Sure there's something comforting about your old favorite authors, but isn't half the fun of Valentine's Day the excitement that comes from new love?
All month long at Romantic Reads, I'll be recommending first-time authors whose books will make you feel a thrill of discovery, and the happiness that comes at the beginning of new relationships. For once you get a hold of these books, you'll be adding these authors to your must-buy list.
So consider this my Valentine's gift to you, and don't be shy. Try a blind date with these books:
Firelight by Kristen Callihan is essentially a steampunk Beauty and the Beast story (though in this version Beauty has a very special, very potent paranormal ability, which is hinted at on the cover.) In all other ways, young Miranda Ellis's struggles are earth-bound. She's got a father who's on the brink of ruin and she's been forced to do some unethical things to bring food into her house. When the mysterious, masked Lord Benjamin Archer appears at her home with an offer of marriage, Miranda doesn't immediately agree. She'll be ushered into a life of comfort, albeit with a man whose appearences makes ladies of the ton faint dead away, yet she can't help but wonder: what's the catch? Why her? The answer is that Lord Benjamin, a man who keeps his appearance and his secrets secure beneath a impenetrable black mask, can't forget a long-ago encounter with the striking Miranda. And he's rich and powerful enough to buy himself some happiness, even if it's for a short time. For sooner or later, his past - and Miranda's - will catch up with them both.
I defy you to show up at a blind date, find the person across the table to look like the guy on this cover, and not have a good time. The same will be true when you read An Affair with Mr. Kennedy by Jillian Stone. I'll admit the jacket model sold me on this book, but it was the storytelling that hooked me and will ensure a second go-round between me and Ms. Stone's next story. The first thing that I loved about this was that the hero wasn't a lord. He is Detective Zeno "Zak" Kennedy, an inspector assigned to the Special Irish Branch in charge of finding out who is behind a string of bombings terrorizing London. He's not above investigating any lead, even if that lead is his new tenant, aspiring painter Cassie St. Cloud. A widow, Cassie's got a family connection to one of Zak's prime suspects, and while he starts flirting with an ulterior motive, soon enough Cassie and Zak are fighting an unwanted - and inconvenient - attraction.
Secret in Her Kiss by Anna Randol will sweep you off your feet. Spies and espionage. Exotic locations. A partnership forced by circumstance. This book has everything a romance reader could want! Mari Sinclair is half-British, half-Greek; she lives in Constantinople during a time when the way things were are giving way to the way things will be. Her heart is with Greek independence, and to aid her people she's begun delivering secrets to the British army. Her gift? She's an incredible artist; most people don't even see the words painted into her drawings of butterflies that tip off the Brits to the Ottoman Empire's military locations. The British Army's main concern is keeping Mari alive, and they charge Major Bennett Prestwood with guarding her until her work is complete. Prestwood only cares about completing his mission and going home, and Mari only cares about doing the right thing by their people, and yet they are caught by their own attraction to each other. This was the first book I'd read in a very long time where the conflict between the characters seemed absolutely insurmountable - in a delicious way, of course!
So there you have it, Heart-to-Hearters: three new authors to keep those Valentine Day blues at bay. Get yourself some chocolate and champagne and curl up with one of these terrific blind-date reads.
Until next week, happy reading!
Melanie Murray is the moderator of Romantic Reads, BN.com's all-romance, all-the-time community forum.
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