Top Picks 2nd Feb 2020 : Romance new releases from Jackie Lau, Mia Sosa & Alexa Donne

Posted February 2, 2020 by Nix in Uncategorized / 1 Comment

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 all books on my TR pile and only books we are interested in spending money on. I do not ask people to recommend books or highlight releases for author promo.

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. I can’t recommend a series at book 14 when I haven’t read the others. I don’t read NA. 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.

Also, the design of the site is in progress … Please be patient!

Status on the TR List : I love this series so I have pre-ordered it.

Amber Wong has landed her dream job at the Stratford Festival, and life is looking good. Sure, she hasn’t had sex in so long that her condoms have expired, but she’ll just pick up some new ones, along with discounted Christmas chocolate, at the grocery store.

And that’s where she runs into Dr. Sebastian Lam, the son of her parents’ close friends, whom she hasn’t seen in years. He’s moved back to Ontario, newly single, and… Oh my God. He’s really hot.

The attraction is mutual and no-strings-attached sex is the perfect arrangement for both of them, since Amber has sworn off dating after a string of terrible boyfriends.

But what if their families find out they’re spending time together and start interfering in their lives? That would be a disaster.

Even worse? If they develop feelings for each other, given a relationship is the last thing Amber wants right now…

Status on the TR List : I have read a multitude of Mia Sosa books and I have enjoyed them all. This one sounds so bloody cute … I have pre-ordered.

“A romantic comedy that’s fun and flirty, young and fresh.” – Popsugar (22 of the Best Books This Winter Has to Offer)

One of Oprah Magazine’s 21 Romance Novels That Are Set to Be the Best of 2020 and a LibraryReads Pick for February

Mia Sosa delivers a sassy, steamy #ownvoices enemies-to-lovers novel, perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Helen Hoang, and Sally Thorne!

A wedding planner left at the altar? Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials.

Marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.

If they can nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own.

Soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again…

Status on the TR list : I’ve never read anything from this author but I am so in for Space romance! I have marked it TR and I shall look at some reviews.

A gripping story of a young girl’s quest to save her family from ruin set in a dazzling world of royal intrigue and lost love. Perfect for fans of Katharine McGee and Kiera Cass.

Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, has only one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?

But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love, Elliot, returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one who got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.

Status on the TR list : Another author I haven’t read before but it just sounds very cute. I have marked it and I’ll be reading some reviews.

Perma-single Amy Clarke prides herself on three things: her pink hair, her Converse collection, and her ability to drink copious amounts of margarita without puking. She isn’t looking for love. She’s perfectly content with her simultaneous love affairs with Netflix and both Ben and Jerry. The trouble is, sometimes, love finds you.

Five months ago, he climbed aboard her train, and nothing has been the same since. Fast-forward to now, she still doesn’t know his name, but she knows she wants his babies.

Her crush–this tall, dark, and handsome dork who gets on her train every other Monday–has no idea he brightens her day with his panty-wetting smile and laugh that makes her pulse quicken.

When a chance encounter outside of work forces them to have their first proper conversation, things quickly go from loving him from afar to up close and very personal. With a string of disastrous exes in her past, has Amy finally found her Mr Perfect? Or does fate have other plans?

A new stand-alone romcom from Kirsty Moseley, best-selling author of The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window and Nothing Left to Lose.

Status on the TR List : I have never read this author, and her backlist seems to be pre-dominantely Highlander, but the reviews seem to be pretty glowing for her other books. This is a KU book and it really appeals to me (I love Gothic romance) so I will give it a go.

Rumors swirl around Dredthorne Hall like snowflakes in a blizzard: the handsome war hero who lives there never sleeps; he never allows women to enter; worst of all, the Hall is haunted. But Meredith Starling will hear none of it. Instead she finds it enchanting.

Though prone to accidents and mishaps, Meredith rides by the Hall at every opportunity. For her the rundown manor evokes a grander time. She looks past the broken gate and moss covered statues and sees the imposing facade’s elegant lines and graceful charm. In fact, she is determined to see inside.

But Colonel Alistair Thorne rebuffs all callers without exception—and not for the sake of being a recluse. He avoids women because of his family curse. The master of Dredthorne is doomed to fall in love with a lady who spends a night at the Hall. Though love would be welcome, its consequences would not. All of the mistresses of Dredthorne have vanished, gone mad, or suddenly died.

Status on the TR List : Jaci Burton is a pretty solid bet for me. This book has a lot of tropes that I love so I have put this on the TR list.

New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton is back with a friends-to-lovers romance sure to melt hearts as one smokin’-hot fireman turns up the heat on love.

It’s time to turn up the heat…

Relationships. Firefighter Rafe Donovan avoids them whenever possible. He makes sure the women he dates know up front that he’s in it for a good time, great sex and nothing more.

Fun. Carmen Lewis does have time for anything except being an ER nurse and looking after her disabled grandfather. But Rafe has always been there for them both, and he’s clearly interested in Carmen. She knows he’s a player, but she’s very tempted by his charm and incredible body. And maybe a little fun isn’t so bad – as long as she guards her heart.

Love. Rafe soon realizes that until now he’s only been playing at romance. With Carmen he feels searing passion and heart-tugging emotion for the first time. Now he just has to convince her that what they have together is the real deal.

Want more sexy romance? Look for the first sizzling Brotherhood by Fire novel and the delightful Boots and Bouquets series. Don’t miss the Play-By-Play series which began with The Perfect Play. And check out Jaci’s gorgeously romantic Hope series beginning with Hope Flames.

Status on the TR list : I love this series but I am so far behind it is becoming a mountain I am unsure I want to climb. That being said, the books I have remain rereads and I do recommend them however this is book 50 and you do need to read them in order…

‘Doctor Kent Abner began the day of his death comfortable and content’

When Kent Abner – baby doctor, model husband and father, good neighbour – is found dead in his town house in the West Village, Detective Eve Dallas and her team have a real mystery on their hands. Who would want to kill such a good man? They know how, where and when he was killed but why did someone want him dead?

Then a second victim is discovered and as Spring arrives in New York City, Eve finds herself in a race against time to track down a serial killer with a motive she can’t fathom and a weapon of choice which could wipe out half of Manhattan.