Today is the second release drop of September! We have listed some new releases that are hitting shelves today, and should probably land on your TBR (to be read) list.

Share in the comments which book release you are most excited for!

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. If there are other books out today that you think folks will enjoy, feel free to recommend them in the comments. Please click through to read the post on Bindery for my full commentary.

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

See You Next Tuesday by Kate Stayman-London (Dial) — I’m excited to read this unapologetically political romance about two campaign staffers by the author of One to Watch and Fang Fiction. Kate’s made it clear on social media that neither of the leads are Republicans, which is hilarious and also desperately needed considering the rash of mediocre “love across the aisle” bipartisan slop we’ve seen published in the last decade.

With All My Haunted Heart by Isabel Sterling (Berkley) — Sapphic witchy romance! A witch is hired to haunt a B&B and falls for its proprietor. 

By Any Means by E.M. Caro (indie) — An anti-capitalist reporter is writing about a glass industrialist (god I love historical fiction) when they become embroiled in a serial murder mystery. I’m so here for a gay romantic suspense set in 1905. 

Twig's Traveling Tomes by Gryffin Murphy (Cozy Quill/Bindery Books) — A cozy romantasy about a Book Witch and a rogue who must find a stolen grimoire. Published by Bindery!

Level Up for Love by Lenora Woods (Dell) — Woods is leading the tabletop RPG romance era. Whom among us hasn’t wanted to fuck your game’s DM, especially when that DM is your college nemesis who you hooked up with once?? 

My Own Kind of Person by Tim Manley (Rocky Pond Books) — This YA novel about an aspiring standup comedian discovering his bisexuality sounds really sweet. Great cover, too! 

Espíritu by Aiden Thomas (Feiwel & Friends) — The long-awaited sequel to queer YA best-seller Cemetery Boys.

Upcoming Events:

9/30: Launching Happily Ever Afterlife with Emma R. Alban at the Ripped Bodice BK. Tickets here.

JUST ADDED 10/5: I'm hosting another Romance Read-In to benefit Authors Against Book Bans at Book Club Bar in Manhattan on October 5th at 7:30pm! Tickets just went on sale here. We sold out last time, so don't hesitate. Featured authors include Shelly Jay Shore, Blair Fell, Zakiya N. Jamal, and the one and only Joanna Shupe!

Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!

I can't believe we're only a week away from the start of Latine Heritage Month. Before we get to this week's books, I wanted to take you through some announcements.

FIRST...IRL MEET-UP?!? IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS IN TAMPA ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10th...

Meet me at Al Lopez Park! This Banned Books Week event will be a casual hang of like-minded individuals who want more information on how to get involved (think pamphlets, talking and engaging with those in the your school board district), silent reading, and did I mention I'll be giving away banned books, too? Hope to see you there!

Bring a chair, book, and a friend or 2 and enjoy a beautiful bookish morning in the park with me. Sign up for more event updates and meeting details on Eventbrite!

LATINE BOOK BINGO REFRESH!

Introduced earlier this year, the bingo card has been REFRESHED just in time for Latinx Heritage Month. Intended to be a reading challenge for the whole year, I hope this bingo card will help motivate you with your Latinx Heritage Month as well as year-end Latine reading goals! If you want to get a head start, I made two YouTube recommendation videos (Part 1,Part 2). The new cards will be up on socials this week (as always, KEEP THIS CHISME BETWEEN US FOR NOW!).

SPEAKING OF SNEAK PEEKS...

WE HAVE BIEN LEIDOS MERCH!

Lectores and Libritos members got a sneak peek when my sample arrived last week, but I got to wear it out this weekend and it's SOOOOO cute! I received so many compliments and am excited to share the whole drop with you! If you don't care for the color/cut of the shirt I'm wearing or even prefer a sweatshirt over a t-shirt, DON'T WORRY! There will be a variety of styles and colors available for you to choose!

An very important component of this merch drop is that 10% of proceeds of all shirts sold will be donated to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. They have been doing amazing work with their creation of Red Cards and other immigrant resources, pivoting rapidly with information and resources as this administration issues immigration executive order after executive order, as well as with representation in immigration court. I will track and tally how much we raise and let you know when I have the final numbers!

PS--As subscribers to Bien Leidos, you'll get early access AND an EXCLUSIVE discount code before the social media launch as soon as the campaign is live (hopefully by the end of the week), so PLEASE KEEP THIS BETWEEN US UNTIL I LAUNCH ON SOCIALS!

FINALLY, VULNERABILITY AND AN ASK...

As I look out at my first Latinx Heritage Month in years, a time I would usually have the most brand partnerships for the year, without a single brand deal, I humbly ask you if what I offer you here, all the research, blog posts, recommendation videos, are worth a anything to you. I do this work, which is deeply, politically unpopular in the US in this moment in history, for free because I LOVE Latinx books. I LOVE being Latina. I LOVE being LOUD ABOUT LATINX BOOKS ONLINE. Just because the world doesn't love us doesn't mean I'm going to be quiet about about how much I love US.

If you love this newsletter as much as I love writing it, love being on Discord, or appreciate my posts on socials, and you've been thinking about supporting me, now is a great time to financially support me. You can upgrade your membership here.

And finally, the reason you're here. There are a beautiful array of books releasing this week that I'm so excited to share with you, starting with one that I missed in the exclusive newsletter for Libritos and Lectores members..

Psychological Horror

Fever Dream by Samantha Schweblin

Young Adult Fantasy

Espiritu by Aiden Thomas (Audiobook)

Creative Nonfiction Collection

Bodega Stories by Amaris Castillo

Translated

Bury Your Dead by Ana Paula Maia and translated by Padma Viswanathan

Children's Book

In Case of Las Moscas by Jackie Morera and illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson

Horror

Daughter of Rot by Rios de la Luz

Memoir

East of the River: A Memoir of Los Angeles Girlhood by Guadalupe Rosales (Audiobook) Memoir

xoxo,

Carmen

Hello nerds,

Another beautiful month full of events at the best bookstore in the world. I am unfortunately sending this after First Friday, so I want to focus on just two of our events coming up next week and let you know that the Switzy bookclub has been moved to October 4th as well.

Thursday, September 10th at 6:00 PM

Join us for a craft night at Sunny's. We will provide some materials to share, but please feel free to bring your own as well! This is not a structured craft, more of a self guided night to work alongside eachother. I will be decorating the back of my neglected e-reader. RSVP HERE.

Saturday, September 12th from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM

We're buying gently used, in-demand books for in-store credit only, no cash. Drop off your stack or stick around and shop while we take a look. We will be buying one day only, from 11-5 on Saturday September 12th. RSVP HERE to express interest!

What we're looking for:

• Good condition—no torn covers, water damage, mold/mildew smell, writing, or heavy highlighting

• Current and backlist titles we'd actually shelve

• Fiction, memoir, poetry—especially queer and marginalized voices

• No textbooks, encyclopedias, magazines, or book club castoffs from decades past. If you don’t want it, we probably don’t either!

How it works:

1. Bring in up to 50 books at a time

2. We'll sort through them while you browse

3. We'll offer credit for what fits our shelves. The rest you're welcome to take back or donate. Books MUST be picked back up on the same day, 9/10 before we close at 5PM.

4. Credit is issued at 10% of resale value and never expires. For example, if we bought a book from you that retailers for $19.99, you’d be issued $1.90 in credit.

Sunday, October 4th at 11:00 AM

Join us online for our monthly book club Zoom meeting. The September book is Switzy by Emma Cline. RSVP HERE. Note, this was previously scheduled for September 27th and moved because of travel.

• About the book: A mesmerizing portrait of an aging man’s last pilgrimage, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Girls and The Guest.

• About Sunny's Book Club: Sunny’s Book Club is a monthly book club highlighting both new releases and backlist titles we love. A virtual discussion is hosted over Zoom on the last Sunday of the month. You can check out our selections each month and sign up here. You do not have to buy the book from Sunny's to participate, but we love when you do!

Thank you all for your support as always and hope to see you in person this month.

CJ

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