#notchilled…Yes it IS Happening, Beyonce vs. Emma Watson and why feminism isn’t just one color, some Movers and Shakers, a few Halloween reads and as usual some bookshelf porn.

#NotChilled? More like VOLCANIC

So the romance world BTFUed last week. And by BTFU I mean blew the eff up. If you’re on Facebook, Twitter or follow a few book blogs and author bloggers, you probably already know what the #notchilled hashtag stands for. If not here is a brief synopsis.
1. Over a month ago Ellora’s Cave (EC) did an interview with Publisher’s Weekly(PW) confirming that they were downsizing and that their Amazon sales had dropped.
2. A popular book blogging site did an extensive blog post on Ellora’s Cave’s current situation as did many other sites and sited PW (among other sources).
3. Ellora’s Cave is now suing said popular blog and blogger for libel, defamation and oh yeah $25,000 worth of damages. See court filing here, and news stories here, here and here.
4. The internet BTFU
So why is any of this important? Because, many believe the lawsuit is an attempt to “chill” any negative conversation or reporting, no matter how based in fact and truth the reporting is. Whether you believe that theory or not, many authors, readers, bloggers and romance reviewers are rallying around #notchilled and making sure their voices are heard. Book reviewers are always in a sticky corner. “We” (notice the collective use) all read romance, we like to share our love of the genre. Oftentimes, it is in the form of word of mouth, written reviews or ratings. This communing over what we like (and dislike) is what I believe, is the reason why the romance genre is the most popular genre of fiction. We’ve built a community around being able to share our opinions. So when something happens that makes us all feel unsafe, romance readers tend to take notice.

The faces of Feminism and yes Beyonce is one of them

I read an article at XOJane recently and basically imagined the writer dropping a mike and strutting off stage when I got to the end, because this piece SPOKE to me. I hate it when there is any debate on whether ANY woman has the right to call herself a feminist, and the ongoing public discussion on whether Beyonce is one just burns…like really burns. But when the whole Emma Watson is a better feminist, Beyonce take notes, nonsense started a few weeks ago I was livid. So instead of typing an intelligible rant, I’m going to quote Olivia Cole’s article in XOJane instead.
Let’s begin with the title of the article…“The Feminist Death Match Between Emma Watson and Beyonce is Some Anti-Feminist Sh@t”…ahhh PREACH!.

And now for some awesome stylings…
“Guys…as a white feminist whose feminism is by no means perfect and has committed her share of missteps in the past, let me say this as gently as I can: This…sh!t…has…to…stop.

Maybe because Emma dresses like a lady? What does a lady dress like, exactly? And who decided what a lady looks like? What bearing should one’s clothing have on one’s identification as a feminist? This is exactly the kind of misogynist policing we’ve fought tooth and claw against for decades, and to level this line of “reasoning” at Beyoncé is not only antifeminist, it is despicable.”

But really it was this gem that had me cheering…
“When you criticize Beyoncé’s feminism based on the clothes she wears, her level of education, the dances she does; when you say she cannot be a feminist or is less of a feminist than a woman who wears clothes differently, has been educated differently, dances differently, you are erasing her nuance and you are erasing the part of her feminism that is interlocked with her humanity. Because in case you didn’t know, fellow white feminists, the white experience of womanhood is different than the black experience of womanhood. The expectations, perceptions, context, and history of black women are not the same as the expectations, perceptions, context, and history of you as a white woman. Intersectional feminism means that women of color experience womanhood at a place where race and gender intersect. It means that the way they experience life as a woman is influenced by their race, and vise versa.”

The full original article can be found here.

Movers and Shakers

 

     

Vasily’s Revenge: the Complete Story by Latrivia Nelson

Description:
Vasily Kavlov has been proud of one title in his life, head enforcer of the Medlov Organized Crime Family. As a Russian Mafia hit man, his entire purpose has been to protect his bosses and their families without prejudice. However, even the bravest hit man has loved at least once. To Vasily’s detriment, it was his former boss, Leo Rasputin’s wife, Lilly. After sticking his neck out once in the name of love to protect her, he was nearly killed and then discarded by the very man who had sworn allegiance.

Given a second and better chance with Dmitry Medlov and his men, Vasily focused on climbing the ranks and becoming lauded by his brethren. Now the head of security for the Czar of the Underworld, a feared and revered faction of the Vory v Zakone, he put all ideas of love aside and follows the code of the Thieves-in-Law. That is until Leo breaks out of Attica and tries to hunt down Lilly in an attempt to take her life.

Secret pacts between men and women come unbound as the race against time for $20 million in diamonds, unveils the truth for Vasily. He might not only carry the title of enforcer but also the title of father of Lilly’s eight year old son. Hiding them under the guard of the Medlov family, he must find the diamonds, find the men responsible for the set up and finally find out the truth.

Read the first book in the new series about the most famous fiction Russian Mafia family in books, The Medlov Men, by national bestselling author Latrivia S. Nelson.

Amazon

I Love you More Than by Kortni Renea

Description:
Hard-working partially single, single mother who needs to find her inner voice and strength while finding the love of her life who helps her to build a strong foundation.

Felecia Montgomery has been in an on-again off-again relationship with the father of her children David Foster for almost thirteen years now. They had two beautiful little girls. David counts on Felicia to do everything (even the most miniscule and mundane tasks). Felicia finds the strength to finally leave David, even if she faces the possibility of being a single mother for the rest of her life.

While becoming a confident and happier Felicia, she starts to give her childhood crush Harrison a chance…

Harrison is a successful businessman who is not afraid to get his hands dirty. Harrison owns a chain of body shops and knows how to work with his hands. There’s nothing more Harrison needed to balance out his seemingly “perfect” life, than the love of a good woman and the pitter patter/stomping of little feet around the house. Harrison has had a huge crush on Felicia for quite some time now. But he always held back from asking her out, knowing she was still involved with the father of her children. Until now….

Will Harrison and Felicia be able to build each other up and find the happiness they both deserve……? Or will they let the past come in between them.
Amazon

Perfect by Delaney Diamond

Description:
Johnson Family Book 2
Does the end justify the means?

Cyrus Johnson is rich, powerful, and used to getting his way. When his estranged wife shows up at his office demanding a divorce once and for all, he not only refuses, he makes a demand of his own.

Daniella Barrett-Johnson has little bargaining power where Cyrus is concerned, and he’s already used his vast financial resources to prolong their divorce and keep her tied to him. Her only hope is to give him what he wants, but if she does, how will she ever be able to leave him for good?
Amazon

Halloween Reads

In honor of Halloween just around the corner, I wanted to highlight some stories that would be great for a quick escape into the dark and creepy, but with some romance thrown in for fun.

If you have any recommended Halloween reads please share in the comments below. I’ll choose one or two to highlight in my next post 🙂

    

The Portal Guards by Marcia Colette

Description:
Evelyss Nontage is a housekeeper at the Talbert Estate who has been hired to keep order. Her family is also relying on her to learn of the location of a mysterious portal that allows those from the Fringe Line to pass into the human world. For her and her loved ones, it’s a matter of life and death.

Brahm Gushon is an occupant who has been with many of ladies in waiting. He’s tired of them, too. He’s drawn to the solitary housekeeper who has her mind two things. Her duty and her loyalty to the household. No one will break her concentration. Not even him.

Evelyss and Brahm must work through their frustrated feelings to send a deadly intruder back to hell…assuming he doesn’t take both of them with him. It’ll take another leap of faith in each other to overcome the second enemy they don’t see coming.
Amazon

Black Widow Witch by A.J. Locke

Description:
A deadly curse, a dangerous assassin, and one shot to save everyone she loves…

Malachi Erami can’t fall in love. After she’s caught with Knave, the witch Queen’s favorite lover, she’s cursed to savagely butcher any man she falls for. Exiled to live among humans, Malachi runs a bar that serves magic-laced drinks, but since her curse labels her high risk, she’s also closely monitored. Julian Vira is her latest babysitter, but he’s also the first man since Knave that she’s been attracted to. Good-looking and nonjudgmental of her horrible curse? Yeah, he’s hard to resist.

But when Malachi finds a body behind her bar, she knows she’s in trouble. If the Witches Control Council gets wind of it, she’ll be accused of murder and sent to her death. And when her friends start getting framed for murder, she realizes she’s not the only target. Malachi and Julian dig into the evidence to clear her name, but the closer they get to answers, the closer the curse comes to taking over. So when Malachi uncovers a plot to kill the witch Queen, she finds herself suddenly recruited into service, with the promise of having her curse lifted and a reunion with Knave as well. But if she fails, Knave will die. And she and Julian might not live long enough to see that happen.
Amazon

Some Bookshelf Porn

I don’t even like the color yellow all that much, but I LOVE this room. They call me mellow yellow…

Source

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Laurel Cremant is an opinionated author and reader of romance with a wicked sense of humor. RNIC was smart (or crazy) to bring her on as a blogger. Come back on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month to get her romance industry news…with a colorful twist.