New Contemporary Romance Authors

I catalog the new mass market paperbacks, so I have easy access to the new titles coming in and I decided to take a gamble on some new authors.  Some were surprisingly entertaining and I’ve added a few of the new authors to my favorites list. If you’re looking for something new to read in the contemporary romance family, take a look at some of these new titles. They are all series but can be read alone.

Don’t be afraid to try something new – you might like it!

as good as newAs Good As New  (A Something New Novel) – Jennifer Dawson – After an injury ends his NFL career, Evan Donovan is stunned when Penelope Watkins, the woman who has loved him for years, shows up on his doorstep determined to nurse him back to health—and to make him admit that he cannot live without her.

heart like mineHeart Like Mine  (An Echo Lake Novel) – Maggie McGinnis – To save the pediatric department at Vermont’s Mercy Hospital, aspiring CFO Delaney Blair must convince pediatrician Dr. Joshua Mackenzie to help her on her mission, and as they work closely together, an emergency changes everything and forces them to realize that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

hold your breathHold Your Breath  (Search and Rescue) – Katie Ruggle – When he and his team of rescue divers go face-to-face with a killer, Callum, the haunted leader of the close-knit Search and Rescue brotherhood, finds that both his heart and life are on the line as he allows himself to get close to newcomer Louise “Lou” Sparks.

love walks inLove Walks In  (The Shaughnessy Brothers) – Samantha Chase – Though most things come easily to wealthy, luxury resort owner Hugh Shaughnessy, the loss of his mother hit him hard, and he’s been wary of growing close to anyone ever since—until a runaway bride Aubrey literally climbs into his life via a hotel window.

more than a feelingMore Than A Feeling  (Heart of the Rockies) – Sara Richardson – While starting a new life free of fear in Aspen, Colorado, Ruby James finds her quiet existence interrupted by police office Sawyer Hawkins who awakens feelings within her that she thought were long buried.

one night charmerOne Night Charmer  (Copper Ridge Novels) – Maisey Yates – Determined to make it on her own, Sierra West asks overly opinionated, yet totally gorgeous Ace Thompson for a bartending job, and as they work side by side, they get closer and closer to breaking the “no mixing business with pleasure” rule.

take me home tonightTake Me Home Tonight  (Rock Star Romance) – Erika Kelly – The new keyboardist of the band Blue Fire, Calix Bourbon, who is desperately trying to keep his fractured family together, finds himself distracted by the band’s beautiful personal chef, who has her heart set on auditioning for a televised cooking show—and on him.

draw me closeDraw Me Close  (Hearts and Crafts) – Nicole Michaels – Happy with her life the way it is, DIY refurbisher Lindsey is thrown for a loop when she encounters the man she has never stopped loving—Derek, an architect and single father who will do anything to keep her close this time and never let her go.

best laid weddingBest Laid Wedding Plans (Magnolia Brides) – Lynnette Austin – After inheriting her family’s beautiful antebellum home, Jenni Beth Beaumont, determined to turn the residence into a wedding destination, goes up against an architectural salvager—and her former flame—who is determined to purchase and deconstruct her family’s estate.

one for meThe One For Me (A Danvers Novel) – Sydney Landon – When he meets Crystal Webber, who literally faints at his feet, billionaire playboy Mark DeSanto suddenly finds himself wondering if it’s time to explore something long-lasting instead of a brief encounter.

cuff meCuff Me  (New York’s Finest) -Lauren Layne – When his longtime partner, Jill—a sassy, sexy, smart-mouth blonde—begins seeing someone, NYPD homicide detective Vincent Moretti realizes that he wants her for himself and will break all the rules to convince her to be his partner for life.

someoneSomeone Like You (The Harrisons) – Jennifer Gracen –  Agreeing to coach a kids’ soccer team, soccer star and black sheep of the wealthy Harrison clan, Pierce Harrison, meets his match in his co-coach Abby McCord, a sweet-faced beauty with trust issues, who blocks his amorous advances at every turn.

New Fiction Coming Soon! May/June 2016

new fiction

Want a little heads up on when your favorite author is publishing a new book?  Here are some of the new fiction hardcover books coming out in May and June.  Clicking on the title will bring you to our catalog where you can place a hold if you’d like.

MAY

aunt dimityAtherton, NancyAunt Dimity and the Buried Treasure Discovering a beautiful garnet bracelet belonging to Aunt Dimity, Lori learns the story of a doomed love affair from Dimity’s youth and is asked to return the bracelet to a long-ago suitor, an endeavor that is complicated by discovery that the bracelet could be part of a lost national treasure.

boar islandBarr, NevadaBoar Island – When her paraplegic friend’s adopted daughter attempts suicide in the face of cyber-bullying and stalking, National Park Service Ranger Anna Pigeon investigates the person behind the increasingly violent harassment, who follows the troubled teen when Anna tries to move her to a safe haven.

tall tailBrown, Rita MaeTall TailWhen a confidante to the former governor of Virginia dies under suspicious circumstances, Harry and her furry detective cohorts look for answers in the eighteenth century, where they discover a secret ancestry that originated in brutality and silence.

 

dominionConnolly, JohnDominion – Emerging from the mysterious Derith wormhole to discover that years have passed in their universe, Syl and Paul are confronted by an Illyri civil war, Earth’s occupation by Others and the dark plans of a new Sisterhood leader.

 

emperor's revengeCussler, CliveThe Emperor’s Revenge – Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon join forces with a former CIA colleague to track down a rogue hacker and a ruthless former Ukrainian naval officer who are behind a violent bank heist that occurred during the Monaco Grand Prix.

girl from summer hillDeveraux, Jude The Girl From Summer Hill – Clashing with a gorgeous Hollywood star who is playing Darcy in a local production of Pride & Prejudice, Casey, a chef who puts her career first and who believes the actor’s brother-in-law’s damning claims, finds herself becoming attracted to him in spite of herself.

haunted destinyGraham, HeatherHaunted Destiny – Assigned to investigate a mysterious serial killer who leaves his victims in churches with saint medallions on their necks, paranormal investigator Jackson Crow and New Orleans agent Jude McCoy team up with piano player Alexi on a haunted cruise ship when the ghost of a victim appears to them.

rock a bye bonesHaines, Carolyn Rock-a-bye BonesCoping with a broken heart and the attack on Scott Hampton’s blues club, Sarah Booth Delaney discovers a baby in a basket on her porch and bloody footsteps leading to her driveway, a situation that places her in the same danger as a troubled mother running for her life.

nightshiftHarris, Charlaine Night Shift – When weapons obtained from Midnight’s local pawn shop are used in a series of dramatic suicides at the main crossroads in town, the vampire Lemuel makes astonishing discoveries about why the community has attracted so many paranormal residents, who must work together to stop the violence.

troublemakerHoward, LindaTroublemaker – Sent to a remote location in a small West Virginian mountain town to lay low after almost being killed in an ambush, Morgan Yancy finds his attraction to part-time police chief and housemate Isabeau Maran adds an unexpected complication to his life.

marrying winterboneKleypas, LisaMarrying Winterborne – Achieving wealth and success through his savage ambitions, tycoon Rhys Winterborne resolves to marry shy, aristocratic Lady Helen Ravenel, who in spite of her gentle upbringing responds to Rhys’s seductions with her own unexpected passions.

blood flagMartini, Steve Blood Flag – Defending a client accused of mercy-killing her father, attorney Paul Madriani is drawn into a treacherous conspiracy involving the victim’s former unit from World War II and a feared Nazi relic. By the best-selling author of The Enemy Inside.

 

prayers the devilMccrumb, SharynPrayers the Devil Answers – Appointed to serve out her late husband’s term as sheriff of their Depression-era Tennessee mountain town, Ellie struggles to reconcile her responsibilities with societal expectations for women and forges unexpected ties with a condemned killer she is scheduled to execute.

15thPatterson, James15th Affair – When an alluring blonde with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a luxury hotel, detective Lindsay Boxer is forced to uncover difficult truths about her husband’s secret life.

 

miller's valleyQuindlen, Anna Miller’s Valley – Living in a 1960s farming community in eastern Pennsylvania, Mimi struggles with the family secrets she unearths.

 

everybody's foolRusso, Richard Everybody’s Fool – Returns to the setting of “Nobody’s Fool” to find Sully confronting a daunting health prognosis, which he hides from his loved ones, including his longtime mistress, an increasingly distant best friend, and an obsessive chief of police.

the apartmentSteel, DanielleThe Apartment – Four friends sharing a beautiful loft apartment in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen revel in the glamour of city life before new relationships, job opportunities, and surprising circumstances test the strength of their bond.

 

the island houseThayer, NancyThe Island House – Having spent every summer of her adult life in Nantucket, Kansas City university professor Courtney finds herself caught between two lifestyles and two men before settling into the glamorous life she associates with the seaside and questioning her choice in the face of an unexpected turn.

JUNE

charmersAdler, ElizabethThe Charmers – Inheriting a family villa in the South of France after her aunt’s sudden and mysterious death, Mirabella has a close call with a motorcycle on her way to her new home and realizes that she is being targeted by dangerous people from her aunt’s past.

 

cavedonBradford, Barbara TaylorThe Cavendon Luck Picks up nine years after the events of Cavendon Women, in an epic tale that finds Cecily and Miles drawing on the collective strength of the whole family to protect Cavendon Hall and its clan from the challenges of World War II.

 

melody of murderCameron, StellaMelody of Murder – The arrival of a talented, ambitious and unusual new family leads to mayhem and murder in the peaceful Cotswold village of Folly-on-Weir.

 

liberty'sCoonts, StephenLiberty’s Last StandIn the wake of an assassination attempt by a decorated sniper on the eve of a presidential election, Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini risk everything to uncover a massive conspiracy while helping a new resistance movement rise up against a new enemy.

pursuitEvanovich, JanetThe Pursuit – After rookie lawyer Jessica Monaghan meets with the First Lady, the VIP is killed in a car accident in which Jessica manages to survive. When she suspects the accident was something else and she becomes the next target, she and experienced FBI agent Mark Ryan team up to uncover the plot behind the First Lady’s murder.

guilty mindsFinder, JosephGuilty Minds – Summoned to investigate potentially explosive charges of corruption levied by a gossip website against the chief justice of the Supreme Court, private intelligence operative Nick Heller is given 48 hours to prove that the story is baseless.

 

first comes loveGiffin, Emily  – First Comes LoveWhile Meredith becomes increasingly unsure about the strength of her bond with her seemingly perfect husband and daughter, her once-happily single sister, Josie, frantically dates and considers her options in her desperation to have a baby.

here's to usHilderbrand, Elin Here’s To Us Gathering at a ramshackle Nantucket cottage, a late celebrity chef’s wives and children confront the sources of their bitter rivalries and slowly let go of resentments as they remember positive times and share long-held secrets.

 

born of legendKenyon, SherrilynBorn of Legend – Rescuing a teen boy from a violent mob, a fugitive royal becomes an unlikely ally to the boy’s mother, a rare Andarion Fyreblood whose people are being hunted to extinction by assassins from The League.

 

end of watchKing, StephenEnd of Watch – A conclusion to the best-selling trilogy that also includes the Edgar Award-winningMr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers finds mental patient Brady Hartsfield manifesting powers to commit deadly acts without leaving his hospital room, while retired detective Bill Hodges and his partner investigate a suicide with ties to the Mercedes Massacre.

daredevil snaredLaurens, StephanieThe Daredevil Snared – Hoping to prove himself by taking up his brothers’ covert mission in Freetown and protecting escaped captives in the jungle, hedonistic youngest son Caleb Frobisher falls in love with captive governess Katherine Fortescue, who is being targeted by a sadistic mercenary.

 

tea with jamMyers, Tamar Tea with Jam and Dread – While trying to welcome British royalty to her PennDutch inn and acquaint them with traditional American culture, Magdalena Yoder embarrassingly discovers a mummified corpse in the elevator shaft.

 

defenderPalmer, DianaDefender – Investigating a stalking case involving a Texas millionaire’s daughter-turned-assistant district attorney whose heart he broke three years earlier, FBI agent Paul Fiore struggles to regain her trust after discovering the truth about her nightmarish youth and the damage he caused by leaving her. 

vinegarTyler, Anne Vinegar Girl – A modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew follows the experiences of a preschool teacher who alienates others by speaking her mind and who manages her family’s home before she is expected by her eccentric father to marry his assistant to prevent the young man’s deportation.

dishonorable Woods, Stuart Dishonorable Intentions – A latest adventure by the Edgar Award-winning author of Chiefs finds New York City cop-turned-rainmaker for a top Manhattan law firm Stone Barrington and his associates confronting a new threat that tests the limits of their collective skills.

RT Book Reviews Magazine’s Author Career Achievement Awards 2015

rt

Each year, the editors of RT Book Review Magazine and 50 reviewers work together to narrow down a long list of nominees to find the one author who has made a great contribution in his or her genre.   Below are the 2015 winners.  Is your favorite author a winner?

Contemporary Romance – Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.

Paranormal Romance – Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of over 40 published novels, including five series; Leopard series, Dark series, Ghostwalker series, Drake Sisters series, & the Sisters of the Heart series.

Historical Romance – Julia Quinn is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of only sixteen members of Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame.

Erotic Romance – Maya Banks is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today and international bestselling author of over 50 novels.

Romantic Suspense – Carla Neggers is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, with translations in 24 languages.

Historical Mystery – Rhys Bowen is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Royal Spyness series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. She has won the Agatha Best Novel Award and has been nominated for the Edgar Best Novel.

Mystery – Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and Troublemaker graphic novel, How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, as well as the Fox and O’Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg.

Urban Fantasy – Laurell K. Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is best known as the author of two series of stories, the New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series and the Merry Gentry series.

Inspirational – Irene Hannon is the author of 50 romantic suspense and contemporary romance/women’s fiction novels. She is a seven-time finalist for and three-time winner of the RITA award—the “Oscar” of romance fiction—and a member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.

Mainstream – NancyThayer is the author of twenty-three novels about the mysteries and romance of families and relationships: marriage and friendships, divorce and love, custody and step parenting, family secrets and private self-affirmation, the quest for independence and the normal human hunger for personal connections.

Grandmothers

grandmother

Brotherly love

Brotherly love

I’m fairly new at being a grandmother and I’m enjoying every minute.  I am filled with love and joy every time I see my grandsons.

Grandmothers have a pivotal role in everyone’s lives.  Here are some books that feature grandmothers.

 

 

dont sing at the tableDon’t Sing at the Table: life lessons from my grandmothers Adriana Trigiani – A humorous book culled from the advice of the author’s two grandmothers offers answers to the seminal questions in a woman’s life, from getting married to saving money, from nurturing the soul to keeping calm in a crisis, from raising children to finding private comfort.

yes chefYes, Chef – Marcus Samulsson – The “Top Chef: Masters” winner and proprietor of Harlem’s Red Rooster journey began in his grandmother’s humble kitchen. He traces his Ethiopian birth, upbringing by an adoptive family in Sweden, and rise to a fame as a New York chef, sharing personal insights into his challenges as a black man in a deeply prejudiced industry.

burnt mountainBurnt Mountain – Anne Rivers Siddons- Thayer Wentworth marries an Irish professor and moves into her deceased grandmother’s house in Atlanta a short distance away from the summer camp she attended as a child, where she begins to question whether her husband is the man she thought she knew.

last bus toLast Bus to Wisdom – Ivan Doig – Rejected by his domineering great aunt during the summer of 1951, imaginative eleven-year-old Donal travels back to his ailing grandmother’s home accompanied by his German great uncle while experiencing haphazard adventures along the way.

probable futureThe Probable Future – Alice Hoffman – Struggling to cope with her unwanted ability to see the future, Stella must confront her legacy when her father is jailed, wrongly accused of homicide, and Stella joins forces with her grandmother and mother to uncover the truth.

my grandmother askedMy Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry – Fredrik Backman – Seven-year-old Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending the girl on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother’s fairy tales.

last lessons of summerLast Lessons of Summer – Margaret Maron – Inheriting her family’s business, Amy Stedman reflects on her marriage to a man who loves her only for her money, her mother’s apparent suicide, her grandmother’s unsolved murder, and the possibility that she may be targeted next.

forgottenThe Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton – Abandoned on a 1913 voyage to Australia, Nell is raised by a dock master and his wife who do not tell her until she grows up that she is not their child, a situation that causes her to return to England and eventually hand down her quest for answers to her granddaughter.

mrs. sinclairMrs. Sinclair’s Suitcase – Louise Walters – A lonely bookstore clerk discovers a hidden letter that reveals her grandmother’s struggles with singlehood, a whirlwind affair during World War II, and the fateful choices that shaped decades of their family life.

 

irresistibleThe Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe – Mary Simes –  When New Yorker Ellen Branford travels to rural Maine to fulfill her dying grandmother’s last wish by delivering a long-overdue apology letter, Ellen’s near-drowning forces her to stay longer than she had planned.

 

 

 

 

Does It Really Have To End ‘Happily Ever After’?

beginnings

I’m a big reader of contemporary romances – the proverbial ‘happy ever after’ stuff.  For a change of pace, I’ve decided to read books that end not quite so happy.  Here’s a selection of titles.

rainwaterRainwater – Sandra Brown – In a time of drought and economic depression in 1934, Ella Barron runs her boardinghouse in Texas while caring for her son, Solly, and responds to the calm influence of one of her boarders, David Rainwater, while facing the tension and uncertainty around her.

 

pilots wifeThe Pilot’s Wife – Anita Shreve – When her husband, a pilot, dies in an airplane crash off the Irish coast, Kathryn Lyons finds herself in the media spotlight as rumors abound of her husband’s shocking secret past.

 

english patientThe English Patient – Michael Ondaatje – Portrays the convergence of four damaged lives in a bomb-riddled Italian villa in the last days of the war.

 

awakeningThe Awakening – Kate Chapin – In turn-of-the century New Orleans, Edna Pontellier, a woman who feels trapped in her stifling role as wife and mother, falls passionately in love with another man.

 

me beforeMe Before You – JoJo Moyes – Taking a job as an assistant to extreme sports enthusiast Will, who is wheelchair bound after a motorcycle accident, Louisa struggles with her employer’s acerbic moods and learns of his shocking plans before demonstrating to him that life is still worth living.

 

time travelTime Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger – Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.

 

my sisterMy Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult – Conceived to provide a bone marrow match for her leukemia-stricken sister, teenage Kate begins to question her moral obligations in light of countless medical procedures and decides to fight for the right to make decisions about her own body.

 

art of racingThe Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein – Evaluating his life on the eve of his death, atypical canine Enzo considers the sacrifices his master, Denny Swift, has made in his pursuit of becoming a professional race car driver, and the dog’s own efforts to preserve the Swift family.

 

bridgesBridges of Madison County – Robert James Walker – On assignment shooting the covered bridges in Iowa, photographer Robert Kincaid falls in love with Iowa native Francesca Johnson during four days of love, magic, and beauty.

 

girlThe Girl With The Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier – A poor seventeenth-century servant girl knows her place in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, but when he begins to paint her, nasty whispers and rumors circulate throughout the town.