Melanie's May Favorites

[Melanie_Murray]

I've had a renaissance in my reading lately. Whether it's because my daughters are getting older and I have more free time or because writers are bringing it with well-crafted stories, I don't know. But the books out this month are almost all worth reading. I'm going to post about my May favorites here on this thread. And if you've read them and agree, or if there's a May book that I don't list in the next few days, please post about them! We don't want to miss any great reads!

[Melanie_Murray]

The buzz surrounding Sherry Thomas's first books was something I don't remember ever experiencing before; it was as if a new cornerstone writer had appeared overnight.

She's immediately become one of my must-read authors, and her new book, Beguiling the Beauty  was so compelling that I read it in a day. A long day, but still.

The quick description of Beguiling the Beauty  is that it's about a woman, Venetia Easterbrook, seeking revenge on a man, the Duke of Lexington, who has slandered her name and ruined her reputation. But brewing underneath a basic story of a woman making a man fall in love with her so that she can break his heart and therefore make him hurt as much as she does is a meditation on the meaning of beauty, its power over people, and its worth.

Venetia Easterbrook isn't just pretty, she's stunningly beautiful. The sight of her casts spell on people, including Dukes who glimpse her across a field. The Duke of Lexington, Christian de Montford, is a scientific man; he's dedicated his life to the pursuit of natural sciences. Yet he is madly in love with a married woman - Venetia - solely because of her face. He can't come to terms with this, and in the course of trying to think himself out of his feelings, does something that irrevocably damages Venetia's reputation.

On the other side of this equation is Venetia, whose beauty is a curse and, when she chooses to unleash it, a weapon. But as she falls in love with the very man she's trying to destroy, the existence of her appearance becomes an issue. I don't want to say more...But I'll post the official story description below as well an offical "stamp of Melanie's approval." This book is well worth your time!

When the Duke of Lexington meets the mysterious Baroness von Seidlitz-Hardenberg aboard a transatlantic ocean liner, he is fascinated. She is exactly what he has been searching for—a beautiful woman who interests and entices him. He falls hard and fast—and soon proposes marriage.

And then she disappears without a trace…

For in reality, the “baroness” is Venetia Easterbrook—a proper young widow who had her own vengeful reasons for instigating an affair with the duke. But the plan has backfired. Venetia has fallen in love with the man she despised—and there’s no telling what might happen when she is finally unmasked…

To read an excerpt, visit Sherry's website.

[Melanie_Murray]

Hopefully you all fall in love with the work of Sherry Thomas the way I have. Here's a list of her available books:

Not Quite a Husband 

His at Night 

Private Arrangements 

Delicious     

[Melanie_Murray]

Two standby authors delivered really good books this month:

Third in the “Serendipity” series, after Serendipity and Destiny, Karma  by Carly Phillips is set in a small upstate New York town, and to this point focuses on  three from-the-wrong-side-of-town brothers, the Barrons. Dare is twenty-six years old, he's a gorgeous cop with gold-streaked brown hair and brown eyes - like in Jennifer Bernard's debut, a man who serves his community is hard to resist. Dare is haunted by an event from his past, and also by his unavoidable feelings for Liza McKnight, a local girl who works for her family’s architecture firm and has a difficult relationship with her own brother.

Dare and Liza have feelings for each other and kind of can't help embarking on a romance, but both have emotional scars and trust issues. This book is really kind of sweet; I loved the big family atmosphere of the Barron clan and the small-town setting. Really good!

You long-time readers of RR know how gaga I am for Kristan Higgins. Somebody to Love not only has KH's trademark hilarious dialogue and quirky characters, but revisits some favorites from books past. Remember Ethan from The Next Best Thing? Remember he had a son with a rich children's book author named Parker? Well Parker is front and center here, in the middle of a life-changing crisis that sends her from Rhode Island to a dilapidated shack in Maine, in the same town where Maggie fell for Malone in Catch of the Day. Even if you don't know these characters and aren't thrilled to read up on them, Somebody to Love  is worth your time. Parker and James, her father's lawyer and one-time hook-up partner have a complicated, pure, challenging romance, set in a gorgeous seaside town, with the ubiquitous KH pet and Nicky, Parker and Ethan's boy, who steals the show with his cuteness. I could read nothing but books by KH and be happy forever.

[becke_davis]

I'm with you, Melanie - I loved Sherry Thomas' new book, and Kristan Higgins', too. I've read all of their books, and both are on my must-buy list. 

I haven't read Carly Phillips' new one yet but it's on my list of new books to buy, along with the new Nora Roberts, the new Roxanne St. Clair and a bunch of others. I've been traveling a lot in the past few weeks and my reading has suffered for it. I have a lot of catching up to do!

[Melanie_Murray]

We gave Nora's last trade series so much conversation here, and I think we maybe haven't touched on the Boonsboro Inn books as much (especially since The Witnessjust came out and is probably one of her best books ever.)

Have you Nora fans been reading the Boonsboro books?  The first one was The Next Always (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy #1)  and the second is out now. The Last Boyfriend (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy #2)  is a touching story of a couple who dated in high school rediscvoering their love.

Here's the story description. I'm counting it among my May faves!

Owen is the organizer of the Montgomery clan, running the family’s construction business with an iron fist—and an even less flexible spreadsheet. And though his brothers bust on his compulsive list-making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn’t plan for was Avery McTavish...

Avery’s popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a first-hand look at its amazing renovation—and a newfound appreciation for Owen. Since he was her first boyfriend when they were kids, Owen has never been far from Avery’s thoughts. But the attraction she’s feeling for him now is far from innocent.

As Avery and Owen cautiously take their relationship to another level, the opening of the inn gives the whole town of Boonsboro a reason to celebrate. But Owen’s hard work has only begun. Getting Avery to let down her guard is going to take longer than he expected—and so will getting her to realize that her first boyfriend is going to be her last…

[Melanie_Murray]

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had terrific weekends and some special moments on Mother's Day. (My husband's gift to me was to take the girls out to the playground for three hours. I actually read quietly all morning - bliss!)

Anyway: We're halfway through the month and I still haven't revealed all my favorite May books.

I'd lost my way with Mary Balogh after the terrific first pair of Huxtable books. These things happen, yes? So many books to read, authors to keep up with, debuts to try. I sometimes lose track of what a writer is up to. But The Proposal was impossible to ignore. There's something about that old-timey cover that just called my name.

Hugo Emes was not born into the titled class of England, but due to his immense bravery at war, he's found himself with a title and pots of money. The new Lord Trentham carries scars of guilt, however, for the very act that earned him accolades cost most of the lives of the men who served under him. The only thing that has gotten him through the post-war years is the Survivors' Club.

There are seven of them, and each year they assemble at a Duke's estate in Cornwall for respite and recuperation and rehabilitation. This spring Hugo brings with him problems from his personal life: the death of his father means that Hugo must find a wife and begin his life. Yet he is not the romantic sort, and certainly not the kind who can consort with ladies.

A chance meeting on the coast line changes everything for Hugo, and for Lady Gwendolyn Muir, a widow whose marriage was fraught with emotional highs and lows. They are a mismatch, the gentle lady Gwen and the rough soldier Hugo. Yet where there is attraction there is promise, and this novel is full of both.

What really drew me in here is the atmosphere, not only of the tempestuous Cornwall setting but inside the Duke's manse. The characters there are wounded, externally and internally, but trying to live their lives. This saturates the whole book with a sense of melancholy hope, and I found it kind of irresistible.

For more on Mary Balogh, visit her website at www.marybalogh.com.

[becke_davis]

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Melanie_Murray wrote:

We gave Nora's last trade series so much conversation here, and I think we maybe haven't touched on the Boonsboro Inn books as much (especially since The Witnessjust came out and is probably one of her best books ever.)

Have you Nora fans been reading the Boonsboro books?  The first one was The Next Always (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy #1)  and the second is out now. The Last Boyfriend (Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy #2)  is a touching story of a couple who dated in high school rediscvoering their love.

Here's the story description. I'm counting it among my May faves!

Owen is the organizer of the Montgomery clan, running the family’s construction business with an iron fist—and an even less flexible spreadsheet. And though his brothers bust on his compulsive list-making, the Inn BoonsBoro is about to open right on schedule. The only thing Owen didn’t plan for was Avery McTavish...

Avery’s popular pizza place is right across the street from the inn, giving her a first-hand look at its amazing renovation—and a newfound appreciation for Owen. Since he was her first boyfriend when they were kids, Owen has never been far from Avery’s thoughts. But the attraction she’s feeling for him now is far from innocent.

As Avery and Owen cautiously take their relationship to another level, the opening of the inn gives the whole town of Boonsboro a reason to celebrate. But Owen’s hard work has only begun. Getting Avery to let down her guard is going to take longer than he expected—and so will getting her to realize that her first boyfriend is going to be her last…

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I'm hooked on this series - can't wait for the third one to come out!

[Melanie_Murray]

May's coming to a close and I read an unprecedented amount of new books (well, unprecedented for the part of my life in which I have two toddlers!)

There were some books that I was desperately planning to read and didn't get to, but that doesn't mean I can't tell you about them because they look GOOD. So here are my I-will-read-in-June May pub list!

Melt Into You  I don't know why this book is singing to me - maybe it's that colorful, fun cover. Maybe it's the employee-employer romance thing. No, it's definitely that the hero is a chocolatier. That is my dream man!

Under Suspicion  This urban fantasy is the third in Hannah Jayne's saga about the Underworld Detective Agency, centering on human-immune-to-magic Sophie Lawson.

Kiss of Pride  Sandra Hill is one of my favorite authors, whether the book is a laugh-out-loud cajun romp or a virile-viking love story. All I have to say about this book is that the hero is a VIKING VAMP ANGEL. You read that right.

Demon's Bride  This book keeps cropping up in my conversations with other romance fans, and the moment I saw Shana Abe's endorsement on the back cover, I knew I had to read it. I might actually choose this for my Memorial Day weekend read-a-thon. The series is about five men who have made a deal with the devil.

So have any of you read these?