Romance Preview Post : Top Picks of Upcoming eBook Releases 25th April – 1st May 2021

Top Picks is a weekly meme that I do here at Scorching Book Reviews.

In this post, I highlight the Romance books that I want to read that are released this week. I have been lazy of late with not going past Tuesday – that has changed and I now look for books up to Sunday.

They are all books on my TR pile and only books I am interested in spending money on. I do not ask people to recommend books or highlight releases for author promo. I research each book before it I put it on here to look for reviews, series connections and author bio.

I feel I have to point out that books in a series are only going to be featured on here if I have started the series or am interested in doing so.

I don’t read NA. I do not read reverse harem. I also do not read Pandemic romance.

I also don’t recommend books from authors who have engaged in awful behaviour or have bigotted views – I chose not to give them my money so you won’t find them on here. If I make a mistake and feature an author who is an awful person, tell me in the comments and the book will be removed.

I have made the decision to add amazon links and links to twitter profiles on this post however they are not affiliant links as I CBA with amazon.

Status on the TR List : I loved Flat Share and I cannot tell you how many times I have read it. I have not yet read book two but I will – I won’t be paying this though and have added it to the watch list

UK Price : £8.99

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $10.39

US Kindle Link : HERE

Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in rural Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.

But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.

Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with four-hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship…

Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?

Status on the TR List : The majority of reviews for this are positive and I do want to read it. On the list as I am on a pre-order BAN.

UK Price : £5.99

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : ?

US Kindle Link : HERE

‘ARE YOU…DEAD?’
OH MY GOD. I THINK HE IS.
When Meddy Chan accidentally kills her blind date, she turns to her aunties for help. Their meddling set her up on the date so they kind of owe her.

WELL, THAT DIDN’T QUITE GO TO PLAN.
Although hiding this goddamn dead body is going to be harder than they thought especially when her family’s wedding business has THE biggest wedding of the year happening right now.

IT’S PRETTY BAD TIMING REALLY.
It turns out the wedding venue just happens to be managed by Meddy’s ex, aka the one who got away. It’s the worst time to see him again, or…is it? Can Meddy finally find love and make her overbearing family happy?

Status on the TR List : I read the novella that preceedes this series and I enjoyed it – I will read this book.

UK Price : £1.99

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $4.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

Home is where the heart is

Sydney Collins left the town of Rose Bend eight years ago, grieving her sister’s death—and heartbroken over her parents’ rejection. But now she’s back—newly divorced and pregnant—ready to face her fears and make a home for her child in the community she once knew. The last thing she needs is trouble. Except trouble just walked in the door.
 
Widower Cole Dennison is still grieving the loss of his wife and child. But after a chance run-in with Sydney, Cole finds himself drawn to her optimistic view of life. Yet when Sydney’s past threatens to upend everything she’s rebuilt, both find that a little trouble will take them where they never expected to go…

Status on the TR List : I adore this series – It is wonderful. I will be reading this (on a sub-note, how long is that blurb?!)

UK Price : £3.49

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $4.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

It’s the return of the Colorado High Country series! Come back to Scarlet Springs with members of the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team.

Featuring characters from Pamela Clare’s acclaimed I-Team series.

He’s the one man she can’t have…

Winona Belcourt left the Pine Ridge Reservation to become a wildlife vet in the small Colorado mountain town of Scarlet Springs. She now leads a busy life caring for sick and injured animals and watching over her aging grandfather. Apart from a complete lack of romance, her life is close to perfect. She doesn’t have time for dating, even if there were available men in tiny Scarlet who interested her. Then Jason Chiago comes to town, one of many volunteers here to help rebuild her family’s summer camp. Tall, dark, and hot as hell, he’s the friend of some friends and a member of the legendary Shadow Wolves, an all-Native unit of expert trackers who patrol the US-Mexico border. Sadly, he’s also taken—or so her friends say. Winona would never get involved with another woman’s man. Still, she can’t turn off the longing she feels for him—or stop herself from imagining the heat of his kisses.

She’s everything he wants…

As a Tohono O’odham man, Jason knows that life’s journey is filled with unexpected twists and turns. Still, he never expected to be where he is now—his ex-fiancée in prison and his job with the Shadow Wolves on the line. On administrative leave for taking out a killer on the wrong side of the border, he has come to Scarlet Springs to help rebuild a kids’ camp that burned to the ground—and to clear his head before his disciplinary hearing next month. Yet, from the moment Winona stumbles into him, he can think only about her. With her big heart, sharp mind, and sweet face, she is everything he’s ever desired in a woman. But he made a deathbed promise to his grandmother that he would never abandon his responsibility to the O’odham people and move away from the reservation like so many others have done. It’s his duty to pass on traditional lifeways so they won’t disappear and to be a role model for O’odham youth. Winona deserves better than a fling with a man who can’t stick around. That’s why he’s going to keep his hands to himself, no matter how much she makes him burn.

A love that won’t be denied…

When a wealthy rancher asks Winona to help find a wolf that is killing his livestock, Jason and Winona join forces to solve the mystery. There haven’t been wild wolves in Colorado for eighty years. But working closely side by side has consequences. As they move in on the wolf and uncover a more shocking truth, their attraction ignites into passion. Jason realizes he has a choice to make. He can either keep a vow he made long ago and break both of their hearts by walking away—or he can turn his back on his duty and his people to seize a chance at true happiness in the arms of the woman he loves.

Tropes: Forced proximity, soul mates, law enforcement, man in of uniform

Status on the TR List : I have read nothing but good things about this book – I love second chance romance. On the price-drop list watch list.

UK Price : £6.85

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $9.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

Award-winning photographer Alejandro Miranda hasn’t been home to Key West in years—not since he left to explore broader horizons with his papi’s warning “never to come back” echoing in his ears. He wouldn’t be heading there now if it wasn’t for an injury requiring months of recuperation. The drama of a prodigal son returning to his familia and their beloved Cuban restaurant is bad enough, but coming home to the island paradise also means coming face to face with the girl he left behind—the one who was supposed to be by his side all along . . .
 
Anamaría Navarro was shattered when Alejandro took off without her. Traveling the world was their plan, not just his. But after her father’s heart attack, there was no way she could leave—not even for the man she loved. Now ensconced in the family trade as a firefighter and paramedic, with a side hustle as a personal trainer, Anamaría is dismayed that just the sight of Alejandro is enough to rekindle the flame she’s worked years to put out. And as famillia meddling pushes them together, the heat of their attraction only climbs higher. Can they learn to trust again, before the Key West sun sets on their chance at happiness?

Status on the TR List : Gotta love a amnesia romance ..I am all in for this 🙂

UK Price : £6.85

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $9.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

Masterminded by the ton’s most clever countess, the secret society The Widow’s Grace helps ill-treated widows regain their reputations, their families, and even find true love again—or perhaps for the very first time . . .

Surviving a shipwreck en route to London from Jamaica was just the start of Jemina St. Maur’s nightmare. Suffering from amnesia, she was separated from anyone who might know her, and imprisoned in Bedlam. She was freed only because barrister Daniel Thackery, Lord Ashbrook, was convinced to betray the one thing he holds dear: the law. Desperate to unearth her true identity, Jemina’s only chance is to purloin dangerous secrets with help from The Widow’s Grace—which means staying steps ahead of the formidable Daniel, no matter how strongly she is drawn to him . . .
 
Married only by proxy, now widowed by shipwreck, Daniel is determined to protect his little stepdaughter, Hope, from his family’s scandalous reputation. That’s why he has dedicated himself not just to the law, but to remaining as proper, upstanding—and boring—as can be. But the closer he becomes to the mysterious, alluring Jemina, the more Daniel is tempted to break the very rule of law to which he’s deevoted his life. And as ruthless adversaries close in, will the truth require him, and Jemina, to sacrifice their one chance at happiness?

Status on the TR List : I have not read book one but I do have it on the list as all reviews say it is delightful. On the list.

UK Price : £3.99

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $6.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

Oscar is a grouch.

That’s a well-established fact among his tight-knit friend group, and they love him anyway.

Jack is an ass.

Jack, who’s always ready with a sly insult, who can’t have a conversation without arguing, and who Oscar may or may not have hooked up with on a strict no-commitment, one-time-only basis. Even if it was extremely hot.

Together, they’re a bickering, combative mess.

When Oscar is fired (answering phones is not for the anxiety-ridden), he somehow ends up working for Jack. Maybe while cleaning out Jack’s grandmother’s house they can stop fighting long enough to turn a one-night stand into a frenemies-with-benefits situation.

The house is an archaeological dig of love and dysfunction, and while Oscar thought he was prepared, he wasn’t. It’s impossible to delve so deeply into someone’s past without coming to understand them at least a little, but Oscar has boundaries for a reason—even if sometimes Jack makes him want to break them all down.

After all, hating Jack is less of a risk than loving him…

Status on the TR List : The premise for this is fab – I love older MC romance and the added complications make this a fun book to try – all the reviews are great too. Reese Ryan is an author I always look at.

UK Price : £2.18

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $2.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

There is just something about sexy, confident Lita Woods that commands Trey Hampton’s attention the moment he encounters her. Until he discovers his son plans to marry her daughter and they’re both about to become grandparents.

Lita’s knee-jerk reaction to the news drives her daughter away. She’s left with no choice but to team up with the charming, handsome grandfather-to-be on their common goal of stopping this wedding.

When Trey invites Lita to join him and the kids at his beach house for the summer, their connection is too powerful to deny. And as they conspire to prevent their college-age children from derailing their futures-the way they once did-they find themselves falling in love.

Status on the TR List : I still have book one of this on my Kindle and I MUST get round to reading it. On the TR list.

UK Price : £2.88

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $3.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

Tucker isn’t interested in quests, thank you very much. Though the cigar-smoking, Uber-driving vampire has long been an official member of the undead club, his very human heart still lurks inside of him—and no one has ever spoken to it more clearly than Mary…the fairy he’ll be driving to her wedding. Where she’ll be marrying someone else.

Quests, right?

Mary’s blindness and window-shattering scream have forced her into seclusion since childhood. A seeming burden to her splintered family, she jumps at the chance to reunite them. All she has to do is marry an evil vampire, facilitate an unholy alliance and potentially start an underworld war. Easy, right? No, but it was doable. At least until Tucker.

The pair of misfits embark on a road trip that will have them questioning the past, present and future. Their building passion and trust in one another is undisputable, however. And as the battle looms, they’ll have to decide just what they’re willing to sacrifice for a lifetime together.

Status on the TR List : I am so behind on this series but it is so much fun. On the list.

UK Price : KU

UK Kindle Link : HERE

US Price : $4.99

US Kindle Link : HERE

It’s time for a magical battle Jessie isn’t sure she’s prepared for.

Elliot Graves has been a thorn in Jessie’s side since before she agreed to take the house magic. He has constantly brought the fight to her doorstep.

Not this time.

With the help of Austin’s shifters, the Ivy house crew will meet Elliot Graves in one of the most dangerous places imaginable – his home turf.

But not before another creature joins the circle.

Family. Harper Montgomery has been trying to define the term for years…

When Harper got pregnant at fourteen, her family abandoned her to be a single mother with no support system. She survived the only way she knew how—hard work and determination. Now she is a nurse in her early thirties, and her son Jamie is ready to embark on high school. Harper can finally say they’ve made it. She can’t take all the credit, though.

Dakota Daughtry isn’t family, but when he signed on to be a Big Brother to Jamie, he finally felt at home…

Joining the Big Brother community program was only meant to boost Dakota’s resume while working on his GED. Once he met Jamie and his mother Harper, he finally found a place where he belonged. So becoming a Manny to a household who needed it seemed like a pretty natural next step.

But with Jamie old enough to take care of himself now, Dakota’s need to hang around is over, but he can’t make himself leave. Jamie is more like a son than a little brother now, and Harper…well, he’s been trying to deny his feelings for her all along.

Jamie is thrilled about the possible relationship between his mother and Dakota. His birth father Aiden, not so much…

Aiden doesn’t want Harper—he’s too focused on his career for that—but he doesn’t want Dakota to have her either, and he’s willing to play dirty to ruin Harper and Dakota’s chances at becoming a real family. But things get complicated when Aiden starts to develop actual feelings for Harper’s best friend…

Family or love? Or can they all finally have both?