Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
I am combining CWW with Books From the Backlog hosted by Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books. This will allow me to feature some newly "rediscovered" books, which I plan on reading, alongside a new release.
This week I can't wait for
Romantic Friction by Lori Gold
Published by MIRA on May 6, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Goodreads
Sofie Wilde’s bestselling fantasy romance series is a cultural phenomenon, breaking records and readers’ hearts for years. As buzz builds for the release of the tenth and final book in the series, Sofie is asked to headline the premier romance readers’ convention, a career milestone. One she won’t let anyone take from her, especially “the next Sofie Wilde.”
That’s what they’re calling her—Hartley West, a self-published, debut author who writes in the style of Sofie Wilde. Except she doesn’t actually “write” anything. After Hartley admits to using Al, Sofie’s ready to watch her be skewered on social media. Except in this unpredictable world, Hartley is instead lauded for being innovative.
After an unhinged rant unintentionally goes viral, Sofie is on the verge of losing her headliner status—and her fans. As the convention begins, Sofie is surrounded by her fellow authors who fear their futures, their livelihoods, and their art will be stripped away, one Al prompt at a time. Something must be done. This has to end. Now. With the clock ticking, Sofie enlists a cohort of authors to help her stop Hartley, vowing, “‘The next Sofie Wilde’—over my dead body. Or hers.”
I cannot tell a lie, the title of the book make me look a little harder. Then I realized this was a book set in the bookish world. Love that! Then I saw that the author was taking on AI generated books. Ooooh. I am curious to see how Gold incorporates such a hot topic. This book is tagged as humor, so I hope there will be lots of comedic moments intertwined with this hot button topic.
Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti
Published by One More Chapter on March 14, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
Naomi and Luca have been pen-pals since fifth-grade. Well, more like bitter rivals caught in an epic battle of insults and verbal jousting...
But what starts as a hilarious chain of hate filled letters, slowly develops into a friendship spanning coasts and years. That is until one day, years later, when the letters suddenly stop.
It’s been two years since Naomi last heard from Luca. Two years since the letter that changed everything.
But when a new envelope turns up out of the blue at her desk at the local news station, Naomi is determined not to let Luca have the final word.
I added this book to my TBR when I saw it on Netgalley. Then I bought it. It had been worked into my weekly TBR several times, but you all know about my library hold drama, it kept getting bumped. In the meantime, my daughter read it. She said it was full of tropes and predictable, and she loved every minute of it. That makes me think it has some high quality entertainment value because my daughter is a harsh critic. I am looking forward to seeing what she loved so much.
Let us know in the comments!
Ooh, how timely for Romantic Friction! I've been seeing so much about AI-generated content lately.
ReplyDeleteIt's new and sort of terrible for certain things. So, I am not surprised to see it popping up in books
DeleteFunny, I was just talking about generative AI with my parents and cousin over dinner and how people are using it to write and sell books "they've written". It's a hot topic for sure—I'd be curious to see how the topic is handled in a romcom! Hate Mail has come on my recommendations radar for months now but I don't know why I keep passing it up every time I see it, lol. Maybe I've grown wary of these cute covers. But I hope it's a smash for you so I can read your review and be convinced to pick it up, lol.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter goes bananas about AI when it comes to art. I am about 55% through Hate Mail, and I LOVE IT! It's fun and sort of emotional too. I am having a great time reading it.
DeleteWell yes bookish world and AI generated books that has me intrigued too!
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see how she handles such a hot topic
DeleteThey both sound like they would be good.
ReplyDeleteI started Hate Mail today and it's excellent.
DeleteHate Mail sounds good. I'm interested in your thoughts on Romantic Friction. What a topic!
ReplyDeleteI loved Hate Mail! It was fun and sweet and adorable. I had a great time reading it.
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