romance

Retired Army sniper Finn O'Donnell thinks he's buying a quiet little ranch near the sleepy little town of Burnt Boot, Texas. Near his family but far enough away that he can enjoy the peace, quiet and solitude after two tours in the Middle East. What Finn gets is a ranch right smack dab in the middle of two feuding Burnt Boot founding families whose shenanigans are always causing some uproar, a foul mouthed parrot, a tiny dog, an interfering bossy grandma and her busybody friends from town, and a ranch hand who hates ranching and her nephew who are trying to avoid witness protection. Not

I was reading through NPR's Happy Ever After: 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances, and for the most part, I agree with the list and am happy to find some of my favorites: Julie James, Nora Roberts, Joanna Bourne, and Jennifer Ashley. 

I really enjoy Grace Burrowes' Windham series, but none of her subsequent series have tempted me enough to start reading. So, when I saw The Captive on the list, I decided it was time to give it a try. It also fits nicely with this other NPR article, Don't Know Much About History? Read A Romance.

Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, has returned to England after months of

Tessa Dare is one of my favorite newer romance authors, even though I had some problems with her first book, Goddess of the Hunt. The way it starts is enough to turn me off continuing: the heroine barges into the hero’s room at night demanding he help her practice kissing. Lucy Waltham wants to learn how to entice Toby, her brother’s friend whom she’s loved for years although he’s never shown any signs of reciprocating. She thinks that Jeremy Trescott, another friend of her brother’s whom she’s always felt antagonistic towards, will be a safe learning experience because no feelings will be

Sensible young widow Martha Russell is all set to cede her late husband’s estate to his younger brother, until she learns of his past villainy towards the housemaids. As a champion of the weak and the poor, Mrs. Russell decides to cast propriety aside and take matters into her own hands. She looks to her new neighbor Theophilus Mirkwood, banished to the countryside for his spendthrift ways, for his assistance in getting her with child. She does not respect him, he does not understand her. Can mutual esteem grow from such a cold bargain?

So begins Cecilia Grant’s explosive debut on the romance

Welcome to Blessings, Georgia!

If you head over to The Curl Up and Dye, Ruby, Vest, and Vera will freshen up your 'do while you catch up on the latest gossip. Did you hear about LilyAnn Bronte? It looks like she's ready to move on after the loss of her fiance. Is it possible the newcomer to town, T.J. Lachlan has sparked her interest? Or, has she finally noticed the boy next door, Mike Dalton?

The Curl Up & Dye is a Southern romance. While generally a sweet romance about a woman rediscovering herself, there are a few instances of violence that are a little unexpected. If you enjoy your time

Setsuna Mudou is a teenager in Tokyo with a lot of unusual problems. First, he’s in love with his sister Sara--like real love love--and as if that weren’t enough, he’s also the latest reincarnation of the cursed female angel Alexiel, who rebelled against Heaven and defied God. When his powers start to awaken he’s approached by Kurai, a demon princess of Gehenna who was Alexiel’s follower, hunted by Alexiel’s insane twin brother Rosiel and his puppets, and viewed as a savior by an underground faction in Heaven. After he’s involved in the death of a classmate Setsuna finds himself on the run

Pamela Morsi used to write wonderful Americana romances in the 90s, and I’m glad to see that her humor and poignant understanding of human behavior is still very much in evidence with her shift to contemporaries. The Bikini Car Wash feels a lot like her older historicals because of the small town setting and the ensemble cast. There have never been a ton of authors that wrote good Americana or Frontier Western romances, but Morsi is one of the best because of the way she portrays small town life with a realistic and sympathetic hand. Her characters are always drawn with lots of affectionate

A plumber and hockey player fall in love. I'm sure that would make a perfectly good romance novel, but in the case of Beast Behaving Badly, there is so much more going on. Bo Novikov is a professional hockey player for the New York Carnivores and just happens to be a shape-shifter. Half polar bear and half lion, Bo is very detail-oriented and has his day planned by the minute. Blayne Thorpe is a plumber by trade and a wild dog/wolf mix by birth. She is anything but punctual, but they say opposites attract.

Beast Behaving Badly is the fifth book in Shelly Laurenston's Pride series. Each book

Philadelphia, 1944. The world is at war and yet Maddie and her husband, Ellis, and their friend Hank don't seem to notice. Having been forced out of their home after a drunken outburst at a New Year's Eve party, Ellis and Maddie are cut off completely from his well-off family. After throwing the final insult and claiming his father was a liar when he saw the Loch Ness monster in Scotland decades before, Ellis plans a reckless trek across the Atlantic with Hank, and Maddie is forced to go with them against her wishes. They believe that they will find the monster, prove their worth to Ellis's

It's baseball season! If you can't get to the ballpark, at least you can pick up this contemporary romance set in the world of baseball.

Alex Winters is the devil, at least according to Maggie Jameson. Maggie has spent her life dreaming and preparing for the day when she'll take over as the CEO of the New York Saints baseball team. Unbeknownst to Maggie, her father has decided to sell the team to Alex. Maggie grudgingly agrees to help Alex through the ownership transition and in the process, they fall in love.

The Devil in Denim is Melanie Scott's first book in the New York Saint's series. A

Starring Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson, About Time is a sentimental movie about a unique family with a special gift. At twenty-one, Tim learns from his father that all the men in the family can travel in time, back to any moment in their own life.  Tim becomes determined to make the most of his talent and use it to find true love. It doesn't work out great at first but a chance meeting with Mary starts a journey of a lifetime. About Time is charming, clever, intelligent and very funny. In the end, Tim learns to appreciate life and cherishing the people around him. It's a great date movie

The movie The Hundred-foot Journey begins in India where an Indian family that loves cooking has a family restaurant. Touched by tragedy during a fire in their restaurant, the head of the family decides they should move to a new country. After some trial and error in finding just the right spot, they come to a lovely village in the south of France and happen upon an empty restaurant for sale. The sale is made and they begin restoration, moving in with not one thought of the 3-star French restaurant across the road from them. Then begins the lovely story of the Indian young man and the French

Julie James is quickly becoming one of my favorite go-to romance authors. Why? She consistently creates smart characters who engage in witty dialog while falling in love. Love Irresistibly is the fourth book in the FBI/US Attorney series and, if you’re a fan of the series, you will enjoy catching up with some of the earlier couples. If you’ve never read a Julie James book, don’t worry. The books in the series don’t necessarily have to be read in order.

In Love Irresistibly we meet Cade Morgan and Brooke Parker, two professionals living and working in Chicago. Cade, an assistant U.S. Attorney

Obsession in Death is the 40th book in the In Death series by J. D. Robb, a.k.a Nora Roberts. When Naked in Death was first released in 1995, I bought it but I didn't read it. I also picked up the next four or five in the series, but I didn't read them either. I was, and still am, a huge Nora Roberts fan, but something about a futuristic mystery featuring a NYC detective just did not grab me. I don't know what finally made me pick up the books, but once I started reading them, I couldn't stop. 

Obsession in Death begins with Lieutenant Eve Dallas recovering from the Christmas holidays and her

Festive in Death is the 39th book in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Thirty-nine books! Seriously? Yes. Thirty-nine.  Not many authors could keep my interest in the same group of characters over the years, but Nora Roberts (writing as J. D. Robb) has again written a book I will be recommending to friends. In a futuristic New York, Lieutenant  Eve Dallas is the top murder cop in the city. She is revered by her aide, Delia Peabody, adored by her husband, Rourke, and shares a mutual disdain with Rourke’s Major-domo, Summerset.  Eve is not afraid to take on the worst of New York’s bad guys. The only

The Honorable Sebastian Sullivan faces the same predicament as his two brothers: a wealthy uncle has promised to divide his fortune among them upon his death on the condition that they each rescue a “fallen woman” by marrying her. Sebastian’s once-lost love, Lady Serena Grantley, was born into nobility but has since been forced into working with her gamester stepfather. She doesn’t really qualify for rescue, but when she turns to Sebastian once again in her time of need, he must find a way to save their rekindled romance. 

A Wedding Wager is the second in the Georgian trilogy, Blackwater

Although Jasper Sullivan, Earl of Blackwater, has inherited the family estates, they are mortgaged beyond his means to put them back on solid financial footing. That is, until his wealthy uncle promises to divide his fortune among his three nephews if each of them rescues a “fallen woman” by marrying her before the uncle’s impending death.

Long before Samantha and Darrin, there were Gillian and Shep. Bell, Book and Candle (1958) is a romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine and is based on the successful Broadway play by John Van Druten. The film stars Kim Novak as the brash, sexy siren Gillian Holroyd. Jimmy Stewart plays the mild-mannered upstairs neighbor, Shep Henderson,  lured in by her spell. Blithely seducing Shep away from an old college nemesis, Gillian finds herself caught in a web of her own making. Soon she must decide: Is love worth losing everything?

This beautifully restored film (released on DVD in 1999) is

Jude and Noah are twins who share more than just the same birthday, they share the world. The two are incredibly close and share their secrets, friends, talents and more. A novel told from two perspectives, in two different times in the twins' lives, I'll Give You The Sun shows the rift that came between the twins, then shows the reader the trauma that began their separation. 

In middle school, Noah and Jude prepare their applications for art school at the urging of their mother, an art journalist. When their mother praises Noah's art without even looking at Jude's the twins know who is her

Dancing With Fire literally starts with a bang; an explosion that leaves the Danner girls orphaned and in danger. Kaylin Danner put her dreams on hold when her mother died to help her scientist father raise her two younger sisters. After her father’s biodiesel plant blows up just as he has figured out the formula to efficiently produce this sought-after fuel, events lead her to believe that the explosion and her father’s death may not have been an accident.

Sawyer Scott has been working with Dr. Danner for years as his assistant developing the biodiesel fuel formula. Dr. Danner has been his

Peregrine Sullivan must marry. His brothers are putting pressure on him to meet the terms of their wealthy uncle’s will which states that each of his nephews must find, redeem, and marry a “fallen woman” in order for any of them to inherit. Alexandra Douglas and her sister have been unjustly denied their inheritance. In an attempt to take back what belongs to them, she disguises herself as a middle-aged spinster and risks prison and perhaps death if she is found out and marked a thief.  But Peregrine sees what no one else seems to see, and does his best to save her, ultimately trying to woo

Sea Swept is vintage Nora Roberts. Told from the male perspective, this is the first in The Chesapeake Bay series. Three adult brothers are called home by a dying father’s wish, and they must band together to take care of Ray Quinn’s youngest “lost boy.” The Quinn brothers are not bound by blood but are indisputably family. Each boy had been saved by Ray and Stella Quinn in their teens. Now that their parents are gone, Ethan, Phillip and especially Cameron must convince Seth’s sexy social worker that they can provide a stable, nurturing home.

Is it realistic? No, it’s romance. The characters

At the age of four, Mili was married to 12-year-old Virat Rathod. Now, twenty years later, Mili is still waiting for her husband to show up. In the meantime, Mili has traveled from India to Michigan in order to further her education to make herself a better wife. Little does she know, Virat has a life of his own. When that life is threatened, Virat sends his younger brother, Samir, to find Mili in America so she can sign papers annulling the marriage. However, the initial meeting between Samir and Mili does not go well and leaves each dependent on the other for reasons both transparent and

—An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel—

Before there was Sookie Stackhouse, before the Twilight movies and Vampire Diaries, there was the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. It is one of my favorite vampire series and, although this book is #22 in the saga, I still found it engaging enough to tough out reading 569 pages in a week.

 Affliction has everything: vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls and more.  Anita is a serious necromancer and vampire hunter living in St. Louis, but she never really mentions which side of the state line, Missouri or Illinois. Then throw in a love affair between

Book Two of the Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy finds the cousins and their friends planning their next move against the evil Cabahn.  This time the story focuses on Connor and his sister's best friend, Meara.  Following a surprise kiss which awakens unacknowledged feelings the two have for each other, things get interesting as each tries to deny the feelings they have and Cabahn uses their emerging romance to try to come between them.  Will love triumph over evil?  Don't miss this installment of  Shadow Spell. Also check out  Book Three, Blood Magick, which wraps up this trilogy.

In the conclusion of the Deadly Reunion series, investigative reporter Jillian Carter has decided it is finally time to come out of hiding and return home after 10 years on the run.  On the night of her high school graduation Jillian witnessed a murder committed by her boyfriend's uncle who just happens to be a state senator.  Knowing that she was next on the senator's hit list she ran and has been in hiding ever since.  Jillian is exhausted from looking over her shoulder and frustrated by the stress of being hyper-viligant for all of this time knowing that the senator will never give up until

Welcome to Paris! Cade Corey of America's favorite chocolate maker, Corey Chocolate, has just landed. Her dream is to transform the name of Corey (synonymous with comfortable) by including a new gourmet line of chocolates to be created by the top chocolatier in Paris, maybe even the world. The top chocolatier happens to be Sylvian Marquis and he (not so politely) says no. Cade does not give up. She tries a few other chocolatiers on her list but she really wants Sylvian Marquis to be her chocolatier. But Cade might have to break a few rules to make it happen.

I really enjoyed this steamy

Zack Dylan has a voice like Tim McGraw and a dream for fame.  He tries out for a popular star search show, Fifteen Minutes.  There is more at stake than fame, however.  Zack’s family farm in Kentucky is nearing the auction block, and this might be his last chance to save it.  Zack’s chances are good for making the Big Time, and he is committed.  He promises his college sweetheart Rene that being famous won’t change his beliefs. 

America falls in love with Zack, and he becomes a rising star.  It’s his dream come true. Yet in all the excitement amid the cameras and the media, the show’s

The first Final Fantasy game for the PS2 now has a pretty graphical upgrade and new content for North American players!  FFX was pretty enough before, but the cleaned up character models are nice for general gameplay, and the cutscenes are inexpressibly gorgeous.  All of it has been adapted for widescreen, so there's even more to look at than before!  This edition also contains the optional Dark Aeons, previously only available in the International version that North America didn't receive, a new version of the Sphere Grid for leveling, and a handful of new abilities, so there are in-game

This book is about love, racism, the immigrant experience and hair. Nigerian born Ifemelu arrives in America and blogs about her experiences as a non-American black person in the US. She leaves behind the love of her life, Obinze who has his own immigrant experience in England. In the end, she returns to Nigeria and to Obinze.