Lee Welch’s original and inventive fantasy romance Salt Magic, Skin Magic was one of my favourite books of 2018. Like most of those who read it, I was excited to read the work of such a gifted new author, and I’ve been eager for more of it ever since. In Seducing the Sorcerer, Ms. Welch…
Garrett Leigh is an author I keep meaning to read more of, so I eagerly pounced on her latest release, The Sex Coach, a standalone story that is loosely related to her Skins trilogy. (It’s not essential to have read that series, although I did find it helpful to have done so). Set on Whisper…
I’m always happy to find something spicy that doesn’t wallow in angst, and Picture Perfect Cowboy is precisely that. Jason Waters, retired rodeo champion, agrees at the last minute to fill in for an injured friend in a naked men reading books calendar photoshoot to raise money for a literacy charity. The photographer, Simone Levine,…
Nina Crespo kicks off the Tillbridge Stables series with The Cowboy’s Claim, a Hallmark Movie-esque low-conflict, enemies-to-lovers, country boy-meets-city gal romance. Crespo introduces readers to the Tillbridges, an African American family of horse stable owners based in Maryland who have achieved renown as rodeo performers. Tillbridge Horse Stable & Guesthouse manager Tristan Tillbridge has dedicated…
I enjoyed the first three books in Theresa Romain’s Romance of the Turf series, which focuses on a family of successful horse-breeders and trainers based in Newmarket. One of the attractions of the series has been that there’s nary a duke or earl in sight – historical romance about non-aristocratic characters is relatively rare, so…
Antigone Preston’s father has barely been laid to rest when her mother announces Antigone’s betrothal to their older and creepy neighbor, Lord Aldridge. This will offer the chance for Antigone’s stunningly beautiful older sister to move in more rarefied circles and snare a financially secure husband. But as to what Aldridge gets out of the…
In Monster In the Closet, Karen Rose returns to her best-selling Baltimore series with a twisty tale of love and murder. Since I haven’t read a Karen Rose novel I didn’t love, I was super excited to dive into this one, and I’m pleased to let you know she’s written another winner. If you’ve read…
I first read a book by Nora Roberts in the summer of 1997. Looking back, it’s hard to believe I’ve been a fan of her work for the past twenty years. Of course, she’s written some things I haven’t enjoyed, but her standalone romantic suspense titles are by and large, all on my keeper shelf….
This is the first book by Elizabeth Essex I’ve read, and on the strength of it, will certainly be searching out more of her work. Scandal in the Night is part of a series, but works incredibly well as a standalone; and in it, Ms Essex has combined a sweeping and poignant romance with a…
When it comes to YA fiction, I make snap judgements. 99% of the time, I read the first chapter and I’ll know whether I’ll like the book or drop it. So after hearing so much about Ms. Stiefvater’s 2011 YA fantasy, I decided to give it a try. And, indeed, the first chapter test didn’t…