Well, we made it. We’re almost to the end of 2025.
Yeah…
Anyway! If you haven’t yet heard, I’m hosting a read-a-long for A Gentleman’s Gentleman in the new year. If you or someone you know has been meaning to read it (or re-read it) before A Lady for All Seasons comes out, this is a great chance to do it with a group. You can sign up to the dedicated read-a-long newsletter for all the info plus chances to win treats.
Also, if you’re looking for a seasonal read this December…
It’s Christmas in Florida! The characters celebrate Christmas but it’s also more of a family story with a hot dad and the guy who never stopped loving him.
Now onto the recommendations portion of the newsletter. Maybe this will become an annual thing every December.
I’m lucky to be sometimes asked by beloved colleagues if I would take a gander at their advance reading copies and say nice things about their books, which are then used in marketing copy and sometimes on the book jacket. These nice things are called blurbs, and I also have to ask my beloved colleagues to give them to me, which is mortifying, but part of life. Here is a collection of the books that I’ve blurbed this year and would recommend you buy now. Or preorder now for a future treat. Each one was a joy, and not just because a publisher thought that it was algorithmically similar to my own work. (If I missed any here, I’m so sorry! This year was such a blur. I barely remember anything.)
Two bisexual disasters meet at a sex club and later realize they’re coworkers. He works on AI but don’t worry, he gets better. I said: "Timely, relatable, and a true pleasure, Sparks Fly takes the millionaire fantasy and turns it on its head in the best way. Watching late bloomer Stella and the dashing Max navigate bisexuality, love, sex, friendships, family, and the workplace feels like stepping into a complete world. I'll read anything Zakiya writes." Out today!A gender-bending actress takes on high society. I said: “Lady Like invites you into a Regency world so lush, so beautifully queer, you’ll never want to leave. Emily and Harry are heroines after my own heart. Their love story is a true treat for today’s readers.” Out now.They hated each other in culinary school. But that was then. I said: "A sweet treat that will satisfy your fake marriage cravings!" Out now.Victorian era Mean Girls but they bone. I said: "What Alban does is nothing short of magical. Progressive sensibilities and comedic stylings unfold against a lush, fully realized historical backdrop. Like in Love with You is the total package for Victorian sapphic enjoyers." Out Jan. 13.Two actors on a long-running sci-fi show have all the on-screen chemistry and hate each other when the cameras stop rolling. OR DO THEY. I said: "No one builds characters like Sebastian does. The amount of love and care that has gone into these men is unreal. I couldn't not fall for Simon if you paid me a million dollars." Out March 3.This is IT. This is my favorite read of this year. I cannot explain how rapt I was with these polyam pirates. Frothing at the mouth at the very first mention of eighteen brass buttons on an officer’s waistcoat. Also I would die for D’Arcy, the only D’Arcy that matters imo. I said: "Full of adventure and romantic in every sense of the word, Rears and Vices delighted me from start to finish." Out March 17.Following a breakup, our hero rents a beach house on the Cape for the summer, but the house is full of memories. Literally. I said: "The House of Now and Then is a dreamy, eerie, beautiful story of moving on and moving in. Readers won't be able to resist following Harlowe through the looking glass. This book is weird, wonderfully weird, while being sweetly romantic and brutally honest." Out May 19.
That’s all from me for 2025. See you next year! Unless you’re a paid subscriber, in which case…I have a very special holiday treat in your next issue: an official coda to Second Chances in New Port Stephen! You’ll get to see what Nick and Eli have been up to in the last few years.
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