Angela– March felt like it was approximately 7,000 days long and I’m glad it’s over. Here’s to April and hopefully some great reading.
Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped (The Guild Codex: Demonized #3) by Annette Marie 4/3 Urban Fantasy– I’ve enjoyed this author since discovering her through the KU program. This is a fun series and I’m looking forward to getting caught up with Robin and Zylas. Will they figure out how to free him from the pact they made? Will they take things to the next level? Am I just a romantic at heart and am seeing relationship signs that aren’t there?
Who Speaks for the Damned (Sebastian St. Cyr #15) by CS Harris 4/7 Historical Mystery– I’ve actually already read this one and loved. I glommed this series last year and was so excited to get an early copy of the next release. I think fans of this series will be pleased with this new mystery. (Also, I teared up at the end. Seriously.)
Bonds of Brass (The Bloodright Trilogy #1) by Emily Skrutskie 4/7 LGBT Science Fiction/Fantasy– The first book in a new series featuring best friends battling an assassination attempt, discovering the true identity of one of them as heir to a corrupt empire and possibly falling in love? Here for it. (I think I spied somewhere that there might be an ‘only one bed’ scene and that sealed the deal.)
Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2) by Alisha Rai 4/21 Contemporary Romance– Bodyguard romance? Yes, please.
In Alisha Rai’s second novel in her Modern Love series, a live-tweet event goes viral for a camera-shy ex-model, shoving her into the spotlight and into the arms of the bodyguard shed been pining for.
First Comes Scandal (Rokesbys #4) by Julia Quinn 4/21 Historical Romance– I just can’t quit Julia Quinn. She was one of my first auto buy historical romance authors and I still look forward to each of her new releases. This series has been hit or miss for me, but this is a marriage of convenience trope and I have high hopes.
Starbreaker (Endeavor #2) by Amanda Bouchet 4/28 Science Fiction Romance– Tess and Shade are back. I enjoyed the first book in this series so much that I couldn’t wait to see where she would take this couple next.
Island Affair (Keys to Love #1) by Priscilla Oliveras 4/28 Contemporary Romance– Honestly? The cover caught my eye first and that led me to read the blurb.
Sought-after social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery from an eating disorder, is coming into her own, with a potential career expansion on the horizon. Despite the good news, her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like the odd one out. So, when her unreliable boyfriend is a no-show for a Florida family vacation, Sara recruits Luis Navarro—a firefighter paramedic and dive captain willing to play the part of her smitten fiancé . . .
Luis’s big Cuban familia has been in Key West for generations, and his quiet strength feeds off the island’s laidback style. Though guarded after a deep betrayal, he’ll always help someone in need—especially a spunky beauty with a surprising knowledge of Spanish curse words. Soon, he and Sara have memorized their “how we met” story and are immersed in family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses. But when it’s time for Sara to return home, will their island romance last or fade with the stunning sunset?
Which then led me to click the request button.
Sheena– Frankly, there are eight months left in 2020 and I’m ready to see what 2021 has to offer because 2020 is going completely off the rails. I’m in the throes of quarantine and I’m hoping I have more time to read because my march was in a shambles. So I’m going in hot for April and looking forward to these spring releases:
Fire In His Chaos (Fireblood Dragon, #8) by Ruby Dixon Out Now, Sci-Fi -Romance Ruby Dixon is one of my absolute favorite, high volume, rapid release author and she is a fawking phenom. This month’s Dixon novel is from her Dragon series. Don’t be intimidated by it being book #8, they are very new reader friendly.
Primal Heat (Primal Howlers MC Book 3) by Piper Davenport Out Now, MC Club Romance Raising my dead sister’s son and falling for his dad is a secret baby sub-troupe that I actually like. The blurb sucked me in. New to me author and reading this.
The Business of Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey 4/21, Contemporary Romance “Eric Jerome Dickey paints a powerful portrait of the family we have, the families we create, and every sexy moment in between.” I am reading it this weekend and I already can’t wait to be enraptured once again. EJD is a master of his craft.
Badger to the Bone (The Honey Badger Chronicles Book 3) by Shelly Laurenston Out Now, Paranormal Romance The heroine’s name is Max “Kill It Again” MacKilligan. and Shelly Laurenston wrote this. Are you even hearing me right now? Yesssss.
Dear Enemy by Kristen Callihan Out Now, Contemporary Romance I hate to admit it but the blurb definitely isn’t my favorite- however- Kristen Callihan writes some of my favorite contemp romance so what can i say. I’m in!
Kini: Y’all- out of the eight books I had on my March TBR, I read 7 of them. That is a record for me. March was probably a record month for me with how many books I did started (19)/read (14). Between being sick with a sinus infection early in the month and social distancing/isolation it amounted to lots of reading time.
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle contemporary 4/7- This is described as “lovers to enemies to lovers”. Enemies to lovers isn’t usually a go to for me, but I do love a rom-com and this seems like it might be a take on marriage(relationship) in trouble.
To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters historical 4/7- Y’all know I very rarely read historical but this was billed as a historical rom-com so I feel like I need to at least give it a try. It is a marriage in trouble and the cover is cute.
Inked with a Kiss by Jennie Davids contemporary 4/13 – Single parent falls for a younger woman, okay twist my arm why don’t you. Davids is a new to me author so I am interested to give this a try.
Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai contemporary 4/21 – This is the one book from April that I have already read. I didn’t read The Right Swipe but after my discussion about hugs in romance a while back, I moved this up on my TBR. It did have a lot of hugs. I will have a mini review later this month.
The Wedding War by Liz Talley women’s fiction 4/21- Former best friends are reunited when their children marry each other. I know I have mentioned this before but I used to love Talley’s superromances so I wanted to give this a try.
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras contemporary 4/28- This cover is great and the trope is a fake relationship. I am really looking forward to this one.
The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham historical 4/28- The cover on this is stunning and an attention grabber for sure! The heroine is a rakess fighting for women’s rights. This sounds right up my alley.
What books are you looking forward to this month?
I’m not sure what condition my finances will shortly be in, so I may be deferring discretionary income purchases for a while. I have the following books on my April list—whether I buy them remains to be seen:
As usual, the first of the month brings new books from my favorite Harlequin Presents and Dare authors:
Jackie Ashenden’s SEXY BEAST, her latest from Dare, is part of the same series as her earlier DIRTY DEVIL. Much as I love Ashenden, nothing about DIRTY DEVIL grabbed me (I had to look it up to even remember the basic plot), so I’m hoping SEXY BEAST is more in line with what I enjoy about Ashenden’s work.
Clare Connelly’s BURN MY HART is the next in her Notorious Harts series with heroes who are brothers with the last name—you guessed it—Hart. I love Connelly’s angsty style and enjoyed the first book in the series, CROSS MY HART, and hoping for something similar with the new book.
Caitlin Crews’s latest HP is THE ITALIAN’S PREGNANT CINDERELLA. When it comes to HPs, readers either love them or hate them, there’s very little middle ground. I’m in the “love them” camp and can’t wait for another of Crews’s signature angsty emotional roller-coaster rides, this one obviously involving an unplanned pregnancy.
Outside of the HP/Dare universe, I’m looking forward to a couple of new books from my favorite “dark romance” writers: Skye Warren’s WHO WILL SAVE YOUR SOUL? drops on April 14 and appears to be four interconnected stories involving a woman who is a pathological liar. Also in the “very dark” category, Natasha Knight & A. Zavarelli conclude their Ties That Bind duet with HIS on April 21. I just read MINE, the first book in the duet, it’s an “unplanned pregnancy/secret baby/Russian bratva/on the run from some really bad guys“ romance with ties to Zavarelli’s Boston Underworld series. I expect more of the same with HIS. As with HPs, dark/crime/mafia/mob romance is generally a love it or hate it proposition—and both Knight and Zavarelli can get very dark, so you have been warned.
Speaking of A. Zavarelli, I just saw her STEALING CINDERELLA dropped today and I immediately borrowed it from KU. It’s a “dark fairy tale” about a woman who is taken captive by a prince. It’s also a contemporary, so it’s a fairy-tale retelling crossed with a contemporary royal romance. Zavarelli is hit or miss for me—and I really disliked BEAST, her Beauty & the Beast retelling from a few years ago (I like dark, but it was too dark even for me), so we’ll see how this one goes.
Right now I’m reading Julianna Keyes’s BENCH PLAYER. I’m about 80% done and I love, love, love it. Up next, I have Kristen Callihan’s DEAR ENEMY (I like a good antagonists-to-lovers romance, if the antagonism truly develops from external circumstances and isn’t the product of bullying/abusive behavior) and Kate Canterbary’s m/m romance MISSING IN ACTION which is connected to her Walsh Family series.
There’s nothing that I’m absolutely waiting for, but there are plenty of books that I’d be happy to read.
Stay healthy!