Monday, September 24, 2012

September Harlequin Roundup!

by Anna Campbell

It's a while since I did a Harlequin roundup (just checked, going back to January this year!), so I thought I'd share a couple of recent discoveries that are still available through the online sellers and as e-books.

I'd like to start with a book that was a bit of a revelation, May 2012 SuperRomance THE LONG SHOT by Ellen Hartman . I actually hadn't heard of Ellen until our wonderful RITA-winning Bandita Beth Andrews invited her to be a guest on the Romance Bandits. Here's a link to the interview: http://romancebandits.com/ellen-hartman/

 Ellen was such fun that I thought I'd give her book a go - I've found a lot of favorite authors because they've come across really well in social media. Well, what a great read - highly recommended!

This is one of those books about returning to your beginnings and this time, doing it right. Baseball star Deacon Fallon goes back to his home town after his retirement from the Major Leagues, determined to establish a life for himself and for his younger brother. Through a series of funny mishaps, he ends up coaching the girls' basketball team at the local high school and finds sparks striking with gutsy, clever teacher Julia Bradley. But it's not all comedy - Deacon has a big secret that he knows makes him unworthy of Julia.

This is one of those wonderful books where you stand up, cheering for all the characters. You cheer for Deacon summoning up the courage to share the shame that has blighted his life. You cheer Julia who won't bow down to the sexist attitudes of the good old boys in this small town and even more dangerously, won't let Deacon run and hide from what is obviously true love. And you cheer for the boys and girls at the high school who discover some important life lessons through the basketball season.

This book has everything. It's funny. It's touching. It's inspiring. I've already got my order in for Ellen's next book (September 2012), OUT OF BOUNDS, featuring Wes, Deacon's brother.

My second recommendation is another SuperRomance. I think this is such a great line - you get a really meaty, emotional read and the longer length allows writers to explore subplots and secondary characters more than is possible in the shorter categories (I love them too but for different reasons!).

I've reviewed Molly O'Keefe's books before on the Romance Dish. She's a wonderful writer who tells a darn good story.

She's now writing single title books - here's a link to Janga's five star review of Molly's June release CAN'T BUY ME LOVE: http://www.theromancedish.com/2012/06/review-cant-buy-me-love.html But my most recent Molly O'Keefe is the follow-up to her February 2011 book, HIS WIFE FOR ONE NIGHT. UNEXPECTED FAMILY (June 2012) is another story about going back to your origins and facing your demons. Is it just that these stories appeal to me or is this a popular theme in Supers? Interesting question!

Rodeo superstar Jeremiah Stone returns to the family ranch in the California hills with his three nephews after the death of his sister and her husband. Jeremiah isn't coping with becoming a father, and he refuses to face his repressed anger over giving up a life he loves to take over responsibilities that he feels ill-equipped to handle. He's a good man but he's failing at the monumental tasks he's set himself - and he doesn't know where to turn for help. At this difficult point in his life, the last thing he needs is a rekindled relationship with beautiful and fiery Lucy Alatore who is back home licking her wounds after her Los Angeles business fails.

Again, this is a book where you want to stand up and cheer for the characters. The people in this book are facing big issues and their responses are heart-wrenching. Not to mention that this story has all the wonderful signature MO'K sensuality and sizzle and tension. Again, highly recommended.

My final book in this roundup has nothing to do with people returning to small towns where they grew up. Or even with sports stars coming to terms with life after the spotlight (although the hero of this one is a martial arts expert so perhaps that's not entirely accurate!).

Jeannie Lin won the 2009 Golden Heart for best historical manuscript for her debut BUTTERFLY SWORDS (currently burning a spot in my TBR pile). I bought THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL, the first book of hers that I've read, after someone quoted a beautiful passage about a bamboo forest on a blog that I did for the Romance Bandits about setting. And I'm so glad I did!

In her Harlequin Historical THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL (September 2011), Jeannie sweeps you away to the exotic and dangerous world of 8th century China, a place of warlords and emperors and concubines. Against this glittering, vivid background, Jeannie tells the story of reluctant concubine Ling Suyin and powerful, mysterious warlord Li Tao. It's dramatic, compelling and breathtakingly romantic - and the love scenes are as steamy as a freshly cooked dim sum.

These two characters are wary, worldly and know that the slightest wrong move could mean their death. I kept thinking of the old joke about how porcupines make love. VERY carefully! The sexual tension flares to white hot as these two circle each other, not sure if they should trust, but drawn irresistibly to the other person in spite of the risk.

I love stories like this - the stakes are so high and when the characters fall in love, they fall like a ton of bricks. Big happy sigh when I closed this one up - and then I rushed straight to the book depository to order Jeannie's other two Chinese romances, BUTTERFLY SWORDS (October 2010 - a prequel to this one) and MY FAIR CONCUBINE (June 2012 - what a fun title!). Again, highly recommended.

So have you read any of these authors? Do you like romances about people going home and making sense of it all at last? Have you read any good Harlequins lately? I'm always looking for recommendations.

30 comments:

  1. Hey, Anna! I always like to hear recs from readers with similar tastes to mine - I've just had a wall banger that I desperately wanted to love, but unfortunately after 100 pages the author intrusion got too much (lots of 'yes, dear reader, let me digress to tell you-', etc etc... arghh!!!) BTW I can always count on loving whatever one of my crit partners hates ;-)

    As to category recommendations... I have a few oldies but goodies: Nora's Pride by Carol Stephenson, The Wallflower by Jan Freed, plus the brilliant The Way to Yesterday by Sharon Sala. A bit more recent - I do love CC Coburn's O'Malley men (American) series. She writes quirky hometown so well!

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    1. Hi Paula! Thanks so much for stopping by today and thanks for the recs. I love quirky hometown stories so will definitely be checking out CC Coburn's series. And, I can always count on Sharon Sala. She's a favorite!

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  2. Hey, Paula, great to see you here. Is it your first visit? Thanks for the recommendations - they're all new books to me. I'll have to check them out.

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  3. I do not usually read Harlequins, but after reading these fantastic reviews, I think I'll need to ;)

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    1. Hey, Mina, how great if I've put you onto some great authors. There's some wonderful writing lurking in the Harlequin stable - definitely worth checking out!

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    2. Mina, do give them a try. There are some wonderful authors writing categories!

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    3. Will do! Thank you for recommending. You probably know that already, your reviews are always so well written and so heart-felt, such a great help for authors and readers!

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  4. Anna, Molly O'Keefe and Ellen Hartman both are on my autobuy list. I've read The Long Shot and Out of Bounds and loved them both. I loved Unexpected Family too. I think Molly O'Keefe is brilliant at writing family dynamics.

    Supers are my favorite Harequin line. I'm excited that they are going to be even longer. My newest Super discovery is Liz Talley. I've really enjoyed her Boys of Bayou Bridge trilogy.

    I'm really looking forward to reading Beth Andrews's In This Town next week. I've already read Janice Kay Johnson's No Matter What, which I liked a lot. Have you read her? She's another of my autobuys.

    Karen Templeton, who writes a lot of Silhouette Special Editions, is another favorite. I'm currently loving her Christmas book (out in November) A Gift for All Seasons. I'm totally in love with her most unusual hero.

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    1. Janga, as usual, our reading runs right along the same lines. I haven't tried Liz Talley though. Must check her out.

      Can't wait to check out Karen Templeton's Christmas book. She's one of my category favs.

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  5. Hey, Janga, thanks for the recommendations. I'll definitely check all the authors out. Can't wait to read Beth's new book. I love her stories!

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    1. Right there with you on Beth's new book, Anna. I'm loving the Sullivans!

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  6. I've read MY FAIR CONCUBINE by Jeannie Lin. I absolutely loved it. I must read more of her work.

    I have not yet read any books by Molly O'Keefe or Ellen Hartman.

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    1. Marybelle, you have some wonderful reading ahead. I highly recommend both Ellen Hartman and Molly O'Keefe!

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    2. Mary, how wonderful - that's two GREAT new authors I've introduced to your TBR pile (don't groan! LOL!). Seriously, both are marvelous and well worth checking out.

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  7. What fantastic company!! Thanks Anna! I loved Ellen's book and The Dragon and the Pearl is great! Did you read her novella - the Undone? Can't remember the title - SOOOOO good. Also in the Super line let me recommend newcomer Stephanie Doyle - really modern voice, modern women - lots sexual tension and hero angst. Good stuff. Th

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    1. Hi Molly! Thanks for stopping by. You know you're one of our favorites around here!

      Thanks for the recommendation. I'll be sure to check out Doyle.

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  8. Hey, Molly, fabulous to see you here. I'm sure I've told you but I started to read you thanks to a recommendation from wonderful Sarah Mayberry who's one of my fave authors! And she was so right about how great your books are. Hey, thanks for the Stephanie Doyle recommendation. I'll definitely give her a go! And congratulations on Unexpected Family. It was a doozy!

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  9. Hi Anna! Thanks for another terrific blog! I love Harlequin Supers. Two other Super authors that are auto-buys for me are Kay Stockham and Holly Jacobs. Both write stories that are character driven, often part of a series set within a family (or among a group of friends) and rich with emotion. I highly recommend them.

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  10. Hey, PJ, thanks for the recommendations. We've had Kay on the Banditas a couple of times and she's always a lovely guest!

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  11. All of the authors are new to me and I have a couple of Molly O'Keefe's books on my radar. I do like when characters return home and make sense of their lives. It's also interesting and inspiring.

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    1. Na, I hope you do give Molly O'Keefe a try. Her books are so wonderful.

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  12. Na, I think there's something really profound about that return home. It can be such a powerful motif - it is in both these Supers. Hope you pick up MOK's books soon - they're great!

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  13. Hi Anna, I always love your guests blogs here.
    I have3 not read Harlequin's in quite a while; there is just so much to read and I found their old lines to be to light for me. Now, could you please tell us a little more about this SuperRomance format?
    The Jeannie Lin books sound quite a bit more to my taste.

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  14. Flora, SuperRomances are about 250-odd pages (I think they're going to be even longer in future) and they're usually pretty meaty stories. Lots of stuff about family. Give either of these authors a go (or Sarah Mayberry is another excellent author writing in the line). The Jeannie Lin book was great!

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  15. Of those 3 authors, Jeannie Lin is the one I've been meaning to read but unfortunately haven't as yet. I have enjoyed super romances in the past but it's been a while. I seriously just can't find enough time to read everything I want to read and I'm sure I'm not alone here lol.

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  16. Catslady, I hear you. I've actually stopped buying books for the moment until I whittle down the TBR pile a little bit. There's some great stuff there (including two more Jeannie Lins that I bought after reading this one)that just keeps getting pushed down as I buy more books.

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  17. Howdy, Anna! Great reviews! I've not read any of these authors, but I really like the sound of THE LONG SHOT. I enjoy stories that involve sports and/or sports stars and this one seems like one I would love. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

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    1. Andrea, it's funny how sports stars were anathema to romance for a while there. I think they make great heroes - there's generally a real character arc in them deserving their happy ending, isn't there? Love Susan Elizabeth Phillips's stories about the footballers! Hey, check out the Long Shot and let me know what you think. I loved it.

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  18. Thanks, everyone, who swung by to comment today. Lovely to see you! Next month, I'm hoping to go back to my gothic roots and do a couple of Victoria Holts. So lots of dark shadows and tortured heroes and ruined castles to come in October!

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