Jess Lee

Our conversation centered around diversity and DEI in romance. As seasoned romance readers, it has been beautiful to watch the evolution over the last 2+ decades. Go to your library!!!

Books and Authors we mentioned:

• Ilona Andrews

• Danielle Steel

• Julie Garwood

• Shannon McKenna

• Susan Elizabeth Philips

• Outlander by Diana Garbaldon

• Sarah J Maas

• Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. First book is: Moon Called

• JR Ward. First book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series is: Dark Lover

• Karen Marie Moning

• Christine Feehan

• Beverly Jenkins

• Adrianna Hererra. I loved A Caribbean Heiress in Paris. Jess recommends Finding Joy & On the Hustle

• Kresley Cole

• Emily Henry

• Kate Clayborn

• Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma

• Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

• Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson

• Sinner’s Isle by Angela Montoya

• Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai

• Captive in the Underworld by Lianyu Tan

• Lisa Kleypas

• Black Love Matters edited by Jessica P. Pryde

• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan. And Queen Move

• Synthia Williams’s Peach Tree Cove series. First book is: The Secret to a Summer Wedding.

• Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake *Ya’ll! She shamed me into rereading it….and I've completely changed by tune. Go read it.

• Ever After Always by Chloe Liese

• Ninja Ever After by Penny Reid. The prequel novella is Ninja At First Sight.

Note: Books are affiliate links for Bookshop.org. Authors are linked to their websites.

Find Jess on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads @literaryintersections. For her DEI consulting work: https://intersectionalimpactconsulting.com