Hello lovelies and welcome back to Romancelandia where it’s International Women’s Day. And there’s no more perfect place to be than here, with us, where we specialise in books written largely by women and mostly for women. Books that privilege women’s experiences and are dominated by the female gaze. Where no woman has to throw herself under a train or wear a scarlet letter around her neck for daring to reach for the emotional bullseye that is romantic love.
Or is love and its pursuit only considered important/worthy if it’s written by men?
On this IWD, I was asked to recommend books with strong female characters but I find myself pondering what is strong? What is strength? I guess we immediately think of kick-ass female characters fighting zombies/dragons/criminals/bullies or ferrying secret cables across enemy lines, or freeing the persecuted and speaking out about injustice or untruths regardless of their safety. And yes, these female characters are compelling.
But … what about those who helplessly sit by their child’s bed watching them die? Or those on the land working/fighting just as hard as the man to earn a living? Or those who say no, I’m not taking this any longer because I deserve better, and walk away from whatever it is that’s toxic in their life? Those who want to change their stars and quietly, diligently, determinedly work their way towards their goals?
There’s nothing flashy about these female characters – nothing loud. No one throws a parade for them. They’re quiet and the body count’s a lot lower but they are just as compelling. Readers root for them just as much as the other type.
I believe there’s this persistent narrative out there that romance doesn’t have strong female characters because the stories are more character/emotion driven than action/plot driven. Perpetrated often times by people who have never read a romance novel and consider it a badge of honour that they never will.
Now, that is a whole other column but suffice to say this is ignorant and, simply put, wrong. Romancelandia have them all from the ass-kicking zombie slaying ones to the ones who have the courage to love/start over again after incredible loss/trauma. Romances just chronicle that particular moment/period of time in a character’s life where they finally meet the one.
And anybody who thinks it’s not an act of bravery to fall in love, to make oneself completely vulnerable to another human being, has never known what it is to truly love.
So come on down on this International Women’s Day, I have tequila shots and great recent releases written by great women authors featuring women characters, all strong in their own ways. As per usual, I have a selection of both Aussie and overseas authors 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
Summer at Kangaroo Ridge
by Nicole Hurley Moore
The Carrington family own the only pub in the small country town of Kangaroo Ridge in rural Victoria. It’s been many years since the five Carrington siblings became orphans, but with the help of their aunt Maddie, twins Sebastian and Tamara stepped up and looked after their younger brothers and sister. Seb and Tam gave up their own teenage years to make sure the family stayed together, and because of their experiences they have turned into very different people. Now, seven years after the accident, Seb is silent and stoic. Tam, on the other hand, wants to kick over the traces and catch up on the life she missed out on.
Buy it here
Dressed By Iris
by Mary-Anne O’Connor
1930: Seventeen-year-old Iris Mitchell dreams of designing clothes, but there’s little spare cash for fashion in their shanty-town home. The gift of a single purple ribbon from would-be boyfriend John Tucker, however, creates an unexpected opportunity … and when Iris’s brother Jim joins the Sydney Harbour Bridge construction, the large, dirt-poor but loving Mitchell family can move to the city. Iris will be torn away from John, but he’s Protestant and she’s Catholic, taboo in their world, so perhaps it wasn’t meant to be …
Buy it here
Crown of Shadows
by Keri Arthur
After her mom’s disappearance six months ago, Bethany Aodhan has been running their tavern in old Deva — something her family had been doing ever since a light-fingered pixie lost them the job of guarding the treasures of the old gods eons ago. Then her brother, Lugh, is attacked, his best friend murdered, and the tavern firebombed. A confrontation with a former lover leads to the discovery of another murder and a missing jewel from a godly relic, and Beth learns that the Eadrom Hoard — one of three godly hoards now guarded by the elves — has been stolen. But this is no ordinary theft. Beth & Lugh — with the help of two sexy elves and a cantankerous old goddess who knows far more than she admits — race to find the missing artifacts before those intent on unleashing chaos.
Buy it here
International Romance Authors
In Step
by Jay Hogan
Kicking this off just across the pond with a Kiwi author!
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Karma. You reap what you sow, and Kane Martin isn’t looking for forgiveness. But the arrival of Abe Tyler in Painted Bay has Kane dreaming of the impossible. The sexy, silver fox choreographer is determined to pull Kane out from the shadows, but Abe’s career isn’t about to shift to Painted Bay, and Kane’s life is in neat little boxes for a reason. A past he isn’t proud of. A family he’s walked away from. A job he doesn’t deserve. A secret he’s ashamed of. But life’s dance can make for unexpected partners and learning to trust and keep up with the footwork is the name of the game.
Buy it here
Bound by Her Rival’s Baby
by Maya Blake
Stepping into Castor Xenakis’ mansion, it’s clear Glory Albright is completely out of her depth. Yet, if she’s to fund her sister’s urgent medical treatment, she can’t fail. Glory must make a bargain with the gorgeous playboy whose name is synonymous with scandal. After everything cynical Castor has witnessed, there’s almost nothing he’s surprised by. But naïve Glory’s offer to sell him her virginity floors him! Of course, her offer is out of the question. Instead, he makes a counter-proposal: become his convenient bride!
Buy it here
Hook Line and Sinker
by Tessa Bailey
King crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he’s a guaranteed good time—in bed and out—and that’s exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. Hannah’s in town for work, crashing in Fox’s spare bedroom. She knows he’s a notorious ladies’ man, but they’re definitely just friends. In fact, she’s nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westport’s resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker’s eye… yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants him instead.
Buy it here
Amy’s Favourite of the Month
As an extra treat each month, I recommend one of my fave authors/reads to you and this month I’m running with Keri Arthur whose latest release can be found above. Keri is a Melbourne author who personifies persistence and grit in publishing in the same way her female characters personify the kick-ass heroines I was talking about earlier.
Keri Arthur
Keri was writing urban fantasy and paranormal romance in worlds populated by werewolves and shapeshifters back when there was no such thing as self-publishing and before those were genres most people had ever heard of – certainly no traditional publishers were touching it. But she persisted, finally getting published first by a small indie press and then onto the big league with Bantam/Dell in the US where her Riley Jenson Guardian series – set in Melbourne – became a massive hit landing on the NYT bestseller list multiple times as she helped to shape and rode the paranormal/urban fantasy wave to great success.
She’s received several nominations in the Best Contemporary Paranormal category of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards and has won RT’s Career Achievement Award for urban fantasy.
And she’s one of ours. An Aussie mega-star female author. She is also incredibly down-to-earth with a great sense of humour and a wicked laugh to go with it and I’m thrilled to be acknowledging her on this International Women’s Day. It is a great shame wider literary circles do not simply because she writes in genres not deemed as worthy of note.
That’s it from me until next month – take care, stay safe and happy reading!
About Amy
Amy Andrews is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling 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.
Breaking All the Rules
A fun, sexy romp through the trials of starting over, and finding what you didn't know you needed in the last place you expected, from USA Today bestselling author Amy Andrews.
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