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)

🧠 Mental Health & Anxiety Representation Books

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

🔥 New Releases – May 26 to June 1, 2025

• 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

👀 Bookish News & Gossip

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 by @BookishNewsGirl
• Instagram announcement for Luke Bateman’s upcoming fantasy debut
• Bloodwing Academy series by Briar Boleyn (MIRA Books)
• Beast of the Briar by Elizabeth Helen (Bloom Books)
• Fairytale by Veronica Lancet (Atria Books)
• The Empirium Trilogy by Claire Legrand (Sourcebooks)

📺 What We’re Watching

• Clown in the Cornfield (YA horror adaptation)
• Friendship (aka don’t watch it 🙃)
• The Final Destination reboot (coming soon)
• Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix
• Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (reality TV chaos)

💌 Don’t Miss

→ Download the 2025 Summer Reading Guide

→ Browse over 200 new monthly romance releases in our exclusive Book Vault

→ Catch Novel Hour live every Thursday at 12 PM EST on YouTube and Substack!

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