April 2014 wish list
>> Monday, March 31, 2014
April is going to be an insanely expensive month. If you hear any screaming around the 14th/15th, it'll be my credit card. A lot of those (the sports romances, mainly) are Carina Press books I added after reading the letter from the editor at the front of Emma Barry's Special Interests. That one I've actually already read, so it shouldn't be here, technically, but I liked it and want to highlight it
Books I'm definitely planning to get
Her Kind of Trouble by Sarah Mayberry (Apr 1)
Mayberry is an autobuy, and I like the sound of this one: a couple building a relationship after having a one-night-stand years earlier. There’s kids, though, which is something I don’t like that much.
The Wedding Ring Quest by Carla Kelly (Apr 1)
Ditto the previous one. It sounds like a lot of fun, too.
Special Interests, by Emma Barry (Apr 7)
As I mention above, I've read this already (I don't request ARCs very often, maybe a couple of times a year, and this was one of them). I was interested because the hero and heroine are in politics, but both are working on the nitty gritty of policy behind the scenes, which is a point of view we don't see often.
The Kraken King Part I: The Kraken King and the Scribbling Spinster, by Meljean Brook (Apr 15)
Talking about serials a while ago I said I'd only go for one if it was written by someone like Meljean Brook. Well, this is it. The Kraken King is the story of Archimedes Fox's sister, Zenobia. There are two further entries coming out in April: The Kraken King and the Abominable Worm on the 22nd, and The Kraken King and the Fox's Den on the 29th. There will be 8 episodes, with the latest coming out in early June.
Her Best Laid Plans, by Cara McKenna (Apr 15)
I’ll be honest, the “Cosmo Red Hot Reads” sign on the cover sort of puts me off, but it’s Cara McKenna, and I adore her books.
Hard Time, by Cara McKenna (Apr 15)
Not sure why McKenna has 2 books coming out on the same day, but hey, brilliant for me. This one I’ve actually preordered, as it sounds to be along the same lines as the wonderful After Hours and Unbound.
The Collector, by Nora Roberts (Apr 15)
Another autobuy. I’ve been enjoying Roberts’ latest stand-alone romantic suspense novels, so even though the early reviews I've seen of this one are very lukewarm, I know I'll still be reading it.
An Unsuitable Husband, by Ros Clarke (Apr 21)
Lots of sports romances this year, but this is the only one centred on a sport I actually care about. Not many details around yet (not even a cover!), but the author posted on the Dear Author open thread for authors and called it "the sexy French footballer story". I'm really not convinced a footballer would feel he has to enter a marriage of convenience as "a way to clean up his act for the sake of his next contract" (not when Wayne Rooney is the highest paid footballer in the Premier League), but hey, I'll give it a chance!
Books that interest me and I'll keep an eye on
Silence for the Dead, by Simone St. James (Apr 1)
A ghost story set in a hospital for World War I soldiers. I didn’t love the one book I read by this author, but her plots always intrigue me.
Prince's Fire, by Amy Raby (Apr 1)
I’m always looking for good fantasy romance, so I’ll keep an eye on this one.
Night Diver, by Elizabeth Lowell (Apr 8)
I'm always hoping for another series from Elizabeth Lowell like the one that starts with Amber Beach. Maybe this one will be it.
Imaginary Lines, by Allison Parr (Apr 14)
I liked the first in the series, Rush Me, and what I saw of the hero of this one there. Also, there aren’t enough romance novels with Jewish protagonists out there.
Playing It Close, by Kat Latham (Apr 14)
A sports romance centred on rugby? Oh, yeah! The only thing that would make me happier would be if it was League, rather than Union.
On the Surface, by Kate Willoughby (Apr 14)
And this one is a hockey romance. I’ve heard good things about it from Jane, from Dear Author. She says the hero is really sweet.
Love in Straight Sets by Rebecca Crowley (Apr 14)
And finally, tennis! With the heroine being the professional athlete, too!
Heaven's Queen, by Rachel Bach (Apr 22)
This one is part of the series that starts with Fortune's Pawn, which is on my TBR and has had excellent reviews.
Ladder to the Red Star, by Jael Wye (Apr 28)
Part of a series called Once Upon a Red World. I’m intrigued by the idea of sci-fi fairy tale adaptations. This entry, as you might deduce from the title, appears to be based on Jack and the Beanstalk, which sounds like fun. There was a review recently on SBTB of the first in the series which said the plot was good but pointed out some issues with misogynistic portrayal of some of the female characters. I'll wait and see on this one.
6 comments:
Hey, just to let you know that the publication date for An Unsuitable Husband has (for reasons I do not fully understand) been pushed back to April 21st. The cover should be up on the Entangled site together with blurb/extract soon.
Thanks for letting me know, Ros, will update that! Looking forward to reading it.
Hi Rosario, thanks for the recommendations earlier this week; I've added a number of them to my wish list (sports romances!), and I've just borrowed the Wen Spencer title which sounds really intriguing. I read Sarah Mayberry's new book yesterday and really enjoyed it; I look forward to your review. I had the same reservations as you did about Marguerite in Compass Rose, but Bourne writes so well and Doyle and Adrian are so charming and interesting, I know I'll reread it a number of times.
Hi Fernande! Do you have any recs for good sports romances? So far I've liked the idea of them more than the actual books. Hope you like the Wen Spencer. I'm rereading her Ukiah Oregon series at the moment, and she's great. As for Bourne, I still haven't read Adrian's book, so I think that might be next!
Since I'm the most unathletic person in the world, and actually get quite hostile when people start using sports analogies as a template for behaviour in the workplace, I'm surprised that I do like some of these romances. Clearly I'm totally shallow - it must be the hard bodies. I really like Rachel Gibson's hockey series, Susan Elizabeth Phillips' football series ( although each of these has some really squick moments) , Meg Maguire's MMA series and a few of Jill Shalvis' baseball books. You may have already read a lot of these, I can't remember if I've seen your reviews. Bourne's book for Adrian was a a bit harder going for me than her earlier ones, mostly because of the jumping around in time, but it was still great to see Adrian's HEA. I've started the Wen Spencer and am quite enjoying it so far, thanks for the recommendation.
Fernande: I'm really into football (in fact, the highlight of my weekends these days is to get together with my friends in the pub to watch Liverpool), but in real life, I absolutely don't see football players as realistic potentials. And yet I love the fantasy in romance novels. Those guys might be millionaires and have groupies throwing themselves at them, but they are actually grounded and willing to commit to one woman. I've loved some of Rachel Gibson's (I adore See Jane Score) and SEP's, and I'm always looking for more. Glad to hear you are enjoying the Wen Spencer!
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