Love at First Sight, with a Lord!

The Aristocrat and the Single Mom

By: Michelle Douglas     

The Setting: Modern times, Nelson Bay, Australia 

The Happy Couple:

Kate Petherbridge – a single mum who runs her own tour boat business

Lord Simon Morton-Blake – a proper English Lord, unaccustomed to ‘fun in the sun’

The Set-Up: Lord Simon travels to Australia, planning to bring home his wild child runaway sister. Instead, he falls for Kate, his sister’s beautiful blonde Aussie friend.

The Issue: When Kate meets Lord Simon, its love at first sight. His impeccable accent, his brilliant smile, his hard body. He seems pretty attracted to her too, until he learns she has a seven-year-old son, Jesse. Lord Simon’s aversion to children stems from a traumatic episode in his early teens, and Kate is hard-pressed to convince him he could be a great father.

Happily Ever After: After only two weeks in Australia, and two searing kisses, Simon finds himself hopelessly in love with single mum Kate. And after endless games of cricket on the beach, he even finds himself bonding with Jesse. Maybe he can be a father after all, especially if Kate says yes to his marriage proposal.

Scandalous Scale: Getting Warmer    

The Verdict: Finally, a romance with a strong and independent(ish) female lead! Kate has her life together and is perfectly happy, even before Lord Simon steps into the picture. It’s actually Lord Simon who’s falling apart. Backstories and subplots keep this minimal action story interesting, though if you’re looking for hot n’ heavy sex scenes, keep looking, this one’s relatively tame.

Marrying the “Sex Magnet” Magnate

This British invasion is less racy than the last

An Offer She Can’t Refuse

By: Emma Darcy    

The Setting: Modern times, Dubai/Santorini/Sydney   

The Happy Couple:

Chris(tina) Savalas – an aspiring model turned mother with a guarded heart

Ari Zavros – a sexy Greek business magnate (who’s used to getting what he wants)

The Set-Up: Four years ago, Ari met Christina in Sydney while on business. She was an impressionable 18-year-old model wannabe; he was a suave older man who stole her heart (and her virginity)! The two lost touch, only to meet again years later at a hotel in Dubai. Ari thinks Christina looks beautiful as always, but is shocked to learn she has a five-year-old son who looks exactly like him.

The Issue: Tina never thought she’d see Ari again. When their eyes lock across the Dubai restaurant, she realizes she must finally come clean about the paternity of her son, Theo. Ever the traditional Greek man, Ari believes in upholding the traditional gender roles, believing they should marry to provide a stable family environment for Theo. But how can Tina marry the man that broke her heart?

Happily Ever After: Tina can’t deny she’s still physically attracted to Ari. The wedding, honeymoon, and first months of marriage pass by in a blur, as Tina all the while keeps her heart guided against a man she still doesn’t fully trust. When tragedy strikes, and Tina’s life hangs in the balance, she finally learns she means everything to Ari.

Scandalous Scale: Getting Steamy  

The Verdict: At first, this story kept reminding me of Bad Boys and Baby Drama, they both had bad boys and surprise kid drama. Ari and Jed seem to be cut from the same cloth, both used to getting their own way, no matter what their lady loves think about anything. If you’re looking for character development, good writing, or an interesting plot, look elsewhere. The settings are beautiful though, especially the description of Burj Al Arab, the seven star hotel in Dubai.

The Ballet Babe and Her Guitar Hero

British Invasion: This week's book comes from Mills &
Boon UK, the British branch of Harlequin publishing

Keeping Her Up All Night

By: Anna Cleary  

The Setting: Modern times, Sydney, Australia

The Happy Couple:

Amber O’Neill – a violet eyed ballet dancer, turned florist  

Guy Wilder – a one night stand lover, ad agent, and singer/songwriter

The Set-Up: After her mom dies, Amber sets up house in an apartment in Sydney, leaving her days of touring with the Australia Ballet behind. When Guy moves in next door, he shakes up her life…and her heart.

The Issue: Left at the alter by the love of his life, Guy Wilder doesn’t think any woman will ever set his heart (or loins) aflame again. But then he meets beautiful, lithe Amber, a ballet-dancing vixen with violet eyes like Liz Taylor. Can he really learn to love again, or is it easier to leave things casual?

Happily Ever After: When Guy promises to help Amber’s failing florist shop, she thinks its just an excuse to spend more time together…outside the bedroom. She can’t help but dream about a future with the super sexy boy next door. But is Guy ready to take the leap, after being crushed so completely before? After a strangely sexual dancing scene, involving a baby grand piano and some probably unstandardized ballet moves, the pair realize they’re in more than just lust.  

Scandalous Scale: Hot n’ Heavy

(NEW!) The Verdict: Looking to get your jollies on? Keeping Her Up All Night is the perfect NSFW blush-inducing read. Guy Wilder is one dude who just can’t keep it in his pants…and Amber O’Neill is one ballerina who doesn’t seem to mind. Plot and character development fade quickly into the background as the sex scenes steal the show.

If the largest snowstorm in 5 years has you shuttered indoors, why not immerse yourself in a Harlequin? 

A Cougar in the Outback

 

Surprise: Outback Proposal

By: Jennie Adams

The Setting: Modern times, Australian Outback

The Happy Couple:

Jayne Cutter – 35-year-old tourism company executive

Alex MacKay – 25-year-old wholesale gift supplier (Brent MacKay's younger brother)

The Set-Up: One project away from a partnership at her dad’s tourism company, Jayne teams up with super sexy Alex MacKay to create unique souvenirs for visitors touring the Australian Outback.

The Issue: As the pair explores the Outback, their mutual attraction is instant. But Jayne is a decade older than Alex and is afraid of becoming a clichéd cougar. 

Obviously she has yet to watch Cougar Town and is unaware that cougars are staging a comeback. Even Taylor Swift has jumped on the cougar bandwagon a few times.

Happily Ever After: A gusty dust storm strands Alex and Jayne at a pilot’s hangar. Everyone knows how romantic wind can be…think Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient. As the two ride out the storm, things get a little PG13. The pair realizes that age is just a number that their love can most certainly conquer. All ends happily ever after with a proposal under the Australian sun.

Scandalous Scale: Getting Warmer 

Romance Down Under

Uh oh! Fiona Donner has some serious 

competition: this mysterious brunette who appears 

on the cover…but not in the story

Australian Boss: 

Diamond Ring By: Jennie Adams

The Setting: Modern times, suburbs of Sydney, Australia

The Happy Couple:  

Fiona Donner – tall, blond, blue-eyed, graphic designer/artist

Brent MacKay – tall, green-eyed, millionaire landscape designer

The Set-Up:

Brent hires Fiona to his landscape company as a graphic designer and their mutual attraction is instant. 

She falls for his ‘aura’ of strength, he appreciates her ‘peaches and cream complexion’ and her ‘curvy in all the right places’ figure.

The Issue: Initially their working relationship keeps the pair apart, but nothing can stop their passion from brewing. Though Fiona melts every time Brent comes in the room, she’s insecure about her height and weight. 

Brent wants nothing more than to hold and protect Fiona, but his dark family past and his acute autism threaten to spoil his newfound love.

Happily Ever After:  An overnight trip to the mountains and a slow dance bring the pair ever closer, but it’s not until a near brush with death in a snowstorm that Fiona and Brent realize their love can beat all the odds. 

Brent proposes on their favourite hiking trail and the pair lives happily ever after.

 

Scandalous Scale: Tame