Here is the monthly update from the Romance Readers of your library staff, bringing our love of romance into the light of day, and reveling in that dirt that so helps our minds to grow….

Bridget:

Hot and Bothered by Kate Meader

I am a loyal devotee of the Food Network, especially the shows that allow you to go behind the scenes and see how a restaurant functions, how a kitchen comes together to produce culinary masterpieces, or delicious comfort food.  Also, I like eating things.  Especially scrumptious things.  So, naturally, I am also drawn to any romances that feature chefs, cooking, and food in general.  And it doesn’t get much spicier, or sweet, than Kate Meader’s Hot in the Kitchen series.

Each of the three books in this series has a good deal to recommend it, but I was particularly fond of the third book, Hot and Bothered, featuring two loyal best friends who find a way to become even more together.  Wine bar owner Taddeo DeLuca and Jules Kilroy have been best friends since Jules ran away from London to be with her family in Chicago after finding out she was pregnant two years previously.  Tad may enjoy plenty of female attention, but after losing both his parents, he knows how important friendship is–and how unworthy he is of Jules.  But when her friends convince Jules to join an online dating site in order to meet some new people, Tad realizes that he can’t bear the idea of anyone else romancing Jules, or helping to raise her son, Evan.  But can he convince her–and himself–that they can be more together?

I find the best-friends-to-lovers trope a particularly tricky one.  It’s a very difficult line to cross, and not all authors pull it off well.  Meader is an exception, however.  She embraces the awkwardness and difficult of Jules’ relationship with Tad, while still reveling in those moments where everything works perfectly.  This isn’t an easy road for either character.  Jules has been hurt before, not only by her son’s father, but also by Tad, who is dealing with the weight of his own guilt and self-doubt about being the man Jules deserves.  At the heart of their relationship, however, is a world of respect, trust, and vulnerability that makes their eventual revelations that much more powerful.  The fact that their friendship remains tantamount to this story is what makes the romance so meaningful.

Also, there is food.  And wine.  This is another series to which you will want to bring plenty of fortifying snacks.  Bon appetit, readers!

Kelley:

Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens

Being relatively new to the world of romance novels, I decided to take a look at some lists of classics of the genre. In my search, I stumbled on romance writer Sarah MacLean’s Read More Romance page, and couldn’t resist her recommendation of Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens.

Devil’s Bride is the first of Laurens’ well-known series, The Cynster Novels, which now includes more than 20 books. Through Devil’s story, we’re introduced to the Cynster family, dominated by a group of six elegant, commanding, and completely rakish male cousins known around the ton as The Bar Cynster. The Cynsters are known for pushing society’s standards of acceptable behavior to the limit, but the family is wealthy and powerful, and the men of the Bar Cynster command a sense of respect as much because of as despite their wild behavior. Despite their reputations, above all else, the Cynsters value family, and it’s common knowledge that the only thing Cynster men fear is the strong-willed group of Cynster wives. In the Cynster novels, Laurens tells the stories of each man meeting his match.

At the head of the Cynster clan stands Devil, the Duke of St Ives, a man who earned his ominous nickname as a child and has never been called anything else by anyone but his mother ever since. At the opening of the novel, when forced to take shelter from an impending storm, Devil Cynster and Honoria Prudence Anstruther-Wetherby find themselves caught in a compromising situation. Having spent the night together in an abandoned cottage, the only acceptable thing for them to do is get married. For his part, Devil knew Honoria would be his wife the moment he saw her, so he is eager to do the right thing. However, Honoria cares little for society’s opinion of her, and has no desire to get married to anyone let alone a man she has just met. Before they can be together, Honoria must come to terms with a great loss in her past, and Devil must reconcile his uncomfortable feelings for, and prove himself to, the woman he wants to be his duchess. Devil’s Bride is a beautifully developed romance that explores the growth of two strong-willed characters, clearly meant for each other.

Here is the monthly update from the Romance Readers of your library staff, bringing our love of romance into the light of day, and reveling in that dirt that so helps our minds to grow….

Bridget:

Made for You by Lauren Layne

Did you ever read a book that was so good, so pitch-perfect and on-point and fun that you wish you could discover it all over again?  This second book in Layne’s Best Mistake series is just that kind of book for me.  Here, we meet Brynne, who was billed in the series opener as the heroine’s “perfect older sister”, who succeeds at everything she undertakes.

In this book, however, we learn that life for Brynn is no picnic.  She grew up feeling awkward and heavy and ugly, and has never gotten over those feelings, or the pain of being overlooked because she was smart without being clever.  As a result, Brynn spends all her time being everyone else’s version of perfection.  The only time she rebelled was the night she spent with Will Thatcher, her sister’s best friend.  On the outside, Will is the definition of a ‘bad boy’, with a devil-may-care attitude that he uses as a shield to hide the fact that he’s been in love with Brynn for as long as he can remember.  But he knows that, unless she can learn to live on her own terms, there is no hope of winning her heart.  So he does what any good romance hero would do–he moves in next door to Brynn.
However, from this point, this book veers wildly from the expected trope.  Will doesn’t hound Brynn, or try and come over and hang out, or try and make her change in any way.  Instead, he gives her the space to be herself, to come to her own conclusions, and to make her own mistakes. I loved that the primary message of this book wasn’t that the love of a good man (or woman) will magically make everything better; it’s a personal and ongoing journey (see Brynn’s impulsive tattoo for more details!). Additionally, Will and Brynn’s sister can be platonic friends who genuinely care about each other, which is not something you see in romances every day.

Kelley:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon:

Due to the new Starz TV series you might be familiar with this title, but as is true in most cases, I promise you the book is better. First published 24 years ago, Outlander is a winning mix of romance, time travel and adventure that takes place in a mix of post-World War II Scotland and Scotland at the time of the Jacobite uprising. After years separated by the war, English nurse Claire Randall and her husband, Frank, embark on a trip Scotland in an effort to reconnect with each other. While there, Claire finds herself whisked back in time through the mythic stone circle of Craigh na Dun. The world of the 1700s is vastly different than that of the 1940’s, and Claire must quickly learn what it takes to survive as an Englishwoman in Scotland in this earlier incarnation of her world where the English are at war with the Scots. Luckily, she has the help of Jamie Fraser, a young and charismatic Scottish landowner, who will not only save her life many times over, but will show her love like none she has ever known.

Jamie and Claire are complex characters, each with strengths and flaws that make them utterly human, and utterly sympathetic to readers. Despite their love for each other, outside forces make happiness hard-won for the Frasers. They have many enemies, the most threatening of which is Black Jack Randall, an ancestor of Frank’s who suspects Claire is a spy and who has a history of violent encounters with Jamie and his family. What makes this book so powerful is the way that Jamie and Claire look out for and take care of each other in the face of these dangerous and difficult circumstances. Jamie and Claire are each brave, strong, and admirable individuals but, as is true of the best romances, they are stronger and better together. Readers will root for these characters every step of the way, but bring a box of tissues for the journey. This is a romance riddled with darkness and sadness, not a Regency romp, so be prepared.

Melissa:

A Widow’s Hope by Mary Ellis

I certainly do enjoy discovering new authors of Amish fiction romance.  Mary Ellis has been writing Amish romances since at least 2009, but she’s still new-to-me.  After reading A Widow’s Hope, I will definitely be checking out some of her other titles (Never Far from Home, Abigail’s New Hope, A Family Reunion, A Little Bit of Charm).

Widows and widowers finding love again, even when they don’t think they want it, is a common theme in Amish romances and Ellis has taken that plotline and created a sweet story from it.  Hannah Brown (the widow of the titles) sells the farm she and her husband ran before his death and moves in with her sister’s family.  She brings with her a large and slightly unweilding flock of sheep.  Hannah hopes this move with both allow her to help her sister, who suffers from arthritis, and to put some distance between herself and a scandal she caused in her home church district.  Somehow, however, Hannah keeps getting on the wrong side of her brother-in-law, who is a strict deacon in her new church.  The deacon strongly disapproves of his sister-in-law’s opinions, her sheep and his wife’s desire to play matchmaker between Hannah and his widower brother.  Hannah and the deacon’s brother-in-law, Seth, are intrigued by each other, but face a string of misunderstandings that plague almost all potential couples in romance novels.  Meanwhile, Hannah again finds herself in hot water with the church leadership, while she also tries to help Seth’s daughter, who remains grief stricken over the death of her mother.

It’s Hannah’s believability as a character that really shines in this novel.  Unlike so many romantic heroines, Hannah is far from perfect.  While it first appears that it is her willingness to flout Amish convention that lands her trouble with her church’s leaders, it eventually becomes clear that Hannah’s real problem is her knee-jerk tendency to run away at the first sign of a conflict rather than attempting to work things out.  Her sister eventually calls her on this and Hannah must decide between fleeing from her problems yet again or facing them and taking a chance on finding love.  Ellis manages to create in Hannah a character who is overall very likable, but flawed enough to cause flashes of irritation in readers who cheer when her sister finally calls her out.

Welcome, beloved patrons, to our Romance Garden, in which four devoted romance readers (who also happen to be library staff) share their current favorite book, genres, and characters.  We hope this gives you some ideas for your own reading…because, as we said, every mind needs a little dirt in which to grow…

Bridget: Mine to Take by Jackie Ashenden

Jackie Ashenden delights in taking familiar tropes and shattering all her readers’ expectations.  The result is always nothing short of incredible, and always keeps readers guessing as to precisely how these characters are going to make it together in the end.  Her Nine Circles series (her first with a major publishing house) pushes the envelope until it nearly falls right off the proverbial table, but it is because she is willing to take such risks that this series succeeds as well as it does.

The series opens with Mine to Take, a dark, edgy contemporary romance that centers around Gabriel Wolfe, an unstoppable and nearly heartless business tycoon, who has spent his adult life plotting to revenge himself and his mother against the man who ruined both their lives.  Now, after years of waiting, Gabriel’s chance has finally come, but in order to get to his enemy, Gabriel has to go through the man’s step-daughter, Honor St. James, who is a partner at the family firm (and, incidentally, the estranged sister of Gabriel’s closest friend).

From here, it would be easy for Ashenden to rest on her laurels and simply spin out a tale of love redeeming all wrongs, but she is too good a writer, and the stakes of her story are far too high.  Both Gabriel and Honor suffered terrible emotion loss as children, and it left them both broken characters in many ways.  The wonder of this book is how they manage to put themselves–and each other–together again.  I love especially how Ashenden upends gender expectations in her stories:  Gabriel comes across as the ruthless alpha-male, but he is hamstrung by his past and trapped by his own fears, and it is the seemingly well-behaved Honor who has the active role, putting together the pieces of the mystery surrounding her step-father and Gabriel, and, ultimately, being the only person strong enough to set her hero free.  The second book in the series, Make You Mine, takes this theme even further, but that is fodder for another post.
While these books deals in very difficult subject matter at times, and certainly aren’t light reading, they are so emotionally rich and rewarding that they become unforgettable, and the characters are so vital and well-drawn that they linger even after the final scene has played out.

Kelley: The Highland Guard Series by Monica McCarty

For lovers of Scottish historicals, The Highland Guard series is the perfect blend of history and romance, with each book finding a seemingly invincible warrior faced with an opponent he cannot defeat: the woman who loves him.  Described on Monica McCarty’s website as “Special Ops in kilts,” The Highland Guard is a secret army of Scotland’s fiercest Highland warriors. Recruited to fight for Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence, each guard member has a specialty such as hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, seafaring, or survival skills, and although the team is made up of members of opposing clans they learn to work together as brothers to achieve their common goal. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that they all just happen to be tall, rock-like with battle-earned muscle, and devastatingly handsome.

Each book in the series focuses on a different member of the guard and the woman who ultimately conquers his heart. In the The Chief, legendary and aloof swordsman Tor MacLeod meets his match in the selfless and open-hearted Christina Fraser; in The Hawk, unmatched seafarer Erik MacSorley falls for Lady Elyne DeBurgh who challenges him to be more than the charming façade he shares with the people around him; and in The Viper, the meanest and coarsest member of the Guard finds himself facing Lady Isabella McDuff, a revolutionary in her own right who not only doesn’t fear him but comes to love him instead.

Thanks to a Washington Post review by Sarah MacLean, I started my own exploration of this series with Book 9, The Arrow, so it is possible to jump into the middle of this series and still follow along with no trouble. The books are full of the danger of the wartime setting, but mingled with wit and humor, especially in the interactions of the guard members with each other.  And of course these wouldn’t be bodice rippers without romance, secrets, misunderstandings, and plenty of sexual tension and steamy scenes in between.

Warning: The Highland Guard novels are addictive, so you won’t be able to stop turning the pages to find out what happens next… even though we all know how books like these end. And that’s exactly why we love them.

Melissa:  The Love Letters by Beverly Lewis

If you’re looking for the literary dirt this blog post promises, Amish romances will not be where you find it.  There’s plenty of dirt in literal Amish gardens, but very little in the popular romance stories that center on Amish people.  The Love Letters is no exception.

Beverly Lewis is the mother of the “bonnet ripper.”  Her first novel, The Shunning is widely credited for launching the Amish romance novel phenomenon in 1997.  Even after twenty plus offerings, Lewis continues to publish some of the best written Amish fiction on the market.

The Love Letters centers on Marlena, a young Amish woman torn between the more liberal church of her parents and the conservative Amish sect of her finance.  After agreeing to spend the summer helping to care for her grandmother, Marlena also finds herself in charge of her estranged sister’s infant daughter.  As she grows attached to the baby and is more and more drawn to the more progressive Amish churches she encounters, things become tense between her and her long-distance finance.  Intertwined with Marlena’s story is that of a young, special needs Amish boy, who craves his father’s approval and befriends a confused, wandering Englischer (non-Amish person).

A bit light on the romance and a bit heavy on the evangelism, The Love Letters is saved by the author’s smooth writing and likable characters.  As Lewis herself has said, Marlena is one of her most “tender-hearted” leading ladies to date and a reader can’t help wishing her the best.  As is almost always the case in a good bonnet ripper, things are wrapped up neatly and happily in the end.  The romantic conclusion is a bit rushed, but still satisfying.  A good choice for those of you who prefer your romances to be true comfort fiction and are willing to pass on the steamy details.