This weekend, the world is celebrating the second most important romance holiday in February (see last week’s episode for the most important)—Valentine’s Day! To lean into the traditions of the day, we thought we’d offer you a dozen roses this week, in the form of books! We’re taking the topic broadly—from character names, to author names, to rose scented things, to roses on the page — historical, contemporary, mafia and more…there’s something in here for everyone. 🌹

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Our next read along (in March) is Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife by Julia Wolf. Find it in ebook or paperback, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

Notes

Ladyhawke is a 1985 movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer, and Matthew Broderick.

Go see “Wuthering Heights” if you want! It has Jacob Elordi ( even though Heathcliff should be a man of color) and Margot Robbie, but mostly it’s about capturing a vibe.

Sinners was terrific, it stars Michael B Jordan playing twins, was nominated for a record-breaking 16 Oscars, and includes both an extraordinary sequence about the history of music and a hero who enjoys a meal.

Well, we actually talked about a bunch of rose adjacent stuff outside of our official dozen roses. Here they are:

1. Rose DeWitt Bukater from Titanic
2. Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls defending Minnesota
3. The first book in Lorraine Heath’s Rogues and Roses series is A Duke of Her Own
4. SJ Tilly (who we think is great) has an epistolary romance called Dear Rosie
5. Orca is the official name of the killer whale
6. We wouldn’t wish Hyperemesis gravidarum on anyone
7. Please don’t fuck around with measles—get your kids vaccinated and your titers checked
8. You should probably read The Red before you read The Rose
9. The covers and/or stepbacks of Sarah’s Rules of Scoundrels series feature roses, and in One Good Earl Deserves a Lover, Pippa is breeding roses
10. Lilah Rose is the name of the heroine in A Duke Worth Falling For
11. We love author Stephanie Rose
12. Here’s a list of romances with rose in the title, and another list of books with characters named Rose.

Jen will be at Babe’s Sports Bar on Thursday, Feb 12, 2026 to talk about Rooting Interest by Cat Disabato and at the White Oak Library in Romeoville at 10:30am on Saturday February 21, 2026.

On Saturday, March 7th, Sarah will be at the Ballrooms and Beyond Conference in Bristol, RI. The event is free, but registration is required. Also, there’s a (not free) cocktail party!

Sponsors

1. Blue Box Press, publishers of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s The Primal of Blood and Bone limited edition paperback, available in print, ebook or audiobook, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books.
2. Harpercollins, publishers of AT Qureshi’s The Baby Dragon Bookshop, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
3. Lyx Books, publishers of Brittany Cherry’s Eleanor & Grey, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
Tarina Deaton, author of Day in the Knight, available in print, ebook and audiobook at Amazon,