https://remyfontaine.com/blog.html Release news, cover reveals, and notes from the writing desk of Remy Fontaine, author of the Harbor of Secrets harbor-romance series. en-us Mon, 14 Sep 2026 06:04:18 +0000 https://remyfontaine.com/post-morally-gray-vs-toxic-how-to-tell-the-difference-and-why-it-matters.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-morally-gray-vs-toxic-how-to-tell-the-difference-and-why-it-matters.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal The question showing up in Romancelandia right now is blunt and specific: *Is this hero morally gray, or is he just toxic?* https://remyfontaine.com/post-the-feeling-youre-chasing-why-romance-readers-are-going-back-to-the-late-90s-atmospheric-historical.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-the-feeling-youre-chasing-why-romance-readers-are-going-back-to-the-late-90s-atmospheric-historical.html Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal There's a thread that keeps surfacing on BookTok this fall, usually late at night, usually in comments and not in the videos themselves. Somebody mentions a book they read in 2001, or 1998, or that t… https://remyfontaine.com/post-cozy-or-gory-a-field-guide-to-choosing-your-fall-romance.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-cozy-or-gory-a-field-guide-to-choosing-your-fall-romance.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal When fall TBR season opens — and it opens in late August, earlier than most readers realize — the first decision is the one most people skip entirely. https://remyfontaine.com/post-harbor-gothic-the-atmospheric-subgenre-thats-been-waiting-for-a-name.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-harbor-gothic-the-atmospheric-subgenre-thats-been-waiting-for-a-name.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal If you've read the last year of gothic romance discourse, you know what moors gothic is. Windswept estates. Heather and fog. A hero with a past that the landscape seems to embody. A heroine who arriv… https://remyfontaine.com/post-what-to-read-after-wuthering-heights-2026-12-atmospheric-gothic-romances-for-readers-chasing-the-feeling.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-what-to-read-after-wuthering-heights-2026-12-atmospheric-gothic-romances-for-readers-chasing-the-feeling.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal Emerald Fennell's *Wuthering Heights* adaptation — released earlier this year, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, earning $242 million at the box office — sent a particular kind of reader back… https://remyfontaine.com/post-what-is-atmospheric-romance-the-setting-as-character-guide.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-what-is-atmospheric-romance-the-setting-as-character-guide.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal "Atmospheric" is one of those compliments romance readers reach for when they want to say something is working without being able to fully explain why. The review says "so atmospheric" and the person… https://remyfontaine.com/post-series-fatigue-is-real-why-interconnected-standalones-are-the-best-way-to-read-romance-in-2026.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-series-fatigue-is-real-why-interconnected-standalones-are-the-best-way-to-read-romance-in-2026.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal There's a reader complaint circulating this week that I want to address directly, because it names something real. https://remyfontaine.com/post-dark-romance-without-the-gore-a-guide-to-atmospheric-and-coastal-gothic-books.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-dark-romance-without-the-gore-a-guide-to-atmospheric-and-coastal-gothic-books.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal Something has been happening in romance reader spaces lately that I've been watching with a specific kind of interest. https://remyfontaine.com/post-the-sea-is-trending-maritime-romance-books-for-readers-who-love-the-tide.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-the-sea-is-trending-maritime-romance-books-for-readers-who-love-the-tide.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal Something is happening on BookTok right now, and if you've spent any time in romance corners of the internet this month, you've probably caught the edge of it. https://remyfontaine.com/post-romantasy-fatigue-is-real-heres-what-readers-are-reading-instead.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-romantasy-fatigue-is-real-heres-what-readers-are-reading-instead.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal There's a phrase I've been watching show up in reader posts and recommendation threads all year, dropped casually, as if everyone already knows what it means: romantasy fatigue. https://remyfontaine.com/post-proprietors-bargain-out-now.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-proprietors-bargain-out-now.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Release Day Book Two of the Harbor of Secrets has opened its doors. Agatha Brannock keeps everyone's secrets but her own — until the law moves in under her roof and the man in Room Five is the one who walked away from her years ago. https://remyfontaine.com/post-beachy-gothic-romance-summer-reads-with-secrets-2026.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-beachy-gothic-romance-summer-reads-with-secrets-2026.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal Not the category itself. I have no objection to books you can read outside in warm weather. I mean the implication that a beach read should be easy, uncomplicated, light. As if the beach is a stress-… https://remyfontaine.com/post-morally-gray-vs-toxic-what-actually-makes-a-romance-hero-worth-rooting-for.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-morally-gray-vs-toxic-what-actually-makes-a-romance-hero-worth-rooting-for.html Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal I got into an argument in a Facebook romance group last month that I'm still thinking about. Someone posted asking for "morally gray hero recs," and within twenty comments, two different readers were… https://remyfontaine.com/post-how-the-book-boyfriend-went-from-embarrassing-to-everywhere.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-how-the-book-boyfriend-went-from-embarrassing-to-everywhere.html Sun, 21 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal A few years ago, "book boyfriend" was the kind of thing you said with a small laugh attached, half a joke, half an apology. You'd admit it to your reading group and somebody would tease you, gently,… https://remyfontaine.com/post-why-romance-readers-cant-stop-chasing-the-ache.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-why-romance-readers-cant-stop-chasing-the-ache.html Fri, 19 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal There's a specific thing readers have been saying this year, across BookTok and Facebook groups and Reddit and comment sections everywhere, and it goes roughly like this: "I need a book that makes me… https://remyfontaine.com/post-how-romantasy-took-over-why-fantasy-romance-is-the-biggest-thing-in-books-right-now.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-how-romantasy-took-over-why-fantasy-romance-is-the-biggest-thing-in-books-right-now.html Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal If you have walked into a bookstore in the last two years, you have seen it. A whole table, sometimes a whole wall, of fantasy romance. Dragons and courts and morally questionable fae princes, with c… https://remyfontaine.com/post-dark-romance-is-having-a-reckoning-why-readers-are-rethinking-the-genre-they-love.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-dark-romance-is-having-a-reckoning-why-readers-are-rethinking-the-genre-they-love.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The Journal Something interesting is happening in romance right now, and for once it isn't a new release or a viral cover. It's a conversation — a loud, searching, occasionally furious conversation about dark … https://remyfontaine.com/post-proprietors-bargain-cover-reveal.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-proprietors-bargain-cover-reveal.html Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Cover Reveal A first look at Book Two — Agatha and Gideon, a boarding house full of secrets, and a harbor at dusk that knows exactly what they're trying to hide. https://remyfontaine.com/post-smugglers-ledger-out-now.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-smugglers-ledger-out-now.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Release Day It's real, it's live, and you can read it tonight. The debut Harbor of Secrets novel — Eliza Mercer, Captain Rowan Vale, and a paper trail worth killing for — has officially set sail. https://remyfontaine.com/post-why-i-write-harbor-romance.html https://remyfontaine.com/post-why-i-write-harbor-romance.html Wed, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 From the Desk Fog, lantern light, and a ledger that can ruin a life. A few words on why I keep coming back to the harbor — and the kind of love story that only survives a signature.