Would 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.
