Amanda Diehl

Penny Aimes’ debut romance, For the Love of April French, is a remarkable and tender story of acceptance, an exploration of self-reflection and a tantalizing slow burn between two compelling leads.

The eponymous April French has a complicated relationship with her Austin-area kink club. As a transgender woman, it's been her mission to make the community feel as inclusive as possible. But the group's members either see her as a supportive, maternal figure or a novelty, rather than as a potential romantic partner or kink participant. April is also still healing from an abusive dominant who took advantage of their power differentials.

Dennis Martin, a wealthy man originally from Seattle, is a newcomer to Austin. He carries his own baggage within the kink community, burdened by past mistakes he made as a new dom. He and his longtime partner experimented with BDSM, but their mutual inexperience led to broken trust and, eventually, the end of their relationship.

To call this romance a slow burn, while apt, wouldn’t fully do justice to Dennis and April’s love story. Their connection is instant, but both are extremely guarded and raw from past experiences. April is used to temporary fascination and assumes abandonment is imminent. While Dennis has done the work to become a more cognizant dom to his partners, he’s still wary of ruining that fragile relationship. Their sexual needs align, but so do their insecurities surrounding power and trust.

Aimes weaves in plenty of commentary on and positive portrayal of kink communities and the purpose they serve for their members. Consent is at the forefront of many interactions, providing examples of both enthusiastic consent and the dangers of miscommunication between partners. The layers of attraction are slowly peeled back as April and Dennis’ electric physical connection evolves into a relationship in which their emotional fears are laid bare. Though the romance between Dennis and April is in the foreground, Aimes also pays attention to both characters’ internal journeys toward forgiving themselves for their mistakes and finding the strength to persevere through past trauma. The romance is incredibly sweet, and the BDSM and kink scenes are off-the-charts hot. It’s a nearly seamless blend of cozy courtship and seductive, compelling eroticism between two soft, adorable nerds.

A nuanced depiction of kinky queer communities that is clearly written from a place of earnest love and appreciation, For the Love of April French proves that heartwarming fluff and sexy kink can go hand in hand. The only question that remains is, when can we have more from this rising star of romance?

Emily Houghton’s Before I Saw You is a tender, emotional debut about pain, recovery and the support people find in unexpected places. This tear-jerking slow-burn romance follows two patients in a long-term care ward as they recover from serious injuries.

Alice and Alfie share a room at St. Francis’ Hospital. Alice is an overworked introvert healing from significant burns after a fire in her building. Alfie is an incurable extrovert who survived a deadly car accident but needed to have his leg amputated. They’re very much opposites. Alfie is quite the chatterbox, determined to bring a smile to everyone’s face, and Alice barely speaks and keeps the curtains closed around her bed. After relying solely on herself from a too early age, the thought of depending on someone else for anything causes Alice to shrink further into herself.

At first, their relationship is built on Alfie talking and Alice just listening. While his incessant chattering annoys Alice at the beginning, she quickly grows accustomed to hearing his voice and eventually finds it a source of comfort. Alfie and Alice both suffered other traumas before their respective injuries, and a long-term hospital stay could be the catalyst for finally addressing those events. After all, there is little else to do when you’re mostly confined to a hospital room.

An action-oriented romance this is not. But it's a perfect read for someone who prefers getting to know the main characters and watching their relationship grow via those tiny, seemingly inconsequential moments. Alice and Alfie’s journey from strangers to friends to more is torturous in the best way possible. Their relationship unfolds slowly, teasingly. The first time they touch hands is momentous and feels incredibly raw because of how much tension and anticipation Houghton has built up to that point.

There are dark moments as Alfie and Alice come to terms with their own baggage, and as the reader discovers more about the circumstances that led them to the hospital. Before I Saw You should come packaged with tissues because crying is inevitable. However, Houghton sneaks in bits of levity from the larger cast of characters, from Alfie’s doting parents to the empathetic staff. It’s a great, balanced approach that also extends to the affable Alfie. Though his kindness and charming personality are genuine, he wields them as a shield to distract himself from thinking too deeply about how his life will change once he leaves St. Francis.

Don't be turned off by the promise of an ugly sob or two. Houghton makes the tough times worth it, such as when Alice speaks her first words to Alfie or when she finally shifts aside her curtain and reaches out her hand. One of the beauties of romance is how it shows the bright spots amid tough times, and Before I Saw You is a testament to why readers find this genre to be hopeful above all else.