Black BookTok Drags Publisher for Botched Promo of a Popular Romance Novel

Podium Entertainment is facing backlash after a paid partnership with a Black BookTok creator went all the way wrong. The publisher tapped Nash Reads to promote “Capone,” a popular urban romance novel by Jahquel J, for which the company recently inked a traditional publishing deal. Now, the Black BookTok community is letting the creator and the publisher know that when it comes to this book, they have no credibility – and they have the receipts.

In the now-deleted video, Nash described the book as a “Black mafia romance with some of our favorite tropes from enemies to lovers to arranged marriages.”

Although Nash gave the book a glowing review, she somehow completely missed the plot.

The novel is actually an action-packed, drama-filled series following Erin Cooper, a woman who has to care for her baby brother after the tragic death of their parents. A man named Capone Delgato becomes determined to make Erin his, despite the emotional baggage and obstacles standing between them. Both characters enter the relationship with their walls up, but their connection forces them to confront their trauma and slowly let each other in. The situation gets even more complicated because Delgato’s sister is married to Erin’s ex.

Whew.

The publisher’s official description of “Capone” identifies the book as an urban romance, but it does not describe an arranged marriage or an enemies-to-lovers storyline.

For members of the Black BookTok community who have spent years championing Black romance, urban fiction and independently published Black authors, the mistake was more than a creator missing a few plot points. It raised questions about who publishers hire to market Black stories and whether those companies are actually paying attention to the communities that made the books popular in the first place.

Popular BookToker Talia called out both Nash and Podium Entertainment in an eight-minute video, where she argued that the publisher was “ultimately at fault” because it selected a creator who “happens to be Black,” but does not regularly read or platform Black or urban romance.

“I’m not suspecting, I am saying, ‘She did not read the book,” Talia said in her post. “Anyone who has read ‘Capone,’ the entire Delgato family series and watched this video knows that this creator did not read the book. And whoever approved this video and this ad also did not read the book.”

According to Talia, Nash appeared to be promoting a book she likely would not have picked up without a paid partnership attached. She also said the creator had “allowed herself to be tokenized” by participating in a campaign for a literary community she was seemingly unfamiliar with.

She further explained that, as one of the more recognizable creators regularly discussing Black romance on BookTok, she had never seen Nash review or recommend books within the genre. That absence, she said, suggested Nash was not actively part of the Black romance community before being chosen for the campaign. 

She also highlighted a frustration Black BookTok creators have raised for years – that paid opportunities are often harder to come by for them than for their white counterparts.

Talia went on to say that Nash “didn’t even try” to make it appear as though she had read the book before promoting it.

In a follow-up video, Talia expanded her criticism to the strategy behind the campaign. She accused Podium Entertainment of using “Capone” to “appeal to mainstream and the white fantasy, romantasy, mafia romance readers” to sell at bookstores, like Barnes & Noble. 

She also suggested the company selected Nash because her audience may not be familiar with Black romance, allowing the publisher to attract new readers by relying on “buzzy tropes” that were not actually part of the story.

Nash later responded with an apology, taking responsibility for participating in the promotion and correcting her pronunciation of Jahquel J.’s name. According to Nash, the inaccurate description was included in a creator brief provided by Podium Entertainment. 

“In the ad, I completely mischaracterized this book,” she said. “I did the ad and said what was requested of me.”

While she acknowledged that she made a mistake and accepted accountability for posting the promotion, Nash pushed back against the language used to describe her involvement. 

She said she found it “disrespectful” to be called a “token,” adding that she enjoyed the novel and reviewed it on GoodReads.

The moral of the story here is to triple-check the brief before saying something online and make sure you’re familiar with the material. 

Also, get you a copy of the book.