Did you know that romance novels generate over $1.4 billion in revenue--making romance the highest earning genre of fiction?  Romance novels sold more than 39 million print copies in 2023, which represents a 52% increase over the previous year.  Sales of romance novels MORE THAN DOUBLED over 2021 sales, and last year was the third consecutive year of increasing romance sales.  Meaning: romance readers, we know you're out there, and we've got the book club for you!

Join Julie Iatron, Reference and Readers Services' Librarian AND romance devotee, for "Between the Sheets: A Romance Book Group."  We'll gather on Tuesday, July 8th at 6:30 PM in the conference room to discuss "Bombshell" by Sarah MacLean.

New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller Sarah MacLean wrote her first novel on a dare and never looked back. Translated into more than twenty-five languages, the books that make up “The MacLeaniverse” are beloved by readers worldwide.  In addition to her novels, Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place as a feminist text and a cultural bellwether.  A former columnist for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bustle, she is a founding board member of Authors Against Book Bans and the co-host of the weekly romance podcast, Fated Mates.  A product of Rhode Island summers and New England Storms, Sarah now lives in New York City.

"After years of living as London's brightest scandal, Lady Sesily Talbot has embraced the reputation and the freedom that comes with the title. No one looks twice when she lures a gentleman into the dark gardens beyond a Mayfair ballroom, and no one realizes those trysts are not what they seem. No one, that is, but Caleb Calhoun, who has spent years trying not to notice his best friend's beautiful, brash, brilliant sister. If asked, he₂d say he's been a saint about it, considering the way she looks at him, and the way she talks to him, and the way she'd felt in his arms during their one ill-advised kiss. Except someone has to keep Sesily from tumbling into trouble during her dangerous late-night escapades, and maybe close proximity is exactly what Caleb needs to get this infuriating, outrageous woman out of his system. But now Caleb is the one in trouble, because he's fast realizing that Sesily isn't for forgetting, she's forever. And forever isn't something he can risk."

Join Julie to unpack this first novel in the historical "Hell's Belles" series and talk characters, happily ever afters (or happily for now), and alllllll the romance tropes!  Copies of "Bombshell" are available at the Borrower Services desk and as an eAudiobook and eBook on the Libby app.  For more information or questions, email jiatron@chelmsfordlibrary.org.  See you on July 8th at 6:30 PM!