The author’s latest, Confounding Oaths, comes complete with an evil fairy godmother, plus sweet new releases from Emma R. Alban and Katie Shepard in this month’s romance column.
The author’s latest, Confounding Oaths, comes complete with an evil fairy godmother, plus sweet new releases from Emma R. Alban and Katie Shepard in this month’s romance column.
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Melissa Cutler brings us a sweet read in One More Taste, the second in her One and Only Texas series. For years, chef Emily Ford has lived and breathed her job at the Briscoe Ranch Resort, working for the family who took a chance on her when she most needed it. So to hell with being relegated to line cook by the man hired to turn around the struggling resort—a man who didn’t even bother tasting her delectable offering before suggesting her demotion. She is a fine executive catering chef, and she challenges Knox Briscoe to let her prove it.

Knox spent his formative years listening to his late father’s bitter stories of how Knox’s uncle cheated him out of the Briscoe family business. Knox has worked hard and made a name for himself as the head of a company that turns around failing businesses. So when he’s approached by his uncle for help saving the family resort, he sees it as his golden opportunity to do what he loves best. And if he gets some revenge for his dad on the family Knox never knew, well, so much the better.

What he doesn’t count on is the sweetness of his grandmother and some of his cousins. And he definitely didn’t see Emily Ford coming, yet every day brings them closer together. One More Taste is a sexy page-turner of a story peopled with strongly motivated characters you’ll cheer for.

Susan Andersen is a New York Times bestselling author of 23 romance and romantic-suspense novels

Melissa Cutler brings us a sweet read in One More Taste, the second in her One and Only Texas series. For years, chef Emily Ford has lived and breathed her job at the Briscoe Ranch Resort, working for the family who took a chance on her when she most needed it.
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Lynsay Sands returns to her beloved, long-running Argeneau series with a down-on-her-luck heroine, a vampire hero and the serendipitous circumstance of being stranded on a tropical island in Immortal Nights.

Abigail Forsythe needs to restart her life. After leaving medical school and spending most of her savings on taking care of her ailing mother, Abigail feels lost once her mother dies. She needs some time to figure her life out, and with the help of a generous friend, she finds herself taking a rather impromptu trip on a small plane. Her friend can get her on the plane, but she has to settle for hiding in the hold with the cargo. Unexpectedly, the cargo is the undead kind, namely the vampire Tomasso Notte.

Tomasso has been kidnapped, and his kidnappers stowed the immortal away, naked and knocked out cold. When Abigail discovers him, she knows she has to do the right thing and help him. While Tomasso recognizes Abigail as his savior, she’s also something else: his life mate.

Their only possibility for escape is to jump out of the small plane, so Abigail and Tomasso plunge into the waters below and begin their fight for survival. Abigail needs food and water, of course, but they’ll both have to outlast Tomasso’s growing hunger while keeping Abigail off the menu.

Abigail’s journey from being a woman adrift in her own life to being a strong, confident woman is touching, and her depression during this what-to-do-next phase of life is relatable. Tomasso is protective without being overbearing. He shows Abigail the spark that her life has been missing as the two discover a sizzling bond and make their way across the island in hopes of finding help.

Though packing in plenty of suspense, Immortal Nights isn’t without Sands’ typical dash of humor. Immortal Nights has everything fans of the Argeneau series have come to love: a smart heroine in an unexpected situation and a hero who is a drool-worthy mix of tender and courageous.

Lynsay Sands returns to her beloved, long-running Argeneau series with a down-on-her-luck heroine, a vampire hero and the serendipitous circumstance of being stranded on a tropical island in Immortal Nights.
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MaryJanice Davidson begins her new Insighter series with Deja Who, an inventive urban fantasy with dangerous reincarnations, a no-nonsense heroine and Davidson’s much-loved brand of silly, off-the-wall humor.

Leah is an Insighter. She can see people’s past lives, and clients often come to her in order to exorcise troublesome past selves—murderers, thieves and other bad souls—who are wreaking havoc in their current life. Only when a soul learns his or her lesson, breaking the cycle of crime or other bad habits, will they be reborn “tabula rasa,” or with a clean slate.

While Leah helps clients struggling with pesky previous incarnations, she must be wary of her own past as well. In several of her past lives, she’s been killed, and she knows her killer is out to find her again. But this time, she wants to break the cycle.

P.I. Archer Drake has been tailing Leah for a while, hired by her toxic helicopter mom to keep an eye on her. The more he watches Leah, the more he realizes how isolated and lonely she seems—and the more he falls in love with her. When he finally approaches her, a friendship slowly blossoms into something more. Leah is attracted to Archer’s earnestness and his goofy sense of humor. There’s also the fact that he’s potentially tabula rasa, which proves intriguing.

Once Leah reveals to Archer that she’s destined to be killed, he joins her mission in outwitting her would-be killer. The biggest hurdle is that they do not know what form her killer will take. It could be a friend or a stranger—once, it was even her own mother.

The world of reincarnation Davidson has created is fascinating, and the romance between Leah and Archer is pleasant to read. She’s the stoic, firm voice of reason, while he’s the sensitive beta hero who finds himself falling for the heroine. Fans of Davidson’s soon-ending Undead series will be anxious to jump into Leah’s world.

USA Today bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson begins her new Insighter series with Deja Who, an inventive urban fantasy with dangerous reincarnations, a no-nonsense heroine and Davidson’s much-loved brand of silly, off-the-wall humor.

New York Times bestselling author Susan Donovan knows what a girl wants, and it has nothing to do with roses or a box of candy.

Tanyalee Marie Newberry, aka Taffy, is the perfect package, with long blonde hair, a string of pearls and a buff body. But we soon learn that her perfect-looking life has been fraught with difficulties since the untimely death of her parents when she was 5 years old.

Taffy has a mean streak, struggles with kleptomania, has major relationship issues, and she has made a huge mess of her life. She has used and abused everyone who ever cared about her—her sister, her grandfather, her first husband.

Fortunately, two months in an Arizona rehab center has helped her turn a corner, and she is ready to try and make things right. That is, until she’s seated next to a gorgeous hunk on her flight home to Podunk North Carolina—a man with a past every bit as complicated as her own—DEA agent Dante Cabrera, a recuperating alcoholic who is drawn to women with a lot of “crazy.” Taffy, in more ways than one, is a perfect fit.

At the center of this romance are two warm-hearted people, both struggling to make amends for bad decisions they’ve made in the past. The chemistry is there from the beginning when they spend a sexy layover together in an airport hotel, but the real story goes much deeper as they each face their own demons.

Through the many twists and turns of the story, one thing remains crystal clear: Dante is stuck on this particular piece of candy and he’s not going anywhere. And if Taffy’s decision to make amends is an honest one, there is good reason to believe that she and Dante will finally make a relationship work.

Tanyalee Marie Newberry, aka Taffy, is the perfect package, with long blonde hair, a string of pearls and a buff body wrapped up in a pink bow. But we soon learn that her perfect-looking life has been fraught with difficulties.
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Sunset in Central Park, the second romance in bestselling author Sarah Morgan’s Manhattan with Love series, is a fun, emotionally satisfying read.

Frankie Cole doesn’t believe in happily ever after, at least not for herself. She intends to be contentedly single forever. Because love? Well, she has seen the corrosiveness of that condition from a front row seat, along with all the myriad ways in which the highs ultimately crash and burn, leaving only smoking ruins. And yes, she acknowledges the irony of the event-planning business she recently began with her two best friends showing its early success largely within the wedding industry. Her partners assure her they will branch out into venues better suiting her once they get their collective foot in the door. Frankie doesn’t see it happening anytime soon, however, and she struggles to keep her frustration in check.

Then her friend Matt Walker, who unbeknownst to her has long been looking for an excuse to get closer to her, offers her an opportunity to design the plantings for a rooftop he’s converting from utilitarian space to lush entertainment venue. Frankie, unable to resist the chance to get her hands on something meatier than wedding bouquets and table flowers, signs on. And immediately sparks begin to fly.

The twists in this story are sure to draw you in. Matt is one romantic sweetheart of a hero, Frankie’s problems are believably motivated and the dialogue is honest and compelling. Sunset in Central Park is a red-hot, witty page-turner that I predict will keep you up all night.

 

Susan Andersen is a New York Times bestselling author of 23 romance and romantic suspense novels.

USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan pens a fun, emotionally satisfying book in Sunset in Central Park, the second in her From Manhattan with Love series.

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Sarah MacLean brings together the proverbial beauty and the beast in her latest Regency novel, A Scot in the Dark.

Lillian Hargrove is drop-dead gorgeous, but her beauty offers no help for her tainted social status. Orphaned at a young age and under the guardianship of a series of Warnick Dukes, the 23-year-old falls prey to an unfortunate situation when she poses nude for the famous artist Derek Hawkins, who has promised that the painting is for his eyes only and that he intends to wed her. But Lillian learns that the supposed private painting will not only soon be displayed for the world to see, but that Derek has no intention of marrying her.

Alec Stuart, the newest and reluctant Duke of Warnick, enters the scene surprised to find that Lillian is a ward of his estate. Upon realizing her involvement with the scandal, the over-six-foot Scottish brute takes charge of Lillian’s shameful societal status by attempting to find a man for her to marry before the painting’s unveiling. In an unlikely turn of events, Alec and Lillian fall for each other. Although their romance is riddled with clashes, secrets and uncertainty, one thing for certain is that destroying Derek’s painting will alter Lillian’s position. Yet locating it before that fateful reveal will be nothing less than a miracle.

MacLean’s latest novel includes a host of feisty, colorful characters that surround and support the pair of underdogs. Scenes are replete with engaging and snarky dialogue, plenty of romantic tension, gossip and narrative twists and turns. A Scot in the Dark, the second book in MacLean’s Scandal & Scoundrel series, is a captivating mix of scandal and sensuality with a Scottish flare.

Sarah MacLean brings together "the beauty and the beast" in her latest regency novel, A Scot in the Dark.

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Sandra Brown’s bestselling romantic thrillers have been topping fiction lists for more than three decades, with a list of 65 titles beginning in the early 1980s. Her formula of bad boys and women in dire straits has proved to be enormously popular. In Sting, Brown’s devious, remote hero is hitman Shaw Kinnard, who has been hired by a ruthless criminal and real bad guy named Panella, on contract to kill beautiful business entrepreneur Jordie Bennett. Panella’s hoping the hit will bring Jordie’s brother, Josh, a fugitive and escaped federal witness, to the surface of whatever scummy pond he’s been hiding in, along with $30 million that Panella figures is his. Josh and Panella were complicit in a scheme to defraud investors of their hard-earned money, and Josh has disappeared along with the loot.

Before reaching the meat of the story, filled with action, disclosures, chases and mayhem, readers get their fill of backstory and ancillary characters, including the numerous cops and FBI agents on Panella’s trail, who also want their prize. Eventually Shaw, who appears to be a cold-hearted kidnapper and killer of helpless women entrepreneurs, decides that the lovely Jordie may be worth more in dollars if she’s alive. He kidnaps her and makes his getaway into the backwoods, and these two strong-willed, stubborn characters must try to outwit the other while evading the law enforcement dragnet.

Thriller readers in general and Brown fans in particular know that this story is just the surface skin, beneath which lie surprises and plot twists that go way beyond the smoldering passion developing between captor and captive—one that we knew would develop from the get-go. The author isn’t showing all her cards, and Shaw and Jordie have plenty of secrets in tow for readers to discover as the book progresses. This part of the story is greatly enhanced by unsavory tidbits about brother Josh, who is a loose cannon if there ever was one.

Sting may be formulaic and lacking in dimension, but readers looking for Brown’s tried-and-true recipe will find plenty to escape into in this smoothly written, late-summer thriller. 

Sandra Brown’s bestselling romantic thrillers have been topping fiction lists for more than three decades, with a list of 65 titles beginning in the early 1980s. Her formula of bad boys and women in dire straits has proved to be enormously popular. In Sting, Brown’s devious, remote hero is hitman Shaw Kinnard, who has been hired by a ruthless criminal and real bad guy named Panella, on contract to kill beautiful business entrepreneur Jordie Bennett.

Dorothy Garlock’s Sunday Kind of Love begins as an old-fashioned love story. It's 1956, girl has already met boy, and they’re en route to Buckton, Indiana, to meet her parents. Gwen hopes she’s found a partner in her boyfriend, Kent—a man to stand beside her, not tower above her.

Gwen is a small-town girl who, unlike most of her friends, attended college and then left Podunk Buckton for the glamour of Chicago. She’s fallen for the dazzling Kent Brookings—an attorney par excellence and a young man on his way up.

However, Gwen soon realizes that the entitled young lawyer sees her as more of a beautiful trinket than the intelligent young woman she truly is. When the two travel to Buckton to visit Gwen’s family, Kent announces their engagement to her parents—before he’s even asked Gwen to marry him. Gwen is infuriated.

Garlock’s mastery of momentum paired with captivating characters ensures a satisfying read.

After Kent’s surprise announcement, Gwen storms off into the night to re-examine the relationship. Gwen is torn. Kent doesn't support her dream of becoming a writer, and if he doesn’t take her seriously, how can she become his wife? However, she knows Kent is everything her parents want for her: an educated, thoughtful and wealthy young man.

As she ponders her dilemma in the darkness, she drops her prized writing journal in a swollen river and, while attempting to retrieve it, is swept away by the current. As fate would have it, local bad boy, Hank Ellis, hears her calls for help and risks his life to rescue Gwen. Despite this act of heroism, Gwen’s father shuns Hank when he brings her home, asking him to get out.

To Gwen’s family and the entire town of Buckton, Hank is a pariah. He was responsible for the fiery car wreck that killed his much-loved younger brother. However, it seems that everyone in Buckton has a secret, and Hank, devastated by his brother’s death and his father’s alcoholism, is no exception. Yet despite his painful past, Gwen finds herself developing feelings for this rough, misunderstood giant of a man who saved her. 

The latest of Dorothy Garlock’s romances underscores why the author is a nearly permanent resident of the New York Times bestseller list. Garlock’s mastery of momentum paired with captivating characters ensures a satisfying read.

Dorothy Garlock’s Sunday Kind of Love begins as an old-fashioned love story. Girl has already met boy and they’re en route to Buckton, Indiana, to meet her parents. Gwen hopes she’s found a partner in her boyfriend, Kent—a man to stand beside her, not tower above her.

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Kelly Bowen returns to her Season for Scandal series with A Duke to Remember, in which a woman, who seems to be a magnet for drama, tracks down a man who is desperate to stay out of the limelight of London society. 

Elise deVries loves to play a character both on and off the stage. By night, she graces the stage as one of London’s most talented actresses—but her day job is far more interesting. Hired by Chegarre & Associates, an agency that makes scandals disappear overnight, Elise works undercover, using her fondness for playing roles and knack for creating disguises to help collect information for the company’s clients. 

Elise first appears in disguise as a doctor—a male doctor—as she investigates the claim that the Duchess of Ashland is being unfairly detained at the Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as Bedlam. The duchess insists that her son—Noah Ellery, the Duke of Ashland, who has long been missing and is presumed dead—is still alive, but the assertion only makes the claim of her insanity even more plausible. However, Elise knows that something isn’t right, and she sets off to find the missing Duke.

A Duke to Remember has everything you want in a romance.

Noah Ellery is enjoying his life of quiet solitude in hiding in the English countryside. He’s all too happy to give up the title of Duke of Ashland if it means leaving high society and its gossip behind. But when Elise turns up, explaining that his mother has been sent away to an asylum and his awful cousin is claiming the title of duke, Noah knows he can’t escape his responsibilities any longer.

Noah is hopelessly sweet, and while he longs to help his mother, the bad blood between him and his family is pretty extensive. A quiet child who stumbled over his sentences, a boy who seemed unworthy of a title, Noah was a disappointment in his father’s eyes. So he was hidden away by his family. The fear and wariness Noah feels at claiming his title of Duke of Ashland is heartbreaking, but he can’t seem to resist the pull of Elise’s gentle patience and earnest plea for his return.

With a lovely balance of playful moments and moments of reflection and confessions, A Duke to Remember has everything you want in a romance: a confident heroine, an earnest and loving beta hero and a truly satisfying happily every after that will leave you misty-eyed. 

Kelly Bowen returns to her Season for Scandal series with A Duke to Remember, in which a woman, who also seems to be a magnet for drama, tracks down a man desperate to stay out of the limelight of London society.
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In J.R. Ward’s The Angels' Share, the second in her Bourbon Kings series, the mighty Bradford family has fallen. Patriarch William’s apparent suicide is beginning to look like murder. And since the man bred hate more easily than most people draw breath, there is no shortage of suspects. There is also no one at the helm of the Bradford Bourbon Company—or the BBC as it’s known—their billion-dollar family business. It falls to Lane, the youngest Bradford brother and a former playboy (reformed now that he's gotten serious with gardener Lizzie King), to take charge.

It soon becomes clear that William has left the business all but bankrupt. And the hits keep coming as Lane uncovers one transgression committed by his father after another, all of which threaten the family estate of Easterly and the survival of the BBC. Still, Lane is damned if their generations-old family business will fail on his watch. But this is new territory he’s trying to map his way through, and he is certainly getting little help from his family. His mother is a prescription medicine-addicted recluse, oldest brother Edward is a fragile shadow of his former self after the kidnapping and torture he suffered on his father’s orders, Lane’s middle brother Max is MIA, and his wild child sister, Gin . . . Well, she’s Gin—not interested in being useful.

The Angels' Share hosts a large cast of characters. If you missed The Bourbon Kings, the first book in the series, it may take you a while to get them all straight and become truly engaged in the story. Yet these characters will suck you in. A number one New York Times bestseller many times over, J.R. Ward has written an operatic lollapalooza of a story, filled with a rich mix of good guys, bad guys, back stabbers and hard workers, high-stakes business deals and small gems of personal growth. Ward has infused it throughout with her affection for Southern sensibility, which sings in the characters she has created, who love, care and fight for the continued success of Easterly and the BBC.

In J.R. Ward’s The Angel’s Share (the second in her Bourbon Kings series), the mighty Bradford family has fallen.

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A chain of events leads to unexpected romances, secrets and the discovery of true love in a small Cotswolds village in Jill Mansell's 27th book, You and Me, Always.

Prior to her untimely death, Jo Harper wrote a set of birthday letters to her young daughter, Lily. On her 25th birthday, Lily opens the last of them and learns of her mother's real love—Declan Madison. Surrounded by a tight network of people who helped raise her after her mother's death, Lily's network comprises of Coral (Jo’s best friend), Patsy (Lily’s former babysitter) and Dan (Patsy's younger brother). This final letter has unexpected consequences for Lily and the kind friends she has gathered around her.

Now as the close-knit, cobbled together family grows older, they are discreetly looking for their true loves. Patsy experiences one internet date failure after another, Dan always has a new girlfriend, and Coral struggles to love again after her husband's unexpected death. Declan's entrance into the tale is a breath of fresh air for the familial quartet. In the meantime, movie celebrity Eddie Tessler hopes to win Lily's heart. However, Eddie is not the only person vying for Lily's attention. That is just the one of many secrets brewing in the quaint village of Stanton Langley.

Mansell's novel is a wonderful mix of romantic tension and uproarious comedy, and her complex characters share a common desire to be deeply loved and appreciated. You and Me, Always is a deliciously charming read from beginning to end!  

A chain of events leads to unexpected romances, secrets and the discovery of true love in a small Cotswolds town in Jill Mansell's 27th book, You and Me, Always.
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Swedish author Simona Ahrnstedt makes her English debut with All In, the first Swedish-language romance novel to be translated and published in the U.S. Featuring a billionaire venture capitalist and a businesswoman making a name for herself in the boy’s club of corporate banking, All In will have readers talking with its sizzling chemistry and cat-and-mouse intrigue. 

Set in the world of Sweden’s elite, CEO David Hammar is looking to acquire a private financial firm, Investum, owned by the aristocratic De la Grip family. It’s a bold move, but David is known for his aggressive and, at times, conniving tactics. But to David, this acquisition is more than just a business deal—it’s a chance for revenge. And nothing will stop him from destroying the De la Grips once he owns Investum.

Natalia De la Grip is making a name for herself as a corporate banker. She’s dogged and headstrong, working long hours in hopes for some recognition from her father, whose ego and pompousness only drive Natalia to achieve even greater success. Her goal: to earn a spot on the board of Investum. 

David’s plan for power and revenge relies on getting a member of the De la Grip family on his side, and Natalia is the perfect target. She wants an active part in the company, and he needs someone on the inside to aid in his corporate takeover. David just has to convince Natalia that he’s only looking out for the best interests of Investum. 

Can David give up his lifelong, cold-hearted motivations for a woman from the family he hates?

Cutthroat and manipulative, David is used to remaining steadfast in the face of temptation, but Natalia’s loyalty—and especially her naïveté—might prove too much to resist. As business lunches turn into late-night dinners, his plans for revenge begin to falter as his attraction to Natalia increases. Can David give up his lifelong, cold-hearted motivations for a woman from the family he hates?

With glamorous details of the lifestyles of Sweden’s rich and famous, All In is a high-stakes romance entrenched in corporate corruption and overflowing bank accounts, and it feels not unlike a Shakespearean drama with schemes, power struggles and family betrayals. 

Ahrnstedt has given American readers a romance they won’t soon forget. With a smart heroine striving for her father’s acceptance, a jaded hero out to bring down his enemies, and the beautiful setting of Sweden, All In grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the very last word.

RELATED CONTENT: Read Simona Ahrnstedt's blog post about the book.

Swedish author Simona Ahrnstedt makes her English debut with All In, the first foreign-language romance novel to be translated and published in the U.S.
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USA Today bestselling author Kristen Callihan brings us Forevermore, the seventh and final book in her paranormal Darkest London series. Sin Evernight is the second most powerful Judgment Angel in Victorian England. He is also a dedicated loner—until the night he chases a cloaked creature he discovers hovering over a dead body. It’s small and fast—and when he does catch it, it explodes from his grasp in a murmuration of starlings.

Layla Starling doesn’t understand what’s happening to her. Back in London after losing the voice that made her a sensation across the European Continent, she finds herself behaving in ways she doesn’t recognize. She’s stronger than she has ever been and is intensely drawn to the scent of other people’s blood. The latter she has experienced before. Now, however, it is so much more compelling, that it greatly disturbs her. But when she is reunited with her guardian, Augustus, and her best childhood friend, Sin Evermore, they allow her to see them in their non-earthly forms and pledge to keep her safe and help her learn to control her emerging powers.

Many of the new things in her life seem determined to turn it topsy-turvy. The one constant she is not confused about is her desire to get a good deal closer to Sin. Ignoring every roadblock he throws in her path, she sets out to do precisely that.

This was my first Kristen Callihan book, but it will not be my last. Sin is a marvelously drawn, wounded warrior, and Callihan’s plot brims with richness and depth. 

USA Today bestselling author Kristen Callihan brings us Forevermore, the seventh and final book in her paranormal Darkest London series. Sin Evernight is the second most powerful Judgment Angel in Victorian England. He is also a dedicated loner—until the night he chases a cloaked creature he discovers hovering over a dead body. It’s small and fast—and when he does catch it, it explodes from his grasp in a murmuration of starlings.

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