It's the last few days of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and on day 28, I would like to give a shout out to Courtney Milan and her #BrothersSinister series. I don't read #HistoricalRomance on a regular basis, but this series was compelling and drew me in. The final novella, "Talk Sweetly to Me" is one of my favourite short stories. Ms Milan explores the diversity of the era, and backs it up with research.
Day 27 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and today's post is dedicated to @lenoreo as she mentioned #CinnamonRoll MMCs in a recent reply. My fave Cinnamon Roll Hero is probably Martin in Olivia Dade's "Teach Me": he's been hurt in a previous relationship; he's a doting dad; he is sweet and gentle with the FMC Rose, until he becomes a dirty talking sexy lover (after seeking her consent for talking dirty, of course).
Please share your cinnamon roll recs! @romancelandia @romancebooks
Hands up if you are a fan of the #MarriageOfConvenience trope? 🙋🏾♀️There are always good #RomanceNovel reasons why the couple MUST marry - a clause in a will; to get a Green Card; to save something of importance - and it is sooo delicious when a couple work together to achieve the best outcome! Even more yummy if the MCs start as enemies/rivals...
Recs:
"Terms & Conditions" by Lauren Asher
"Border CTRL + ESC" by Ivy L James
"In A Jam" by Kate Canterbary
Day 25 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and that means it is exactly four months until Christmas Day! WOAH! Yes, I went there even though the Northern Hemisphere Summer is still here. Today I wanted to share just three favourite #ChristmasNovellas:
"A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong" as recommended to me by @notTheAudience
"A Holiday by Gaslight" rec from @herhandsmyhands
"Wrapped" by Rebekah Weatherspoon - one of my favourite books, I re-read it often.
On the 24th day of #RomanceAwarenessMonth I would like to thank Penny Reid for the #WinstonBrothers#RomanceSeries. Each brother has unique traits and they find their HEAs with interesting & intriguing FMCs. Basically, I fell into the #GreenValley rabbit hole and devoured most of the spin offs. I just might be obsessed! My fave brothers are Beau and Roscoe.
Do you have a favourite Winston brother? Or perhaps recs for a similar series about one family?
#RomanceAwarenessMonth and my day 23 offerings are #RomanceNovels with older MMCs. I enjoy reading people my age getting their #HEAs! Do you like reading about older protagonists? A couple of books that I'd like to recommend are Adele Buck's "The Wedding Bait" (Tove is the mother of the bride, Patrick is her date...) and "45 And Holding" by Jacki James, which is MM and about a destination wedding. Can you tell I like weddings as a micro trope..?! @romancelandia @romancebooks
For Day 22 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth, I want to share another pair of #RomanceBooks where a side character in the first book gets to have their full story told in the second: Roni Loren's "Off The Clock" has Elle as the "villain"/OW but in "By The Hour" we get to understand this "ice queen" and see how her relationship with Lane develops. Both books are 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
#JustFinishedReading "Heartsong" by A E Wasp, one of the books in the #VinoAndVeritas series. The MMCs have some tough issues to go through, but they are so sweet to each other! Shipley's Cider is referenced (IYKYK) and Vermont weather plays a key part in the plot... ⚠️TW for homophobic family members, kidnapping and PTSD because of off the page conversion therapy. I really liked this book!
♥️MM
♥️Age Gap
♥️Landlord & Housemate
♥️Disability Representation
It is #RomanceAwarenessMonth Day 20! I don't often listen to #AudioBooks, but I really loved "Crimes of Passion" by Jack Harbon. It is the love story of two very different podcast hosts and how they have to collaborate. The voice actors were great in delivering the author's work: making the characters distinct & credible. I also highly rate it because it is an MM #RomanceNovel about two African Americans.
Day 19 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and I would like to hear about your favourite #FakeDating#FakeRelationship#RomanceBooks! One of mine is Annika Martin's "The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée". Rex & Tabitha's story is funny and warm, but there's also sadness because of Tabitha's past. Rex also has to do some grovelling... Honourable mention to "D'Vaughn & Kris Plan A Wedding" by Chenica C Higgins for nailing this trope 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Happy Friday! Welcome to Day 18 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth. Today I'm featuring a modern classic, "The Hating Game" by Sally Thorne. Published in 2016, it was the author's debut novel. Lucy and Josh's verbal sparring makes this a delicious #RivalsToLovers story. I realise this novel is not universally adored, but I love how both of them learn and grow as the plot develops. Are you a fan of this book?
#DailyDiva
Many thanks for your comments, boosts & recs! They are all much appreciated. It is Day 17 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and I would like to talk about the romance classic - from 2004! - that is "Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie. Cal and Min are adorable! Their HEA includes some terrible family members, tight friend groups, banter & sexual tension (of course!) Despite being published so long ago, I think it still holds up.
What do you think?
Day 16 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and while I often see (and read!) “best friend’s dad” romance novels, in both MM and MF romances, #BestFriendsMum is a rarer trope, I think? Please correct me if I am wrong because I would LOVE to read more books like “If She Says Yes” by Tasha L Harrison - 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ - one of my favourite romance novels!
Older FMC
MMC falls first
Diversity representation
Didn’t ever think that #Academia would be a sexy #WorkPlaceRomance setting, but the following books proved me wrong!
“Office Hours” by Katrina Jackson;
“(Trust) Falling For You” by Charish Reid;
“Absolute Lovers” by S J Hooks (Please note, this is a Student/Professor romance).
If you have any recs in this sub-genre, please do not hesitate to share them in the comments. Thank you in advance
Day 14 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and I can’t omit Morning Glory Milking Farm from my list of favourite #WorkPlaceRomances! Rourke meets Violet at her new job… The world building in this book is incredible, but there’s enough realism as Violet has to deal with early 21st century capitalism challenges. The buzz around this book was LOUD! I loved that it lived up to the hype.
I’m sticking with the theme of #Aliens today - with a celebration of V C Lancaster’s #OfficeAliens series: far into the future, aliens seek refuge on Earth. Some male aliens work in the Immigration department, and they find love!
I ❤️ the workplace romance trope!
There are 4 primary works, 4 novellas in this fab series. My faves:
The ET Guy
The Security Guy
Twelfth day of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and it's way past time for me to love on Ruby Dixon and her #Risdaverse series! We meet a variety of FMCs, from shy to strong, dealing with Aliens in these books. Humour and sexy times make this series a firm favourite, but most of Ms Dixon's books are fab TBH.
Happy Friday! Day 11 of #RomanceAwarenessMonth and let’s talk about ALIENS! Have you read “Strange Love” by Ann Aguirre, the first book in the Galactic Love series? The heroine is a human from Earth who is abducted with her dog and the hero is… not human. No spoilers but this is such a delightful romance about two lonely people overcoming so many hurdles to get their HEA.