‘Kissing the Coronavirus’: COVID-19 romance novel appears on Amazon
FILE - Illustration picture shows nursing staff handling corona test tube for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) pathogens. (Photo by Vincent Kalut / Photonews via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - Love in the time of coronavirus looks a bit different.
A new romance novel, titled “Kissing the Coronavirus,” has taken the internet by storm. Written by an author under the pen name M.J. Edwards, the story follows a doctor who “fell in love” with the very virus she was hired to cure.
“She was supposed to cure the Coronavirus. Instead, she fell in love with it,” reads the book’s synopsis on Amazon. “Dr. Alexa Ashingtonford is a part of a crack team of scientists tasked with finding the cure to the devastating Coronavirus. Little did she know she would end up falling in love with it.”
“Kissing the Coronavirus is a steamy tale about forbidden love and dark desires come to life,” it added.
The book is noted to be the author’s debut novel and her attempt to “pay the bills” after she lost her job. The erotica novel gained attention after readers posted confused and comedic reviews on Goodreads.
The story begins with Ashingtonford trying to find a cure for COVID-19 with her team, until she becomes intrigued by the sample, according to an excerpt of the novel.
The virus sample then infects a scientist on the team after he injects himself with a trial vaccine. Instead of becoming sick with the coronavirus, however, it instead turns the scientist into a green-hued, muscular virus-man.
The man-turned-virus reintroduces himself to Alexa as “Covid” and their romance begins.
While the novel does not have stellar reviews, most commenters noted that it brought unintended comedic value and was a good laugh.
“Yes, I still gave it 5 stars,” wrote one reviewer on Goodreads. “Do not go into this expecting a good read, either story or writing. You absolutely have to go into this expecting it to be worse than you imagine.”
The novel is currently being sold for $6.45 and has an overall rating of 4 out 5 stars on Amazon.