Romance continues to be well represented as a genre by participants in the challenge this year. In these last two months alone there have been 50 reviews of romance novels which have been linked to the challenge which is quite an impressive number.

One of the interesting things about the list of authors that have been reviewed is that there is a really wide spread. Normally when there is a big month there are a couple of authors who share most of the attention but this month there is only one author has received more than two reviews and only a few others who had more than one review.  All up there were 39 different authors reviewed. 39!

McArthur Red Sand Sunrise

Let’s start with the author with the most reviews which this month was Fiona McArthur with her latest book Red Sand Sunrise. This book was reviewed four times and all four were very positive.

Over at Sam Still Reading,the review is wrapped up with the following statement:

I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for strong Australian rural fiction it will take you on an emotional journey that will make you laugh, cry and ultimately, smile.

while Marcia from Book Muster Down Under says:

From corrugations in the dirt, dry creek beds and the raucous cockatoos in the trees, to Eve and Sienna fighting against the clock to save the lives of a mother and unborn baby as I stood by literally feeling the sun beating down on my head with the red dirt settling on my tongue, Fiona has given us the Outback in all its ochre and brown glory, in a story that will warm your heart on a cold winter’s day.

 

billabong bend - jennifer scoullar

Rural romance continues to be well represented within the genre  for the challenge. Jennifer Scoullar’s book Billabong Bend was one of the books that was reviewed twice for the challenge. Lauredhel over at Goodreads said of the book:

Billabong Bend has a believable romance with authentic external obstacles, a villain with some complexity, an author who knows what she’s talking about, and a competent heroine who goes after what she wants.

 

Barrie Deadly Secrets

It is good to be able to place a spotlight on some of the other aspects of romance, and there was a romantic suspense novel that was reviewed twice for the challenge.  Over at the Opal Octopus, there were a couple of issues but there were also lots of aspects that were liked in Sarah Barrie’s novel Deadly Secrets:

There were many things I loved about this book! I always appreciate a book with a competent woman as a main character. I liked that the plot was multi-dimensional and not entirely predictable, that the thriller element was at least as strong as the romantic elements.

 

LosingKateKylieKaden

Kylie Kaden’s debut novel Losing Kate was reviewed by both Marcia at Book Muster Down Under and by Lauredhel at Goodreads. Marcia said of the book:

Kylie Kaden is yet another Aussie author who has rightfully gained a place on my bookshelf with this knock-out debut interweaving love and jealousy, loss and redemption, while also exploring those carefree, hazy, lazy summer days of our childhood.

 

Bookshop on corner raisin

The final book I am going to spotlight in this post is The Bookshop on the Corner by Rebecca Raisin. This book is part of the Gingerbread Cafe series. This series is different from most of the other books that I have talked about this month because, whilst the author is Australian, her books are set overseas. Over at Love Reading Romance, there is an enthusiastic review that includes this:

I freaking loved this book. I laughed. I cried. And all in the space of the few hours it took for me to fall in love with Sarah, Ridge and the little town of Ashford. Although short in length, The Bookshop on the Corner is full of all the good things. I was swept away by the colorful cast of characters, delicious romance, the emotional turmoil, and especially Rebecca Raisin’s wicked sense of humor.

I mentioned earlier  that there were more than 30  other authors reviewed over the last two months. Be sure to take a look at some of the other romance reviews by clicking on the Weebly pages where new reviews are always being added.

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Marg has long been an avid reader of all genres, with the most books read being in the romance genre. Marg has been blogging about all different genres and other things at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader for more than 8 years. You can tweet to her @margreads.