It’s back to business on the romance desk! Many of us have recently returned to the office or school after the summer holiday break. I know I was able to notch up over 30 books read in January, and a good handful of these were romance books by our wonderful Australian women writers. How did I read so many books? This was mostly thanks to some required rest and relaxation following a surgical procedure. The best remedy for aiding my recovery was definitely books!  The very first romance round up of 2019 shows some very healthy stats, along with a fantastic bunch of brand new reads that I just can’t wait to share with you. Our official January 2019 stats for romance reveal we took in 32 reviews, of 22 books and 23 authors.

Popular and new

It gives me great pleasure to award the title of the most popular romance book in January 2019 to a new release hot of the printing press, Saving You, written by Charlotte Nash. Racking in four reviews since its release just days ago, Saving You is already showing signs of being a very popular romance pick for 2019. I was able to interview Charlotte upon the release of Saving You, my interview can be viewed here. There are some wonderful reviews of Saving You, courtesy of Theresa Smith Writes,  The Book Muse, Brenda and Helen Sibbritt. 

Maggie Christensen is a challenge favourite, we just love her books! Her most recent publication, A Brahminy Sunrise, a novella with a beautiful title and cover to match, was released this month. Since its publication, A Brahminy Sunrise has been reviewed to positive acclaim three times. Loosely connected to Maggie’s previous novel, Champagne for Breakfast, A Brahminy Sunrise is a great second chance romance story, especially if you enjoy reading romance stories that feature mature protagonists. Be sure to check out reviews from Brenda, Helen Sibbritt and Mrs B’s Book Reviews.

Alissa Callen made a welcome return to the rural romance scene in January with her well received Woodlea series. The latest chapter in this popular series, The Round Yard, released on the 21st of January and it has already received a glowing report from Brenda. If you are interested in what the future holds for the Woodlea series, be sure to check out my interview with Alissa.

Another popular title that continues to gain interest is Home to Turtle Bay by Marion Lennox. I featured this one in my previous round up and it has also appeared in the last General Fiction round up. It is good to see this one continue to collect more glowing reviews from Brenda, Helen Sibbritt and Mrs B’s Book Reviews. 

I am loving all the new 2019 releases, we really are spoilt for choice already! A book that I have earmarked for my weekend reading is 99 Percent Mine, the latest novel from Sally Thorne. Reviews for this hilarious romance from the author of The Hating Game, have been logged in from The Book Muse and Bree of 1 Girl Too Many Books!

Prolific romance writer Annie West marked the year off with a brand new release, The Greek’s Forbidden Innocent, which hit the spot for Helen Sibbritt.

Another release that has just hit bookstores is The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers by debut novelist Kerri Turner. This is a historical fiction title with strong romance elements and I personally enjoyed it very much. It has been reviewed twice already this month, by Jennifer Cameron-Smith  and Theresa Smith Writes. I am sure we will see more of this title in the next historical fiction line up.

Finally, rounding off the new release pile for January, is one rural romance fans do not want to miss! Lawson’s Bend is the latest novel from Nicole Hurley-Moore. It is teetering on the very top of my review pile, so I do hope I can get to it soon! I loved Brenda’s five star review of this title!

Returns

January 2019 proved to be no different in the returns department. There were some titles we continued to embrace and review. This is always a heartening aspect of my role as editor.

• On the Same Page by Penelope Janu reviewed by Helen Sibbritt
• Our Country Christmas by Darry Fraser, Penelope Janu, Fiona Lowe, Eva Scott and Jacquie Underdown reviewed by Helen Sibbritt
• The Wrong Callahan by Karly Lane reviewed by The Burgeoning Bookshelf
• The Cafe by the Bridge by Lily Malone reviewed by Mrs B’s Book Reviews
• The Secrets of Palmerston House by Phillipa Nefri Clark reviewed by Mrs B’s Book Reviews
• Christmas Blue at Flynn’s by Angela Verdenius reviewed by Cloggie Downunder 

Older releases

Only a couple of books this round up fell into this category.

• Summers with Juliette by Emily Madden, published in 2015, reviewed Brenda
• Who Killed the Bride by Lily Malone, published in 2016, reviewed by Helen Sibbritt

Self Published

The first book of the year to feature as my self published title pick is Tell Me No Lies, by Fiona Marsden. Tell Me No Lies marks book 1 of the Brizvegas Billionaires series and it comes highly recommended by January’s top reviewer, Helen Sibbritt. It was wonderful to be acquainted with Fiona’s work thanks to Helen’s review.

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Thank you for tuning in to all the latest trends in romance for the first month of 2019. I wish to extend my appreciation to all those who logged in reviews in January, please keep them coming! I’ll be back in a month’s time for my February 2019 round up with some exciting results from the eleventh annual Australian Romance Readers Awards. Good luck to all the nominees!

About me: I am a mum of two young boys, an early childhood teacher, a dressaholic, 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.

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