Hello everyone and welcome back to Amy in Romancelandia in a brand new sparkly year! I’ve spruced up the joint for 2021 because it was looking very tired and down in the dumps thanks to the year that shall not be named. Barry White is crooning through the speakers, I’ve hung a huge piñata full of chocolates from the ceiling and there are jugs of Sex on the Beach cocktails. And let’s not forget, with Valentine’s Day on the 14th, that February is the month of luuuurve, so you can bet we are hot to trot here in the land of hearts and flowers.
Just a quick recap for those who didn’t join me last year, in case you’re confused about what a romance novel actually is. A romance novel is a book that features a central romantic relationship – which does not have to be between a man or a woman or even two people for that matter – with an emotionally satisfying ending. We call them HEA’s (Happily Ever Afters) although we can also get on board with a HFN (Happy for Now).
Okay, that’s done. Let’s get on with the romances that have come out in January and February for your reading pleasure. I have books by Aussie authors and an overseas selection, and they’re all available via Booktopia in either print or digital, so just click on the covers if something takes your fancy.
Australian Romance Authors
Sins at St Joseph Academy
by M.V. Ellis
This is a reverse harem book for those who dare to read something a little different!
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The Fallen Beautiful. Brutal. Wicked as sin. Five guys with the power of ten, and a burning desire to take me down. They rule the school with cast iron fists, and stone cold hearts. But the more they push me away, the more our destinies intertwine. We’re thrown together by chance, bound by circumstance, and held by desire. Our story is one of lies, revenge, blackmail, and blood. The Fallen won’t be stopped, but nor will I. So in the end, will the mighty be fallen?
Buy it here
Snowy Mountains Daughter
by Alissa Callen
Peony flower farmer Clancy Parker was born and bred in the Australian high country. As soon as he could, street artist Heath MacBride escaped his complicated family and traded mountain peaks for city concrete. Now a commission to paint a mural on Bundilla’s water tower brings him home. But between steadfast Clancy, who’d once been his muse, a free-spirited kelpie who becomes his shadow and a corrosive family secret, his best laid plans disintegrate.
Buy it here
Soul Survivor
by Daniel de Lorne
Also something a little different for those who are intrigued by a genre mashup of apocalyptic, gay (MM), paranormal and suspense. It’s the first in a trilogy.
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2141. Five-hundred-year-old Emrys Stone hates that his hunger for human souls kills everything he touches. When a ferocious insanity devours the remaining food source, Emrys’s last hope for survival lies in a desperate trek across the apocalyptic wasteland. Almost at death’s door, Emrys stumbles on another colony and asks for shelter in return for his services as an assassin. But when he becomes a pawn between warring factions and falls for a handsome human warrior, his violent passions could cost him his cursed life.
Buy it here
Close to Home
by Janet Gover
Aunt Alice Dwyer loves her small Australian town. She’s rarely left its comforting embrace. She knows everyone in it; in fact, she’s related to most of them. All she wants is to keep her family safe and the town running exactly the way it always has. Her way. But when an exotic French artist comes to town, her hold begins to weaken …
Buy it here
International Romance Authors
Seducing His Secret Wife
by Robin Covington
Justin Ling knows a steamy Vegas tryst with his best friend’s little sister is reckless. And an impromptu wedding? Disastrous! Luckily, the tech entrepreneur knows how to pivot. Being married to Sarina Redhawk is just what he needs to convince his family and corporate investors his notorious playboy days are behind him. But will his arrangement with the strong-willed beauty backfire?
Buy it in eBook here and paperback here
The Rakehell of Roth
by Amalie Howard
As owner of the most scandalous club in London, the last thing the notorious Marquess of Roth wants is a wife. Even though everything inside tells him not to leave his beautiful, innocent wife behind at his country estate … he must. But three years later, tired of her scoundrel of a husband headlining the gossip rags, Lady Isobel Vance decides enough is enough. Isobel decides to go to him in London, channelling her powers of seduction to make him beg to take her back. But she didn’t expect her marauding marquess to be equally hard to resist.
Buy it in eBook here and paperback here
Gray Hair Don’t Care
by Karen Booth
At 47, newly divorced makeup artist Lela Bennett is dreading her next steps. Dating. Meeting people. Not letting herself go. She knows she has to get it together. Forget men. Embrace her age. Own her gray. Donovan James is a marketing genius, but his ex-wives will tell you – nothing freaks him out like feelings. Three years after his one-night stand with Lela, he’s focused on his daughter’s lifestyle company, but unprepared to meet the face of their new beauty brand. It’s Lela.
Buy it here
Amy’s Favourite of the Month!
As an extra treat each month, I recommend one of my fave reads to you, but this month it would be remiss of me not to, instead, pay tribute to the inimitable Emma Darcy – the doyen of the Australian romance writing community, who passed away aged 80 in December. She wrote 106 romance novels for Mills & Boon which sold 71 million copies worldwide and were among some of the first romance novels I ever read. Her books were translated into over twenty different languages and, she even dabbled in crime fiction, with her first book, Who Murdered Angelique?, winning best first novel in the 2002 Ned Kelly Awards.
I refer you to this article in the Sydney Morning Herald for a full list of her accomplishments but, from someone who knew her a little, I can tell you she was warm and generous and incredibly funny. A highly entertaining speaker, she was a favourite at romance conferences and, an inspiration to many. She will be greatly missed.
That’s all from Amy in Romancelandia this month – stay tuned for more Happily Ever Afters every month in 2021, right here on The Booktopian!
Amy Andrews
About Amy
Amy Andrews is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling Aussie author who has written eighty plus contemporary romances in both the traditional and digital markets.
She’s sold three million books and been translated into over a dozen languages including manga. She has won three Ruby awards and is a triple RITA finalist.
In her other life, she was a paediatric intensive care nurse for twenty-one years. Amy lives near the sea with her husband of thirty years.
You can find out more about Amy and her books here.
Playing By Her Rules
Sydney Smoke Rugby Series: Book 1
Hot rugby star? Check. Ambitious style columnist ex? Check. A six-part feature series neither want to be part of? Check. Check. Check.
Sydney Smoke captain and rugby god Tanner Stone wants to be interviewed about as much as he wants to snap an Achilles, but it may just be his chance for a rematch with his high school sweetheart. Matilda Kent's big mouth has landed her an interview with the one man she hoped to never see again - her high school boyfriend who broke her heart...
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