Book Talk: Romance For All: Binge Fest

I'm a romantic.  A big hearts and flowers, happily-ever-after romantic.  So it will come as no surprise to find out that I love reading romance novels.  A certain kind of romance novel.  Because yes contemporary romance novels are my thing.  Sappy will-they-or-won't-they romance stories that you can wallow in while drinking endless cups of hot chocolate or tea.

They are the perfect feel good story and I've been on a recent binge fest working my way through my ever increasing To-Be-Read pile.

All I Want by Jill Shalvis

"Pilot-for-hire Zoe Stone is happy to call Sunshine, Idaho, her home base. But her quiet life is thrown for a loop when her brother s friend Parker comes to stay with her for a week. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent is a handsome flirt with a gift for getting under her skin. And the situation only escalates when Parker hires her to fly him around the area while he collects evidence on a suspected smuggler."

I'm addicted to Jill Shalvis's books.  She is my romance writer hero  And the fact that I've read every single one of her books and have all of her upcoming books on my library card waiting list is not in the slightest bit obsessive or stalkery.

See. 

An addict.

One of the reasons I love books like this is that I can read one in a matter of hours which means I can binge fest my way through a decent pile in just a few days.

Hope Springs On Main Street by Olivia Miles

"Jane's grateful for her adorable little girl, yet she yearns for the love that was missing from her marriage. Only one man ever really "got" Jane-and she's stunned when he returns to Briar Creek. But a single mom can't date her ex's best friend . . . can she?"

A newish author for me as I've only read one of her previous books.  To be honest I enjoyed that one a little more than this but I'm hopeful that I have found another writer than I can work my way through as she publishes more books.

As with the above it's another one of those small town modern day romance stories where two people who you just know are meant to be together seem to put obstacle after obstacle in their way.  Mostly because they are both too stubborn to know a decent thing when they see it.         
                                             


Chasing Jillian by Julie Brannagh

"Jillian Miller is happy with her life and her job working  in the front office of the football team the Seattle Sharks but feels she needs to change some things - starting with getting fit and losing some pounds.   

The last thing she expects is a hot, grumbly god among men to be there as witness to her first gym workout.  But when star linebacker Seth Taylor offers to help her revamp her lifestyle both of them discover there are much more important things in life and love."

I adore slow build stories and this book about two lonely people who gradually become friends and then something more is probably one of the best slow-build stories I have read in ages.

It left a warm tingly feeling in all my feels.


Holding Out For A Hero by Victoria Van Tiem

"Libby London fell in love in with the 80s, came of age in the 90s, and now, in the 21st Century, she's completely falling apart...
 
At least that's what her well-meaning friends think. They've staged a 80s intervention in an effort to bring Libby bang up-to-date. But how do you move forward when the one you love holds you in the past? "

Any book that references songs and movies from the 80's has got my vote.

Quirky, funny and sad Holding Out For A Hero is the journey of a woman who is lives her life as if it is still the 80s, big hair, shoulder pads and all. How is this 80s child going to cope with being dragged into the 21st century?  And can she do it while leaving behind the one she loves? 


Winter Wonderland by Heidi Cullinan

"Paul Jansen is tired of being the last single man standing, unfortunately the only person who shows any interest in him is the too-young, too-gay Kyle Parks, who builds X-rated snow sculptures on his front yard.  When fate conspires to have them working together on the Winter Wonderland festival will romance finally has a chance to bloom or will Paul's family come between them?"

Finding a semi-decent M/M romance is a bit of struggle.  Especially for a die-hard romantic like me.  Most of them seem to all about sex and nothing but the sex.  Which is fine. 

But I'm also after a M/M romance that actually has some romance... and some chemistry... and feelings... and all those girly things that people think that guys don't have.  I'm still looking for my perfect M/M read but for now this one has at least a sense of humour and quirkiness that I liked.