Whether you prefer your romance contemporary, historical, or paranormal, the five books included in this roundup all feature compelling characters and sizzling storylines that are certain to set your pulse racing.
King of Battle and Blood
by Scarlett St. Clair
Bloom Books, 402 Pages, $16.99
Believing it to be the only way to end a decades-long war, Princess Isolde de Lara agrees to marry her mortal enemy, King Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, although she also intends to kill him at the first opportunity. Such an attempt at mariticide would have been difficult in the best of circumstances, but when the fact that Adrian is a vampire is factored in, Isolde’s plan seems pretty much impossible. As it happens, he catches her when she attempts to pull off the assassination and threatens that, if she tries it again, he will turn her into one of the undead, just like him. Knowing that she can’t risk being turned into the thing that she hates most in the world, Isolde looks for other ways to thwart her new husband and survive in the vampire court. However, none of her schemes can fully distract her from either the growing attraction she feels toward Adrian or the gnawing doubt she has regarding why he would choose her as his bride. Scarlett St. Clair’s King of Battle and Blood is a paranormal romance packed with plenty of trysts, twists, and turns.
An Impossible Promise
by Jude Deveraux
MIRA, 304 pages $28.99
In 1844, when known thief Liam O’Connor fell in love with shy squire’s daughter Cora McLeod, he unwittingly changed history. Fate had decreed that Cora would marry another man, and a group of angels have been waiting to set things right ever since the fateful moment Liam and Cora first met. Although Cora doesn’t remember it, she and Liam have lived through several lifetimes since then, ultimately both winding up working as cops in modern-day Providence Falls, North Carolina. Liam knows the truth and has done his best to avoid her, but when the pair of them are partnered to work on a murder investigation, they end up being increasingly drawn to one another. The angels decide that it is time to more forcefully step in and ensure that Cora falls for Finley Walsh, but she is no longer the timid and naïve young woman she once was. In <An Impossible Promise</em>, the second book in the <em>Providence Falls</em> series by Jude Deveraux, Cora is a headstrong woman who is used to making her own decisions, including in all matters concerning love. It makes for a thrilling time-traveling romance.
He Said Never
by Ruth Cardello
Montlake, 267 pages, $12.95
Ruth Cardello’s The Lost Corisis series centers on a powerful and dangerous family with more than a few buried secrets. In He Said Never, the second book in the series, Riley is keen to keep her reunion with her paternal relatives, the infamous Corisis family, secret from her mother. Her biological father had put her mother through hell, so while Riley wants to know more about her paternal heritage, she doesn’t want to spark her mother’s fear by mentioning anyone with the Corisis surname. Meanwhile, Gavin’s father has decided that it’s time for his son to find a wife and start a family, and he’s not prepared to let Gavin inherit the family firm until he does so. Gavin knows that he needs to get back into his father’s good books, but he’s not sure how to accomplish that since his relationship with Riley went disastrously wrong. At the time, Gavin hadn’t really been looking for romance, although he now recognizes that he would rather be with Riley whatever the circumstances than be with someone else in order to secure his place within the family.
The Immortal
by Gena Showalter
HQN, 384 pages, $25.99
In the second installment in Gina Showalter’s Rise of the Warlords series, the merciless son of a war god and a beautiful yet troubled harpy find themselves doomed to repeat the same twenty-four hours again and again, with the day always ending with the harpy’s murder. The Immortal sees Halo Phaninon, assassin to the gods, challenged to kill twelve of mythology’s greatest monsters within just a single day. Never one to pass up a challenge, he readily accepts the dangerous and seemingly impossible task, only to find that he wakes up each morning thereafter to discover that it is the same day, during which he must face unimaginable horror. For her part, Ophelia is used to being a disappointment to her family. As a harpy who has never killed anyone, she is considered powerless and useless by many, although she has hidden reserves of strength that no one would expect. This comes in handy when she’s forced to repeat the same day and live through her inevitable murder over and over, all the while fighting off the advances of Halo, who is at least determined to save her.
Good Catch
by Jennifer Bardsley
Montlake, 271 pages, $12.99
Former ballerina Marlo Jonas has both beauty and grace, but she also has truly terrible taste in men. When her latest disastrous romance ends after her boyfriend cheats on her, Marlo’s father suggests that she should try dating guys on the basis of their personalities, rather than based on their looks. She’s willing to give anything a go, particularly if it keeps her devastatingly hot nemesis Ben Wexler-Lowrey out of sight and out of mind. Ben is also trying his luck at the dating game, although he focuses on women whose personalities outshine their looks. His mother thinks he could do better, however, and suggests that he gives online dating a go. As Marlo and Ben make it through terrible date after terrible date, they’re both left feeling deflated and demoralized. Surely it shouldn’t be this difficult to find the right person? Jennifer Bardsley’s Good Catch follows the charming yet frequently infuriating pair of frenemies as they navigate the small-town dating scene while stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the romantic possibilities right in front of them.