About this Event
Join us for a celebration of Bookstore Romance Day, with a panel discussion featuring romance authors Rebecca Kenney, Kate Dramis, Olivia Wildenstein and Hayley Dennings with Xio Axelrod moderating the conversation. This event will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street.
ACCESSIBILITY:
Strand Book Store is an ADA compliant venue. The event space is accessible via elevator.
ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our events team at [email protected] by August 1 to request.
Please ask a Strand employee upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.
For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact [email protected]
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About Beautiful Villain:
Neon Gods meets The Great Gatsby in this spicy modern retelling with a magical twist.
Daisy Finnegan is looking forward to a summer of fun on Glassy Mountain, North Carolina. She doesn’t want to think about college, or the newly awakened power of her own voice, which has a way of making people do increasingly frightening things. But when her cousin goes missing at an exclusive house party, Daisy confronts the mysterious host…only to discover the wealthy recluse is Jay Gatsby, her childhood sweetheart. Shocked at the change in the boy she once knew so well, Daisy investigates the source of Gatsby’s new riches and becomes entangled in a web of dizzying wealth and lies and obsession darker than she ever could have dreamed—culminating in an act of violence that shatters the summer haze and threatens to drown them all.
But it isn’t until Gatsby is shot through the heart—and survives—that Daisy discovers the full truth. Gatsby clawed his way up in the world by selling the secret of immortality to the highest bidder, using his lavish parties as the ultimate cover. But Gatsby’s intricately-laid plans are in danger…and so, by extension, is he. With her friends’ lives at stake, her own untested power still volatile, and an unimaginable threat closing in, Daisy will have to face an impossible choice: side with the man who claimed her heart…or with the monsters who would see him lost to her forever.
About Curse of Sins:
Second in rising BookTok star Kate Dramis's adult fantasy debut series with an enchanting romantic story perfect for readers of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout.
After discovering she is the Second Saint fated to save her realm, Aya’s duty should be clear: return to her home kingdom to serve her Queen, Gianna, in the coming war against the kingdom of Kakos, whose pursuit of dark magic could bring the realm to its knees.
But with Aya unsure of how her power is to defeat dark magic, and suspicious of just how far Gianna will go to stop Kakos, it isn’t long until Aya’s very purpose is brought into question. Can she and Will, her blood-sworn enemy-turned-ally, find the truth before dark magic consumes her realm entirely?
And with betrayal lurking around every corner, is there anyone Aya can truly trust?
About House of Beating Wings:
First in the tantalizing, lush, and epic Kingdom of Crows romantasy series from USA Today bestselling author and BookTok favorite Olivia Wildenstein. Free the Crows, Fallon, and they will make you queen...
All her life, Fallon Rossi has been marked by her half-humanity. Nearly every pure-blooded faerie at court has looked down on her for her curved ears, lack of magic, and fondness for water serpents—but never Dante, the Prince of Luce. The flirtatious royal has held Fallon’s heart ever since Dante gave Fallon her first kiss.
But as doubts creep in of how a Fae prince and a halfling could ever have lasting happiness together, Fallon finds hope in an oracle’s prophecy: she will be queen; but first, she must free the crows.
Confused yet determined, Fallon embarks on the hunt that could give her everything she's wanted but couldn't have—power, respect, perhaps even acceptance, and most desirably, her prince. But unknown to Fallon, her quest will unleash more than just her destiny, and when the ancient demon awakens, he plans to have Fallon all for himself.
About This Ravenous Fate:
In this fantasy of Jazz Age Harlem, where warring factions of oligarchs, gangsters, and vampires vie for power and control, a young vampire and the girl who once betrayed her are drawn to one another.
It's 1926 and reapers, the once-human vampires with a terrifying affliction, are on the rise in New York. But the Saint family's thriving reaper-hunting enterprise holds reign over the city, more powerful than even the organized criminals who run the nightclubs. Eighteen year-old Elise Saint, home after five years in Paris, is the reluctant heir to the empire. Only one thing weighs heavier on Elise's mind than her family obligations: the knowledge that the Harlem reapers want her dead.
Layla Quinn is a young reaper haunted by her past. Though reapers have existed in America for three centuries, created by New World atrocities and cruel experiments, Layla became one just five years ago. The night she was turned, she lost her parents, the protection of the Saints, and her humanity, and she'll never forget how Elise Saint betrayed her.
But some reapers are inexplicably turning part human again, leaving a wake of mysterious and brutal killings. When Layla is framed for one of these attacks, the Saint patriarch offers her a deal she can't refuse: to work with Elise to investigate how these murders might be linked to shocking rumors of a reaper cure.
Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and Layla explore the city's underworld, confronting their intense feelings for one another, and uncovering the sinister truths about a growing threat to reapers and humans alike.
About Girls with Bad Reputations:
A Star is Born meets Daisy Jones and the Six by way of Colleen Hoover in this unique, sizzling series set in the high stakes world of the music industry from an author with an insider view.
Once upon a time, the pressure to be the perfect daughter her demanding mother needed nearly broke Mikayla Whitman. Desperate to find an outlet, she picked up a pair of drumsticks, forever altering the rhythm of her life. Since then, she’s been determined to make her own way, finding her home with her bandmates even as she fights to keep her past and her present firmly separate.
The only thing Tyrell Baldwin loves more than his books is his solitude. Recently released from Pr*son for a crime he didn’t commit, he’s searching for a fresh start. Taking a job as a tour bus driver for an up-and-coming all-girl band might seem like a strange fit for a man allergic to the spotlight, but he can’t deny there’s something about getting a front row seat to the meteoric rise of the Lillys…especially if that means getting closer to fierce, enigmatic drummer, Kayla.
Their connection is intense, but when a tabloid exposé threatens to destroy Ty’s newfound peace and Kayla’s carefully guarded secrets, Kayla’s forced to make an impossible choice: pursue her dream and risk destroying everyone around her? Or give in and let an industry famous for chewing girls up and spitting them out claim another bright young star?
Rebecca Kenney writes contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance, and spicy fantasy romance. She lives in upstate South Carolina with her handsome blue-eyed husband and two smart, energetic kids.
Photo credit: Nicole Tyler
Kate Dramis is a professional writer with seven years’ experience in copywriting and marketing strategy. She owns 23 North & Co, a boutique copywriting, consulting and coaching agency that helps business owners increase their exposure online. Kate has a BA in Journalism from the University of Georgia. She lives in Atlanta.
Olivia Wildenstein is a USA Today bestselling author of romantasy. When she’s not swooning over her characters’ steamy escapades or plotting their demise, you can find her sipping wine and crafting her next twisted, romantic masterpiece, all while trying to convince her children and leading man that she loves them more than her laptop.
Hayley Dennings loves stories centered on queer female characters. A recent graduate from Loyola Marymount University, she discusses books and writing on her Pages of Hayley YouTube channel. Seeing people like her represented in books encouraged her to write her own books and pursue publishing. She currently resides in the Bay Area in California.
Xio Axelrod is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling author. Xio grew up in the music industry and began recording at a young age. When she isn't writing, she can be found in the studio, writing songs, or performing. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, New York, United States
USD 7.81 to USD 24.04