Welcome to the August round-up edition of Erotica, Romance and Romantic Suspense. Perth has put on a spectacular show for the first weekend of spring and the Father’s Day weekend, with bright sunny skies gracing us on both days. I have a spring in my step because not only is the weather just divine, our romance stats for this past month are astounding! Since I took on the role of romance round-up editor late last year, I have observed that our romance stats have steadily been rising. In August, we hit an all time high. Our database reveals 63 reviews, of 49 books, from 47 authors. I’m going to repeat that as I’m still in shock, 63 reviews, you have outdone yourselves this month romance readers!

Popular

I always look forward to examining the trends that define the romance genre. The most reviewed titles this month were actually two titles, Whitsunday Down by Annie Seaton and The Right Place by Carla Caruso, each received four reviews. I featured Whitsunday Dawn in my last round-up, but if you need further encouragement to pick up this title, I implore you to check out the four great reviews we logged in the database in August by Claire Holderness, Michelle of Beauty & Lace, Mrs B’s Book Reviews and Theresa Smith Writes. Whitsunday Dawn Annie Seaton

The Right Place, the new release from Carla Caruso, is one book that is at the very top of my own review pile.  I can’t wait to explore this title as it promises a fusion of romance with relationships, family, food, cooking and gardening. In August, we had four reviews clocked in for this title from Brenda, Claire Holderness, Jennifer Cameron-Smith and Theresa Smith Writes. We also have an illuminating author interview with the author of The Right Place, Carla Caruso, courtesy of Theresa Smith Writes. Here is a snapshot of what The Right Place has to offer, according to Theresa Smith:

while the cover and the author may have drawn me to The Right Place, it was the warmly welcoming story and the wonderfully authentic characters that pinned me to the novel for the better part of a weekend. In a nutshell, this novel was sublime perfection.

The Right Place Carla Caruso

Another popular title that has captured my reader’s heart  this month is Dressing the Dearloves, the new release from Kelly Doust. I adored Kelly Doust’s debut novel, Precious Things back when it released in 2016. I know this is one book I cannot wait to explore. A review by Claire Holderness cemented my resolve to read this book sooner, rather than later! Claire states:

This book is full of interesting characters, both past and present and a very interesting story is told throughout the pages, there’s also a bit or romance thrown in there too.

Juanita Kees is a West Australian based author that I have been following closely since I was able to meet her at a romance panel a few years back. It is so great to see Overdrive, book 1 in the Calhoun Customs Garage series, attract two reviews this month via Claire Holderness and Helen Sibbritt. 

Stefanie London is an author who is new to me, but it seems she is a popular choice this month. Stefanie reined in three reviews this month. Bad Reputation was reviewed twice and Hard Deal once. 

Lauren McKellar’s star is rising in the romance field. She accumulated three reviews this month. These glowing reviews all seduced me into exploring Lauren’s work in the not too distant future. Be sure to peruse reviews of Lauren’s tittles, Bitter Truth, Honest Love and More Than A Promise.

Books in a series

The popularity of the Outback Brides series which I introduced to you previously continues to soar. We gathered another four reviews for this romantic series, the brainchild of Tule Publishing. There are reviews this month for Elsa’s Stand by Cathryn Hein, Holly’s Heart by Fiona McArthur, Belle’s Secret by Victoria Purman and Maggie’s Run by Kelly Hunter.

I covered the Mindalby Outback Romance series in a previous round-up and it seems this series really has clearly captured our hearts. In August we collected two reviews for Starting Over by Susanne Bellamy, one review for A Daughter’s Choice by  Lee Christine and one review for More than A Promise by Lauren McKellar.

Returns

It always brings a smile to my face when I run through the return reviews for the month. It is good to see which books still capture our attention. In August we saw the following titles crop up again.

Romantic Suspense

One of our popular challenge contributors Brenda added to the romantic suspense genre in August. Brenda reviewed The Final Bullet by Chris Taylor. This is book four in the Sydney Harbour Hospital series, featuring a veteran cop stationed in the rural based town of Moree, who has a steamy encounter with a Sydney Harbour Hospital psychiatrist. It certainly sounds intriguing!

Erotica

This sub genre continues to flourish, which is great to see. Kylie Scott is definitely a go-to author in this field. Two of Kylie Scott’s books featured this month.  Claire Holderness reviewed Dirty ( Dive Bar #1) and It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. Alternatively, you could consider the sexy tale Snatched by Cathleen Ross, which proved to be quite sensual for Helen Sibbritt. 

Historical Romance

We have two titles that I would like to feature this month in the historical romance corner. On offer we have, The Laird’s Willful Lass by Anna Campbell and The Elusive Earl by Maddison Michaels. These are two great novels that you shouldn’t pass up if you have a weakness for historical romance.

Self published

The self published section of the romance genre is like a treasure trove, there are plenty of hidden delights that are brought to our attention each month via our readers. I would like to give a shout out to a title that caught my eye this time, thanks to the positive review it received from Jennifer Cameron-Smith, titled Return to Paradise Island by Trish Ollman.

All good things must come to an end, so it’s time for me to sign off for another month. It has been a supreme romance show this month, with so much variety within the genre. Please keep the romance reviews flowing and I look forward to presenting you with a whole new set of romance books to explore next month!


About me: I am a mum of two young boys, an early childhood teacher, a dressaholic, a second hand book stall owner, a book reviewer and a self confessed book geek. In 2016, I turned my passion for reading into my own blog, Mrs B’s Book Reviews. I blog daily and love nothing more than to showcase books by our talented crop of Australian women writers, especially rural romance, along with a number of other genres. Check my reviews out at the following sites, Mrs B’s Book Reviews, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and Twitter.