In this episode of Reading Under the Covers, a romance novel podcast, we are sharing our Novel Hour live show replay for this week.

This week on Novel Hour, Francesca and Victoria are back with a packed episode:

• Book recommendations with anxiety and mental health representation across genres
• The week’s hottest new romance releases (from superhero fake dating to cozy mysteries and fantasy finales)
• Bookish news + a whole lot of gossip 👀 including a spicy convo on that BookToker who showed up 30 days ago and already has a 2-book fantasy deal with Atria Books AU (and yes, we have theories)

Romance Picks:

• The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
• First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel
• Yes & I Love You by Roni Loren

Literary Picks:

• Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
• Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah
• God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas

• All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens
• A Game of Monsters by Ben Alderson
• Love in Focus by Lyla Lee
• The Mysterious Lord Millcroft by Virginia Heath
• Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions by Fae Quinn
• Storybook Ending by Moria McDonald
• The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson
• Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria
• It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
• Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore

We unpack the indie-to-traditional publishing pipeline, the rise of fantasy academy stories, and whether publishers are chasing trends or manufacturing them (hint: maybe both).

Featured titles and authors mentioned:

• Dire Bound – TikTok commentary...