Shadow Mountain Publishing, an imprint of Deseret Book Company, has trademarked a subgenre: Proper Romance®. What is it? I learned last summer on a roadtrip when my mum played an audiobook: thoughtful description of the construction of the bodice, but no ripping of said bodice. My not-LDS sister decided to download the book because she declared it not too much, a real Goldilocks moment. While searching, she discovered that it was from a “Mormon publishing company” and she teased that we infiltrate cleverly. A discussion ensued. Perhaps the charm is that this subgenre offers something that has become a bit sparse: thoughtful restraint. When done right, restraint can be powerful, hilarious, alluring…. Why else would there be so many Anglophiles? Maybe the solid collection of romance books written by Latter-day Saint authors can somewhat be attributed to the restraint inherent to some points of doctrine? On February 5, a new Proper Romance® will be released: Miss Newbury’s List, by Megan Walker. Set in 1820, England, readers will meet Rosalind Newbury who has a list of ten things she wants to do before she marries a duke. 

For those interested in history mixed with their romance, but prefer the Cold War variety, Covenant Communications (also a division of Deseret Book), will be releasing a new book by Traci Hunter Abramson (best seller; author of over 30 books)–Worlds Collide–the third book in the Dream’s Edge series.The plot includes the additional restraint found in the discipline of being Olympic athletes (in this case, ice skating partners who have fallen in love) as well as navigating the KGB. Hunter Abramson worked for the CIA and uses experiences gained to inform her writing. Its publication date is Valentine’s Day, the day the LDS brand of restraint perhaps slides a half-hitch when confronted with chocolates and conversation hearts. – Ena Fowles.