For the First Time in Forever, or How to Capture Setting

 Windswept, isolated and ruggedly beautiful, Puffin Island is a haven for day-trippers and daydreamers alike.

But this charming community has a way of bringing people together in the most unexpected ways…  

It's been a summer of firsts for Emily Donovan. From becoming a stand-in mom to her niece Lizzie to arriving on Puffin Island, her life has become virtually unrecognizable. Between desperately safeguarding Lizzie and her overwhelming fear of the ocean—which surrounds her everywhere she goes!—Emily has lost count of the number of "just breathe" pep talks she's given herself. And that's before charismatic local yacht club owner Ryan Cooper kisses her…

Ryan knows all about secrets. And it's clear that newcomer Emily—with her haunted eyes and the little girl she won't let out of her sight—is hiding from something besides the crazy chemistry between them. So Ryan decides he's going to make it his personal mission to help her unwind and enjoy the sparks! But can Puffin Island work its magic on Emily and get her to take the biggest leap of trust of all—putting her heart in someone else's hands?

I love Sarah Morgan's books.

Like really love them.  

From her M&B Modern romances, starring Greek, Italian and Sheikh alpha heroes, to the sizzling Notting Hill Diaries, to her enchanting Snow Crystal trilogy, she is a master of both character development and the painting of settings...

And First Time in Forever is no exception.

Let us first take the characters...

Emily is the kind of romance heroine for whom the hashtag #strongromanceheroine was made.  She had a tough childhood and an even tougher experience involving the sea.  And so when the death of her half-sister finds her left as the sole guardian of a niece she's never met before, she takes her to the one place she knows she can keep her safe:  Puffin Island.

Perhaps the best thing about Emily, is the fact that she's not perfect.  Her fear of the ocean - one which is more than a little justified - leaves her terrified of leaving Lizzie, her niece alone, and in some ways can be seen as quite a self-centred.

That's not to say she's unlikeable.  We like Emily because of her fears and her determination to do the right thing - even if she's not always certain what that might be.

And then there's Ryan.  Ryan who knows exactly how to bring up a little child because of his teenage years, helping to bring up his much younger siblings.  Ryan who is determined not to get stuck with overwhelming responsibility like that again.

There's great healing in this book.  Neither of our main characters - nor the accompanying cast of characters we get to meet and fall in love with on the island - are two-dimensional.  It would be very easy to make them so:  the heroine with a past; the hero who shirks commitment; the wise grandmother; the two best friends who hide their attraction for each other...  But it's the details about their lives that make them come to life on the page.

And this is in no little way, partly due to Puffin Island itself.

Morgan is a master of setting - whether close-knit community, or exotic hideaway - and PI is no different.  The place is intertwined with a feeling of belonging which is impossible to shake off.  We get a sense of the trials and tribulations of the island, from the lack of tourism trade during the winter months, to the annual cook-out on the beach!

We are introduced to everyone, from the elderly book club, to the lonely ice cream shop owner, from the gruff harbour master, to the vibrant school teacher, as well as everyone in between.

Puffin Island is a place.  It is real in the pages of First Time in Forever and it becomes real in our hearts.

Amy Andrews Day!!

There has been an unexpected hiatus for a while on my blog; in part because work has been absolutely insane, and in part because I'm now an editor over at the Pink Heart Society blog.

HOWEVER, I bring you rather fantastic news - today is Amy Andrews day!!

Those of you who have been following me for a while are aware of my love of all things Andrews.  We're talking geeks and injured ex-soldiers, romance stories that deal with issues of abandonment and eating disorders.  And lots of really good, well-written sex - including the best phone sex scene I've ever read.  She's the person who got me to reconnect with Medical Romances and she's an award-winning writer.

So why is today Amy Andrews day?

Well, today is the release date of her first Entangled Brazen novel.  And what is EB?  On their website, they describe their stories as:

If you like your heroes hot, the sex hotter, and a swoon-worthy romance to swoop in and save your happily ever after, Brazen has the story for you. Sinfully sexy soldiers. Alpha cops who demand control. Sweet guys with a naughty side in the bedroom. At Brazen, we've got the hero destined to melt your... heart.

As you can imagine, I pretty much jumped for joy when Amy sent me her latest offering to read.

No More Mr Nice Guy is the story of Josie Butler .  When Josie finds herself single, she gets drunk and makes herself a sexy to-do list.  With explicit attention to detail.

But it's only when her best friend's brother, gorgeous vet Mack, finds it and laughs that she's filled with a new determination to see it through.

Mack's horror when he realises that good-girl Josie has gone to one of the worst bars in town, with the sole intention of proving him wrong and picking up someone to help her with her list.

It's not until he goes after her and - cue some incredibly hot sex up against an alley wall - discovers how bad they can be together, that he decides to ditch his nice guy attitude.

Josie is in for the best ride of her life.

Pun intended.

Now, I've read many books that are more than a little steamy, but this is why you should go pick up a copy of NMMNG:

It works.

Sexy stories are great, but usually infinitely forgettable.  When sex is one of the central components, it takes a damn good writer to balance that out with decent character development in a way that makes you want to read more.

I've read this three times in two weeks.

Three times.

And I still haven't quite got over it.  Not only have I been almost swooning on the Tube over certain scenes - wink wink - but I've also invested so much in the characters that I emailed Amy as soon as it was done, begging for a sequel featuring Mack's sister.

I defy you not to adore it!!

No More Mr Nice Guy is out today and you should go read it!!  If you want to know more about Amy Andrews, you can read her guestpost on Urban-Family Romances (inspired by her romance bookshop novel Risky Business), my interview with her when she won an award for Holding Out for a Hero, and reviews of The Most Expensive Night of Her Life and Girl Least Likely to Marry.

Sex, Lies and Her Impossible Boss, or The Importance of Being Kinkpositive

“There's no such thing as 'just sex’, Cash.” 

When the new boss of Faith Harris's TV station, the famously ruthless and annoyingly gorgeous Cash Anderson, tells her he'll be canceling her sex and relationships show she knows she's in for a fight. She's worked her silk-clad butt off to get her high ratings, and no man's going to take them away from her--however hot under the collar he secretly gets her... 

But sugar's better than vinegar any day, so Faith decides to prove to Cash just how meaningful her show really is. The only trouble is, it's also rather...risque. And there was enough chemistry between them even before Faith set about proving just how riveting sex can be...

I'm all about sex positivity.

Seriously.  I think that it's an incredibly important debate and one that is often fueled by lazy misogyny.  So the premise of Sex, Lies & Her Impossible Boss immediately grabbed my attention:  an intelligent journalist, a producer who's all about the ratings and a television show that's at the centre of a big debate about sex.

It's really hard to approach this kind of topic in a serious way; so many people will denounce you for mentioning sex in public (horror of all horrors) and even authors have been pushed to drop sauciness and kink from their manuscripts due to big publishers not understanding the fact that BDSM isn't tantamount to abuse...

So when it's addressed as a light-hearted topic in a novel like this, it means that we can engage with the big issues, without being preached at or scared off.

And Jennifer Rae does this brilliantly!

In addition to this, it does help that the characters who are mediating this to are so engaging as well...  Faith is fun and determined; with an understanding and acceptance of everyone that is so wonderful to see.  And Cash is beyond dreamworthy.  An alpha male with a soft side, he matches Faith in terms of intelligence and business acumen and sensuality.

Sparks fly throughout the book - especially when Faith takes him along to see the filming of her segment - and he's really rather delicious.

Worth reading and downloading immediately.

Cue Mills & Boon boy Steve...  ;)

HarperImpulse is One!

HarperImpulse is the (fairly) new imprint from HarperCollins, which specialises in romance - whether that's contemporary romance, rom-coms or regency rakes.

So in celebration of their first birthday last week, I've picked my three of my favourite books from their imprint so far...  Here's to many more years of HI bringing us the love!

Wendy Lou Jones' delightful The Songbird and the Soldier tells of cross-lines and hearts and love letters between a soldier and the girl left at home.  I've always had a soft spot for heroes in uniform, and Jones manages to paint the complications that come with being away from home for so long, and in such a pressured environment, beautifully.

An gorgeously written read which made me cry.

Recently engaged, one of the most stressful things I've had to face is how expensive everything wedding-related is in the face of our (comparatively) small budget.  So Samantha Birch's The High Street Bride's Guide couldn't have come at a better time.

It's realistic, no-nonsense approach to avoiding spending your entire life savings on this one day, took a massive load off my own back, plus it's fun.  And makes a hell of a lot of sense.  I'm going to be glued to this over the next two years!!

Mandy Baggot's Made in Nashville absolutely enchanted me!  Firstly there's the whole country music aspect (I might have been continually oscillating between Lady Antebellum and Dolly Parton on YouTube recently) and then there's the characters...  Jared is utterly lush as heroes go.

But more than that, it surprised me.  I read a hell of a lot of romance novels, and so to get one where something big (in this case we're talking massive) takes me by surprise, well...it's just great!!  Well worth a read.

Lessons in Rule-Breaking, or What I Wish My Journalistic Career Was Like...

Journalist Jess has always followed the rules when it comes to her career: 

1) Never say no! Trying to extract a tell-all interview from bad boy of the art world Xander Heaton might be her own worst nightmare, but she's just going to have to grin and bear it!

2) Absolutely no flirting on the job -professionalism is key to a journalist's success. Even if Xander does have her imagining the most unprofessional scenarios…

3) If resistance proves impossible, remember the golden rule - never kiss and tell! One night with Xander and she's broken at least one rule...and discovered it's much more fun breaking rules than making them!

Christy McKellen's second novel, Lessons in Rule-Breaking, is all about developing your confidence and going after what you want - professionally as well as in the bedroom...

As a blogger and freelance web journalist, I'm incredibly jealous of Jess's job.  Plus, if I met a Xander I'd be seriously tempted (though not enough to leave C) and McKellen does a fantastic job of developing her fully. Her background has left her with serious confidence issues, particularly in how she looks, and these are explored in a sensitive way.  I particularly liked the way that Xander tried to accept her panic in the restaurant, even if he didn't wholly understand it.

I think that some of the key scenes come towards the end of the book.  There are moments when Xander realises that he has to truly understand and accept Jess's insecurities - which can be a very difficult thing to do when you're attracted to someone so very very much.  It's at that climax in the novel when everything Jess fears and dreams of collide and she's left in the midst of her own private horror film.  Kind of like when a lovely dream switches midway and becomes a nightmare instead!

I loved the development of the characters, the fact that it's set (for the most part) in Italy, and the clash of two very different worlds of the characters.  Plus the steamy scenes are well written and very engaging.

A great follow-up to what was a fab debut and I can't wait to read more from Christy McKellen!

And Mills & Boon boy Steve seemed similarly impressed...

Beach Bar Baby, or Why "I Love You" Isn't Always Necessary

Beach…After some bad news, Ella jets off to sunny Bermuda for a bit of solo R & R… 

Bar...By day six, surrounded by honeymooners and smug marrieds, she has to admit the solo bit is getting a teeny bit boring! Why say no to a casual date at the bar with ripped, tanned and enigmatic Cooper Delaney? 

Baby!It’s really not Coop’s style to flirt with tourists, let alone hook up with one again. But he can’t get the sweet London girl out of his head. A business trip to Europe is the perfect chance to see her. Only he finds Ella curvier, prettier…and keeping a secret he was so not expecting…

Ella was first introduced in one of Heidi Rice's very first ModernTempted novels, Cupcakes and Killer Heels, back when it was still in its RIVA incarnation.  In fact, it was the book that introduced me to RIVA and started a long and happy love for MT novels...  So I was pretty delighted.

And for good reason.  Ella is adorable.  She's sweet and funny and the perfect match for enigmatic Cooper.  You do really feel for her, especially when she's just been told that she is, in all probability, going to have serious issues in conceiving.  But one night with Cooper and the unexpected happens...

There are a couple of things about Beach Bar Baby that makes it stand out.  Firstly, the ages of our hero and heroine.  Ella is older than Cooper by about six years.  I like this - it's nice to see a balanced relationship develop where the heroine doesn't have to be younger than the man.  And Rice doesn't shy away from highlighting Ella's concerns about this either, which just adds to the depth of her character.

In addition to this, and possibly my favourite aspect of this book, comes with its climax.  Warning:  Spoilers!!  Cooper doesn't say "I love you".  This may seem like the most outrageous thing for a romance novel to do, but actually it makes a hell of a lot of sense.  As readers we are left in doubt of his love for Ella - as is Ella herself - but Rice realises that it would be out of character for Cooper to say those particular words at the moment and so she doesn't force the issue.

There's a hell of a lot of pressure on men to be hyper romantic - particularly at pivotal moments in a relationship - but I genuinely don't think they're necessarily needed.  After all, they're just words.  Recently I got engaged myself (still dancing inside) and my proposal story isn't particularly fancy but it was perfect.  So yeah.  Kudos to Heidi Rice from giving us a Happy Ending without the "I love you."

Mills & Boon boy Steve said that the snippet that he read was really funny...

One Night with Her Ex, or Revisiting the Guy You Left Behind

Can you honestly say you don't want me?

Lily Montgomery finds the perfect antidote to an anticlimactic New Year's Eve: a hot, up-against-the-door one-night stand with a sexy millionaire. Trouble is, the man in question is Kit, the ex-husband she's spent five years getting over.

For Kit Buchanan, the past few years have been hellish! He's conquered the business world, but when it comes to the bedroom he's had the mother of all dry spells. Clearly he needs to get Lily out of his system once and for all!

But one supercharged night later, Kit's not so sure. After all, why move on when he's having so much fun where he is?

Exes.  They can cause so much stress and heartbreak, mess with your head, and in the case of Lily and Kit, really screw up your sex life.

Lucy King's One Night with Her Ex looks at what happens when closure comes in the form of a one night stand with your ex.

I think the thing that makes this Ex Factor story (haha! puns!) stand out for me, is the fact that the characters really haven't got over each other.  Lilly's consciously been struggling with the end of their relationship, whilst Kit has been struggling with his inability to perform in the bedroom.

So when Kit turns up on her doorstep, the intention is to have sex.  Instead of fighting the attraction they have for each other - which is so often the case with second chance love stories, they throw themselves into one hot and steamy night.  Of course, the next morning, they start to wonder whether it's worth just continuing...after all, mindblowing sex is mindblowing sex...

King cleverly inverts some common tropes - Kit hasn't had sex at all since their split, whilst Lily's had a number of short-term relationships and flings - and then there's the split itself.

It's interesting to see how each of the character approach the reasons they split differently, and then to see them overcome these differences.  There is a balance where blame is put to one side and they take responsibility for their own roles in the breakdown.

And by the end, you're longing for them to get that second Happy Ever After...

Anthony, our Mills & Boon boy, opened the book right to the reconciliatory sex scene - as can be guessed from his face!!

Flirting with the Forbidden, or Dyslexia and Romance

He can look…but he's not supposed to touch!

Bodyguard Noah Fraser hasn't seen diamond heiress Morgan Moreau for eight years—but the image of her naked body has been imprinted on his mind ever since! The sexy socialite was totally off-limits and it took every ounce of Noah's iron control to walk away….

Now he's been hired to protect her again, so picking up where they left off definitely isn't an option. But Noah's body doesn't seem to have got the memo—keeping his hands off Morgan is a 24/7 battle! And how can he resist the forbidden when giving in is so irresistibly tempting…?

Joss Wood is one of my favourite writers for a reason; her writing's funny and smart, and she doesn't shy away from dealing with issues.  And it's this that makes Flirting with the Forbidden stand out.

Morgan has dyslexia.

And the key thing is, is that dyslexia's not just thrown at Morgan for the sake of it.  She's struggled all her life with the condition, but it's at the opening of the novel, where her family need to her to put her jewellery designing aside for a short while and help plan a large event, that it comes into the forefront.

She gets no choice in the matter - it's been decided already - and no-one stops to think about how this is going to affect her.  From the moment she realises, she's besieged with fears of failing.  The reason that she usually keeps out of the family spotlight is to avoid situations such as this.

And then on top of this there've been threats of violence and Noah Fraser - the man who turned her down eight years ago - as been appointed to work as her bodyguard.

The sweetest part of this, for me, is the way that Noah picks up on her nervousness and understands her fears in a way her family can't even begin to.  It's that which is the basis for a deeper connection.  Plus he's hot.  Really hot.  And the chemistry between them doesn't seemed to have lessened in the eight years since they've last seen each other.

Talking to Joss, she's said that this is one of her favourite novels, and it's easy to see why.  The characters are relatable and human, and we can't help but fall in love with them falling in love each other.

Mills & Boon boy Anthony was addicted!!