Top Picks : Romance book Preview Post 1st September includes releases from Talia Hibbert, JD Robb & Seanan McGuirre

 

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 recommed books or highlght 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 also don’t read NA…

Status on the TR List : On the TOP. I was offered an ARC but missed the email – no matter as it is pre-ordered. I adore Talia Hibbert and her writing.

Between men like us, trust doesn’t come easy.

In this village, I’m an outcast: Griffin Everett, the scowling giant who prefers plants to people. Then I meet Keynes, a stranger from the city who’s everything I’m not: sharp-tongued, sophisticated, beautiful. Free. For a few precious moments in a dark alleyway, he’s also mine, hot and sweet under the stars… until he crushes me like dirt beneath his designer boot.

When the prettiest man I’ve ever hated shows up at my job the next day, I’m not sure if I want to strangle him or drag him into bed. Actually—I think I want both. But Keynes isn’t here for the likes of me: he makes that painfully clear. With everyone else at work, he’s all gorgeous, glittering charm—but when I get too close, he turns vicious.

And yet, I can’t stay away. Because there’s something about this ice king that sets me on fire, a secret vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak past his walls and see the real man again.

The last thing I expect is for that man to ruin me.

Work for It is 80,000 words of hot, angst-filled, M/M romance featuring a cynical city boy, a gruff, soft-hearted farmer, and a guaranteed happy-ever-after. No cheating, no cliff-hangers, just love. (Eventually.) This story is a spin-off set in the Just for Him world, taking place after the last book in that series. Please be aware: this book contains references to depression and anxiety that could trigger certain audiences.

Status on the TR List : This is not on pre-order in the UK and I think it is only US. I am taking a break from this series because, although I adore it, it is very heavy. I love Toby … I recommend you get a sample if you like UF with a strong heroine.

Hundreds of years ago, the Selkies made a deal with the sea witch: they would have the sea for as long as she allowed it, and when the time came, she would call in all their debts at once. Many people assumed that day would never come. Those people were wrong.

When the Luidaeg—October “Toby” Daye’s oldest and most dangerous ally—tells her the time has come for the Selkies to fulfill their side of the bargain, and that Toby must be a part of the process, Toby can’t refuse. Literally. The Selkies aren’t the only ones in debt to the Luidaeg, and Toby has to pay what she owes like anyone else. They will travel to the fabled Duchy of Ships and call a convocation of the Selkies, telling them to come and meet the Luidaeg’s price…or face the consequences.

Of course, nothing is that simple. When Dianda Lorden’s brother appears to arrest Dianda for treason against the Undersea, when a Selkie woman is stripped of her skin and then murdered, when everything is falling apart, that’s when Toby will have to answer the real question of the hour.

Is she going to sink? Or is she going to swim?

Status on the TR list : I am NOT up to date on this series – this is book 49!! I am in the 30’s so I will get to it. I will not be paying £10.99 for it in eBook though (the current price) so, if I was up to date, this would be going on a tracker.

Book 49 in the bestselling In Death series – Eve Dallas takes on a serial killer dispensing their own form of justice.

When a family man is tortured, killed and left in front of his family home for all the world to see, Eve Dallas knows she is on the hunt for a particularly dangerous killer.

But death uncovers secrets and the killer leaves a note revealing the victim to be far from the family man he appears. As Eve scrambles to find out what she can to link victim and killer, another body is found. Another man with a dark and murky past.

The race is on before the killer strikes again but Eve must wrestle with her demons and her conscience as she decides whether she really wants to protect men who probably deserve everything they get…

Status on the TR List : This looks cute and I love the blurb. It is at the top end of what I will pay for an eBook and this is a new author so I shall be waiting for a price drop until I get it though.

All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon’s family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn’t have time for Emily’s lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she’s in her revealing wench’s costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they’re portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can’t seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

Status on the TR List : I love Mari Carr and the Wild Irish series is one of the first series I read of hers. I have not read the off-shoot though although  Iha veput it on the list.

Maybe if things were different, Leo could date the woman he’s suddenly longing for, the free-spirited Yvonne Collins. For her, life is an adventure; for him, life is all about work and keeping things simple so he can focus on his son.

When a tragic event upends Leo’s orderly existence, he’s forced to admit he can’t do it all, and he can’t do it alone. Yvonne feels like exactly what Leo doesn’t need, until she shows him chaos isn’t always bad, and letting go isn’t the same thing as losing control.

Wild Spirit is a standalone story in the Wilder Irish series.