Bree Hill
Bookstagram Bonanza Edition
October 14, 2020
Dear Book Friends,
If you are looking for love, you have come to the right place. Today’s Guest Writer is a retired Air Force police officer turned stay at home mom turned successful book lover/influencer. Bree Hill is the queen of romance reading! She is the creator of the very successful Bookstagram page, @falling4romance. If you are looking to read something from this genre, then Bree is the girl for you. I tend to visit her page quite often when I need a little more love in my life. In addition to all the work she does for her own page, she also is a contributing writer for Reading Women and Frolic and has been featured on the What To Read Next podcast and Shelf Love podcast. WOW!
Bree is a full time college student, wrapping up her degree in History, hoping to teach middle school one day. She picked up her first romance novel in 2017 and has been an avid reader of the genre ever since. When not reading, or chasing after one of her kids, Bree can typically be found having coffee at a local coffee shop or out for her morning run.
I hope you enjoy Bree’s letter to Mr. H. Romance is in the air everyone…….take a deep breath and enjoy!
P.S. This past summer, Bree was named one of the top 24 Black Bookstagrammers to put on your radar by BuzzFeed (can you say…the real deal?).
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Dear Mr. Hemingway,
One thing 2020 has shown me, is that the world can use a little more (or a lot more) romance. We need more love stories, more happy ever afters. Romance has been my go-to genre since I picked my first romance novel up back in 2017. I remember checking out a Debbie Macomber Christmas romance novel from my local library, and the genre instantly became a new life companion. Through dark mental health moments, retiring from the job I’d been doing since I was 18 and constant hits, we’ve been experiencing in 2020, I have always been able to depend on romance.
A favorite romance from this year, that I recommend every chance I get is, The Trouble With Hating You by Sajni Patel. Here’s the thing: I read and finished this book back in July, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it yet! When you look at the cover of this book, you see this gorgeous yellow cover with the beautiful illustrated version of our heroine, Liya Thakkar and our hero, Jay Shaw. You see the cover and immediately think, “This is going to be a good time.” It is a good time, and so much more. This book is genius. Liya is a successful bioengineer in Houston, Texas who goes to her parent’s house for dinner one night. Unbeknownst to her, her parents have invited over Jay Shaw and his Mother, as a setup, hoping Liya and Jay will marry. As any 2020 woman would do, Liya bolts it out of there! When she goes to work the next day, she runs into Jay again because he is the lawyer her struggling company has hired to help them out.
I love a good workplace romance. I love a not-so friendly to lovers romance too but what I love even more is how romance authors weave in serious issues women face into their stories, all with the promise of a happy ever after at the end. Liya is a sexual assault survivor and because of who her assaulter was, she’s basically been alienated from her community and by members of her own family. She is tough and maintains control at all times after having survived a situation where she didn’t have control. There is a scene in this book that still makes my blood boil every time I think of it and that I remember physically experiencing along with Liya when it happened; it was heartbreaking but the moment I think she and I as the reader, realized it was time to let go and move on. Romance authors are putting in work! Don’t let the pretty illustrated covers or promise of a happy ever after fool you; their stories include some hard hitting, real life issues. The happy ever after is the gift for making it through.
The Trouble With Hating You by Sajni Patel should absolutely be on your to be read list.
Remember, Kindness is Free
Bree
P.S. Click on the book pic below to purchase.
