Campaign complete!
8 months ago
– Sat, Feb 17, 2024 at 03:05:09 PM
I feel like I should make a joke about "happily every afters," but, as I can't work out a way to do it without being cheesy to a cringey degree, I'll restrain myself and just say thank you!
Thank you for showing up for this campaign, for your suggestions, enthusiasm, shares, and book recs! I'm not exaggerating when I say that all I want to do is think about, read, and talk about romance books, so this set has been an honest joy to design and share with you.
What's next?
You'll hear from me in a few weeks, after kickstarter has transferred the funds. I'll post an update when surveys go out, but in the meantime, make sure the email address for your account is one you check reliably so you won't miss the communications that come directly from backerkit.
In that survey, you'll choose your reward items and have the opportunity to add more if you want to, including items from previous campaigns.
In the meantime, I hope you read some delightful books full of heart-squeezingly adorable moments :)
In true form, this update comes a full 3 hours after the campaign ended... because I was in the middle of a book and couldn't want to put it down, and I was like, "it's ok, they'll understand."
Final Days - New Pin and Stickers!
8 months ago
– Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 11:48:06 AM
Everybody else today: "It's valentine's day! So romantic!"
Us: "Romance every day, all the days, all the ways. Books."
We're already nearing the end of the campaign! Thank you to everyone who responded to that last survey. Here are the fruits of your labors:
New Pin!
The survey results showed a clear favorite: "Pure Trash."
How this will work within reward tiers: If you're a "Literally Everything" backer, you now get a total of 11 pins (plus all the other stuff), and you can choose to get one of each of the 11 pin options, or to alter your choice variety however you see fit. If you're at any other pin-tier, this pin is another option you may pick as one of your allotted reward items.
7 New Stickers!
Survey respondents had some wonderful suggestions and I wish I could do them all! So many of you wanted designs of just the tropes written out, and it was really hard to pick which ones to do. I landed on "Enemies to Lovers" because, obviously. We've also got a "Friends to Lovers" themed design. "Red flag" and "miscommunications" callouts because we love to hate to love them. More appreciation for "only one bed". Dragon vibes. And just a general list of smut for the variety-smut-consumer (I know, that list could have been way longer).
How this will work with reward tiers: If you're a "literally everything" backer, you get all these stickers. Easy peasy.
If you're backed at the tier titled "All Stickers"... you get these stickers, too! (In the post-campaign backerkit survey, you'll be asked to choose which two original stickers packs you want, so you could pick two copies of 'pack 1' if you want just the bestsellers, or you could pick one of each pack if you want all the variety. Then you'll be asked if you want sticker pack 3 as well as a bonus, and if you want it, you get it! ... This is what happens when I use the word "all" willy-nilly on the campaign. I said "all," you get "all". Just to be crystal clear, this is only the case for people who actually backed the "all stickers" reward. If you only add-on the sticker packs later, you don't get the free third pack.
If you're backed at any tier other than those two, these options are now open to you to pick for your free sticker(s). For example, if you're backing for 1 pin + 1 sticker, you can choose "Enemies to Lovers" as your one sticker.
This pack on its own will be available as an add-on for $15 if you want all 7, or you can buy the stickers individually for $3. Reminder: the other two sticker packs which contain 16/17 stickers each can be added on for $25 each.
About the Survey
If you're curious about some fun things the survey showed, read on!
People were very divided on which designs should be made into a pin. "Pure Trash Review" was the clear choice. Second place was "On Wednesdays we read kink", but after that they were all pretty even. We all have our specific niche obsessions! Like, with the "I know a lot about knots" design, the people who love it love it, but I guess not everyone has an emotional connection to knots? Weird.
A few of you wanted specific quotes from ACOTAR -and one wanted Princess Bride :) -but, copyright is a thing, and I try to be cautious.
Multiple people requested more queer couple tropes. Thank you! One of the hardest parts of putting together these designs was the effort to keep as many of them as possible gender neutral so they'd apply across the board. That's why only a quarter of the designs are gendered at all. But if I have enough good ideas, I would totally make a follow-up set with all queer romance designs. If you're one of the people who requested this, message me on instagram @polliadesign or email me at [email protected] anytime if you have an idea or see a meme and you're like "this, this is what I meant." I'm going to keep working on this in meantime.
Shoutout to the responder who requested a "2 person love triangle" design because I had to check what that was: one of the people in the relationship is in disguise half the time, so the other person struggles thinking they're falling in love with two different people when in fact it's the same person. So now I have a new name for one of my top favorite tropes! I've been bucketing it under "secret identity" all this time but now I know that specifically, I am a total sucker for a 2 person love triangle. I came so close to making this a sticker, but sadly I don't think many other people love it as much as we do. But, dear anonymous person, please comment or message me your book recs. Please.
Thank you for all your nice comments in the survey about the designs and about my book recs! As you know, there's no better feeling than someone saying, "I read that book and you were right, it was fabulous!"
Mid-Campaign Survey aaaaannnd Bookmarks!
8 months ago
– Thu, Feb 08, 2024 at 08:17:25 PM
We're approaching the end of the campaign with 8 days remaining! You all have come through so spectacularly and we're well over funded with some wiggle room for me to add a couple more reward items, and I want your feedback on what they should be!
Weigh in through this survey and share your opinions on what items you'd like to see added (Another pin option? Another patch? More stickers?) Please respond by Saturday, Feb. 10th, as that's when I'll start putting the results into action.
This survey is much shorter than the last one, should only take you two minutes unless you have a long comment to share.
Also, I've been holding back a surprise...
You're getting a free bookmark!
Yeah, I hope you like them! Here's the deal, these are seven bookmark options, I'm going to make all of them, and you'll get to chose which one you want to include with your reward (all backers of at least one pin or sticker set get 1 free bookmark, but if you're a literally-everything backer, you'll get them all!) They'll be available as add-ons, only for $0.50 ea or $3 for the set.
These bookmarks will be similar to the ones included with the previous campaign, but the paper will be a little thicker and not have the slight iridescence that the previous ones had (I've since found the sturdier paper is better). One side will be the design you see, the other side will be the faint outlines of booky-related pattern that is featured in the background of this image and throughout the campaign. This way, if you are a person who likes backing cards on their pins for gifting or cute displaying, you can use your bookmark with the pattern-side up and stab your pin onto it like a card. Multi-use paper for the win!
(On the small details, sorry if they're hard to see in this image. What's going on in that library? It's a MM couple on the top floor, FF on the third, MF on the second, and a MMF thruple on the first. In a burst of creativity, I'm calling it the "love library" bookmark, hah. Does that say 'Romance Math' on the right? Yeah, and I'm weirdly proud of that one. I'm sorry but I think it's hilarious and probably too mathy for such dumb jokes, but it's staying.) Scroll down for a bigger preview!
Like bookmarks and want more, either original or bookmark versions of existing designs? Say so in the survey!
That's all for now! Hope you're reading something awesome this weekend! (And if you are... share!) Personally, I'm finally taking the dive and starting Ice Planet Barbarians. Pray for me.
Have extra kickstarter enthusiasm to spare? Why not check out one of these two unaffiliated romance book campaigns. Both are in the paranormal romance genre and currently live:
Day 1, All Pins Funded! Now here, have some recs!
9 months ago
– Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 01:11:32 PM
You did it! We're funded through all the pins!
Now, on to the extra stretch goals! Thank you times a million, you guys. I want to express my thanks to you in the only way I know how to show that I care: with a long, unsolicited list of book recs. (Like, pretty long. I don't blame you if you close the email now!)
(Actually it's slightly solicited, because one of you survey responders did ask for me to share the list. So, floodgates opened.)
I was originally planning to just share one subgenre and a few recs with every update I post, but it turns out... I can't wait and I'm just going to give you everything at once. I'll share my personal recs, then quote survey responders who were kind enough to share their own!
Buckle in, here we go!
Romance Book Recommendations
This genre has SUCH a spread of subgenres and tropes that are so different from each other that it’s almost impossible to define a book as universally “good”. It’s so based on tastes, that we can’t give a blanket “everyone should read this” recommendation. If a description sparks your interest, read that one, if it doesn’t, no pressure, don’t. My tastes may not be yours, and that’s fine! The great thing about the romance genre is that there is so much, you can find something you like.
Of course, check content warnings always. You do you.
With that said, here are some recs, books I like a lot and re-read. I read across subgenres, mostly M/F, some M/M and F/F, but I don’t lean toward why-choose and multiples, so I apologize for the lack of examples there. My main consistent preference is for a heroine with agency and power. I’m recommending some well known books and hopefully some you haven’t heard of!
I really hope you share your own recs in the comments, especially for sub-genres where I’m lacking! Please be positive in your discussions. I'll delete any negative or shamey comments.
- If you are brand new to romance and just want to go for maximum “understand the memes” impact in one book: “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood. This book broke records and is the definition of book-tok, and it’s a solid read. Slow burn spice, so you have to be patient. Fake relationship, grumpy sunshine, reylo (his name is literally Adam, just picture Adam Driver and Rey), smart heroine, all in her point of view. It’s not one of my favorite books, but credit where credit is due, it brought a lot of people to the genre.)
Paranormal (vampires, werewolves, witches, shifters, etc., in mostly modern setting):
- The Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole, which is all fated mates with strong women and alpha-heroes. Start with “A Hunger Like No Other” (he’s a grumpy werewolf coming off centuries of torture at the hands of vampires, she’s a half-vampire half-valkyrie, he identifies her as his mate and basically kidnaps her but is NOT happy about his mate being a vampire. She grows a backbone and kicks ass by the end of this book. She bites him, everywhere.) Special mention to another book in this series, “Dark Needs at Night’s Edge” (she’s a ghost, he’s an insane vampire stuck in her haunted house, they can’t touch at first, it’s great mutual pining.)
- “Slave to Sensation” by Nalini Singh (first in a long series, shifters, usually jaguars or panthers or wolves, and telepathic-mental-magicy race that isn’t supposed to feel emotions… but does because romance. She has to hide the fact that she feels emotions, which gets impossible because sexual tension, and he’s hunting a killer and needs her telepathic access to help.)
- “Stalked by the Kraken” by Lillian Lark (Great intro to tentacles. She’s a witch, he’s a kraken shifter, he recognizes her as his fated mate but doesn’t want to scare her off, sexy bathhouse scenes abound. Sweet vibes.)
- “Ghost Walk” by Cassandra Gannon (he’s a ghost, she’s a witch, she’s the first person who can see him in like 200 years, there’s time travel involved so he doesn’t stay a ghost the whole time, don’t worry! But this book has excellent ghostyness and near fated-mates vibes and is very funny.)
Fantasy (magic, takes place in a fantasy world)
- “The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy” by Megan Bannen (I love this book. He’s basically a fantasy-zombie hunter, she’s an undertaker, he has to bring her zombie corpses, they hate each other… and then end up in a hidden-identity pen-pal letter writing situation and become anonymous close friends, aaannnnd it’s so sweet, cool worldbuilding, the hero is SO lonely grumpy and the heroine is capable and tough and it’s funny and weird and delightful. Oh, and they have to do something about all these zombies. Slow burn, medium spice.)
- “The Fae King’s Curse” by Jamie Schlosser (Slow burn, he’s 3000 and she’s 18, he’s cursed to be blind until he identifies his fated mate, which he can only do with sex, but if he’s wrong he’ll be blind forever. Same with the following 3 books, the heroines are modern earth women and the heroes are alternate dimension blind-ish virgin-hero fae kings.)
- “Promise of Fire” by Amanda Bouchet (3 book series, same couple, she has magic and can sense lies, he’s sort of a warlord but like, in a good way, and he kidnaps her, oh and he’s resistant to magic. He falls first, there are greek gods involved and bad regimes to overthrow, there is spice in all books.)
Aliens:
- “Choosing Theo” by Victoria Aveline (She’s abducted, escapes the abductors and ends up in this alien society where women are scarce and they’re trying to ensure the continuation of the species and the men have to go to husband school to hope to earn a wife, it’s romance reasons extreme and I am here for it. There’s this marriage process where the women are in total control and pick a dude, and she has to participate and picks him because he’s tattooed and hot, but it turns out his tattoos are scars so he and the society think he’s ugly and brutish but she’s just plain into him, and he absolutely does not believe she’d ever want him, and therefore must be a spy, and yet of course fated mates happens, and I love it. There’s a lot of worldbuilding setup in this book, but the whole series is fun alien romance fated mates good times.)
- “Star Crossed” by Heather Guerre (aphrodisiac bodily fluids in these alien heroes, insta-love, on the run. I’ll be honest, the sex gets… almost too much with the "it's too big" because it’s literally too big and it won’t fit, buttttttt it’s a romance so. They make it fit.)
- If you like omegaverse (extreme alpha-hero, knotting, aphrodisiac-made-her-do-it, fated mates) then try “Ruthless King” by Alison Aimes. (He’s technically an alien, mafia, known she was his since childhood but he had to rise to the top before he could keep her, she’s very mistreated by her family and society, their families are enemies, he’s trying for vengeance, check the content warnings)
Historical:
- “Dreaming of You” by Lisa Kleypas (Derek Craven. He was born in a gutter and rose to own a notorious gaming hell and is now wealthy and ruthless, she’s sweet and saved his life, forced proximity, this is a classic for a reason. Tough grumpy hero falls completely to shreds over how much he loves her.)
- “Lord of Scoundrels” by Loretta Chase (again, classic for a reason. Hero is a grump, heroine has the ultimate backbone and does NOT take his crap. First published in 1995.)
- “Unmasking Miss Appleby” by Emily Larkin (He’s a duke, and she’s just been given the magical ability to shapeshift and decides to use it to shapeshift into a man and get a job as a duke’s secretary. She’s in disguise and innocent but capable, they’re investigating a mystery, she falls first, just so cute. Medium Spice.)
- “The Highwayman” by Kerrigan Byrne (long lost childhood loves, there’s a hidden identity involved, a very tragic hero, king of the underworld, someone’s trying to kill her)
- Anything by Tessa Dare. “The Duchess Deal” (He’s a battle-scarred duke who needs a wife, she’s a seamstress down on her luck, it’s beauty and the beast vibes with such fun dialogue, marriage of convenience, medium-burn with sweet spice, heartwarming, and you know I love an “ugly” hero who won’t believe she’s actually into him.) “Romancing the Duke” (he’s mostly blind, she inherits his castle, forced proximity adorableness) “When a Scot Ties the Knot” (she made up a fake fiancee who died in battle but he has the same name and comes to try to marry her to get the land, adorableness ensues)
- “The Raven Prince” by Elizabeth Hoyt (she’s his secretary, he’s a grumpy lord, she falls first and goes in disguise to a brothel to hook up with him.)
- Anything by Julie Ann Long. “Lady Derring Takes a Lover” (She’s a widow, she and her friend are just starting a lodging house business and they’re both very hardworking and intelligent. He’s an investigator looking into bad stuff her former husband did, so he’s investigating her. Mystery and sweetness, medium spice.) “The Perils of Pleasure” (He’s falsely accused of murder and about to hang. She’s a badass and she rescues him, and they’re on the run together trying to prove his innocence and find the real killer.)
- “The Spymaster’s Lady” by Joanna Bourne (he’s an English Spy, she’s a French spy, they’re both very deadly and good at their jobs, end up escaping captivity together and are enemies for a while and reluctant allies and there are secrets and a window of perfectly executed romance-reasons hidden-identity, and a twist after the first chapter that lives rent free in my head because of how good the writing is.)
Darker Themes:
- “Butcher and Blackbird” by Brynne Weaver (they’re both serial killers that become friends, he falls first, surprisingly the vibes in this are sweet but the setting is super dark, there are a lot of details about these two killing people. Think Dexter, but it’s both of them and it’s a slow burn romance that pays off huge on the spice scale.)
- “Pestilence” by Laura Thalassa (series of 4 books, each of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse. All these heroines are strong in different ways, and all the heroes do bad things to them at first, but they’re not “men”, they’re bringers of the apocalypse. They’re learning to be human. Gorgeous covers, really fun use of the 4 horsemen and the world ending.)
- “Manacled by Senlinyu” (on AO3, fanfic, Dramione, incredibly dark, everyone is traumatized, non-consent on page, torture and murder, BUT if you can stand it, it’s a break-your-brain-good romance the length of 3 novels. Basically Voldemort wins the last battle, Draco is still a death eater, Hermione is imprisoned, and then the premise is “The Handmaid’s Tale” but in a dark version of the Harry Potter universe. Enemies to lovers but with twists and hidden memories and they’d do anything for each other and woof, guys, it’s a lot. Technically has a HEA, the two main characters survive and are together at the end and as happy as one can be after such a dark story.)
M/M:
- “Show Me” by Neve Wilder (football-ish, roommates, one discovers the other films jerk off videos and, naturally, offers to help him with it, romance ensues. Two sweet cinnamon rolls, low stakes, high steam.)
- “Iced Out” by CE Ricci (hockey rivals to lovers, they play on the same team but hate each other, then hook up on a dare, and win the next game and decide they have to keep hooking up before games to keep winning because superstitious romance reasons, it’s great.)
- “And Like the Cycle of the Year, We Begin Again” by katherynefromphilly (on AO3, fanfic, Merlin and Arthur from the BBC show “Merlin”, takes place in modern times after Merlin has waited for millennia and Arthur comes back, it’s adorable, slow burn, spicy, and I’d go so far as to say it’s essential reading for anyone who loves that show)
F/F:
- “The Fiancee Farce” by Alexandra Bellefleur (fake marriage of convenience, one heiress needs it for the inheritance reasons, one needs the cash to save the small family business, family drama, medium spice, slowish burn)
All in the Male POV:
- “Priest” by Sierra Simone (will make you say “what the hell is happening”. He’s a catholic priest and he falls in love, hard. But I know what you’re thinking and wait—somehow, he’s still a good priest even though they get filthy all over a church, because Sierra Simone is good at her job. All in his POV. The spice is top of the charts. Honestly the crazy parts are the catholicism and how does this manage to be good when it’s so nuts?)
- “Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love” by isthisselfcare (on AO3, fanfic, classic Dramione. All in his POV, and he’s snarky and grumpy and very funny. Writing style is very fun and distinct. Slow, slow burn, enemies to lovers, they’re forced to work together because he’s an auror and she’s doing some important magical-healer job and needs protecting, there’s a mystery because she won’t tell him stuff for a while, it’s a very fun read, fun exploration of the Harry Potter Universe, and there is a spicy payoff but you have to be patient.)
Sweet/Clean/Closed Door:
- “Play For Me” by Libby Hubscher (roommate grumpy sunshine, she’s a baseball coach, he’s a pianist, both down on their luck in careers, he falls first, very sweet vibes)
- KM Shea’s Timeless Fairy Tales series, starting with “Beauty and the Beast”. (If you like fairy tale retellings, these are my favorites. Very sweet and chaste, adorable vibes, I really love her writing style and have read almost everything she’s written.)
- “The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride” starts Kristen Painter’s very long paranormal series. (Lots of different paranormal creatures living in a halloween-themed modern town. Fade to black. They’re sweet and fun romps.)
Quotes From the Survey Responders:
- Recs in general: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree, To Shape A Dragons Breath by Monoquil Blackgoose, Caraway of the Sea by Madeline Burget. Series with strong sub romance plots: InCryptid by Seannan McGuire, Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs, Psy Changeling by Nalini Signh. Romance Recs: (widow/widower slow burn) Meet Me At Home by Veronica Wynne, (cartel) El Malo by K Webster, (tentacle monster) Stalked By The Kraken by Lillian Lark, (monster) Berries and Greed by Lily Mayne, (dark) Hush Little Baby by Ashley Michele.
- I love Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
- I would rec author Ava Reid. I loved her book The Wolf and the Woodsman.
- Ice Planet Barbarians series by Ruby Dixon
- I Bring the Fire (A series) by C. Gockel (Loki meets modern woman in danger and they help each other.) I've only read the 1st book so far but I love it.
- If you haven't read the Clecanian series by Victoria Aveline, i super recommend it! #1 is Choosing Theo - they're all on Kindle unlimited. They're fantastic and they do have a good story along with fantastic smut! They're amazing ❤️ also, if you haven't read The Serpent and the Wings of Night, i put it off for a little bit because everybody said it's similar to SJM and I wasn't ready to start another series like that after reading ACOTAR, TOG, and CC, but it's so incredibly good, it had me in a literal chokehold. I had surgery so i was on recovery and not going to work, I didn't even go to sleep once I started reading it, I stayed up the ENTIRE night because I couldn't put it down.
- As for book recs: Fourth Wing is worth it, I know it's super hyped right now, but it does a pretty darn good job of living up to said hype! Enemies to lovers, dragons, killer world building, it's good stuff. While it's not hardcore romance, it's got *all* the spice AND THE ROMANCE IS SO GOOD LATER ON LIKE OMZ?!??!?, check out Kushiel's Dart (and uh, check for content warnings too cause uhh, pretty much politics, sex, betrayals, death, kinky stuff). First in a (complete!) series, and well worth it. Also, if you like big books, this is gonna be your jam. And if you're into a bully romance where the heroines dish it right back and take nothing lying down, go for the Zodiac Academy series. It's got spice, enemies to lovers, fun world building, and it's just the right amount of cheese. Massive series and the final book is coming out this year!
- Belladonna Bennett recently published 'Girls and Ghosts'
- Anything in the ACOTAR series! Specifically A Court of Mist and Fury. It's VERY heavy on the slow burn
Survey - Specifically Queer or Multi-partners:
- I've really enjoyed Lillian Lark's Monstrous Matches series!
- Have you read Gideon the Ninth? Because HOT DAMN
- Assistant to the Villain is fantasy and fun and I picked it up on a whim at the airport. In Deeper Waters is a cute YA gay fantasy with mermen and fiery mages.
- Book recs: I really like Cat Sebastian's novels, she primarily writes queer historical romances. The Kitt Webb duology is a personal fave.
Survey - May not be Romance with a capital “R”:
- (Self proclaimed non-romance fanatic): For book recommendations - in the romance theme, if graphic novels are allowed, then I'd recommend Stjepan Sejic's Sunstone series. My other favorite recs are The Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (space opera) and the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs (modern fantasy).
- The Coward by Stephen Aryan and the sequel The Warrior, Hell followed with us by Andrew Joseph White
- Phedre's Trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. The books are very in-keeping with the theme of these pins. first book (Kushiel's Dart).
- The Queens Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
One more time: Thank you!
For your support in this campaign, for championing the romance genre, and for sharing your recommendations!
