Something Sweet

by Anna Campbell

As everyone who frequents this lovely blog is very sweet - I sure know I am (snerk!) - I thought today I'd talk about some sweet category romances that I've recently enjoyed.

I've got nothing against a bit of passion. I've got even less against a LOT of passion.

But now and again, I seem to want something a little gentler than rampant desire and wild rapture. Some of my favorite romances are sweet, often they don't even include a love scene, but still they manage to pack a huge emotional punch and they sizzle with sexual tension.

When I think of top-notch sweet romances, I think of wonderful stories like Eva Ibbotson's A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS or Liz Fielding's A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE. Both unforgettable stories for all that kisses are about as hot and heavy as these characters get.

By the way, while these books aren't current releases, they're all available as e-reads (and some still in print). And I've read other books by the authors so even if you check out another story by one of these writers, you won't be disappointed.

LAST-MINUTE PROPOSAL (2008) by Jessica Hart is a real charmer. When cuddly wedding cake designer Tilly is paired with hard-jawed, hard-eyed, hard-bodied tycoon Campbell in a reality show to raise money for charity, they're both convinced that they have nothing in common. And they'd both be wrong!

I love stories of opposites attracting and finding rich depths in their own characters as a result. Definitely worth picking up.

THE LONER'S GUARDED HEART (2008) by Michelle Douglas is another charmer. Oh, no, I think that particular version of the 'c' word might be getting a workout in this review. It's another opposites attract story and features another hard-jawed, hard-eyed, hard-bodied hero in 'loner' Kent. When winsome Josie moves into a cabin on Kent's remote property in Australia's Hunter Valley, his days as a loner are numbered! It's a case of when an irresistible force meets an old immovable object, and something's gotta give! This one just gets better and better as you read it and the ending brought a happy tear to my eye. Again, well worth a look. 

THE CORPORATE BRIDEGROOM (2002) by Liz Fielding is the oldest book I'm reviewing today but it's still available digitally and it's a great read, with one of the most perfect, heartbreaking ends to a love scene EVER.

The plot is a staple of category romance - the hero's hostile takeover of the heroine's family business. But once Liz Fielding focuses her wit, wisdom and warmth on these wonderful characters, she turns this into an unforgettable story. The Claibournes and the Farradays have feuded for years over control of London's most glamorous department store Claibourne and Farraday. So Niall Farraday Macaulay definitely counts as the enemy for Romana Claibourne, the store's public relations whizz. But sometimes it can be fun sleeping with the enemy! Love enemy into lovers stories and this one is a great one.

My last in this roundup of excellent sweeter romances only came out in February this year so it's still very much available. THE SUMMER THEY NEVER FORGOT by Kandy Shepherd is an absolutely lovely story about reunited childhood sweethearts, Ben and Sandy. But will they be able to make a go of it as adults dealing with tragedy, the demands of career, and the years apart? It has a beautiful ending which will leave you misty eyed and smiling. This book also offers the added bonus of lovingly observed descriptions of the gorgeous seaside setting of Dolphin Bay on the New South Wales South Coast in Australia. I was all keen to move to Dolphin Bay, and then realized it was fiction. Sob! Great disappointments in modern fiction! LOL!

So do you like sweet romances or it is steamy all the way for you? Do you have any favorite authors who write on the sweeter side? Have you read any of these authors? What did you think?

Kandy Shepherd Winners

The winners of a copy of The Summer They Never Forgot by Kandy Shepherd are:

Pam Westfall

and

Kim in Baltimore

Congratulations!  To claim your book, please send your full name and mailing address to us at:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Today's Special - - Kandy Shepherd

It's my pleasure to welcome Kandy Shepherd to the blog today. A former magazine editor, Kandy left that life behind to join her family (both two and four legged) on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia and write heartwarming romance novels.  When I picked up a copy of Kandy's debut novel, Love is a Four-Legged Word, in 2009 it quickly became evident that we shared a common love of two things:  dogs and romance. Kandy joins us today to chat about another debut of sorts; her first book for the Harlequin Romance line.  I've just finished The Summer They Never Forgot and enjoyed it immensely.  It's a heartwarming, deeply romantic story of second chances written with the expertise that I've come to expect from Kandy Shepherd.  

Thanks for joining us today, Kandy.  Take it away!


 

In love with the beach 

Kandy Shepherd

I don’t know why I find the beachside such an ideal setting for romance. Is it because the rhythm of the waves is meant to echo the human heartbeat? Or because people are often scantily clothed at the beach? Maybe we’re simply more relaxed in close proximity to golden sands and blue water?

Courtesy of Tourisme Tahiti

Whatever, ask me where I’d like to go for a romantic getaway and the answer will always be somewhere near the water. (One day, maybe, I’ll get to visit one of those amazing over-the-ocean hotels in Tahiti!)

Who can forget that classic scene in From Here to Eternity where Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr make passionate love in the breaking waves on a secluded Hawaiian beach? Sigh! However, according to a small survey I conducted (where the respondents shall remain nameless!) the soggy reality of making love on the beach doesn’t always meet the fantasy. Sand in uncomfortable places. The sting of saltwater. Sunburn. Fear of discovery, etcetera, etcetera. Maybe such scenes are better kept as fantasy!

It’s not surprising that I like to set books near water. My first book for Harlequin Romance The Summer They Never Forgot is set in the fictional small coastal town of Dolphin Bay on the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about four hours south of Sydney.

I have spent many happy vacations in that part of the world and love the quaint towns, unspoiled bushland and, most of all, the pristine beaches with their white sand and aquamarine waters. In true Aussie style, kangaroos abound in that area—they even come down to the beach to play in the waves. There are dolphins, too. It’s on one of those beaches that I first saw dolphins surfing. The fun they were having was nothing on my delight in watching them frolic!

So you can imagine what fun I had creating the town of Dolphin Bay, putting all the things I loved best about that area into the one fictional place. One early review of the book says the setting “is described so beautifully, readers will almost feel the sand between their toes”.

It’s in this setting that my hero and heroine Ben and Sandy fall in love as teenagers. To them, it’s more than a vacation romance and they never quite forget that first love. Twelve years pass by until Ben and Sandy meet again and, in the interim, they’ve both been wounded by life. Old hurts, betrayals and misunderstandings stand in the way of their reunion. But they’re so perfect for each other! Again that beachside setting starts to weave its magic on them as they find their way back to each other’s hearts. (Though, because this is a sweet romance, there aren’t any torrid encounters in the surf, From Here to Eternity style!)

I’m glad this deeply romantic and emotional story was released in February. This month of romance is also a month of extreme weather in both hemispheres. Readers in chilly winter and those in steamy summer might enjoy the chance to escape to perfect beach weather in the pages of my book!

What’s your dream vacation—beach, lake, mountain, or somewhere quite different? Have you found romance on vacation? I’d leave to hear about it!

Kandy is giving a mass market paperback copy of The Summer they Never Forgot to two randomly chosen people who leave a comment on today's blog. (open internationally)  You must post a comment before 11:00pm EST, February 12, 2014 to be eligible for the giveaway.