Spring is here! The sunny weather and the beautiful flowers make it tempting to leave books behind in favour of some fresh air. But I happen to think it’s the perfect season for reading romance. Throughout September we had 8 reviews of 7 books by 7 authors. You can see all the full list on our Books Reviewed page.

Beneath the Parisian Skies Alli SinclairParis was the flavour of the month for Theresa Smith, who reviewed Beneath Parisian Skies by Alli Sinclair:

On the whole, Beneath the Parisian Skies is a beautifully touching novel and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It moves along at a good pace and alternates between the two eras at just the right points within each of the character’s stories. Infused with ballet and rich in its Parisian setting, Beneath the Parisian Skies contains themes of love, grief, ambition, and passion that will resonate with many readers. I highly recommend this novel and put it forward as a great book club pick.

Monique Mulligan’s novella Under Her Spell continues to impress, as Amanda from Mrs B’s Book Reviews agrees:

For a 40 plus page novella, Under Her Spell left me smiling from ear to ear with its light and humorous take on a couple negotiating the difficult pathway to love. Despite the small size, this novella had the power to sweep me up in the tugging emotions, high drama and difficult decisions one often has to make when beginning a relationship. Mulligan compacts plenty of deep feeling and emotion into her latest tale. This is a well written novella and a superbly executed romantic comedy that had me laughing, swooning and feeling my heart race all in one!

Rachael Johns, Talk of the TownAmanda also thought very highly of Talk of the Town by Rachael Johns:

Within this highly appealing novel, is a superb range of topical issues that are handled adeptly by Johns. She looks at the pressures faced by the dairy industry that definitely had me thinking carefully about my dairy purchases. Through Meg, Johns explores the difficult, but very relevant topic of drug addiction and the issues faced by former users. For Meg, Johns highlights how her addiction infiltrated into all facets of her life and resulted in a criminal record, as well as jail time. The process to recovery is examined through Meg and Johns approaches this situation with sensitivity and an astuteness of someone who has clearly researched this area.


Elizabeth Fitzgerald is a freelance editor and owner of Earl Grey Editing. She runs a book blog, and was a judge for the 2016 Aurealis Awards. An unabashed roleplayer and reader of romance, her weaknesses are books, loose-leaf tea and silly dogs. She tweets @elizabeth_fitz