Lucy Parker’s TBR

Last week at Smexy Angela and I posted our TBR and today we have a special guest, Lucy Parker, to share her TBR with us. Take it away Lucy-

We’re rapidly heading towards winter in the southern hemisphere, which will soon mean it’s dark by five o’clock, the car windows will frost over, extra blankets will go on the bed, and I’ll slip on black ice in public at least once. However, there’s no point even pretending I’m gloomy about the changing seasons, because this time of year also means reading in front of the fire and I am here for it. My tower of To-Be-Read books is currently my “get it done and you can read All The Things” reward, keeping me going through work deadlines right now, and I can’t wait to curl up with all the titles on it. This is already an amazing year for new releases, and I’m spoilt for choice in listing a few of the many that I’m looking forward to. Fortunately, if you’re in the northern hemisphere, every one of these books would also make an awesome companion to sit in the sun with, and regardless of the weather outside, we’ll all be diving deep into another world anyway.

• Nalini Singh’s WOLF RAIN. I’m an enormous fan of Nalini Singh; her Psy-Changeling books are not only my favourite paranormal romances but among my favourite romances, full-stop. Her world-building is detailed, complex, and masterfully done. When you start at book one and read (…or re-read for the approximately hundredth time) right through to the latest releases, it’s like watching a tapestry of characters and plotlines come together, with more threads added with each subsequent title and effortlessly woven in. And slowly a picture starts to emerge of the continuing arc, but you’re never sure what is still to be revealed. I’m so excited for the hero and heroine of Wolf Rain, and this series always delivers. Publication date: June 6.

• Tessa Bailey’s FIX HER UP. I love Tessa Bailey’s contemporary romances; she has a very distinctive voice, and her main characters always grow together and become implacably supportive of one another. The books are super sexy, but also deliver on an emotional level, and provide a lot of re-read romantic moments. Fix Her Up is a brother’s best friend trope — excuse me while I mentally insert my heart-eyes emoji here — and the heroine is a clown. Basically, I would have been sold at that information alone. Publication date: June 11.

• Jenn Bennett’s SERIOUS MOONLIGHT. I’ve adored Jenn Bennett and her writing since I fell in love with her urban fantasy Arcadia Bell series. She’s currently focused on YA romance, and her latest release Serious Moonlight is based around the premise of mystery novels. The heroine takes a summer job at a historic hotel, and with the help of a sexy, sweet-sounding colleague, becomes involved in the enigma of a famous reclusive writer staying on the property. I don’t even know where to begin with how many things I love have been packed into one story. Publication date: May 16 (digital; but available now in hardback).

• Alyssa Cole’s A PRINCE ON PAPER. There aren’t enough accolades for Alyssa Cole’s writing. It’s warm, it’s witty, it has huge emotional depth, and she’s so good at threading multiple layers into scenes in such a subtle way that you don’t notice the craft because you’re so fully immersed in the story. A Prince on Paper is a fake relationship story, which is a trope I love, between a sweet, loyal woman who’s been through extremely difficult experiences and a “red-headed step-prince”, a playboy royal who’s more than he seems. Publication date: April 30.

• Carla de Guzman’s STEALING LUNA. If you’re not reading Carla de Guzman (and in fact, all the works of #romanceclass, an incredible community of talented authors in the Philippines (www.romanceclassbooks.com)), you’re missing out. Her characters are so well-rounded, so warmly and fully developed, that you tend to get so invested you forget they’re fictional people. Stealing Luna is the story of an art thief and her ex-boyfriend bodyguard trying to steal a priceless painting from villains in Barcelona, and yes please. Publication date: April 26.

• OLIVIA DADE’S TEACH ME. I have to confess that I’ve already had the joyful experience of reading Olivia Dade’s Teach Me, but it’s such a delight that it’s going to be a re-read for me, and you definitely want it on your TBR list. There’s something so sheltering about Olivia Dade’s authorial voice; her stories are so sympathetic, so full of heart, that they feel like a comforting place to be. I finished this book feeling considerably more heart-whole than I did when I began reading it. The heroine and hero teach at the same school, and the heroine is a strong, beautiful woman who conceals the most generous heart beneath a protective shield that some interpret as coolness. She thoroughly deserves happiness, and emphatically finds it with the absolute darling of a hero, whose bone-deep respect for not only his love but women in general underpins every word he speaks and every action he makes. He’s kind, thoughtful, self-effacing, and straight-up dreamy. Publication date: May 30.

About Lucy Parker: Lucy is a contemporary romance author who lives in New Zealand. She’s currently working on her London Celebrities series, which is set primarily in the West End theatres of London. The fourth book in the series, THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK, moves the action to an English country estate for an opposites-attract, grumpy-hero romance with a Jane Austen twist. It released in digital and audio on April 22 and in paperback on April 30.