Author
Heat Factor: They accidentally end up at a sex party and I was fanning myself.
Character Chemistry: Banter
Plot: She only wants the kind of love that’s all in, he’s wary of the emotional roller coaster of love, they’re in a fake relationship for Reasons
Overall: Mia Sosa is good at words.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, every Saturday in March we’ve prepared a Saturday Smutty Six list of some of our favorite heroines.
This week: Teachers
Valinda travels to NOLA to help with teaching Black people during Reconstruction. There are numerous hurdles thrown in her way (starting on, like, her first day), but Drake’s family is willing to help not only Valinda, but their greater community (by building a school, etc.), as everyone works to create a new and more equal normal after the Civil War.
Eva is one of the most energetic heroines I’ve ever read, which makes it fitting that she is the BEST Zumba teacher. She and Anthony have really sparkling antagonistic (turned not-so-antagonistic, heyo!) banter, and their chemistry carries the book. Plus, there are shenanigans at the drive in!
Jane is a Kindergarten teacher, and is therefore the cutest person on the planet. She is also extremely wholesome and feels like she’s not cool enough to be dating a former rock star, even if he’s her best friend, they have tons of stuff in common, and, oh yeah, she’s madly in love with him. (And he really really really likes her too.)
Sex educator Leah gives her best friend BDSM lessons as a Chanukah present! But what really makes this book special is how gentle it is. Leah and Jordan are so kind to one another, and the world would be a better place if we all treated our loved ones with such thoughtfulness.
Dani Brown is a professor, and she’s exceptionally good at what she does, even if she doesn’t yet feel she’s at the level of her academic idol. What she is maybe not exceptionally good at is relationships, but fear not: Zaf is a book boyfriend.
(Previously released under the much more entertaining title Thank You, Chlamydia)
Dani (two Danis!) is an elementary school teacher, and mostly, from an appearance and behavior standpoint (at least until she meets Ryan) acts like it. And yet she somehow ends up with Chlamydia! This is a fun book that deals with some heavy ideas about how we perceive ourselves and others.
In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, we’re highlighting awesome romances by Latinx authors that also feature Latinx characters. For the record, some of these books are our all-time favorites, and should be read any time you can get your hands on them.
Book titles link to Amazon.
Julia’s family is warm and loving and supportive…but they are far away in NYC when she is dumped in Texas after moving there with her then-boyfriend. At least she has her job–until the foundation’s future is put at risk by corporate cuts. Rocco is the consultant responsible for evaluating the foundation, and can easily see the enormous benefit to the community. However! If he votes to save the foundation, he loses his job as a consultant. This book features just a ton of healthy and truly sexy dynamics and the writing just leaps off the page.
Rep: Afro-Dominican author, Dominican-Puerto Rican heroine
Roxanne Medina needs to be in control. After all, that’s how she pulled herself from her humble beginnings and became a billionaire. But she also wants a baby, and she doesn’t want that baby to be saddled with all the baggage with which her childhood saddled her. What’s a billionaire to do? Buy a prince to use as a stud, of course! Lopez plays with gender roles and creates really interesting dynamics as these protagonists fall for each other and also rescue the hero’s bankrupted country.
Rep: Latinx author, heroine with Latinx heritage, hero from Spanish-speaking European monarchy
In the mood for a sexy work romance? Look no further! Marty and Jay have explosive chemistry, which they valiantly try to fight…until they don’t. There is a definite power differential between the protagonists (in terms of race, gender, class, and age, so we’ve got pretty much the whole shebang), and Polanco handles their negotiation of this dynamic particularly well.
Rep: Afro-Dominican author, Afro-Dominican heroine
Lina is doing just fine after being left at the altar, but she’s still a small business owner with small business owner concerns. So when the opportunity arises, she sets aside her antipathy toward her proposal partner – the almost-brother-in-law who she thinks convinced her fiance to bolt – in hopes of getting something better for herself when she wins the job at the end of the proposal. Little does she know that she’s also in the running for a totally awesome HEA. Also, there are a gazillion awesome Brazilian cultural references in this book.
Rep: Afro-Brazilian author, Afro-Brazilian heroine
PS: We seriously love us some Mia Sosa – here’s a quick and dirty primer we wrote about her books.
As many of Zapata’s heroine’s are, Sal Casillas is a hardworking woman from humble beginnings, the child of blue collar immigrant parents, but she’s also the best women’s soccer striker in the United States. When her childhood crush becomes her coach one season, she goes from unable to talk to him, to enraged by everything about him (talk about being let down by a personal hero!) to his best friend. Sal is fierce, and following her romance is kind of awesome.
Rep: Mexican-American author, Latinx heroine
PS: Mariana Zapata is the queen of slow burns. If slow burns are your jam, here’s more info on Zapata’s other books.
To round out our list, here’s a historical romance! Emilia Cruz, suffragette, helps to support her family by writing sensational stories under a pen name. Ruben Torres, rising literary star, pays the bills by running a gossip paper and writing mean literary reviews under a pen name. Of course, he is dying to expose the true author of these very naughty stories that have taken the island by storm…that is, until he actually gets to know Emilia (and gets over the fact that she has a tendency to push him into nearby bodies of water). Of course there are some shenanigans as everyone’s secret identity is revealed, but the characters and setting really shine.
Rep: Set on an imaginary island in the Spanish Caribbean. Latinx hero and heroine.
Looking for more Latinx romance? We kept this list to six, because of alliteration, but we made a longer list at Bookshop.org.
Do you have a favorite Latinx romance novel? Let us know what it is – especially if it’s not on our list! We’re always looking for recs!
Love on Cue, Book 3
Reviews of Love on Cue Book 1, Book 2
Heat Factor: Unlike Danny Zuko, Anthony can Get It at the drive in.
Character Chemistry: So much witty banter – but they also really see each other
Plot: I really like you, but you definitely don’t want a relationship.
Overall: Low angst. High heat. I couldn’t put it down.
Looking for a new author? Here’s everything you need to know about Mia Sosa, whose books include One Night with the CEO, Acting on Impulse, and The Worst Best Man.
Contemporary character-driven M/F romances featuring characters of color.
The hottest sex scenes that also move the relationship forward.
Mostly alternating first person POV (her first trilogy is 3rd person) with characters and stories that tend to be very grounded, even when they include wealth/celebrity. Her writing features feisty heroines and situational humor that breaks up the heavier moments.
She’s a great writer, but folks, Sosa can really write sex. Like, the hottest sex scenes that really belong in the moments in which they exist and that drive the story and the relationship forward. She’s also good at writing relationship struggles not caused by people being stupid or making stupid assumptions about their romantic partners. You might want these characters to wake up (!!!), but you’ll understand where they’re coming from, too.
Not a lot actually happens in Sosa’s romances, so if you prefer your smut to be plot-driven or suspenseful or adventurous, she is probably not a good fit for you. Also, skip her books if you prefer closed-door or no sex romances.
But trust me, listening to your breakup on a local radio show sucks big balls. Like huevos the size of a tuberous bush cricket–relatively speaking, that is. Stay with me here. You see, while some men walk around like their balls make up 14 percent of their body, this insect’s balls actually do. Nothing like a spirited game of Trivial Pursuit to round out your cultural literacy. And yes, I was tipsy, pero that morsel of uselessness made an impression on me, penetrating my apple martini haze and settling in my brain for eternity.
–Acting on Impulse
Sosa is really good at crafting a low-drama romantic narrative that is still suspenseful enough to be a page-turner. Her tagline is: “Funny. Flirty. A little dirty.” and that is a pretty accurate summation.
Reading these books feels good.
The Worst Best Man.
The Smut Report 