A really good poc book with a romance is “seven days in June” one of my favorite. For a queer romance: auroras angel (wlw fantasy romance), the charm offensive (gay and Demi sexual romance), Delilah green doesn’t care(wlw), the companion (polyamorous historical fiction), I have tons more but these are at the top of my head.
Looovveeeedddd the video!! As to the enemies to lovers trope I REALLY recommend you “From Lukov, with love”. It’s a slow burn romance, and since you liked Spanish love deception it’s PERFECT!! Seriously, is such a beautiful book with a huge focus on the characters development!!
I don't know if this is a very good recommendation but there was a YA romance I read when I was a younger with the main characters as POC called The Sun Is Also a Star. According to my memory, this book CHANGED me and I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I ever read. Also, I just found your channel and omg I have been missing your videos all my life- I'm planning on a binge-watch soon. You seem like the coolest person!!
Loved the video! POC romances: The Ex Talk (Dominic is Korean) Seven Days in June (an absolute favorite) From Lukov with Love (Jasmine is half filipino) Not Here to be Liked (YA - Eliza is Korean and Len is half japanese) Yesterday Is History (YA and Queer) Some I haven't read but it's on my tbr: Get a Life Chloe Brown The Charm Offensive Loveboat, Taipei Digging Up Love The Worst Best Man Love from A to Z Aaand, if you want to read more Emily Henry, consider People we meet on vacation, it's friends to lovers and one of my favorite romances of all time.
“If you’re going to threaten a character with death, I kind of want a character to be threatened with death.” 😂 omgg when u j put the Ex Hex down at the end haha
GOLDEN BOY POSTED! FUCK YEAH! I am so excited to watch this video! Your other romance reading vlogs were amazing so I'm only expecting this one to be just as great. Also, I am really picky when it comes to romance novels, but once you say a romance novel is good, I'm more likely to read it since I know your taste is wonderful. And we are all aware that your style is immaculate, BUT LIKE- THAT FIT WITH THE CHECKERED SWEATER!? BESTIE! YOU REALLY WOKE UP AND CHOSE VIOLENCE! YOU LOOKED SO GOOD!
the way that i just finished reading both the spanish love deception and beach read in the past 2 weeks and then this video comes out???? the universe ✨alligns✨ perfectly. i'm always in such awe of how you speak of books but this video was just. SO GOOD
the universe really works in mysterious ways!! and thank you so much, when i love a book i can't help but just keep rambling about it! (the unedited footage of this video was like 1.5 hours sodfhjklkfjhs)
I really recommend Last Night at the Telegraph Club!! It’s a historical fiction, the main character is Chinese American, and it centers around a wlw relationship! The romance is written very well, and it also touches on being Chinese American during the 1950s (when the Red Scare was happening), and deals with friendships +family relationships as well. I love it, and I can’t do it justice writing it about here, so I hope you check it out!
Aaahhh!! Every single thing you pointed out about The Love Hypothesis, I was like, "yes! Yeeesss! Riiight!?" I love it when a romance novel has side characters who actively participate in the development of the plot, or have a mini plot of their own, if that makes sense. Olive + Ahn + Malcolm friendship group is so wholesome and supportive and relatable, I just loved reading about them as much as I loved reading about Adam and Olive's love story.
here’s some sapphic book recs (rom coms): Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, One Last Stop, Written in the Stars (and Count Your Lucky Stars), Something to Talk About, D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding, Those Who Wait, and Love and Other Disasters (wlnb) 🌈💕 these are all adult or new adult romances
Ahhh, I loved OLS! Thank you so much for the other recs too, I think I have Delilah Green coming my way soon, and I got Love and Other Disasters in my BOTM box! Definitely going to be checking them out soon!
I liked the love hypothesis bc it has my favorite romance trope, which is “wait, you’re in love with me?””i could have not been more obviously in love with you” 🥰 If you want recs of queer romances, cat Sebastian has some really sweet books, if you’re in the the mood for something spicier, Megan derr or alexis hall’s work (and if you want something a lot spicier and a bit campy, kj Charles’s work!)
Not ice planet barbarians being on here 💀 I see you're starting off with a bang in your romance reading journey because ALIENS, JOEL? 💀 im about to start watching and oh I can't wait to see your thoughts about that one 🤣 (the cover for it is SO PRETTY 🥰)
My favourite sapphic romance right now is Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake. It was incredible! And my favourite achillian romance is probably... The Charmed Offensive by Alison Cochrun. But I'm definitely going to scour these comments for more recs ❤️❤️
Some recs I think you’d like ! ✨✨ Fake Dating: The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren Queer: Let’s Talk about Love by Claire Kann (Asexual rep) BIPOC: King Maker by Kennedy Ryan, Rafe and Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon (also Seven Days in June by Tia Williams but I haven’t read it yet)
Finished folding my laundry so now I need to put it away. I think the only tiktok books from the video I will be interested in buying later in the year will be ‘the Spanish love deception’ and ‘the ex hex.’ Tho the 2nd book I’ll get in October along with 1-2 other books that give off Halloween vibes (not scary but cutesy/wholesome).
Hello, i recommend you reading "The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo", i think you'll love that piece. It has queer characters. Honestly, that book tremendously broke my heart 🤧❤️ pls consider reading it. Thank you for giving us a worthy-book-content❤️
This just shows me how specific the algorithm can be. I'm on booktok and I see almost exclusively queer books. I have never had the Spanish Love Deception or Ice Planet Barbarians come across my fyp. The books I see recommended most often are Red White and Royal Blue, They Both Die at the End, Song of Achilles, Priory of the Orange Tree, Cemetery Boys, and One Last Stop.
I'm hoping to review this in a few months! I've got a few other fantasy series (Mistborn, Fifth Season, Wheel of Time etc) to read, but then I'm hoping to do a proper video on this channel then!
omg i love every look in this video, especially the checkered chartreuse shirt???? so cute. thank you so much for a great video~ i haven't been commenting as frequently as i used to but i'm always around 💖
Hey guys pls read this So i am currently writing a book but the plot twist is like HUGE and i just needed to tell you about mt book in general. I am just wondering whether that would be interesting for the audience so i would love to if you answer me 💟 So basically the main character has some cottagecore aesthetic and is living in a small village near the castle of her kingdom. Her dad is friend with the king but he dies and the girl lives alone for a while in her house while growing her flowers in her garden which she sells in the village at her flowery shop. A couple of days later she meets a boy she falls in love that turns out to be the prince who needs a wife because his father is sick and doesnt have much time left. Long story short he falls in love too and they marry (light academia aesthetic here), but sadly a war is coming in which the new king dies and the MC has to protect the castle and steps into a battle with the king of the other kingdom 1vs1 and the outcome would be unknown i mean i will make space for readers imagination and then BOOM "I closed the book and put it on the shelf" Turns out the whole story was just a book that was read by a blonde lil esspreso depresso girl in rainy england in 21st century that likes to smoke marry jane 🌿 on the roof of her semi detached house ( idk whats the name its like around 5 houses that share the same side wall) then she meets the new neighboor that comes from france and they lowkey fall in love (some lil peep and tumblr vibes here) and i think im gonna use the power of the authors and kill them at the end but im still not sure about that one tbh I have also thought about the name of the book, something like "Lavender and w33D" but im not sure bout that either. If you've read this far thank you so much i really appreciate it and im looking forward to your reply🥰
I’m so stoked that someone else reads along to audiobooks at a really high speed, it’s the one way I’ve found to get my brain to focus. I still need to finish Ice Planet Barbarians but from what I did read, I was also pleasantly surprised that there was a decent plot in there! I might be a little basic with this recommendation but To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han has fake dating and an Asian main character, and it’s honestly my comfort romance book. Neighborly by Katrina Jackson is black love erotic romance and it features open relationships and a f/f relationship.
My recommendations: Written in the stars by Alexandria Bellefleur (F/F romance, fake dating), The charm offensive by Alison Cochrun (M/M romance, reality TV show), The worst bestman by Mia Sosa (F/M, poc main character, hate to love) and The soulmate equation by Christina Lauren (F/M, fake dating)
I enjoy the way you introduce your project, talk about the books you plan to read, then review right away. That is a lot of work and time. I don't think many people are doing book tube videos like this. Great job, as you can tell I'm new here, just subbed via your OFMD vid! Season 2! Oh and you like K dramas too major hearts. Best wishes.
This is something that has completely been overlooked by booktok, but Olive is demi! I had a feeling when I first read the book myself that that was the case, but since it's not at all mentioned in the text, and because literally no one had been talking about TLH as a queer book, I thought I was getting my hopes up and just projecting. But the author has confirmed it (according to my friend; I didn't see it firsthand), and several bloggers/reviewers noticed the same thing! So that is a small consolation, even though pretty much no one on booktok mentions it or probably even knows that that was the author's intention. Also thank you for your hilarious reaction to Ice Planet Barbarians, I am even more intrigued by it now 😂
Have you read Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell? It is a queer romance and sci-fi mystery/thriller. Not fake dating, but a forced political marriage of convenience between two men to solidify an alliance for a treaty. There is a good balance between the slow burn romance and the mystery plot and enough world building so that the plot makes sense. Also, it is a stand alone. There will be another novel set in this world, but in a different part of the galactic empire and with different characters.
Have you done cemetery boys yet? I see it recommended on tiktok a lot and its queer poc romance. I also hear about one last stop a lot, another queer romance book. I interact with queer and poc book recs a lot so I get a ton of them on tiktok that is just listing lots of those kinds of books :)
I LOVED cemetery boys!! Yadriel just made me feel so many things 🥺 Aiden Thomas wrote such an amazing book, and i’m super excited for their new book The Sunbearer Trials!
!! my personal romance book rec is the “lore & lust” series by karla nikole!!! it’s queer vampire romance with a diverse cast of characters (the third book means a lot to me because of the Dominican rep, which i don’t see much at all in mainstream romances); the books are set mostly in Japan and the way the author explores the different cultures that these characters were raised in, along with the lore that follows them as vampires was filled with so much depth and i absolutely adore it. i would highly highly recommend you checking out this series, especially because i’d just love to hear what you think of haruka & nino + jae & junichi 🖤
I would definitely recommend reading Tolkiens works, such an amazing world that has influenced so many. Be it authors, musicians, actors, book lovers, etc, his legacy will always have an impact on popular culture.
Our Violent Ends (SPOILERS) ..broke me. Like.. I'm-literally-a-sobbing-mess-on-the-floor broke me. I was actually completely certain that Roma and Juliette would run away together after somehow staging their deaths (thus honoring the ending of the original play). I mean the little hints were everywhere.. And while I respect Chloe Gong for ending the book the way they did, Juliette's abrupt realization and her and Roma's acceptance of their new fate still irk me. It all happened so fast.. There's just something so wrong about finally finding a new bookish couple that actually works only to lose both of the characters just when they are ready to start over. The two were enemies much longer than they were friends. I can't even tell how many outcomes I imagined for them that didn't include their untimely deaths. Also (considering how the book ended) the cover is just damn cruel. So yeah. Overall, the series is absobloodylutely beautiful.❤️ But sometimes things like that ending just tend to eclipse everything else..)
I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID BESTIE - I literally was just so shocked by everything but I guess books can't always end the way we want them ioasjdiasf
Have you read any of Alyssa Cole's books? She has lots of books starring Black and/or queer characters. Her Reluctant Royals series especially is fantastic. Also, I love your romance reading vlogs. So fun to watch and so many great recommendations!
I totally feel you on not being entirely ready to jump on the BookTok train. I felt like that before I started with my BookTube channel. I never regretted it though so I'll be watching out for your BookTok debut! XD "The Spanish Love Deception" and "The Love Hypothesis" both sound so good. I've seen those two all over BookTube and IG. Also *lol* you actually read "Ice Planet Barbarians"! It sounds so funny but I still haven't picked it up.
Two good queer historical romance series are the Turner series and the Seducing the Sedgwicks series by Cat Sebastian (although almost all of them are white,), I'm currently reading a POC romance called Hard Sell by Hudson Lin; I'm halfway through and enjoying it so far.
WELL now you need to drink some water! If you're able to, I'd invest in a Chilly's bottle as it keeps the water super cold throughout the day so you feel refreshed when you drink!!
I just started A Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell which is a sci-fi novel w/ a queer POC romance. I'm not even 100 pages in so I can't say anything about how much I like it or anything but it has good ratings on goodreads!
From all of these I watched the love hypothesis and overall cute story I loved the fact that he fell for her first and the trop of fake dating is cute I will give it 4.5 stars out of 5 The spanish love deception was a long ride soooooooooo long to read I couldn't finish it faster than a lot more than a week but it was worth it because I am a fan girl of Aaron blackford I WANT AN AARON BLACKFORD IN MY LIFE ! And I will give it a 4.5 to a 5 too I WISHED WE SAW HIS POV THAT WILL BE GREAT ❤❤
always love seeing people dip into romance omg. If you want more diverse authors deffo read Kennedy Ryan, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Jack Harbon and Alexis Hall! Also it would be great to see you trying indie romances too, I’d love to see what you think!!
my favourite f/f romances are not the marrying kind by jae and far from home by lorelei brown so far i think. far from home is fake marriage and has trigger warnings and marrykind is the second in a series and vaguely enemies to lovers
2 videos in a week??? wow I must be on heaven. Loved the notion tour and romance videos are always welcome. 3 favorites of mine feature in this video I will watch it carefully 🧐🧐
Can I recommend The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer? It's a m/m sci-fi story with poc rep, forced proximity, and a wild storyline! I had a really good time reading it.
I have just finished reading Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon. It’s really good! 6 interlinked short romantic stories written by/for and about POC and has 2 queer romantic stories in. It’s such a heart warming book. ❤
the brown sister romance trilogy is quite popular and all main female protagonists are black! all the romances are m/f but i think the second sister dani is bi :) i enjoyed them a lot they were a lot of fun! i havent read a lot of romance tho so im searching the comments for more reccs featuring pocs and queer relationships!!
you have probably already read a majoity of these but the seven husbands of evelyn hugo is popular on booktok and the brown sisters series has queer and diverse representation. i really enjoyed this video and would love to see you reading different romance tropes!!
It’s really interesting to hear that you wanted to give spanish love deception between a 4 and 5 star!! i recently read it for a book club and we were all NOT a fan 😭 i honestly thought it was a really poorly developed story and the writing was not it for me… but I’m so glad you loved it so much and had fun with it!
I'm so glad you agree with me about the wedding!! It's why I decided on 4 stars overall because I feel like including the wedding would've done it more justice! I'm also sorry that you weren't a fan of this book, but I'm so glad we can appreciate each other's reading tastes in this way - I'd love to read a romance you loved if you have any recs?
@@fictionalfates i don't read too too much romance but I ADORED One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. that one hit all the marks for me and the characters were so lovable
A really good poc book with a romance is “seven days in June” one of my favorite. For a queer romance: auroras angel (wlw fantasy romance), the charm offensive (gay and Demi sexual romance), Delilah green doesn’t care(wlw), the companion (polyamorous historical fiction), I have tons more but these are at the top of my head.
i second the charm offensive so much and I add the heartbreak bakery by amy rose capetta
thank you both sm for your recs!
Ohhh I want to read Delilah Green SO MUCH
Looovveeeedddd the video!! As to the enemies to lovers trope I REALLY recommend you “From Lukov, with love”. It’s a slow burn romance, and since you liked Spanish love deception it’s PERFECT!! Seriously, is such a beautiful book with a huge focus on the characters development!!
I don't know if this is a very good recommendation but there was a YA romance I read when I was a younger with the main characters as POC called The Sun Is Also a Star. According to my memory, this book CHANGED me and I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I ever read. Also, I just found your channel and omg I have been missing your videos all my life- I'm planning on a binge-watch soon. You seem like the coolest person!!
Loved the video!
POC romances: The Ex Talk (Dominic is Korean)
Seven Days in June (an absolute favorite)
From Lukov with Love (Jasmine is half filipino)
Not Here to be Liked (YA - Eliza is Korean and Len is half japanese)
Yesterday Is History (YA and Queer)
Some I haven't read but it's on my tbr:
Get a Life Chloe Brown
The Charm Offensive
Loveboat, Taipei
Digging Up Love
The Worst Best Man
Love from A to Z
Aaand, if you want to read more Emily Henry, consider People we meet on vacation, it's friends to lovers and one of my favorite romances of all time.
Thank you so much for all of these recommendations!!!
“If you’re going to threaten a character with death, I kind of want a character to be threatened with death.” 😂
omgg when u j put the Ex Hex down at the end haha
I think a vlog about tropes u like in romance books would be fun!
i just couldn't hide my disappointment, like if he's gonna die then show me a threat of death!!
joel!!! i have adhd too and love the audiobook, physical book combo
yes marshall and benedict made me feel all the feelings!
New vid oh my lordddd😍😍😍🥺
eeee i’m very excited!!!
GOLDEN BOY POSTED! FUCK YEAH!
I am so excited to watch this video! Your other romance reading vlogs were amazing so I'm only expecting this one to be just as great.
Also, I am really picky when it comes to romance novels, but once you say a romance novel is good, I'm more likely to read it since I know your taste is wonderful.
And we are all aware that your style is immaculate, BUT LIKE- THAT FIT WITH THE CHECKERED SWEATER!? BESTIE! YOU REALLY WOKE UP AND CHOSE VIOLENCE! YOU LOOKED SO GOOD!
Eeee I always appreciate your comments!! Thank you so much for your kind words as always, plus THE CHECKERED SWEATER IS LITERALLY A NEW FAVE!
Does anyone know what app he uses for the audio books?
the way that i just finished reading both the spanish love deception and beach read in the past 2 weeks and then this video comes out???? the universe ✨alligns✨ perfectly. i'm always in such awe of how you speak of books but this video was just. SO GOOD
the universe really works in mysterious ways!! and thank you so much, when i love a book i can't help but just keep rambling about it! (the unedited footage of this video was like 1.5 hours sodfhjklkfjhs)
I really recommend Last Night at the Telegraph Club!! It’s a historical fiction, the main character is Chinese American, and it centers around a wlw relationship! The romance is written very well, and it also touches on being Chinese American during the 1950s (when the Red Scare was happening), and deals with friendships +family relationships as well. I love it, and I can’t do it justice writing it about here, so I hope you check it out!
yes! i adore this book 💞
I've been meaning to read this one for a while, thank you so much for reminding me about it!
I'm gonna read it tomorrow!!
Tictok rewards A LOT of work, try and interact with every video you see that talks about diverse books and the fyp will bring them to you
thank you so much!!
Aaahhh!! Every single thing you pointed out about The Love Hypothesis, I was like, "yes! Yeeesss! Riiight!?" I love it when a romance novel has side characters who actively participate in the development of the plot, or have a mini plot of their own, if that makes sense. Olive + Ahn + Malcolm friendship group is so wholesome and supportive and relatable, I just loved reading about them as much as I loved reading about Adam and Olive's love story.
here’s some sapphic book recs (rom coms): Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, One Last Stop, Written in the Stars (and Count Your Lucky Stars), Something to Talk About, D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding, Those Who Wait, and Love and Other Disasters (wlnb) 🌈💕 these are all adult or new adult romances
Ahhh, I loved OLS! Thank you so much for the other recs too, I think I have Delilah Green coming my way soon, and I got Love and Other Disasters in my BOTM box! Definitely going to be checking them out soon!
Payback's a Witch did everything I wanted The Ex Hex to do (and bonus, it's WLW!)
A fake dating recommendation is Take a Hint, Dani Brown! It's the second in a series but I don't think it's necessary to read them in order ❤️
I LOVED Take a Hint, Dani Brown - it actually made me cry aslkdhjsadkf
I liked the love hypothesis bc it has my favorite romance trope, which is “wait, you’re in love with me?””i could have not been more obviously in love with you” 🥰
If you want recs of queer romances, cat Sebastian has some really sweet books, if you’re in the the mood for something spicier, Megan derr or alexis hall’s work (and if you want something a lot spicier and a bit campy, kj Charles’s work!)
eee thank you so much for the recommendations!
Just have to let you know- I found your account recently and you’ve immediately become one of my favs! ❤️❤️❤️
that means so much, thank you!
Not ice planet barbarians being on here 💀 I see you're starting off with a bang in your romance reading journey because ALIENS, JOEL? 💀 im about to start watching and oh I can't wait to see your thoughts about that one 🤣 (the cover for it is SO PRETTY 🥰)
I'm DYING, it had to be done pls it was needed but after three parts of this series, there had to at least be one where it was a book with ALIENS!
My favourite sapphic romance right now is Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake. It was incredible!
And my favourite achillian romance is probably... The Charmed Offensive by Alison Cochrun. But I'm definitely going to scour these comments for more recs ❤️❤️
Oooh thank you so much!
Some recs I think you’d like ! ✨✨
Fake Dating: The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Queer: Let’s Talk about Love by Claire Kann (Asexual rep)
BIPOC: King Maker by Kennedy Ryan, Rafe and Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon (also Seven Days in June by Tia Williams but I haven’t read it yet)
Finished folding my laundry so now I need to put it away. I think the only tiktok books from the video I will be interested in buying later in the year will be ‘the Spanish love deception’ and ‘the ex hex.’ Tho the 2nd book I’ll get in October along with 1-2 other books that give off Halloween vibes (not scary but cutesy/wholesome).
Ooh, you're so right for that! I definitely think some spooky romances to get in the mood for Halloween is defo the right call
Yes to triple speed audiobooks while reading along!!
it helps so much!
Hello, i recommend you reading "The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo", i think you'll love that piece. It has queer characters. Honestly, that book tremendously broke my heart 🤧❤️ pls consider reading it. Thank you for giving us a worthy-book-content❤️
i’ve already read it!! it was such an amazing book, and i also did a liveshow for it over on Noelle Gallagher’s channel in August 2020!
This just shows me how specific the algorithm can be. I'm on booktok and I see almost exclusively queer books. I have never had the Spanish Love Deception or Ice Planet Barbarians come across my fyp. The books I see recommended most often are Red White and Royal Blue, They Both Die at the End, Song of Achilles, Priory of the Orange Tree, Cemetery Boys, and One Last Stop.
Would love if you review The Silmarillion
I'm hoping to review this in a few months! I've got a few other fantasy series (Mistborn, Fifth Season, Wheel of Time etc) to read, but then I'm hoping to do a proper video on this channel then!
The ex hex was sadly so dull for me. Was so excited for it but then I wanted to dnf it so bad 😅😩
honestly you're not alone there
omg i love every look in this video, especially the checkered chartreuse shirt???? so cute. thank you so much for a great video~ i haven't been commenting as frequently as i used to but i'm always around 💖
Hey guys pls read this
So i am currently writing a book but the plot twist is like HUGE and i just needed to tell you about mt book in general. I am just wondering whether that would be interesting for the audience so i would love to if you answer me 💟
So basically the main character has some cottagecore aesthetic and is living in a small village near the castle of her kingdom. Her dad is friend with the king but he dies and the girl lives alone for a while in her house while growing her flowers in her garden which she sells in the village at her flowery shop. A couple of days later she meets a boy she falls in love that turns out to be the prince who needs a wife because his father is sick and doesnt have much time left. Long story short he falls in love too and they marry (light academia aesthetic here), but sadly a war is coming in which the new king dies and the MC has to protect the castle and steps into a battle with the king of the other kingdom 1vs1 and the outcome would be unknown i mean i will make space for readers imagination and then BOOM "I closed the book and put it on the shelf"
Turns out the whole story was just a book that was read by a blonde lil esspreso depresso girl in rainy england in 21st century that likes to smoke marry jane 🌿 on the roof of her semi detached house ( idk whats the name its like around 5 houses that share the same side wall) then she meets the new neighboor that comes from france and they lowkey fall in love (some lil peep and tumblr vibes here) and i think im gonna use the power of the authors and kill them at the end but im still not sure about that one tbh
I have also thought about the name of the book, something like "Lavender and w33D" but im not sure bout that either. If you've read this far thank you so much i really appreciate it and im looking forward to your reply🥰
I’m so stoked that someone else reads along to audiobooks at a really high speed, it’s the one way I’ve found to get my brain to focus. I still need to finish Ice Planet Barbarians but from what I did read, I was also pleasantly surprised that there was a decent plot in there!
I might be a little basic with this recommendation but To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han has fake dating and an Asian main character, and it’s honestly my comfort romance book. Neighborly by Katrina Jackson is black love erotic romance and it features open relationships and a f/f relationship.
My recommendations: Written in the stars by Alexandria Bellefleur (F/F romance, fake dating), The charm offensive by Alison Cochrun (M/M romance, reality TV show), The worst bestman by Mia Sosa (F/M, poc main character, hate to love) and The soulmate equation by Christina Lauren (F/M, fake dating)
thank you so much eeeee
I enjoy the way you introduce your project, talk about the books you plan to read, then review right away. That is a lot of work and time. I don't think many people are doing book tube videos like this. Great job, as you can tell I'm new here, just subbed via your OFMD vid! Season 2! Oh and you like K dramas too major hearts. Best wishes.
This is something that has completely been overlooked by booktok, but Olive is demi! I had a feeling when I first read the book myself that that was the case, but since it's not at all mentioned in the text, and because literally no one had been talking about TLH as a queer book, I thought I was getting my hopes up and just projecting. But the author has confirmed it (according to my friend; I didn't see it firsthand), and several bloggers/reviewers noticed the same thing! So that is a small consolation, even though pretty much no one on booktok mentions it or probably even knows that that was the author's intention.
Also thank you for your hilarious reaction to Ice Planet Barbarians, I am even more intrigued by it now 😂
Have you read Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell? It is a queer romance and sci-fi mystery/thriller. Not fake dating, but a forced political marriage of convenience between two men to solidify an alliance for a treaty. There is a good balance between the slow burn romance and the mystery plot and enough world building so that the plot makes sense. Also, it is a stand alone. There will be another novel set in this world, but in a different part of the galactic empire and with different characters.
I’m so glad you enjoyed Beach Read! It’s one of the first books I ever read within the romance genre and I thought it was excellent and so well done.
Have you done cemetery boys yet? I see it recommended on tiktok a lot and its queer poc romance. I also hear about one last stop a lot, another queer romance book. I interact with queer and poc book recs a lot so I get a ton of them on tiktok that is just listing lots of those kinds of books :)
I LOVED cemetery boys!! Yadriel just made me feel so many things 🥺 Aiden Thomas wrote such an amazing book, and i’m super excited for their new book The Sunbearer Trials!
Your aborable and have a lovely voice sending love from new Zealand cuttie I'm queer too
eeee thank you! also we love more queer people here
!! my personal romance book rec is the “lore & lust” series by karla nikole!!! it’s
queer vampire romance with a diverse cast of characters (the third book means a lot to me because of the Dominican rep, which i don’t see much at all in mainstream romances); the books are set mostly in Japan and the way the author explores the different cultures that these characters were raised in, along with the lore that follows them as vampires was filled with so much depth and i absolutely adore it. i would highly highly recommend you checking out this series, especially because i’d just love to hear what you think of haruka & nino + jae & junichi 🖤
I would definitely recommend reading Tolkiens works, such an amazing world that has influenced so many. Be it authors, musicians, actors, book lovers, etc, his legacy will always have an impact on popular culture.
absolutely gonna love this video
I’ve been in a reading slump and been ignoring bookish content but watching this truly revived my love for making bookish content, #hailjoel
eeee i'm so glad you're able to feel more love for making content!
Our Violent Ends (SPOILERS)
..broke me. Like.. I'm-literally-a-sobbing-mess-on-the-floor broke me. I was actually completely certain that Roma and Juliette would run away together after somehow staging their deaths (thus honoring the ending of the original play). I mean the little hints were everywhere.. And while I respect Chloe Gong for ending the book the way they did, Juliette's abrupt realization and her and Roma's acceptance of their new fate still irk me. It all happened so fast.. There's just something so wrong about finally finding a new bookish couple that actually works only to lose both of the characters just when they are ready to start over.
The two were enemies much longer than they were friends.
I can't even tell how many outcomes I imagined for them that didn't include their untimely deaths.
Also (considering how the book ended) the cover is just damn cruel.
So yeah. Overall, the series is absobloodylutely beautiful.❤️ But sometimes things like that ending just tend to eclipse everything else..)
I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID BESTIE - I literally was just so shocked by everything but I guess books can't always end the way we want them ioasjdiasf
Have you read any of Alyssa Cole's books? She has lots of books starring Black and/or queer characters. Her Reluctant Royals series especially is fantastic. Also, I love your romance reading vlogs. So fun to watch and so many great recommendations!
Ooh yes, I do own one of her books but I haven't gotten to them yet! Thank you so much for reminding me!
I just found your channel and I have never fallen in love with someone so quick, love your vibes
You have adhd like me thats so cool!!!
SO excited for this video. Gotta figure out which books to prioritize.
I really love your videos, thank you so much for making them! You have such positive energy ^^... greetings from germany
Ahhh thank you so much for watching!! The greetings from germany are much appreciated
Great video!
😊😊👍👍
I like this!
I totally feel you on not being entirely ready to jump on the BookTok train. I felt like that before I started with my BookTube channel. I never regretted it though so I'll be watching out for your BookTok debut! XD "The Spanish Love Deception" and "The Love Hypothesis" both sound so good. I've seen those two all over BookTube and IG. Also *lol* you actually read "Ice Planet Barbarians"! It sounds so funny but I still haven't picked it up.
Why didn’t I get the notification..
not youtube being rude like this
Yes. Absolutely, immediately yes.
Two good queer historical romance series are the Turner series and the Seducing the Sedgwicks series by Cat Sebastian (although almost all of them are white,),
I'm currently reading a POC romance called Hard Sell by Hudson Lin; I'm halfway through and enjoying it so far.
i dread every time joel mentions water because I know I haven't hydrated myself yet
WELL now you need to drink some water! If you're able to, I'd invest in a Chilly's bottle as it keeps the water super cold throughout the day so you feel refreshed when you drink!!
the ENTIRE written in the stars trilogy… like astrology? fake dating? second chance romance? a fun group of friends? queer romances? we LOVE
I just started A Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell which is a sci-fi novel w/ a queer POC romance. I'm not even 100 pages in so I can't say anything about how much I like it or anything but it has good ratings on goodreads!
From all of these I watched the love hypothesis and overall cute story I loved the fact that he fell for her first and the trop of fake dating is cute I will give it 4.5 stars out of 5
The spanish love deception was a long ride soooooooooo long to read I couldn't finish it faster than a lot more than a week but it was worth it because I am a fan girl of Aaron blackford
I WANT AN AARON BLACKFORD IN MY LIFE ! And I will give it a 4.5 to a 5 too
I WISHED WE SAW HIS POV THAT WILL BE GREAT ❤❤
Another book to add: THE HIGH PRICE OF A GOOD MAN…..(by DEBRA Phillips) on Amazon
always love seeing people dip into romance omg. If you want more diverse authors deffo read Kennedy Ryan, Rebekah Weatherspoon, Jack Harbon and Alexis Hall! Also it would be great to see you trying indie romances too, I’d love to see what you think!!
my favourite f/f romances are not the marrying kind by jae and far from home by lorelei brown so far i think. far from home is fake marriage and has trigger warnings and marrykind is the second in a series and vaguely enemies to lovers
for a POC recommandation there's "how to fail at flirting", it was amazing
Really enjoyed this video and hearing your thoughts on all of these books! ❤️
2 videos in a week??? wow I must be on heaven. Loved the notion tour and romance videos are always welcome. 3 favorites of mine feature in this video I will watch it carefully 🧐🧐
If you liked Beach Read I think you’ll like People We Meet on Vacation!!
I'm listening to Beach Read audiobook and it is amazing!
Can I recommend The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer? It's a m/m sci-fi story with poc rep, forced proximity, and a wild storyline! I had a really good time reading it.
Omg i really want to read this book! Its not out in my country until the end of march but your comment has made me so excited again!
@@millieb3823 i hope you enjoy it when it comes out!
adding to my list!!
@@spiritofthefaerie thankyou!
I can recommend "Serpent and Dove" for a nice fantasy & fake dating romance.
I have just finished reading Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.
It’s really good! 6 interlinked short romantic stories written by/for and about POC and has 2 queer romantic stories in.
It’s such a heart warming book. ❤
Ah, I've been wanting to read Blackout for some time - you've just reminded me about it! Time to bump it up on my TBR I guess!
OMGG read hani and ishu's guide to fake dating, it has poc wlw romance with (obviously) fake dating trope
OMG YES! this is definitely going on the list
You would be amused by the Ex Hex audiobook, the narrator just does an American accent for Rhys
NO WHAT PLS NO
If you want fake dating with a kdrama vibe you should read Rent a Boyfriend
by Gloria Chao. It gives all the cozy and bittersweet feels.
Ooh, thank you so much!!
now you HAVE to make the fake dating video I NEED THIS VIDEO PLEASE 🥺🥺🥺
slifjsldksjdslkf i shall get to it soon!!
the brown sister romance trilogy is quite popular and all main female protagonists are black! all the romances are m/f but i think the second sister dani is bi :) i enjoyed them a lot they were a lot of fun! i havent read a lot of romance tho so im searching the comments for more reccs featuring pocs and queer relationships!!
I've enjoyed Chloe + Dani - I STILL need to read Eve Brown and I'm so mad at myself that I haven't yet askljdskdlfjds
Adding a comment in support of everyone who has recommended Talia Hibbert!
AS YOU SHOULD! Talia Hibbert is amazing
I want to read a River enchanted so badly 👀
RIGHT?! it looks like such a good read
Joel: if you haven’t taken your drink of water…
Me: LISTEN. I don’t come here to be attacked
aslkdjaslkfj i'm dead
you have probably already read a majoity of these but the seven husbands of evelyn hugo is popular on booktok and the brown sisters series has queer and diverse representation. i really enjoyed this video and would love to see you reading different romance tropes!!
i love both of these books!! i can't wait to read different romance tropes in the future too!
The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo features a POC romance and it's an adorable read!
Ah I think I have this book, thank you!
Great vlog! Also I love your checked green and cream jumper, such a good look! 🥰
ahhh thank you so much! it's one of my favourite jumpers hehe
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is queer (own voices) AND fake-dating and is also great. No idea what booktok thought of it though
BookTok like it I believe, but unfortunately the book wasn't for me! I may check out the sequel though!
@@fictionalfates would also second the recommendations for Charm Offensive!
YESSSS I need more diverse romance pls do a video on it!
Will do!!
I just got covid and was soo sad about it. But this had made me smile thank you 😊
sending the best to you, friend!!!!
sending all the good vibes for a speedy recovery!!
It’s really interesting to hear that you wanted to give spanish love deception between a 4 and 5 star!! i recently read it for a book club and we were all NOT a fan 😭 i honestly thought it was a really poorly developed story and the writing was not it for me… but I’m so glad you loved it so much and had fun with it!
also YES i was so frustrated that the wedding wasn’t in the book! so much build up about it and then it didn’t even happen 😭
I'm so glad you agree with me about the wedding!! It's why I decided on 4 stars overall because I feel like including the wedding would've done it more justice! I'm also sorry that you weren't a fan of this book, but I'm so glad we can appreciate each other's reading tastes in this way - I'd love to read a romance you loved if you have any recs?
@@fictionalfates i don't read too too much romance but I ADORED One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. that one hit all the marks for me and the characters were so lovable
I ADORED OLS too!! I just felt like it was so wholesome and I loved how it ended
@@fictionalfates RIGHT i took down some notes from you video though, lots of new romance I wanna give a try!