an erotica author), a pregnant best friend
whom she adores, and a wine habit that
sends her into the arms of Adam Thomas,
a handsome fellow she meets in a wine
bar. Though neither of them planned for
anything beyond flirtation, they end up
indulging in one glorious night of anonymous sex—after which fate gleefully
throws them together in a series of
increasingly awkward daytime encounters. There’s something wonderfully
relaxing about being immersed in a story
filled with over-the-top characters in
undeniably relatable situations.
Heartache and humor go hand in hand in
this laugh-out-loud story with an ending
that requires a few tissues. (Sept.)
Tremaine’s True Love
Grace Burrowes. Sourcebooks Casablanca,
$7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-4926-
2102-7
Burrowes’s first True Gentlemen
Regency is as thoughtful as it is romantic.
When Tremaine St. Michael visits
Nicholas, Earl of Bellefonte, he insists
that he can only spare a few days away
from his business matters. But his stay
extends as he becomes enthralled with
Lady Nita Haddonfield, the earl’s sister.
Nita is pleasantly surprised that a gentleman such as Tremaine is willing to
assist her with providing medical services
to some of the area’s poorest residents.
Though Tremaine and Nita are quick to
act on their attraction with very little
courtship, she’s less willing than he is to
tie the knot, concerned that marriage will
hamper her cherished independence.
Burrowes (the Windham series) develops
a multidimensional cast of characters
amid rich depictions of rural aristocratic
life in the early 19th century. The protagonists are brilliantly drawn, with plenty
of romantic drama and witty repartee.
Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Literary
Agency. (Aug.)
Take the Fall
Marquita Valentine. Loveswept, $2.99 e-book
(175p) ISBN 978-1-101-88650-2
Valentine combines new-adult angst,
bad boys with hearts of gold, and red-hot
love scenes in the first book of a spinoff
series from her Boys of the South series
(most recently Need You Tonight). Rowan
Simmons isn’t a stereotypical Southern
belle: she was raised largely by her older
brother, Jase, on the wrong side of the
tracks, and her idea of a good time is
repairing cars. Rowan’s boyfriend, Seth
O’Connor, is jailed along with Jase after a
drag race gone bad, but Rowan stays loyal
to the man she loves—until he shuts her
out of his life. Seven years later, after
spending nine months in prison for a
crime he didn’t commit and going on sev-
eral tours of duty in Afghanistan with the
Marine Corps, Seth comes back to their
tiny town to reclaim the girl he never
should have given up. But the woman he
finds has sworn that after Seth’s abandon-
ment, she’ll never give any man that type
of power over her again. Told from Seth
and Rowan’s alternating first-person per-
spectives, this dramatic tale races enjoy-
ably to the finish and sets up the next
book in the series. (Aug.)
Lone Rider
B.J. Daniels. HQN, $7.99 mass market (336p)
ISBN 978-0-373-78841-5
Forget slow-simmering romance: the
multiple story lines weaving in and out of
Big Timber, Mont., mean the second
Montana Hamiltons contemporary (after
Wild Horses) is always at a rolling boil. Bo
Hamilton grew up with Montana’s Crazy
Mountains as her backyard, so she heads
there to clear her mind before facing an
auditor in Big Timber who may be able to
identify the thief stealing funds from the
foundation named after her mother.
When Bo fails to return on time, cowboy
Jace Calder chases after her and winds up
helping her escape her from a suspected
murderer who wants to make Bo his
bride—willing or not. Meanwhile, Bo’s
father, a senator and presidential candidate, is juggling the ambitions of his
second wife with the needs of his first
wife, who was presumed dead but has
returned to Big Timber with suspicious
amnesia. New readers will struggle to
keep the large cast straight and connect
with the protagonists, whose backstories
are only sketched out. (Aug.)
Break Your Heart
Rhonda Helms. Kensington, $9.95 trade
paper (234p) ISBN 978-1-61773-122-8
Helms’s tale of a black math major’s
grand passion for her Asian cryptography
professor, a loose sequel to Scratch, feels
like a flashback to 1950s category
romance with a multicultural veneer.
Megan Porter is obsessed with going to
parties and sleeping with cute boys; she’s
never noticed the connection between
math and cryptoanalysis, and she’s
unaware of the hottie in her own depart-
ment, professor Nick Muramoto, until he
walks into class. As a portrayal of an over-
achiever, this setup is unconvincing.
Megan makes some gestures to escape her
inappropriate attraction to her pro-
fessor—thinking of dropping the class,
redirecting her attention to guys her own
age, seeking the support of friends —but
just can’t help herself. Nick, meanwhile,
groans, “No. Absolutely not,” and “God, I
shouldn’t,” even as he most enthusiasti-
cally does. Why? Well, Megan is hot too.
Apparently, no more justification is
needed. The portrayal of Megan as pro-
miscuous, sassy, and clueless will leave
women in STEM fields gritting their
teeth. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan,
Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Aug.)
The Earl Claims a Bride
Amelia Grey. St. Martin’s Paperbacks, $7.99
mass market (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-04221-7
This second installment of the Heirs’
Club of Scoundrels Regency series is a
middling follow-up to the satisfying first
entry, The Duke in My Bed. Harrison
Thornwick, who’s just become an earl
after the sudden deaths of his father and
brothers, is in an uncomfortable position.
The Prince Regent has threatened to
throw Harrison into jail for dueling if he
refuses to marry Miss Angelina Rule. He
is incensed by the prince’s demand but
softens when he meets the beautiful,
strong-willed, and witty Angelina, who is
also told she must marry Harrison or her
father will go to debtor’s prison.
Unfortunately for Harrison, she admits
that her heart belongs to another. Their
first encounter and much of what follows
feel forced and hurried. After only minutes of dialogue, Angelina declares that
Harrison is “a wretched soul.” But
Harrison decides to fight for her, and soon
Angelina is torn between Harrison, who
arouses her passion, and the man to whom
she believes her heart belongs. All the
melodrama detracts from the engaging
possibilities of young love. (Aug.)
