Romance Releases 26th June 2018 : Top Picks include Ilona Andrews, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole & Jenny Holiday

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Top Picks is a weekly meme that we do here at Scorching Book Reviews. In this post, I highlight the Romance books that I want to read that are released this week. They are books on my TR pile and only books we are interested in spending money on.

This week’s Top Picks are…

Status on TR list: Pre-ordered WEEKS ago… Hugh *happy dance* Please don’t read this as a standalone – you need to read the Kate Daniels books first.

The Iron Covenant Book 1

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

Status on TR list:I love Alyssa Cole and this FF romance looks lovely. Pre-ordered.

Mercy Alston knows the best thing to do with pesky feelings like “love” and “hope”: avoid them at all cost. Serving as a maid to Eliza Hamilton, and an assistant in the woman’s stubborn desire to preserve her late husband’s legacy, has driven that point home for Mercy—as have her own previous heartbreaks.

When Andromeda Stiel shows up at Hamilton Grange for an interview in her grandfather’s stead, Mercy’s resolution to live a quiet, pain-free life is tested by the beautiful, flirtatious, and entirely overwhelming dressmaker.

Andromeda has staid Mercy reconsidering her worldview, but neither is prepared for love—or for what happens when it’s not enough.

This is an angsty but fluffy F/F novella with a happy ending for both of our intrepid heroines.

Status on TR list: The first in the series was wonderful – this is truly on the list. I am unsure if you have to read them in order (I don’t think you do) but the first was fab.

Status on the TR List : I love this series. You can read this as a standalone intro to the authors work and this series. I have it on the list.

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan comes a new story in her Montgomery Ink series…

Tattoo artist, Derek Hawkins knows the rules:
One night a month.
No last names.
No promises.

Olivia Madison has her own rules:
Don’t fall in love.
No commitment.
Never tell Derek the truth.

When their worlds crash into each other however, Derek and Olivia will have to face what they fought to ignore as well as the connection they tried to forget.

Status on the TR List : Pre-ordered. Courtney Milan is one of the only historical authors I read.

What do a Black American soldier, invalided out at Yorktown, and a white British officer who deserted his post have in common? Quite a bit, actually.

•They attempted to kill each other the first time they met.
•They’re liable to try again at some point in the five-hundred mile journey that they’re inexplicably sharing.
•They are not falling in love with each other.
•They are not falling in love with each other.
•They are… Oh, no.

The Pursuit Of… is about a love affair between two men and the Declaration of Independence. It’s a novella of around 38,000 words.

Status on the TR List : Teacher romance – I. am. in! Love this author – Pre-ordered.

Head of the class…

Garrett Daniels has this whole life thing figured out.

The cocky, charismatic former high school star quarterback is an idolized football coach and “cool” teacher in the hometown where he’s not just a golden boy — he’s platinum. He has good friends, a great house on the lake, and the best damn sidekick a man could ask for: Snoopy, the albino beagle.

Then…Callie Carpenter comes home.

And knocks him right on his tight end zone.

Back to school…

Callie has a pretty sweet life herself…on the other side of the country. But circumstances — that she’d prefer to never speak of again — have brought her back home, helping out her parents and substitute teaching at her old high school.

Now she’s facing bickering, raging hormones, constant gossip, awkward weirdness, and drama galore…and that’s just the teachers.

Just like old times…

When Garrett offers to show his former high school sweetheart the secrets of his winning teacher ways, Callie jumps at the chance – and then has to stop herself from jumping him.

Good friends are all they can ever be.

Or…these teachers just might end up getting schooled — hard —by love.

Status on the TR List : I have really enjoyed previous works by this author- especially her MM books. It is on the watch list.

No matter what he tells himself, wealthy NYC architect Liam has never been able to forget his first love, Ben. But as he approaches midlife and realizes something is missing, can he forgive himself for the worst mistake he ever made—the one that left a hole no amount of career success can fill? Or will fear keep him from the full life he really wants?

Liam and Ben were childhood sweethearts, then college boyfriends. But when Liam cheated on Ben, Ben forced himself to cut ties and move on. He’s still living in the small town where they grew up, teaching, but it’s not the life he imagined for himself as a younger man. Still, when Liam returns, he can’t risk his heart again. He certainly can’t allow himself to love Liam again after fighting so hard to get over him.

Neither man wants to let go of the past and face their apprehension at starting over. They don’t want to fall in love a second time—but sometimes love happens whether it’s wanted or not.

Status on the TR List : I’ve heard so much hype about this book I’m intrigued – I’ve added it to the possibly buy list.

Grace Alnott is out of time. To save her younger brother from an abusive guardian, her merchant father’s will demands she must marry a peer. Handsome but destitute Everett Hetherington, Earl of Westbury agrees to her offer of a marriage of convenience but stipulates she must live with him for six weeks. No matter how honorable he seems she can’t allow him to get too close, because the aristocracy cannot be trusted.

Six weeks. Major Everett Hetherington, new Earl of Westbury, has exactly six weeks to convince the very independent Grace Alnott to spend the rest of her life with him. Despite her belief she doesn’t belong in his world, he must tempt the alluring Grace into staying, because he has fallen for her. Hard. He just has to ensure she never discovers his secret.

Status on the TR List : I like this series : It’s fun, sexy and romantic. On the to buy pile.

Return to New York Times Bestseller Sandra Hill’s Cajun country, where the Louisiana bayou is steamier than ever . . .

Alaskan pilot Aaron LeDeux came to Louisiana with his brother to discover his Cajun roots. But any hopes he had of returning home are extinguished when he agrees to help a crew of street monks and nuns rescue sex-trafficked girls. For the work has become his new calling. Plus, he’s in love with a gorgeous almost-nun named Fleur . . .

With her harrowing past, Fleur Gaudet only feels safe at the nunnery. But when she’s ordered out into the real world to decide where she truly belongs, Fleur goes to live with the notorious Tante Lulu, matriarch of the LeDeux clan. Suddenly, she’s leading a regular life, thinking irregular thoughts about Aaron. With his whiskey-colored eyes and fierce bravery, Aaron is like her own personal Cajun cowboy, re-introducing her to . . . everything.

As the dangerous missions bring them closer, Fleur must decide if her heart is truly on the path she’s been following, or if she’ll have a new future with the man of her heart.

Status on the TR List : MM romance where they are looking for F to complete their triad? In! 99P? In. Pre-ordered!

Cora Leighton is a woman on the run.

Fleeing a bad relationship and an ex who’s blatantly stalking her, Cora enters the shifter state of Cascadia with one thing on her mind: freedom. Love is the last thing she’s looking for, no matter how sexy the men of Cascadia turn out to be.

Rugged, sexy bear shifters Ash and Hunter are mates. Their peaceful lives in Granite Valley are perfect, except for one thing: they need a woman to complete their triad.

When Ash looks up from his seat in his police cruiser to see Cora speeding by, he has no idea that he’s about to find just the right woman. A speeding ticket turns into a hell of a lot more, and fast. Ash can’t explain the pull he feels toward the feisty, curvy reporter, but Hunter feels it too.

When Cora’s deranged stalker shows up and sets out to kill their only chance at true happiness, Ash and Hunter will do whatever it takes to protect her.

But can their brute bear strength take on the cunning of a deranged man who’s lost his grip on reality?

A Bear’s Protection is a steamy romance, complete with two sexy men in love, a threesome, and more heat than a bonfire in August.