IBW x First Date: Romance fiction recommendations from Alexis Hall

Independent Bookshop Week starts on 15th June, and this year it coincides with the second edition of our festival for romance writing: First Date takes place at Summerhall on 14-15 June!

If you're not in Edinburgh for it, fear not. The panels will not only be livestreamed, but we've also invited some of our favourite authors of romance fiction from further afield to take part in the celebrations virtually by recommending their favourite romance reads!

Today, we're joined by Alexis Hall, recommending three favourite romance reads.

Alexis Hall (whatever pronouns) does not like writing biographies or talking about himself in the third person. She lives in southeast England with their extensive collection of hats and four angry duckchildren.

These are Alexis’s recommendations!

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola:

Joyous to read, romantic, and funny as hell. Captures the feeling of being in your early-20s (with everything that entails) so successfully, kindly, but unflinchingly. A delight and I adored it.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen:

Macabre, whimsical, unabashedly soft, and the most loving of books. Hart and Mercy’s romance, much like the story itself, is exquisitely gentle, full of vulnerability, passion, and hope. It also made me bawl. On public transport.

Infamous by Lex Croucher:

I laughed, I swooned, I gloried in this book and the way it explores the importance of queer community and queer art. I’m secretly convinced Infamous was written just for me, and I loved it with all my heart and soul.

Follow #FirstDateFestival on our social media and keep an eye out for more recommended romance reads this week! Info about First Date Festival can be found HERE.