Hello! I’m so excited to talk about my upcoming romantic suspense novel, Rough Trade. It’s a slow-burn love story about morally-flexible prostitute Ghost and straight-arrow cop Duncan Rook, two men forced to trust one another as they work together to expose a crime ring.  At its core, Rough Trade is about two very different people finding a middle ground in extremely turbulent circumstances, and I’m pleased to be able to share some of my favorite romantic suspense novels to celebrate its release!

One of my absolute favorites is Linda Howard’s Cry No More, the story of a mother determined to find the baby stolen from her. Milla is tough, smart, competent and determined, willing to do whatever it takes to find her child, even if that road leads her to a terrifying trafficking ring with only a mysterious assassin as backup. Diaz, the hero, is an unexpected pleasure. He’s your stereotypical dangerous man on the surface, he’s surprisingly civic-minded, loyal, and outrageously devoted to Milla once he falls for her. It’s a book I’ve read easily a dozen times, and I know I’ll read it again.

KJ Charles’s Think of England is an incredibly well-crafted novel. This historical m/m isn’t marketed as a romantic suspense per se, but with hints of Agatha Christie, it definitely counts as a tense read. Archie Curtis is searching for the truth behind a supposed “accident” that cost him several friends and left him angry, alone and coming to terms with a disability. He’s made his way to a fancy house party where suspects abound—including the poet Daniel da Silva, who represents everything Curtis scorns. But as you might imagine, that attitude doesn’t hold out for very long. I love Charles’s writing—it’s subtle and complex, and she’s great at developing complicated characters that you can’t help becoming invested in. She has a real talent for getting you to flip pages as quickly as you can.

The heroine of Suzanne Brockmann’s Gone Too Far, Alyssa Locke, is an FBI agent, a former Navy sniper, and a woman of color who shows the boys how it’s done, and she does so with flawless class and intelligence. In short, she’s amazing, and probably my favorite heroine in all of romance. I was intrigued by the suspense plot that rotates around Sam, a Navy SEAL searching for his missing daughter, but I mostly just wanted to read about Alyssa doing awesome things. You don’t find a lot of female soldiers in romance (which is a damn shame, because I would read all of them. Seriously. All of them), but Alyssa is proof that they can be every bit as fascinating and competent as the men.

Yep, there’s two Brockmann books on this list, and the other one is Hot Target. As much as I love the main pairing here, it’s the subplot concentrating on the M/M storyline of FBI Agent Jules Cassidy and actor Robin Chadwick that has me rereading this book over and over. I’d long been a fan of Jules, who is loyal and smart and warm (and Alyssa’s best friend!), and Robin’s journey as a man coming to terms with his sexuality was extremely powerful. If not for the success of Jules and Robin, mainstream romance might’ve taken considerably longer to realize the massive interest in LGBTQ books. Regardless of their importance to the genre, though, the love story of Jules and Robin is just damn good storytelling.

And finally there’s Nora Roberts’ Montana Sky. This story of three sisters meeting for the first time when their father dies is a masterwork of jugging multiple narrative elements. There’s the slow build of a suspense plot that provides a near-constant, unsettling air, there’s the development of sisterhood among these women who’ve been strangers all their lives, and the fact that you get not one, not two, but three HEAs in the same book. It’s masterful, and I’ve read this book multiple times just to see if I can figure out how Roberts manages to pull so many threads together in such cohesion.

These five books are just a drop in the bucket when it comes to stellar romantic suspense though. I’d love to hear about your favorites too! Thanks for having me here today to talk about so many great books, and I hope you enjoy Rough Trade if you give it a try!   

Rough Trade (Woodbury Boys #3) by Sidney Bell
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date (Print & Ebook):
Ebook: Monday December 3
Print (mmp): Tuesday December 25

Length (Print & Ebook):
Ebook: 496
Print (mmp): 496

Subgenre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Male/Male Romance

Reader warnings: Childhood sexual abuse, angst

All buy links or pre-order links:

• Carina Press: https://www.carinapress.com/shop/books/9781335777119_rough-trade.html
• Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335777119_rough-trade.html
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Trade-Woodbury-Boys-Sidney/dp/1335777113
• Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rough-trade-sidney-bell/1128809466
• Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sidney_Bell_Rough_Trade?id=xD9eDwAAQBAJ
• iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rough-trade/id1391032235?mt=11

Synopsis:

Quick-witted hustler Ghost is no stranger to living dangerously; survival has always been the name of the game.

He’s just always gone it alone.

Now he’s got the wrong people breathing down his neck, and the only way out demands placing his trust in the unlikeliest of heroes: Duncan Rook, a gruff cop whose ethics are as solid as his body.

Cozying up to a criminal is hardly what Duncan’s reputation on the force needs—especially when that criminal is temptation personified. Ghost is Duncan’s polar opposite, and the last person he expected to fall for.

So then why does every imaginable scenario for taking down their common enemy end with Ghost in his arms?

This book is approximately 122,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

About Sidney Bell:

Sidney Bell lives in Colorado with her amazingly supportive husband. She received her MFA degree in Creative Writing in 2010, considered aiming for the Great American Novel, and then promptly started writing fanfiction instead. More realistic grown-ups eventually convinced her to try writing something more fiscally responsible, though, which is how we ended up here. When she’s not writing, she’s playing violent video games, yelling at the television during hockey games, or supporting her local library by turning books in late.

Connect with Sidney:

• Instagram: @sidneybellbooks https://www.instagram.com/sidneybellbooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sidney-Bell-234780093548718/
• Twitter: @sidneybellbooks https://twitter.com/sidneybellbooks
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1655174.Sidney_Bell
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B01JG56JDG?redirectedFromKindleDbs=true
• Website: www.sidneybell.com
• Blog: http://www.sidneybell.com/blog/
• Email: SIDNEYBELLBOOKS@GMAIL.COM

Giveaway: Win 1 of 5 Paperback of HARD LINE and LOOSE CANNON (Woodbury Boys series) by Sidney Bell! (North American addresses only)

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