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'You had Me at Hola' by Alexis Daria 'Queen Move' by Kennedy Ryan 'The Duke and I: Bridgerton' by Julia Quinn
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The pandemic might’ve stolen the “steamy” from your love life, but that’s what fiction is for! Live vicariously through the romantic adventures in these three 2020 can’t-miss sexy romance novels. The first is Alexis Daria’s “You Had Me At Hola.” Jasmine Lin Rodriguez is breaking out as a telenovela star and happy to put a made-for-tabloid romantic crackup in the rear view mirror. Until she finds out that her ex, Ashton Suarez, is front and center on her dashboard, cast as her ex-husband on the show. But if this sounds like little more than scene-playing becomes real life, this novel has a lot more to offer. The trust and intimacy that’s built on the soap opera set gradually and convincingly seeps into their off-screen relationship. There’s a powerful theme of consent that runs through the novel. My second “get your sexy on” romance is Kennedy Ryan’s “Queen Move.” Ryan is a bestselling novelist, “Queen Move” is the third book in the All the King’s Men series. But this novel stands out for it’s sassy dialogue and convincing romance between long-time best friends. “Dig a little,” Ryan writes, “and you’ll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern. Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old.” And my third romance to read from 2020 is a series that Shonda Rhimes is turning into a Netflix show! Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton family series, beginning with “The Duke and I,” is set in Regency England. Each book focuses on the love-lost-and-found adventures of eight siblings and their widowed aristocratic mother. The characters are never saccharine, and are often bold with complex entanglements. I can’t wait to see what She-ro Shonda Rhimes does with the series. The show premieres on Netflix in late December So, three can’t miss romance novels for 2020? The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn, Kennedy Ryan’s novel, “Queen Move,” and “You Had Me at Hola” by Alexis Daria.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News | 