The special edition of Jennifer L Armentrout’s new ‘romantasy’ will stand out on any bookshelf, even if you’ve got your eyes closed. I refuse to be sniffy about it
W
ould you like a book that smells like garlic? Didn’t think so. But that didn’t stop author Jennifer L Armentrout from using garlic-infused ink to print 1,000 copies of her new novel The Primal of Blood and Bone.
Seem strange? Maybe less so if I explain that the book is the latest instalment in a “romantasy” series that features Vampry (vampires) and Craven (sort of zombie vampires). Even then, this garlic business doesn’t quite add up. In Armentrout’s six-book saga (not including its four-book prequel), there is literally no mention of garlic repelling vampires. It’s only when you open TikTok that the special edition makes sense – it’s a “partnership” with the mayonnaise brand Hellmann’s. A quick search and my screen is full of excited readers opening coffin-shaped packages that contain the special smelly book and a free bottle of Hellmann’s garlic aioli. This is a stunt targeted at the army of romantasy readers on BookTok, the corner of TikTok devoted to books and reading.
Like garlic itself, this stunt has left some people queasy. On this very website, author David Barnett has denounced the use of “gimmicks” to sell books, with publishers dedicating huge marketing budgets to authors who are successful and don’t need the hype. That may be true in general but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.
