Best Books to Read Now: Princesses, Queens, & Royal Romance!

As you may have heard by now, my next book features a Royal princess, a sexy spy and kissing.  And you might also know that when I started to write it, I didn't originally set out to write a so-called "royal" book (See: How I got the Idea.)

Click to get your own copy of The Royal Runaway!

But thanks to #Royalwedding fever, and royal fans around the world, I have been joyfully swept up in all things royal romance related. 

So I thought I'd bring you a list of books to read if you're prince or princess obsessed. 

Non fiction / Historical Princesses & Queens

Marie Antoinette : Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser
Queen Elizabeth I: The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

Queen Victoria: Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
Princess Diana: Diana Her True Story in her Own Words by Andrew Morton

For Kids and the Young at Heart

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Time-Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie-Antoinette by Bianca Turetsky

Modern Contemporary Royal Stories

Royally Wed by Teri Wilson

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
 

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Command Me, Book 1 of the Royals Saga by Geneva Lee

For more discussion about the above books, check out the podcast episodes I did with all the authors at Womenwithbooks.com.

And for more royal romance reading discussion, check out Royally Broke's Royally Good Reads Book Club on Facebook, mentioned here. 

Got more recommendations? Princesses and queens you love to read about? Share them below! 

Best Books to Read Now: How to FIND GOOD BOOKS (on sale!)

Where do readers find books?

If you like to read, there’s a good chance that you’ve looked around and asked yourself, “where do other readers find good books?”  Or more importantly, “where do other readers find good books on sale?”

With the hibernation of the American brick and mortar bookstore, it can be hard to discover new authors and their new releases. I mean, you can’t just wander into Waldenbooks or Borders (or in some cases a convenient Barnes and Noble) anymore. And the selections at Target and Wal-Mart are great but they don’t usually cover all genres. You’d be hard pressed to find the latest science fiction series at Target, for example. And if you wanted the first 6 books in a series? Yeah, no. 

So you turn to the internet booksellers. And while Amazon might have every book ever written, that’s a little…. Overwhelming. And it may not solve your original problem. 

So how do I find the perfect book to read? 

1. Follow me! On both this blog and my podcast, WOMEN WITH BOOKS, I’m always giving recommendations and if I see those books on sale, I try to post them on my facebook page. 

2. Goodreads - Probably the largest social media/ website that’s centered around books, it can still be tough to find exactly the book you want to read. There are lists, there are contests, there are groups and you can browse all of them. Anyone can post ‘the top 200 books about cats in Quebec” and that’s awesome to have that space but it can be hard for a reader who’s specifically looking for something. 

My best advice? Follow the authors you already love. Start friending them  and others who like the same books you do. You’ll see what other people are reading and loving. For instance, if you friend me on Goodreads, you’ll be able to easily see what I’ve read for my GR reading challenge this year. 

Then sign up for the Goodreads newsletters for your preferred genre. They can still be incomplete, but you will start to see what’s coming out and what looks good and what’s on sale. 

Also -Amazon now owns Goodreads. So you never know what cool functionality (or sales updates) you’ll see between the two sites in the future. 

3. Bookbub - this is primarily still an e-mail newsletter that will notify you of sales on books in the genres that you select. But in the past year or so, Bookbub has added several new features that I really enjoy. You can follow your favorite authors and when they have a new release, Bookbub will e-mail you. Also, Bookbub will notify you if your favorite authors recommend books, and what they are. Interested? Sign up and try following me to see what happens to your TBR pile. 

4. Amazon - the behemoth of online booksellers also offers some of the same features as Bookbub. For instance, you can follow authors (my profile here) and Amazon says you’ll get a notification of their new book releases. When THE ROYAL RUNAWAY  went up on pre-order, a reader let me know that she learned about it from an Amazon e-mail - which is AWESOME. But I’ve heard other authors say that they’re not sure their readers are notified regularly. So if there’s an author that you absolutely can’t miss, best practice is probably to follow them at Goodreads, Bookbub and Amazon - a belt and suspenders approach, if you will. 

The other recommendation I have at Amazon would be to sign up for their Kindle Daily Deals e-mail. These sales can often be exclusive to Amazon, which means that Bookbub might not feature them. You have to act fast though - when Amazon puts books on sale, it might be a quick flash and then the deal is gone. 

So those are my best recommendations for finding awesome new books (on sale!) to read. I know it might sound like you have to sign up for everything, but I promise you, authors and booksellers are so excited to put the perfect book into a reader’s hands. I know nothing makes me happier. 

Reserve your copy of THE ROYAL RUNAWAY at:
Amazon || BN.Com || Simon & Schuster ||  Apple Books  ||Amazon UK || Kobo

You know what else makes me happy? When readers like you pre-order my latest book! Or add it to their Goodreads shelf! Or put it on their Amazon wishlist! All of these things help signal to my publisher and retailers that this is a book that people will love. 

And it is. Don’t you trust my judgment yet? 

Best Books to Read Now: 2018 Women With Books Summer Reading Challenge

This time of year, I'm always being asked - WHAT'S A GOOD BOOK TO READ???  
Between road trips, vacations and lazy days in the shade, it seems like everyone agrees that it's the perfect time to immerse yourself in a great book. 

So in response to popular demand, I'm introducing....

For the next three months, join me as we explore new genres, discover new authors and bask in the glory of love... mystery... adventure...  Of course you can pick whatever book you want in each category but I'm going to give some recommendations... you know me. I can't RESIST giving book recommendations...

Ready?  Let's start with what everyone's been obssessing about!

A royal book! 
 

I've done a lot of talking about the Royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry this spring, including hosting several inspiring authors of royal romance. Here are some of their awesome books:

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole Amazon || iBooks

Royally Wed by Teri Wilson Amazon || iBooks

Command Me by Geneva Lee Amazon || iBooks

The Royal We - Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan Amazon || iBooks

BEACH BOOKS

Every time I do the lightning round in a podcast interview I ask people if they prefer a book with abs on the cover or a beach scene. So let's pick some books with beach scenes this summer. My recommendations...

Kristy Woodson Harvey's Peachtree Bluff series: Amazon || iBooks

All the Breaking Waves by Kerry Lonsdale: Amazon || iBooks

Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman: Amazon || iBooks

New To You Genre

Branch out this summer. Do you want to try...

A mystery? Try Deanna Raybourn's Victorian ones or Gigi Pandian's Treasure hunt ones!

Fantasy? Try the new series by Jeffe Kennedy or L. Penelope

Historical women's fiction? The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Paranormal romance & Urban Fantasy?  The Shadowchasers' series by Seressia Glass or anything by (my all-time favorite) Ilona Andrews

Book from a Former Women With Books Guest

I've already mentioned a bunch on this page! But check out the Women With Books episodes for a deeper dive. 

A Diverse / Inclusive Read
 

It's really important to me, as a reader, an author and a podcast host to promote and recommend books by all types of authors. Many of the recommendations I'm making in this post include authors of color, but for even more books check out... 

WOC Romance
20 Books by LGBT Authors You May Not Have Read...but should

 

Debut Author

 

This is another branch of the Women With Books mission statement, to support debut authors. To that end, I'm very excited to suggest these authors who all debuted in the past year!

Alexis Daria's debut,  Take the Lead: Amazon || iBooks

Kate Clayborn's debut,  Beginner's Luck: Amazon || iBooks

Jasmine Guillory's debut, The Wedding Date:  Amazon || iBooks

Madame de Boudoir's debut, King of the Sea  Amazon || iBooks

A Book that Inspired a Movie/ TV Show

I always love reading books that will be or have already been interpreted on the big (or little) screen. Part of it is keeping up with the zeitgeist, participating in the discussions at the water cooler. And part of it is my analytical brain that likes to see the differences in adaptations. Either way, I enjoyed BOTH the books and the adaptations of the first and third of these (and I'll definitely be buying a ticket to Crazy Rich Asians!)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: Amazon || iBooks

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:  Amazon || iBooks

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Amazon || iBooks
 

A Book with A Pretty Dress on the Cover

 

As I mentioned above, I always ask guests if they prefer abs covers or beach scene covers. But you know what my favorite type of cover is? Pretty Dress Covers. And these three are GORGEOUS, don't you think??  (Another favorite is Deanna Raybourns' Lady Julia Grey series, mentioned above.)

Chanel Cleeton's Next Year in Havana 
Taylor Jenkins Reid's Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Sonali Dev's A Bollywood Affair

So. Are you ready? Inspired? Feeling competitive?  I'd love to hear what you're reading this summer and what you recommend! Comment below or on any of my social media and use the hashtag: #WWBSummerReads to update your friends and the Women With Books community on what you're reading this summer! (And check out the podcast where I talk about all this!)

AND... while you're updating your TBR pile, make sure you reserve your copy of my next release... THE ROYAL RUNAWAY!  Anyone who has good taste in books will enjoy it! 
 

Cover Reveal - THE ROYAL RUNAWAY!

It's time to announce the secret that I've been carrying for so many months...

Yes, you may commence with the squealing and ooohs and aaahs. I won every book cover lottery, the stars were aligned, the feng shui was perfect, and my publisher clearly loves me the most of all the authors they've ever published, in the history of the world. 

I'm not being cocky, my cover is just THAT GOOD. 

Don't you want to instagram it? Model with it? Print it out and put it on a wall? (Believe me, you're welcome to do all those things!)
 

More than that, don't you want to READ IT???

Honestly, I can't wait for the world to read it. The early readers have been sent into a tizzy by this story of the aftermath of a #RoyalWedding gone wrong. THE ROYAL RUNAWAY is the story that I've always wanted to write - a perfect blend of suspense, romance and mystery. 

THE ROYAL RUNAWAY is a princess story AND a spy story. It has kissing AND dead bodies. It has good and evil, tears and laughs. And kissing. Did I mention kissing?

Oh, you want to pre-order it?  One-click here: Amazon. (And THANK YOU for pre-ordering. It helps my publisher know that people love my stories and want more of them!)
 

Make sure that you're signed up for The Inner Circle newsletter, where I will be sharing exclusive content and inspiration for THE ROYAL RUNAWAY  in the months to come. 

And as this will be a paperback book, I will also be doing book giveaways for my social media followers and newsletter subscribers so follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!

As always, thank you for your support and excitement! I can't wait to see what the next few months bring!

Best Books to Read Now - May 2018

Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!

My omnivorous book tastes are showing this month. Let's see what I'm currently obsessed with....

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Amazon || iBooks

I already posted about this last month, but this is probably still the number one book that people want to talk to me about. Pros, cons, 80's nostalgia, a VR future, everyone is having THOUGHTS about Ready Player One. 

Island of Sweet Pies & Soldiers by Sara Ackerman

Amazon || iBooks

This book has everything - a World War II narrative in a beautiful location, friends, family, love and a lion. Just trust me and read it.

What is everyone reading this weekend? Me? I'll be finishing up Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers! It's so good! #amreading #bookclubbook

34 Likes, 8 Comments - Lindsay Emory (@lindsayemory) on Instagram: "What is everyone reading this weekend? Me? I'll be finishing up Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers!..."

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Amazon || iBooks

I practically live-read this on instagram, sharing the bits and OH YASSS parts that I loved (and needed to hear?) It's a short, easy read that will inspire and motivate you and give you insight into the mind of a woman with a huge cultural impact on the world. 

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

Amazon || iBooks

I have mentioned multiple times, but two of my favorite paranormal series are drawing to a close soon and I've been on the hunt for new ones to take their place. I am happy to announce that I've found two new ones that I'm very excited about (one to share next month as I haven't quite finished the book.)  I devoured this Steampunk/ urban fantasy/ vampire book and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series by the pool this summer.  

Oh I'm so glad that there are such good books in the world, aren't you?
 If you're not already, make sure you're signed up for my Inner Circle newsletter because BIG THINGS are coming. 

And my Women With Books podcast is closing out Season 2 with amazing guests and special royal wedding coverage.  I'm going to have an exclusive giveaway for Women With Books newsletter subscribers at the end of the month you won't want to miss out on!