Blog - Random Olive

Want to keep your own reading organized? Try this digital reading journal template!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Romance Ebook Deal Round-Up: April 2, 2026

Apr 2, 2026 | Book Deals

I love a good bargain for ebooks, and at the rate that I’m reading, grabbing an ebook deal is essential. I’ve rounded up a bunch of romance books that are on sale right now that you should check out. Click on the picture of the book cover to check the current price on Amazon. Prices fluctuate, so keep in mind that it might not be on sale for long. (If you make a purchase through these links, I get a small commission.)

Historical Romance

Contemporary Romance

.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Affiliate link to lighting kit

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Quick and Easy Way to Sell Used Books (PangoBooks App)

Apr 1, 2026 | Side Hustle Diaries

Introduction

One the easiest used items to sell on the internet is used books. They’re uniformly shaped, there’s nothing to try on, people generally know what they’re looking for, and there’s a super handy barcode on the back for you to use to expedite the listing process. Plus, they’re fairly low-cost to ship using media mail rates (in the United States). Sometimes you’ll see resellers clear out thrift stores (or little free libraries) to source their book inventory, but I’m coming from book selling as a way to clear off my shelves from the PR packages I receive as a book influencer. In this post, I’ll talk about how I receive the books that I ultimately sell, where to list them for sale, and how to package them up.

Where I Get My Books

Sometime around 2021, I started binge reading romance novels. Call it a post-Bridgerton semi-pandemic haze. I wasn’t really creating book content immediately, especially not within my main Instagram feed. However, when an opportunity came up to apply for the Avon influencer program, I took it, and I got in! At that time, they sent about one book in the mail to me per month. As someone who is a reader, but not a book collector, I would take photos of the books, post them in my feed, and then try to figure out how to sell the new books. Keep in mind, these were finished copies of the books, the same as you would find in a bookstore, not Advance Reader Copies (ARCs). ARCs are unfinished copies of books and have a big old disclaimer on the cover saying that they should not be listed for sale. Since then, I’ve been on different publisher influencer teams sporadically and have been grateful for the opportunity to receive free books to showcase as part of my bookish content creation.

An easy, but totally unreliable source for books entering giveaways, especially the ones on Goodreads. (link to Goodread Giveaways page) Publishers use Goodreads to host giveaways of their books, hoping to get the book in front of a larger audience. The probability of winning is really small because there are usually thousands of entries per book, but it’s worth trying anyway. Entering the giveaways is a tedious and somewhat time-consuming process, but I usually do this while I’m sitting on Microsoft Teams meetings during the workday.

As a TikTok Shop affiliate, I have also been able to receive many books as free samples from sellers. Many of the major publishers like Harper Collins, Sourcebooks, and Hachette have storefronts on TikTok Shop and send free product to creators to promote on TikTok. After receiving a free book from this source, I’ll make a video for TikTok, link to the product, and if someone makes a purchase using my link, then I receive a commission. (read more about how I make money on TikTok Shop here) Of course, I can keep the book on my shelf so I can continue to make videos over and over again, but there are times when I have so many books stacked up, that I need to list them for sale to clear out my space.

Where I sell: PangoBooks App

Of all the selling platforms, I have found PangoBooks to be the easiest to use and the one that consistently brings me the most sales. With the quantity of books I have available there, I usually sell about 5 to 7 books per week. The way to use it is to download the app onto your smartphone, register for an account, and start uploading photos of books. I will usually photograph the books, then edit them, and then start the listing. The app integrates a barcode scanning step that will import all the essential book information: title, author, summary, format, weight, etc. You just need to review everything and then set the price. After the book is listed and someone purchases it, you’ll get a notification and an automatically generated shipping label. The buyer pays the shipping fee (unless you have set up free shipping) and the package will ship via USPS Media Mail.

Photography Process

When I’m photographing books to sell, I try to make sure I’m in a well-lit environment and capture the book as clearly as possible. I will also try to photograph any flaws or signs of the condition of the book (such as dents, cracked spines, torn pages, etc). I’ll use a plain white poster board background in front of a window to set the book on top of and a piece of white foam board to help bounce light. After taking the photos with my iPhone, I’ll use an editing app to brighten the pictures or increase the saturation. This helps make the photos stand out among the other books for sale on the platform.

At my absolute laziest, I’ll take the photo within the PangoBooks app on a table lit with softbox lights and white posterboard.

How the Money Works

On the PangoBooks app, it costs $0 up front to list the book for sale. After the book sells, there’s a platform fee of 20% of the list price (with a $0.40 minimum). Most of the time, the buyer pays the shipping (unless you’ve set the pricing or your store to have free shipping). You get paid 3 days after the item shows as delivered to the customer. For me, this means it’s best to ship out the orders as quickly as possible, so that I can get paid sooner. Once the money clears in the PangoBooks earnings section, you can transfer the money to either Paypal or your bank. You could choose to keep the funds inside your PangoBooks account to buy books with, but we’re trying to side hustle here and earn money, not buy more things we don’t need. I generally transfer the funds to my bank as soon as available.

Shipping Supplies

Label Printing

I usually print my shipping labels on 4×6 inch thermal label paper using my Munbyn thermal printer. Before I purchased a dedicated label printer, I would print with a black and white laser printer onto half-sheet label paper. If you don’t want to purchase label paper, you can print the shipping labels onto plain white paper and use clear packing tape to secure it to your packages.

Packaging Materials

For packing and sending out books, it’s important to protect the books from being bent or dented. I recommend using bubble mailers as a quick and easy way to protect your items. I have also used these heavy duty rigid mailers (which I was gifted by the company to try out) but they’re not as cost-effective as the bubble mailers. I also like to wrap the books with packing paper for extra security.

Overall Income

The income here is totally inconsistent because some months I get a lot of new books that I can list for sale, and some months I don’t have anything to list. Since I’m mostly just trying to get rid of books I got for free, I’m listing them online at very competitive prices. I’ll post the price at around half of the retail price of that book new, and my Pango Shop has a perpetual 25% sale running. After fees, a trade paperback book gets me $5.40 deposited into my bank. There’s also the cost of shipping supplies to consider.

Conclusion

Selling used books online falls into the category of selling stuff you have lying around your house to make an extra buck. I put no upfront investment into this and approached it as a decluttering process from being a book influencer. I have not tried to source books from thrift stores or discount stores, so I really don’t know if it’s worth buying inventory. Sometimes the books don’t sell very quickly, and I just have a huge stack of books taking up space. In some cases, if books aren’t moving and they’re still in my house, I’ll delete the listing and just donate the books to clear up space. At the time of this writing, I’m sitting on 74 books listed for sale in my Pango Shop, and I haven’t made a sale in a couple of weeks. I’m actually testing out listing the same books on a separate platform at the same time, and seeing if the books sell someplace else. This is a tip that clothing resellers share a lot (if you’ve already got the inventory and the photos, list the item on Poshmark, Mercari, Depop, and so on). I’ll come back and share how that experiment is going when/if I make a sale. Overall, if you’ve got extra books lying around that you don’t want (or if you manage to pick up a huge box of super cheap books at a garage sale), selling books online is a pretty low-effort side hustle and I’m definitely going to continue this one.

Thanks for reading this post! Subscribe here to get articles like this emailed directly to you.

Top Five Favorite Romance Books of March 2026 – historical romance, contemporary romance, hockey romance, formula one

Apr 1, 2026 | Book Reviews

Home Ice Advantage by Ari Baran (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Penalty Box series. Workplace rivals to lovers to so much more here. Ryan is basically dumped by his wife and offered a new job all in the same week, with a new position as head coach. Unfortunately for him, the assistant coach Eric also wanted to job and is totally resentful of Ryan. What starts as angry bickering, turns to angry sex, and then a genuine connection between these two. I loved reading their relationship develop and them learning more about each other. It was just so easy for them to fall into the patterns of being real partners, especially since they see each other at work all the time. Loved this book so much. I mean, I love this whole series, so you should just read them all.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Shop this book via Barnes & Noble // Libro.fm

Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett (2026)

Cozy fantasy romance. This book was so cute and funny with the mix of wacky characters. So former knight Pax runs the Wayside Hotel, which is actually a magical traveling form of lodging that goes between worlds. The magic at the hotel has run out and they’re stranded in the human world. Josie and her son Amos are looking for a new place to live and lucky for them, there’s an affordable opening at the Wayside. The romance here between Josie and Pax is very sweet, but the real entertainment is how the other ragtag residents interact with each other and with Josie, all while keeping their magical origins a secret.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

Crash Test by Amy James (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Starting out strong with the angst here and letting it linger through the whole book. Travis and Jacob are both race car drivers who have been in a secret relationship for a year. We start the book with Jacob getting into a horrible accident, and then see Travis’ point of view as he finds out what happened and then tries to go see Jacob in the hospital. It’s absolutely gut-wrenching to go through all of his emotions, not knowing if the man he loves is going to survive. Especially when we hear than another driver in the crash did not. I loved this book and all its emotions, but you definitely need to be emotionally prepared for heartbreak before you get to the happy ending.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Harper Audio.

The Fortune Flip by Lauren Kung Jessen (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Funny enough, having just read a personal finance book, reading a book where the main character wins the lottery is really interesting. Hazel is having the worst day ever (lost her job, got divorced) on top of having to financially bail out her brother and father constantly. She meets Logan during a fortune-telling mishap and they end up buying a lottery ticket. Lucky for them, it’s a winner. Unlucky for Logan, it seems that he’s run into a string of bad luck while Hazel has had her luck improve. We’ve got a cute luck-swap story here and a fairly straightforward romance. I like how Hazel and Logan communicate with each other and support each other as they slowly bond. Cute, mostly fluffy, except for their tragic backstories and Hazel’s toxic family. Audio is duet narration.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Belles of London series. Final book of the series and ties back to the Parish Orphans of Devon series. Stella and Teddy had a brief meeting once at an art gallery (in Book 3) and she’s shocked to find him at the Christmas house party that she’s attending. She’s especially embarrassed because she normally has grey hair but has dyed it for the party. He’s just happy to see her because he’s an artist who is captivated by her beauty and wants very much to paint her. But that’s not at all proper and they seem to disagree how to the proceed here. What follows is a super slow burn romance with each of them dealing with their separate troublesome families. I loved seeing these two assert their independence together and learn to trust each other.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Want to keep your own reading organized? Try this digital reading journal template!

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Want to keep your own reading organized? Try this digital reading journal template!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Weekly Reads: March 23 to 29, 2026 (contemporary tennis romance, formula one romance, small town romance)

Mar 31, 2026 | Book Reviews

Thirty Love by Tom Vellner (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Loved this rivals to lovers story. Single POV from Leo’s side as he struggles to win the US Open. He pretty much always chokes up when he has to play against Gabe, his lifelong rival on the tennis court. Leo’s got a complicated relationship with tennis, with his dad being his head coach and a legend in his own right. And add the part where Leo is closeted and distractedly attracted to Gabe, it’s all a recipe for mess. But the best part is when Leo and Gabe establish a truce with each other and so much more. I loved seeing them actually learn to understand each other and get to know more about why things have been strained all these years. Even with Leo explicitly stating that they need to keep their burgeoning relationship a secret, Gabe is still on board and believes it’s worth it. The friend group that Leo has is also awesome, and I hope to see more of them in the future.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Spotify Audiobooks via NetGalley.

Darling Daffodils Farm by Brittanée Nicole (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Hope Harbor series. Tally is back in her small town to help out at her family farm, but she’s itching to leave and get back to her seasonal kitchen work. Everyone in town thinks that she’s super flighty and doesn’t want to set down roots, but really, she wanted to earn her way in the world so her parents didn’t need to pay for culinary school. It’s always been the dream to come back to the small town and open a bakery, but she seems to think she needs pastry chef training to do it. Sounds a little far-fetched to me; aren’t small town bakeries just run by small town bakers? But that’s not the main conflict here. It’s actually that her family has not told her than a farmer named Walker was hired by her late father to work on the farm, and that he lives in the house, while her widowed mother lives in his old cottage. He’s gruff and surly and grumpy and doesn’t tell her why he’s there or why he cares so much about the farm. Mostly because her parents made him sign an NDA, and also because he’s way too attracted to her and should stay away. She’s mostly immature and annoying through this book and is suspicious of Walker the whole time. Maybe because no one is really talking to each other. But once the attraction breaks through, the flirting and steam is really quite good. And you know, once Walker figures out what Tally really wants, he’s nothing but supportive. Typical funny small town shenanigans, including a nosy group of old ladies and a humorous town group chat.

Advance ebook provided by Putnam Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Pole Position series. Kian is nearing the end of his racing career and trying to decide if this is going to be his last season. He’s basically a racing legend and super serious about the sport. And rookie Harper is joining his team this season, throwing off his mental fortitude completely. Harper is the party boy of the sport who doesn’t take things too seriously, reminds Kian of his deadbeat dad, and is distractingly handsome. It’s a mix of bad feelings all around, especially as Harper thinks that Kian is way too uptight. Total opposites here, made worse by the fact that Harper is terrified of emotional connection. Angsty and steamy and all the things. Loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Want to keep your own reading organized? Try this digital reading journal template!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Romance Audiobook Deal Round-Up: March 27, 2026

Mar 27, 2026 | Book Deals

I’ve rounded up a bunch of romance audiobooks that are on sale right now that you should check out. Click on the picture of the book cover to check the current price on Libro.fm. Prices fluctuate, so keep in mind that it might not be on sale for long. (If you make a purchase through these links, I get a small commission.)

View audiobook of The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

View audiobook of The Enemy by Sarah Adams

View audiobook of Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

View audiobook of Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen

View audiobook of All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim

View audiobook of Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane

View audiobook of It's Elementary by Elise Bryant

View audiobook of Yin Yang Love Song by Lauren Kung Jessen

View audiobook of All's Fair in Love and Pickleball by Kate Spencer

.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Want to keep your own reading organized? Try this digital reading journal template!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Romance Ebook Deal Round-Up: March 26, 2026

Mar 26, 2026 | Book Deals

I love a good bargain for ebooks, and at the rate that I’m reading, grabbing an ebook deal is essential. I’ve rounded up a bunch of romance books that are on sale right now that you should check out. Click on the picture of the book cover to check the current price on Amazon. Prices fluctuate, so keep in mind that it might not be on sale for long. (If you make a purchase through these links, I get a small commission.)

Historical Romance

Contemporary Romance

.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Lucky Ladies of London Historical Romance Book Series by Faye Delacour

Mar 25, 2026 | Book Reviews

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Lucky Ladies of London series. Naval Lieutenant Eli is back from the dead after being shipwrecked and captured by pirates to find that he has no money, no fiance, and might be questioned by his bosses about his time away from the Navy. His former friend Jane is being cold and he doesn’t quite know why, but he wants to regain her friendship and affection. Well, we find out that Eli and Jane had a strong friendship up until the point where Eli gets caught in a compromising position with Jane’s prettier and more sociable cousin Cecily and then gets engaged to that woman. Stuck doing the honorable thing and staying engaged to a woman he doesn’t like very much, he runs off and joins the Navy. It’s basically a cluster of immaturity for Eli there. Meanwhile Jane is trying to run a discreet gambling club for ladies and gain her own financial independence. Due to the meddling of too many of Jane’s family members, she and Eli end up at the same house party attending the horse races at Ascot and sort of maybe start a physical affair. But both Jane and Eli is dodgy about their feelings, leaving the other person totally unsure and insecure. This is one of those books where I’m just waiting for the characters to just talk to each other already. However, it was fun to read about Jane’s adventures in gambling and Eli’s unwavering support.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

A Lady’s Guide to London by Faye Delacour (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Lucky Ladies of London series. Della is passionate about all her endeavors and in her attempt to draw more clients to the gambling club she owns with her friend, she asks the author of a gentleman’s guide, Lyman, to include her club as a destination. He says no, so she quickly decides to write her own guide instead. Except the publisher has paired them together into some co-writing mentorship sort of deal. He’s super rigid and prickly and she’s all flirtations and smiles. I enjoyed seeing these total opposites fall in love, and learn more about Lyman’s backstory. The events of this book overlap with the next one, so it’ll make a lot of sense to read them back to back.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley.

A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Lucky Ladies of London series. Hannah is fed up with her mother’s matchmaking, so she seizes an opportunity to ruin herself by paying a man to kiss her where they can be seen. Silas is all sorts of hesitant, but eventually agrees for the money. It’s a whirlwind of scandal that turns into a fake courtship and a fake engagement. But Silas really is a stand-up guy, even if a bit misunderstood, and totally deserving of love an affection. Hannah is a bit naive in regards to scheming to get her parents back together, but aside from that, she does have genuine affection for Silas. Definitely a case of he falls first and harder though, which I adore.

Advance ebook provided by Sourcebook via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Want to keep your own reading organized? Try this digital reading journal template!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Weekly Reads: March 16 to 22, 2026 (secret relationship contemporary romance, personal finance)

Mar 24, 2026 | Book Reviews

Crash Test by Amy James (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Starting out strong with the angst here and letting it linger through the whole book. Travis and Jacob are both race car drivers who have been in a secret relationship for a year. We start the book with Jacob getting into a horrible accident, and then see Travis’ point of view as he finds out what happened and then tries to go see Jacob in the hospital. It’s absolutely gut-wrenching to go through all of his emotions, not knowing if the man he loves is going to survive. Especially when we hear than another driver in the crash did not. I loved this book and all its emotions, but you definitely need to be emotionally prepared for heartbreak before you get to the happy ending.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Harper Audio.

Seven Points by Amy James (2025)

Contemporary romance. Follow-up novella to Crash Test. Short and mostly fluffy novella. It’s like seven months after the end of Crash Test, Travis and Jacob are together and Jacob has an opportunity to race again. It’s mostly messy from Jacob’s point of view because he’s insecure about deserving Travis’ affection. But I love a confident Travis here. Cute follow-up.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Bookshop.org

Well Endowed by Vivian Tu (2026)

Personal finance. Vivian is known on TikTok as yourrichbff, and I’ve enjoyed her content before, so I decided to pick up this book. Solid advice in an approachable format. I listened on audio and Vivian narrates the book herself. If you’re used to watching her TikToks, then audio is a great choice here. This book is a follow-up to her previous one, Rich AF, and covers more of the big life purchases like cars, houses, weddings, and kids. As someone who is financially secure and previously educated on most tenets of personal finance, I didn’t learn much new here. However, if you’re looking to increase your own finance education, this book would be a great start.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Fortune Flip by Lauren Kung Jessen (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Funny enough, having just read a personal finance book, reading a book where the main character wins the lottery is really interesting. Hazel is having the worst day ever (lost her job, got divorced) on top of having to financially bail out her brother and father constantly. She meets Logan during a fortune-telling mishap and they end up buying a lottery ticket. Lucky for them, it’s a winner. Unlucky for Logan, it seems that he’s run into a string of bad luck while Hazel has had her luck improve. We’ve got a cute luck-swap story here and a fairly straightforward romance. I like how Hazel and Logan communicate with each other and support each other as they slowly bond. Cute, mostly fluffy, except for their tragic backstories and Hazel’s toxic family. Audio is duet narration.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited