“It is a truth universally acknowledged that when rich people move into the hood, where it’s a little bit broken, and a little bit forgotten, the first thing they want to do is clean it up.”

— Ibi Zoboi, Pride

The Great Big Romance Read was started by The Ripped Bodice Bookstore, the country’s only all romance bookstore. The goal is to connect romance readers all over the world and celebrate a shared love of romance by reading the same book during the month of December.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.

Nicole and myself will be representing YouTube this December. This is so exciting!

You can follow the #TheGreatBigRomanceRead hashtag on Twitter. Nicole and myself will be posting there from our personal accounts as well as the Romantics at Hart Twitter.

Will you be joining the romance reading fun?