May has been a banner month for great reads, and as we look forward to the beach season I add a few books onto my TBR pile.

Hannah Howell visits Romantic Reads to talk about her most recent Murray novel, Highland Avenger. I loved the book, and fully support the use of the surname "Murray."

Happy Mother's Day, Heart-to-Hearters. Motherhood is a recurring theme in romantic fiction; there are numerous stories involving single moms, working moms, step-moms, or aspiring moms. A recent paperback celebrates a type of woman who doesn't get much play in literature: the midwife.

We all have authors who are ‘auto-buys’. These are the authors that no matter what we’re going to buy their next book. Over the years as more new authors hit the shelves my list of “gotta buy this author’s book” has grown.

May is so chock full of amazing reads that I started a dedicated place at Romantic Reads to document them all, starting with Sherry Thomas's BEGUILING THE BEAUTY.

The mythology of paranormals requires that we suspend our belief.  Isn’t that what we all do when we read a paranormal romance book?  I know I do.  Witches, vampires, demons, shape shifters,the end of the world, time travel… throw it all in - that’s what paranormal means… beyond the norm, yes? But above all my favorite paranormal books are the ones that have fantastic characters and that’s what I’m really buying into.

There's a reason romance heroes tend to hold down the same sort of jobs. Hockey players, Navy SEALS, movie stars, and cops all have that masculine, charismatic, strong thing going on. But there's one group that makes even these honest moneymakers seem a little less-than-heroic. Yes, ladies. There's a new fireman series hitting the shelves today. And I'm awfully excited about it.

Into the Dreaming (with bonus material) is a gem of a book, and as a Moning fan, a great addition to my collection. It starts off with the novella Into the Dreaming - a time travel featuring a tortured hero, a heroine who has a sense of humor and the King and Queen of the Light and Dark Fae meddling in human affairs. The novella gives us a condensed look at the exciting imagination that is specifically Karen Marie Moning.  Her books always contain pure romanticism coupled with magic, a mystical reverberation and vibrant characters.

Suzanne Brockmann’s Born to Darkness begins with non-stop action and never stops. It blew me away. It’s the first book in The Fighting Destiny series and also Ms. Brockmann’s first foray into the paranormal sub-genre of romance. Her new series definitely has her quintessential trademark of high octane suspense, strong characters and riveting plot lines. Don’t let the paranormal scare you – in fact it’s a paranormal with nary a ghost, vampire or shape shifter.

Eloisa James' memoir, PARIS IN LOVE, is a beautiful rendering of a sabbatical year in the City of Light, and it has me pondering what the most romantic love story settings are.