Insider #17: 📚 Blooms, Blasters & Besties
May the Fourth swoons, friends-to-lovers takeovers, and bookish blossoms worth the wait
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Insider #17: 📚 Blooms, Blasters & Besties
Hey friends,
This week’s Insider is blooming—and not just metaphorically. My orchids, which I had officially declared emotionally unavailable, decided to thrive out of nowhere. Just in time, too, because between star-crossed space romances, friends who can’t stop falling for each other, and a fresh batch of May 2025 releases, we’ve got serious main character energy going on here.
We’re celebrating May the Fourth with some of the most delightful space-opera romances I’ve read lately (because nothing says “galactic rebellion” like a well-timed carriage kiss). And if friends-to-lovers is your jam, the blog has been taken over by sweet, spicy, slow-burn, and queer variations of the trope—with enough recs to make your Kindle overheat.
Oh, and yes… I’ll be announcing the May League of Lusty Ladies book club pick in just a few days. But first, let’s talk scandalous Hellions and sci-fi soulmates.
Let’s get into it 👇
Blast Off with Galactic Romance This Star Wars Day!
It’s May the Fourth, babes! Today we trade in our lightsabers for library cards and swap “I love you” for “I’ve got your six in the engine room.” Whether you’re Team Corellia or Team Alderaan, these cosmic love stories land harder than a Star Destroyer at full throttle.
Space-opera romances are basically the lovechild of A New Hope and your favorite swoon-fest. You get epic worlds (think twin-sun sunsets and living starships), heroes with hearts of gold (and blasters at their hips), and heroines who can outwit a military tribunal in heels—and best of all? That zero-G spark when star-crossed lovers finally lock eyes across a holo-communicator.
Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik
Picture Leia on the run meets Han Solo if he were extra broody—and way hotter. Princess Ada ditches her political betrothal faster than you can say “thermals,” and Marcus Loch—the Devil of Fornax Zero—swoops in to save her… for a price. Heat level: Tatooine at high noon.
Knightmaster by Anna Hackett
Rebel-spy vibes with medieval armor in space. Xenoanthropologist Kennedy Black must clear Earth’s name for “kidnapping” an alien queen, and only Knightmaster Ashtin Caydor stands between her and a diplomatic disaster. Sparks fly faster than a photon torpedo.
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
A political marriage written in stardust. Prince Kiem and Count Jainan would rather be worlds apart, but duty—and a conspiracy that could topple the Empire—forces them together. Think Star Wars meets Regency ball, but with laser duels in the drawing room.
Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep
Lab rat Vesper Quill has a photographic memory—and a target on her back when she exposes a fatal flaw in Kent Corp’s starships. Enter psion lord Kyrion Caldaren: assassin extraordinaire and reluctant partner. Enemies-to-soul-mates has never felt this electrifying.
Ready to board the Swoon Ship? May the Fourth (and all our heartbeats) be with you!
The May Reading Guide is coming next week!
Stay tuned for our recommendations of books you should be reading in May coming next week. New releases, tropes, Kindle Unlimited and vibes.
📣 This Week on the Blog & Substack
Here’s what went up this week:
On Substack
We continue with our journey through the romance decades and this week we start getting digital. The 2000s were a turning point for the romance genre (from books to readers).
On the Blog
This week was friends to lover and May releases all day, every day!
On YouTube & the Podcast
Interview with Eloisa James about her latest book Hardly a Gentleman
Hidden Gem Friends to Lovers Romance Books for Romanceopoly 2025 (Pin & Peak Lanes)
On Novel Hour Live Show
We debuted a new format on the Novel Hour liveshow! Come and check it out and let us know how you like it.
Join us every Thursday at 12PM EST for our Novel Hour show on Youtube.
Did you miss last week’s Insider? Check it out here:
New Releases This Week: Apr 28 - May 4
A fresh stack of books just dropped! No matter what you’re craving, here's what hit the shelves this week.
🖤 = Recommended Read
Featured New Releases (Apr 28 - May 4):
🔪 Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey
Debut mystery romance with dark humor and serial killer flirtation. Think morally gray meets workplace romance.
🔥 Ms. V’s Hot Girl Summer by A.H. Cunningham
Caribbean Carnival, age gap, and single mom romance with all the fun, flirty summer energy.
🎓 Enigma by RuNyx
Dark academia, secret societies, forbidden love, and that signature RuNyx tension.
🗡 Broken Souls and Bones by L.J. Andrews
A slow-burn romantasy featuring magic, rebellion, and a deadly royal system.
💍 Hardly a Gentleman by Eloisa James
Scottish laird, forced marriage, and a bookish heroine who makes him work for her heart.
🎥 Want more on Hardly a Gentleman? Watch our full Eloisa James interview on YouTube for behind-the-scenes stories and genre insights.
💡 Looking for More? New book releases always added to the book database. The Book Vault is a paid member feature.
Recommendation of the Week:
💕 I’m still swooning over the first two novellas in Alexandra Vasti’s Halifax Hellions series—our April League of Lusty Ladies pick—and I can’t recommend them enough. I’ll reveal May’s pick in the next couple of days, but first, soak up these scandalous sisters:
In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation
Margo Halifax is already infamous for looping cherry stems with her tongue, but nothing—and I mean nothing—could prepare her brother’s best friend Henry Mortimer for a drenched, desperate debutante barreling into his carriage. Sparks fly (and skirts fly) as they barrel toward Scotland in a hilariously perilous rescue mission.
In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint
Matilda’s erotic pamphlet featuring Lord Ashford’s mug lands her in a Gothic castle—and in the crosshairs of a brooding marquess with murder rumors in his past. When she agrees to tutor his little sister, the stately halls become a playground for high-stakes banter and “did-he-just-blush?” moments.
I’ve just one more novella to devour this week before I crown my favorite Hellion—so far it’s Matilda!
Final Little Note
If you found a hidden gem recently — a book you loved but no one's really talking about — come tell me! I’m always looking for secret favorites to add to my never-ending TBR. 📚✨
Talk soon,
Francesca
Sharing our love for books as Under the Covers Book Blog since 2011, running the Romanceopoly yearly reading challenge since 2019 and hosting the Reading Under the Covers podcast since 2020. Launched Mysterylandia in 2025.
May the Fourth! I didn't do it on purpose, but started the second book in that Jennifer Estep space opera series this morning. :) So far so good.