The Book Drop August 2020

This was a pretty thick mailer (more goodies than normal). It was also the roll-out for the first illustrated bookmarks from artists. There was some call for artwork or something via instagram that I saw but I'm not too on the news there. 

The Book Drop is a book subscription with various genres. It's from Bethany Beach Books (in Delaware), a independent bookstore. I have the 'Books for Bubbly' which is a mish-mash of two genres: romance and friendship. So far it's good. Since my usual genre is filled with serial killers this is a much slower pace for me but it is nice. I get to try different authors and books that I normally skip over (in favor of all these murder-y books). 

I've seen this author everywhere but I don't have any of her books (until now!). I don't know how they all connect but it's a romance type of book (over the friendship focused) and has the illustrated cover. I really prefer the illustrated covers over the fabio-esque ones. Or even worse, the headless male torso covers...what's going on with those? I mean, sure, eye candy...but it feels a little weird once you realize there's no face on most of them. 

I'm so sorry for the crappy picture above, but the bookmark was created by McKensie at Mckensea Art. She's also from Bethany Beach, which is a lovely little place. Her instagram handle is @mkensea.art and her website is www.mkensea.com. 

We also got a letter from the author (Talia Hibbert) which I love getting from this subscription. It looks super cute and I think it could be good. It will be a good break from the serial killers at the least. 

We received the August Indie Next List, which features new releases and a small preview book from A.K. Faulkner titled Welcome to Inheritance. It has lovely illustrations and snippets of Faulkner's other books as well. I know it's much smaller...but I haven't read it yet either! It's on top of the August book so I'll get to it eventually but yeah, I'm behind again. 

​Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?
​
Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs.

​Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint? ​