Hello and welcome to the first roundup for Romance, Romantic Suspense and Erotica for 2016!

In January 2016, we’ve had 20 books reviewed in these categories, which is a great way to start off the year! Many of these are recent releases across the genre, mainly with rural settings. We also have historical romance, surfing and space opera represented showing just how wide ranging and interesting this genre is.

The most reviewed book of January was Victoria Purman’s Hold on to Me, the fourth book in her Boys of Summer series reviewed by Bree @1girl2manybooks, Monique @ Write Note Review, Debbish and myself. Bree loved returning to the familiar setting:

I did enjoy this story and I loved being back in this part of the world, catching up with the other couples and seeing what was going on in their lives. Victoria Purman has created a really nice community here and populated it with lovely people, the sort that you just enjoy being connected to. (Full review here).

Our most prolific reviewers were Brenda and Monique, who read five titles in the category (and I’m sure many more across others) – well done ladies, you’re off to a flying start. Brenda reviewed Sandie James’ The CEO Mechanic, Erin Moira O’Hara’s Tempting Fate, Kerrie Paterson’s Reach for the Stars (all part of the Bindarra Creek romance series) and two standalones, Charmaine Ross’ Take Me As I Am and Georgina Penney’s Summer Harvest. Brenda was particularly taken by the setting of Summer Harvest:

Summer Harvest by Aussie author Georgina Penney is a beautifully written novel; the descriptions of the Australian bush, the vineyards of the Margaret River region in WA and the well-crafted characters made this book another exceptional read.

Monique reviewed our own Lizzy Chandler’s By Her Side, Emily Madden’s Summers With Juliette, Victoria Purman’s Hold On To Me, Alli Sinclair’s Under the Spanish Stars and Hot Stuff Surfing Love by Tess Woods, Maria Lewis, Alli Sinclair and Carla Caruso. Of Hot Stuff Surfing Love, a collection of short stories, Monique says:

Prepare yourself for some steamy surf action with Hot Stuff Surfing Love – after all, the first word of the first story in the quartet is ‘sex’. HarperCollins has brought together four talented writers to deliver a summer short story collection full of surprises, surf, swoons, sweat and sexiness.

Carolyn also really enjoyed Alison Stuart’s historical romance novel, Lord Somerton’s Heir, which also had a murder mystery in a regency setting:

There is nothing I enjoy more than a murder mystery encased in a historical backdrop and this Regency period drama is delightful. What more could you need for the perfect time out from this world than a handsome hero wounded at Waterloo waking in hospital to discover he is the heir to the recently deceased Lord Somerton, a beautiful mourning widow, an evil blackmailer, a murder or two, a kidnapping and a mad chase across the countryside with a little romance thrown in for good measure? Alison Stuart delivers all this and more. With a delightful cast of extras, she brings to life the times of Regency England with its manners of polite society, lavish balls and lifestyle but also the extreme poverty of the lower classes and the struggle of the landed gentry to keep up with the costs of running a large estate. Most enjoyable! (Full review here).

Elizabeth also enjoyed Anna Hackett’s In the Devil’s Nebula, which combined science fiction and space opera. She’s very glad she read this story:

In the Devil’s Nebula was fast-paced fun. Actually, I was a bit surprised at just how fast-paced. I went into it expecting it to be mostly focused on the romance but found myself in the middle of an action adventure instead. The plot manages to combine space opera with heist story with romance and even tosses in a little Western just for fun. It’s a lot to jam into such a small space but the style is very cinematic and it hangs together well.

In the Devil’s Nebula made for some light, action-packed reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be snagging the rest of the series for later. (Full review here).

As you can see, there are a lot of diverse stories within this category and I’m excited to see how 2016 unfolds! Thank you to those who have submitted their review for January.

~

About me: I’m Sam, of Sam Still Reading. In between working, studying and organizing far too many things, I love to read and share my book reviews on my blog of six years. Reading is one of my favourite ways of relaxing and I’m always up for a book recommendation or three.