Noteworthy Future Releases: Romance Edition

Plane hijackers, professional clowns, and otters!

Note: This newsletter is not sponsored by Goodreads, Amazon, or any of the authors mentioned within.

Hello! To start this off, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who subscribed to Fluttering Reads over the past week. I’m grateful for each and every one of you. Extra-special thanks go to Pamela Friedman, who became the first paid subscriber!

Now you especially have to make sure that every post is professional. How can you handle the pressure?!

By talking about three upcoming books that caught my eye!

Nice segue.

Reading soothes my soul.

On the first day of every month, I like to go through Goodreads.com and go through the lists of upcoming books. This allows me to not only keep tabs on upcoming releases via the handy-dandy “Want To Read” feature but also become aware of anything that I might have missed. I’m featuring these specific books because I want more people to know about them.

1. Sky Daddy by Kate Folk: Goodreads page

   Release Date: 3-18-2025

   Audience: Adult

   Description: “Subversive and unexpectedly heartwarming, Sky Daddy hijacks the classic love story, exploring desire, fate, and the longing to be accepted for who we truly are.
   
   Linda is doing her best to lead a life that would appear normal to the casual observer. Weekdays, she earns $20 an hour moderating comments for a video-sharing platform, then rides the bus home to the windowless garage she rents on the outskirts of San Francisco. But on the last Friday of each month, she indulges in her true passion: taking BART to SFO for a round-trip flight to a regional hub. The destination is irrelevant because each trip means a new date with a handsome stranger—a stranger whose intelligent windscreens, sleek fuselages, and powerful engines make Linda feel a way that no human ever could.
   
   Linda knows that she can’t tell anyone she’s sexually obsessed with planes—nor can she reveal her belief her destiny is to “marry” one of her suitors by dying in a plane crash, thereby uniting her with her soulmate plane for eternity. But when an opportunity arises to hasten her dream of eternal partnership, and the carefully balanced elements of her life begin to spin out of control, she must choose between maintaining the trappings of normalcy and launching herself headlong toward the love she’s always dreamed of.”

   Why I’m Interested: It seems weird in the best possible way. I want to find out what exactly is going through Linda’s mind. What caused her to feel this way? Is she depressed from constant exposure to toxic comments? Does she play flight simulator video games to practice? Mostly, I already feel sorry for her and I want to see if there’s a way that she can come to terms with the source of her stress and find happiness. Preferably without committing an act of terrorism, obviously.

2. Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett: Goodreads page
   Release Date: 3-18-25
   Audience: Adult
   Description: “From the New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things, a sparkling and funny new novel of entertainment, ambition, art, and love.
   
   Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she’s a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando. Between her clowning and her shifts at an aquarium store for extra cash, she’s always hustling. Not to mention balancing her judgmental mother, her messy love life, and her equally messy community of fellow performers.
   
   Things start looking up when Cherry meets Margot the Magnificent—a much older lesbian magician—who seems to have worked out the lines between art, business, and life, and has a slick, successful career to prove it. With Margot’s mentorship and industry connections, Cherry is sure to take her art to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell. It’s not long before Cherry must decide how much she’s willing to risk for Margot and for her own explosive new act—and what kind of clown she wants to be under her suit.
   
   Equal parts bravado, tenderness, and humor, and bursting with misfits, magicians, musicians, and mimes, Stop Me If You've Heard This One is a masterpiece of comedic fiction that asks big questions about art and performance, friendship and community, and the importance of timing in jokes and in life.”
   Why I’m Interested: Along with my well-documented love of all things literary, I am also a massive comedy nerd. So finding a book about a part of comedy that I’m not as familiar with stunned me! I’m also fascinated by the romance aspect. I’ve read a surprising amount of romance books that feature stand-up comedians and improvisers but not with a character who works as a clown.

   Additionally, possibly stemming from my love for Arrested Development, I have a fondness for stage magician characters, especially in a comedy setting.¹ Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find books featuring female stage magicians, making this especially notable!

   

3. Medievally Blonde by Cait Jacobs: Goodreads page
   Release Date: 7-15-25
   Audience: Adult
   Description: “A princess desperate to win back the prince who broke her heart follows him to his kingdom's prestigious military academy—and in doing so, falls in love, saves the realm, and continues to look fabulous, in this romantic debut fantasy loosely inspired by Legally Blonde.
   
   Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.
   
   Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he’s attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?
   
   Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz intro arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are…well, cute.
   
   He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.
   
   But as they say, love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It’s a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms…and test all their hearts.”
   Why I’m Interested: Look at that cover. LOOK AT IT! It’s so beautiful. It reminds me of tarot cards combined with stained-glass windows. I could easily see the cover being released in the style of movie theater posters. Let’s hear it for creative artists!²

   Additionally, I like a good movie riff. Keeping in mind that the book isn’t a direct parallel to Legally Blonde, I’m still confident that Medievally Blonde will be a rollicking good time! Finally, according to Cait Jacobs’ promotional review on the site, Irish folklore will be integrated into the setting. I enjoy learning about myths and legends in different parts of the world and this can provide me with an excellent excuse to do some nonfiction research, prior to or following my reading of the book.

1. Side Note: I still wish that Like Magic had been picked up for a full series on NBC. A comedy show about stage magicians? Sign me up!

2. Fluttering Reads does not support artificial intelligence replacing the work of real artists and writers.