SINGLE TITLE, OR SERIES?

Miranda's February Musings

Darlings, what happened to January? My stars. Over! Too! Soon! 

So here is a February question for you all while you hibernate from the crazy polar vortex in the northern hemisphere (whaaaat?!), and boil in the record temps Down Under, phew. 

What do you prefer to read? A single title romance, OR a series which can give the same hero and heroine or secondary characters their stories, and prolong the love in the community? 

For example, the amazing Nora Roberts AKA JD Robb began her In Death series waaaay back in 1995 with Naked in Death. This first book introduced prickly NY police detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas - and she meets intriguing Irish billionaire Rourke in the course of her investigations. Huh. Fourty-eight books later - yes, 48! - Eve and Rourke are still fresh, fabulous and intriguing enough for millions of readers to hang out for every new story, with the 49th book scheduled to be released later this year. In hardcover! This is truly a monumental series success story. JD Robb, we are in awe of you! Have you read any Eve and Rourke, and are you keen for more?

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A different series called Outback Brides brought joy to many reader hearts in 2018. Beloved Australian authors Kelly Hunter, Victoria Purman, Cathryn Hein and Fiona McArthur gifted us four different brides, all divinely romantic and lovely and absolutely scrumptious. You simply must read on and enjoy each different bride's story, especially as they pop into the previous books. Yes please, I can cope with that very easily: a finite series of 4 books with a different H&H in each one. Can you? 

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Hands up the stand alone book readers? Those who really love carving time out to read one romance and that's-enough-for-now-because-it's-so-fabulous? Late 2016 (omigosh that sounds so long ago!) I read The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Totally loved it, laughed all the way through, went looking for another book by her and... eek! Had to wait! Imagine my thrill when her next book 99% Mine, which I pre-purchased months ago, fell into my Kindle last week! I cannot tell you how that sent me into an excited spin, but I need to finish the (fabulous) book I'm reading to get to it... I am sure that, like The Hating Game, reading 99% Mine will be - enough. Something to linger over and enjoy. Hopefully with some laughs and tears, like last time. No pressure, Sally Thorne! I have faith in you. ❤❤ But, YAY for a stand-alone book!

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One favourite stand-alone romance is Molly Cooper's Dream Date by Barbara Hannay. Apparently I'm not alone in loving this book; I've heard a whisper it's about to be made into a film, oh my. Bring it on! I could read this book again and again. Actually, I already have... It never loses its charm, and I love it anew every reread. Have you read it? It's actually a lovely armchair travel read for London, part of the appeal for us Aussies, and a luscious romance. Win, win.

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So, my pick for Single Title or Series is - BOTH, depending on my mood! I'm happy to read a series or a stand alone; they both have their place. What about you?

Love from Miranda xxx

Love to Love:

A new book from a fave author. And a new book in a series I love!

Love to Laugh:

At my teetering, tottering, Read-Me pile of books. I think it multiplies in the dark at night...?!

Love to Learn:

About all the new romances coming out. I know, I know, I've got a mountainous TBR, but there will be a new gem in the newies somewhere. For sure. 

Conversion Romance!

Miranda's July Musings

I adore curling up in a comfy chair with a drink and a book, summer and winter, and reading the afternoon away. You? Well, yes, gorgeous people, of course you do. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. But some people aren't reading romance...! Shockingly sad fact. 

How to convert them to the treasures you love to read?! No-one shares your exact reading taste, but finding the right romance can set your new BFFs along a new and very happy reading path. The trouble is, which ones? 

Here are a few conversion suggestions. Limiting myself is killing me, a truly horrible dilemma, because I'm leaving hundreds and thousands out and it pains me to my soul. However...

Historical

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Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale has to be one of the most beloved historicals ever. Christian Langland, Duke of Jerveaux, is a brilliant mathematician, but he's also a bit of a naughty boy (code for 'rake'). Horrifyingly, he's afflicted by a sudden stroke and his family thinks he's gone insane and lock him up in an asylum. Enter beautiful, quiet Quaker Maddy, who will be his saviour. This one will bring you to your knees, people. A beautiful, enduring story. 

Romantic Suspense 

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Open Seaon by Linda Howard is a fun pick. I could have chosen from a zillion others, like favourties Karen Robards or Nora Roberts, but this is an old bestie. It features librarian Daisy and Jack, a cop, two must-read characters. Boring old Daisy (she's not really, but she thinks she is) gives herself a make-over for her 34th birthday and goes out to party her new look at a nightclub. When she suddenly sees something she's not supposed to, and the villains know she saw it, Jack  comes to the rescue. This is a perfect combination of romantic suspense and humour. Tell your friends!

Inspirational 

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None better here than Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, set in California's Gold Rush territory in the 1850's. Angel was sold into prostitution as a child, so imagine the life she's living. Along comes Michael Hosea, who obeys God's word to marry Angel and love her. This is not an easy road, folks, but it is beautiful. One to cherish.

Something fun

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Manhunting alerted me to relatively new author (back then) Jennifer Crusie. This made me laugh from beginning to end. Business woman Kate goes looking for Mr Right all wrong, to the amusement of Jake, who's sworn off high powered people like Kate forever. A lot of people converted when they read Crusie's Getting Rid of Bradley, but this one is even more fun, IMHO.

Something intense

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Darkling I Listen by Katherine Sutcliffe will grab hold of you and not let you go. Bad boy Hollywood actor Brandon, a flawed hero if there ever was one, is released from gaol, only to discover the dark forces that worked to put him in there are still out there... Alyson, a reporter, stumbles into this dark mess and the two get caught up in very tense things. Very tense. Very. Read it with the doors locked. 

Something supernaturally vampire-y

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Dark Lover by JR Ward made a lot of people sit up and discover there's more to supernatural romance than ever before. These are the good guys (vampires, think Angel on steroids +) battling big bad guys (vampire slayers). BIG bad guys. The Black Dagger Brotherhood is intense and compelling. You'll just want to keep reading the series because they're all amazing.

Wild card 

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The Hating Game by Sally Thorne was a wonderful discovery. This is fresh, fun, flirty and inventive, a game changer in romance. It's an office romance (love them) between a geek and a chronic crowd-pleaser, at war with each other. Ridiculous scenarios ensue that somehow work fabulously well.

There's so many I've left off, so heartbreaking not to even mention them in this conversion kit. Happily, if none of these appeal there are lists out there, such as: All About Romance's top 100, and always fun recommendations on Smart Bitches Trashy Books and Book Thingo. So much to choose from.

What would you choose? Have you got a Top 5? What romances would you use to convert to a non-romance reader?

Tell all darlings,

Love from Miranda xx

Love to love: Game changer romances.

Love to laugh: At Marilyn's game name here: 'oodle' fun. My new name according to the rules is Moodleroodlendoodle. I could get used to that! 😊

Love to learn: What you've been reading lately. Any conversion romances? 

Miranda's May Musings

How Do You Choose What To Read Next?

Part Two!

Miranda is currently overseas. She hopes to reply to any comments but may not be able to (internet access being difficult at times). Meanwhile, she sends all her lovely regular readers her very best regards, and hopes you enjoy these suggestions for some great Book Review Blogs. 

Darlings, if browsing bookstores or having romance author friends isn't doing it for you with reading recommendations, where next to turn?

Dear reader friends, look at book blogs! I do recognise the irony of writing this on a blog - but hey, it works for me. I get heaps of book blogs handily funnelled into my email. Sometimes, particularly on the first couple of days of the month, I get severe reader envy... You've read all that? In ONE month? You know about all these others? But I am (usually) fairly adult about this reading jealous-ness and move on to peruse the book lists. Which is how I discovered Sally Thorne's The Hating Game after about five billion people recommended it - and having read it, decided it was going to be 'my' pick on The Breathless List which you can see again here:

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Which book blogs, you ask? If I wrote them all down you'd be still reading this next week, so let me give you a few examples and you can surf in and check them out. First, I have to give a big shout out to the Australian Romance Readers blog here. You are one click away from romance book paradise. So many authors, so little time! If you are also a writer, look no further than the Romance Writers of Australia blog. A lot of Aussie romance authors also contribute to blogs with colleagues overseas, and the links are on their websites. Let your fingers do the walking.

Romance blogs that feature highly on my read list:

All About Romance. I think I've been reading this since - er, maybe (whispers) the 90's.
RT (Romantic Times) Book Reviews. I also subscribe to their online magazine, and have since (whispers) the 90's. All the hot goss, all the reviews, every month, and the blog more often. I usually want to read everything they top star, so have to whittle it down to a few hundred or so (heh)...
Booktopia's romance blog. Love the Nine Naughty Questions they ask authors, and love the info and new romance releases they feature.
Amazon romance editors get to pick the Best of the Month, and this link also takes you to romance best sellers for the month. Once you get started you'll discover a very pleasant hour - or two or three - has passed.

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Last but certainly not least, and these are a blast, I *must* mention the entertaining:

Heroes and Heartbreakers, and
Smart Bitches Trashy Books, which I love and adore and giggle over.

Both lead to endless - I repeat, ENDLESS covetous book thoughts from me, plus much amusement at their fun reviews and hilarious comments. It's so easy to get their newsletters and blogs straight into your inbox, or streamed. I highly recommend them both.

Phew! Enough information for now. Now go, get started.

And do share, what reading blogs are in your Top 5?

Love from Miranda xxx

Love to love:     reading romance book blogs. No brainer, really.

Love to laugh:  at some of the snarky comment on the above, especially when I agree.

Love to learn:   about more book blogs. Share your faves with me. Please?

Tales From the Past: Beauty and the Beast

Romance Novels and Fairy Tales Part 1

Many romance novels are based on fairy tales. For example, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre have similar themes to Beauty and the Beast.

Fairy tales date back thousands of years and have similarities across cultures. Some psychologists think fairy tales span time and place because they relate to essential dilemmas we all grapple with, life lessons many of us learn, and basic truths about what it means to be human.

What message lies behind the Beauty and the Beast story?

Josh Gressel argues Beauty and the Beast imparts the essential message, we must learn to love and accept those parts of ourselves we dislike, and experience as “beast-like”. Beauty needs to find what is beautiful in the beast, and the beast needs to accept that his issues are part of him, and to learn to cope with them. Only then can they find true love.

Fairy tales appeal to children and adults because of the essential truths they impart.

Many engaging, well-written, recently published romance novels use a Beauty and the Beast theme.

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Some Beauty and the Beast romance novel page-turners

In The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Lucy comes to realise Josh's sometimes difficult behaviour stems from shyness, and failure to deal with major issues from his past. She falls in love with his caring nature and masculine vulnerability, and can accept his flaws, once she understands him better. Josh must learn to accept his personality in its entirety, and realise he can fall in love, and be loved in return.

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Kate Forsyth writes of Ava's growing understanding of her husband Leo in The Beast's Garden. Her fear of her husband changes to fear for him when the Valkyrie plot fails, he is arrested and sentenced to be executed. This intriguing, page-turner is filled with romance and suspense as the tale of Beauty and the Beast is retold in a Nazi Germany setting.

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When Beauty Tamed The Beast by Eloisa James is a delightful, historical novel with a Beauty and the Beast theme. Both hero and heroine must learn to accept the flaws in themselves, and in each other before love can triumph.

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What is your favourite Beauty and the Beast romance? What do you think is the central message of the Beauty and the Beast tale?

I love to love:   

Friday night dinners out with my husband are the best part of my week.

I love to laugh:   

Sally Thorne's humour in The Hating Game is the best.

I love to learn:   

I think much of life is about learning and personal growth. Sometimes challenging, often fun.

Favourite Aussie Romance Reads of 2016

By the Breathless Bloggers

So great to have our favourite reads get the thumbs up from Keith Urban (courtesy of giphy.com)!

It hasn't been easy! With all the wonderful Aussie Romances published last year, the Breathless Bloggers have somehow managed to select just one favourite Romance read from 2016. 

We hope you enjoy our reviews as much as we enjoyed reading these fabulous books.

CASSANDRA: THE EARL AND THE HIGHWAYMAN'S DAUGHTER by Maggi Andersen

link to buy this book

With so many great romance authors to choose from, it was a hard decision but my pick for 2016 is Maggi Andersen's The Earl and the Highwayman's Daughter. Maggi has an easy to read style which lends itself so well to novellas.

Eugenia Hawthorne and Brendan, Earl of Trentham are thrown together when he is wounded in an attack by highwaymen on his way home. Eugenia patches him up but when her father returns he and Brendan make a deal and Eugenia ends up as Brendan's unofficial ward. But there is more to this arrangement than meets the eye. There is a mystery, an emerald necklace and plenty of sexual tension to keep you turning the page.

MARILYN: THE ART OF KEEPING SECRETS by Rachael Johns

link to buy this book

While not strictly a romance, The Art of Keeping Secrets contains powerful romantic elements. In it, we meet Felicity, Genevive and Emma, three ladies attempting to deal with issues and situations that many women will be able to identify with: life after divorce combined with a life-threatening health problem, a ‘perfect’ marriage that isn’t as perfect as it appears, and a forced reunion with an old flame who happens to be the father of her son (although he doesn’t yet know it!). One of the story-lines in particular had me on tenterhooks till the very last page (no, I’m not telling which one; you need to read it for yourself J).

Flick, Neve and Emma are believable and eminently likeable characters, and the strength of their friendship is something I could easily relate to. I greatly enjoyed spending time with them all. ’Onya, Rachael. Another winner!

MIRANDA: THE HATING GAME by Sally Thorne

link to buy this book

This book is sharp and edgy in its writing; fresh and funny and a total winner. A perfect office romance between the geeky but ohmygosh gorgeous Josh, and the diminutive-in-size-only Lucy. It's told in Lucy's point of view, which gives you just enough information about how she's feeling about Josh - and what she thinks he's thinking and feeling about her - to keep you guessing. For half the book Josh remains somewhat of an enigma, although the paintball work-bonding day was a bit of a heroic giveaway. By the end of the book (and a lot of laughs and a few tears later) I was in love with both of them. Thank you, Sally, for bursting onto the romance scene with such a brilliant debut. Please write more!

Favourite funny quote:

I stumble into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar. I pee, flush, and then realize how unladylike I was. Oh, well. He's seen and heard almost everything now. There's nothing left to do but fake my own death and start a new life. 

There's more about Sally Thorne here: https://www.hachette.com.au/sally-thorne/the-hating-game if you want to follow her slavishly (which I now do).

SHARON: THE SUMMER BRIDE by Anne Gracie (Chance Sisters series #4).

Link to buy this book

Daisy Chance was raised in a brothel from which she helped two young women escape. Together with the sister of one of the women, they declare themselves sisters of the heart, and vow to support one another through life's challenges.

Daisy is a talented seamstress, determined to have her own shop and make it the best in London. She has no interest in marriage; a husband would get in the way of her ambitions. Patrick Flynn, a self-made man, orphaned in tragic circumstances he has never fully dealt with, is attracted to Daisy, but wishes to marry the finest lady in London. He feels he is good enough for anyone, and needs to show this to the world by marrying a high-born lady.

The well-constructed characters, captivating dialogue, sense of fun and poignant moments that tug at the reader's heartstrings which Anne brings to her writing make this book a must read.

ENISA: SUNSET SHADOWS (Goodabri series #3) by Bronwyn Parry

link to buy this book

In the stark isolation of the Australian bush there’s a madman on the loose. As sinister shadows in the untamed wilderness herald danger, police officers Steve Fraser and Tess Ballard put their careers on the line to save the lives of 50 cult members, and the people they care about. In a race against time, their pasts return bringing heartbreak, and as they wonder if they will survive, a romance slowly blossoms.

Wow! From first page to last, Sunset Shadows had me enthralled. I was there, in the isolated surrounds of the bush amidst the fast-paced action, tension gripping me by the throat as surely as it gripped Steve and Tess as I immersed myself in their rush to catch the madman and bring justice to those threatened. I was there hurting along with Steve and Tess confronting pasts too painful to face, and I was there watching in wonder as romance flickered through their friendship, the flame slowly burning, turning to love. Packed with emotion, edge-of-your-seat suspense and twists you don’t see coming, Sunset Shadows is a brilliant read. Is it any wonder Bronwyn Parry is a must-read author for me?

KAREN: BEYOND THE ORCHARD by Anna Romer

Link to buy this book

I am choosing Anna Romer's latest book, Beyond the Orchard, as my favourite romance for 2016 because it is an absorbing read shrouded in suspense and mystery from the very start.

A family saga of love, heartbreak, deceptions and discoveries written in the authors unique voice, it easily transports the reader from the present into the past and back again, while providing such detailed descriptions of the time periods and Australia's beautiful landscape, flora and fauna, that you almost feel it surround you.

An ominous old house full of secret crevices and hidden truths with supernatural elements that hang heavily in the readers mind, igniting fear only limited to one's own imagination. Rich characters with their own demons, sorrows and stories to tell. And a tale of love that keeps you hoping and wondering until the end.




DANA: THE FARMER'S PERFECT MATCH by Marilyn Forsyth

Link to buy this book

I've chosen The Farmer's Perfect Match as my favourite romance read of 2016 for so many reasons. The setting, the characters and the plot brilliantly pack the book full of tension and romance. Our own Marilyn Forsyth weaves the story in and around the setting, creating and building tension so beautifully that you think you're there! The characters filled my heart with so much emotion that I ached for them! I wanted Evie and Adam to succeed at their goals but feared that if they did then they would never get together.

This is one of those books that you read from cover to cover and at THE END you want more...you need more. The Farmer's Perfect Match is one powerful read!

Did your favourite romance read from last year make the cut? No? Then please let us know in the comments of any books published in 2016 that you'd recommend. We're always on the lookout for wonderful romances.

We LOVE TO LOVE Aussie Romance Writers.

We LOVE TO LAUGH!Our monthly Writers' Group meetings are always a lot of fun.

We LOVE TO LEARN who each other's favourite Aussie authors are.