that I am so grateful you're here, even at the Follower level.

Today, I wanted to share a few things you can look forward to as a member of my Bindery community!

• You Can Sit with Us Book Club: We will be reading primarily romance, fantasy, and romantic fantasy, focusing on new-ish releases. I plan to alternate genres each month and focus on indie authors a significant amount of the time. TCSWU Book Club will be run asynchronously through Discord, so make sure you join via the link on my page so that your membership information syncs.

  August's book pick is A Tangled Magic and I am so excited because the author has agreed to a Q&A session exclusively for our book club! I am hopeful to be able to connect with authors for Q&As on a regular basis. I will also be hosting monthly Zoom calls for members who enjoy live discussions!

• Games: Bindery Bingo begins on September 1st! I will be sharing a seasonal Bingo card with instructions on how to play once the start date gets closer. Open to all Followers!

• Giveaways: I will be sharing a Bindery exclusive giveaway in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Inner Circle and Producer level members will receive bonus giveaway entries!

• Industry Chats/Podcast Episodes: I'm very excited about this perk! It is very much in the works, but I am lining up a handful of authors and bookish folks to share their stories with our community. Access will likely be available at the Inner Circle subscription level.

That's it for today, friends! There are so many cool features here on Bindery, I hope you'll spend some time exploring. I plan on sharing a post with some of my favorite features soon!

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to find the answers!

Okay, have y'all read Kennedy Ryan's novella The Close Up?

Because it was SO good!

It was around 200 pages, so I was able to finish it quickly, and the best part? It's free on Audible!

At first, I was confused because I was like...wait, do I know these people? Iris? Why does she feel familiar?

And then I realized...Kennedy Ryan brought back characters from across her universe.

We get appearances from Iris and August, Lotus and her husband from Reel & Block Shot, other characters from the Hoops series, and even characters from the Grip series.

It honestly felt like a little reunion.

All of these characters come together for a two-week cruise celebrating Keanan's 40th birthday, and as someone who has read some of Kennedy Ryan's other books, it was so much fun seeing these characters again.

Reading about Iris again felt nostalgic, and it honestly made me want to go back and finish more of Kennedy Ryan's catalog because clearly...I have been missing out.

This is a second chance romance and our FMC is sexually confident and knows what she wants, while our MMC is a man who knows exactly what he wants and isn't afraid to pursue her.

Together? These two are explosive.

And let me tell you...

Mrs. Ryannnnn.

The spice.

The spice was SPICY. 😂

There are multiple kinks explored, and at times I will admit the spice almost overshadowed the plot because whew...Kennedy came to play.

But overall, this was such a fun, quick read. It was entertaining, nostalgic, and a great addition to Kennedy Ryan's interconnected universe.

Highly recommend!

Have y'all read The Close Up? Or do you have a favorite Kennedy Ryan book?

welcome to betty's bookish thoughts!

writing out messages like this is very new to me, but i'm excited to pour all my passion and quirks and creativity into this space. you can follow along my bookish journey, hear some authentic or unhinged thoughts and buy books via my posts. you can even join the "inner circle" but no pressure-- i'll include some exclusive content like reading and life updates. & you would have my unending gratitude for supporting my favorite hobby <3

please enjoy!

Here's your weekly roundup of romances hitting shelves this week that have a Rebel Ever After vibe. Reminder that I haven't read any of these titles yet, so this isn't an official endorsement unless noted.

[This isn't an exhaustive list of every romance novel out today. If you are an author with a progressive romance coming out soon, please email brosandprose@gmail.com to get it on my radar!]

Be Still My Unbeating Heart by Josh Winning (G.P. Putnam's Sons) — Gay himbo vampire with a talking cat. Sold!

Sex Positive by Brooklyn Rose (indie) — I stumbled across this indie title while digging around for new releases and fell in love with the premise: a college student hates abstinence-only sex education and wants to launch a comprehensive sex ed program... but she's never had sex. Luckily, her hot nemesis is the campus playboy, and he's willing to lend a helping hand. Available on KU.

Embrace by Bal Khabra (Berkley) — I've never dipped my toe into this hockey romance series set in college, but folks love it.

Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt (St. Martin's Griffin) — Another author I desperately need to read but haven't gotten around to yet. Lost and Found includes very thoughtful and detailed content warnings, especially about IVF, infertility, and the death of a loved one to cancer, so read with caution.

International Relations by Zac Hammett (Slowburn/Zando) — This sounds like The Proposal but gay. Fake dating turns into a real marriage because of Visa complications.

Find My Way Down to You by Julian Winters (Viking Books for Young Readers) — A Hadestown-coded YA novel by past Rebel Ever After guest.

Rogue Around the Edges by Lydia Lloyd (indie) — A new banger from one of my favorite historical romance authors. I'm about 20% in and glued to my Kindle. Lloyd is one of those indies who has more talent than most of the traditionally published authors on shelves today, sorry not sorry, I said what I said.

Ghosts That We Knew by Amity Malcom (indie) — This book cover goes so hard, y'all. A rare romance with a trans MMC. Available on KU.

WELCOME TO AUGUST, mis internet amigxs!

We're entering the month before Latinx Heritage Month which means a typhoon of books are coming your way this month. I'm SO excited to feature today's releases!

SUPPORT BIEN LEIDOS

If you'd like to receive an early newsletter of ALL the month's upcoming Latine releases (with some secret things in the works!), including a summary of each book, and/or want to support me as a creator and help me FINALLY publish a Latine book through Bindery (my literal dream!), then please consider supporting me at the Libritos or Lectores level! All your support helps me broaden my reach and supports me as a full-time content creator.

AUGUST BOOK CLUB

As a reminder, we're reading The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (audiobook) this month!! This noir truly captivated me and I'm so excited to chat with you on Discord about it.

We're also continuing Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer (Audiobook) for those who are on the Summer School journey with me.

VOTE FOR SEPTEMBER FICTION AND NONFICTION READS

Our September book club poll for both our fiction and nonfiction sidequest reads are up for another couple of days on both Bindery (I fixed the glitch and you can now vote twice!) AND on Discord as well if you feel passionate about one of our picks. Get your votes in before the polls close! Official announcement will be made before the end of the week!

And now onto today's Latine releases!!

Literary Fiction

Take What You Can by Naima Coster (Audiobook)

Romance

Drawn Together by Mercedes Ron (Audiobook)

xo,

Carmen