Under The Covers...Chapter Two
/A Romantic Romp…The Bookish Way…
Are you sitting down readers? True confession time. At the tender age of ten(ish), I would sneak my Mother’s Harlequin Romance books out of her nightstand stash when I ran out of Nancy Drew’s to read. That’s not all. When I would trot off to the library for my next installment of middle grade novels, I would take out more of them. Batting my blue eyes and smoothly claiming that they were for my mother. They were not!
When it comes to romance novels, we don’t need to wait for the books critics to weigh in, our inner critics are incessant. Many readers feel they need to keep their enjoyment of this genre secret. As if it reduces them in the eyes of others.
Many of us were weaned on stories of soulmates, happily ever after’s, epic love affairs…that is until at some point, with a few extra pounds, or a spotty complexion, our dreams of a handsome prom date and a good night kiss are quashed by the mean girl brigade.
Say what you want about the genre, but these books are overwhelmingly written by and for women, where women’s desires are given center stage. And increasingly they are inclusive, smart, savvy, and sexy! The fans of these novels are far from the stereotypical sexless spinster of our once limited imaginations. Romance novels have come a long way from the bodice ripper images of oiled up hero’s and cleavage heaving heroines.
So, allow me to cue up a stack of steamy novels fit for a ravenous binge. Ones to satisfy your insatiable appetite for whatever floats your boat, so to speak.
The bits about each of the books are going to be short and sweet. Because let’s be honest here…we likely know how this is going to play out.
Sexy Ratings:
Sizzlin’ – explicit and frequent and maybe a little dirty…
Spicy – sex happens…in detail…
Steamy – lots of foreplay and innuendo…
Sweet – the happy endings here are more of the emotional type…not so much of the other kind, if you get my meaning…
LGBTQ+ Romance
…I’ll have what they’re having…
How To Find A Princess – Alyssa Cole
Makeda has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to hear the story of her grandmother’s summer fling with a runaway prince. Yet when Beznaria crashes into her life she finds herself enticed into a real-life royal scandal in the making. A lovable cast and nonstop hijinks make for a fun read.
Tags: Opposites Attract, Witty Banter, Fake Relationship
Sexy Rating: Sweet
One Last Stop – Casey McQuiston
For cynic August, moving to New York is supposed to prove her right; that things like magical cinematic love stories don’t exist and the only smart way to go through life is alone. Surely her waiting tables at a diner, moving in with too many weird roommates and a long subway commute can’t possibly change that. Right? Wrong. Then she meets Jane, a gorgeous girl who seems to be stuck on a never-ending train ride she can’t get off.
Tags: Time Travel, Star-crossed Lovers, Heartwarming
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Slippery Creatures – K.J. Charles
Back from the war, Will is trying to settle into normal life running his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop. Then one day strange visitors start making threats. Terrified and with nobody to turn to, a charming stranger Kim, offers his assistance. Will the truth of Kim’s past derail the growing attraction and connection the men feel for each other?
Tags: Friends To Lovers, Witty Banter
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Honey Girl – Morgan Rogers
With her newly completed PhD is astronomy in hand, Grace goes on a girl’s trip to Vegas to celebrate. Grace is not remotely the type of person who goes to Vegas and drunkenly marries a woman she doesn’t know. Until she is. Suddenly aware of the burden to fit everyone else’s expectations she has been carrying, she decides to flee and spend the summer with the wife she barely remembers marrying.
Tags: Fake Marriage, Heartwarming
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Last Night At The Telegraph Club – Malinda Lo
Lily can’t remember exactly when the feeling took root, that desire to look, to touch. Whenever it started, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen walked into the lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. But it’s 1954 and it’s not safe for two girls to fall in love. A complex romance that doesn’t shy away from the stark realities of the time.
Tags: Secret Love, Heartwarming
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Criers War – Nina Vada
After the War Of Kinds ravaged the kingdom, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of the royals, usurped their owners estates and bent the human race to their will. Now Ayla, a human servant, dreams of avenging her family’s death but instead finds herself irresistibly drawn to the sovereign’s daughter. A wonderful mix of sci-fi dystopia and burgeoning romance.
Tags: Reimagining’s, Soulmates
Sexy Rating: Steamy
Paybacks A Witch – Lana Harper
When a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, less than powerful witch Emmy is lured back home, determined to do her family duty. On her first night she runs into Talia, an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts on the arm of her arch enemy. Soon Emmy is asking herself, why can’t she stop thinking about the wickedly charming and devastatingly gorgeous Talia?
Tags: Friends To Lovers, Meet Cute
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Something Fabulous – Alexis Hall
Valentine narrowly escapes an arranged marriage to Arabella, who’s commitment to the fulfillment of her romantic daydreams has her fleeing before a proposal can be made. As Valentine sets out with her twin brother, Bonny, to bring her back home, he discovers that he may be pursuing the wrong sibling.
Tags: Witty Banter, Opposites Attract
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Dark Flame – Kat Silver (Flame Born Series)
On the hunt for answers in the death of his parents, Michael also wants to know why electronics short out at his touch and why his libido is a raging fire. When a group of soldiers save him from an ambush and claim to have the answers, he goes with them. Finding himself caged and claimed by a vampire prince, he suddenly has no desire to be anywhere else.
Tags: Enemies To Lovers, Swoon Worthy
Sexy Rating: Sizzlin’
Vampire Romance
…bite me…pretty please…
Dark Lover – J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series)
The Black Dagger Brotherhood books focus on a society of vampire warriors who live together and defend their race against the desouled humans known as lessers. Gritty and sexy, these men and woman believe that the most powerful thing they have on their side of the fight is that love will always, no matter the battle, win.
Tags: Alpha Heroes, Destined For Each Other
Sexy Rating: Sizzlin’
Morrigan’s Cross – Nora Roberts (Circle Trilogy)
Hoyt is out for revenge, taking on the dark siren Lilith, who has lured countless men to their immortal doom with her soul stealing kiss. To win he must gather five others to form a circle of power. No surprise that this group of six starts to pair off and reveal their own motivations as they develop emotional connections.
Tags: Destined For Each Other, Star-crossed,
Sexy Rating: Steamy
Guilty Pleasures – Laurel K. Hamilton (Anita Black Series)
Think Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but older, and grumpier. Anita is, you guessed it, a vampire hunter. Her job is re-animating the dead and killing the undead who take things too far. As supernatural hungers collide with the desires of the human heart, it does little to improve Anita’s mood.
Tags: Opposites Attract, Enemies To Lovers
Sexy Rating: Steamy
Soulless – Gail Carriger
A young woman’s brush with the supernatural leads to a deadly investigation of London’s high society. Alexia is laboring under a great many of life’s tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is Italian. Third, a vampire has rudely attacked her. It can only get worse…
Tags: Steampunk, Enemies To Lovers
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Kiss Of Midnight – Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed Series)
Part human, part otherworldly, the Breed has lived among humankind for thousands of years, a tentative peace built on secrecy, power and the dark justice carried out by these formidable warriors. But now a blood war within the race is set to ignite and vampires are going rogue. In order to stop the rogues from taking over, members of the order must confront their demons, finding that the only thing they can count on in the fight is love.
Tags: Alpha Heroes, Soulmates
Sexy Rating: Spicy
King of Battle & Blood – Scarlett St. Clair
Isolde considers her wedding day to be her death day. To end a year’s long war, she is to marry vampire king Adrian. And then kill him. But her assassination attempt is thwarted, and Adrian threatens to turn her if she tries again. And so begins a battle of wits that is full of undeniable chemistry.
Tags: Mythic, Enemies To Lovers
Sexy Rating: Steamy
Immortal Rising – Lynsay Sands (Argeneau Series)
Stephanie was attacked and turned when she was just a teenager. Worse, her abilities are unlike any other immortal. Now, years later, she has carved out a new, if lonely, life for herself. That is, until a new neighbour arrives. One with plenty of secrets.
Tags: Destined For Each Other, Meet Cute
Sexy Rating: Spicy
Blood Price – Tanya Huff (Blood Books Series)
The concept behind this book series is genius, Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of Henry VIII, is a vampire who supports himself in modern, 1990’s, Toronto by writing romance novels. Vicki is a former homicide detective who quit her job to become a private investigator when she started losing her eyesight. Henry can’t be out during the day and Vicki can’t see at night, but, as Henry points out when they team up to solve a series of murders, they have all 24 hours covered between them.
Tags: Enemies To Lovers, Opposites Attract
Sexy Rating: Steamy
The Hunt – Andrew Fukuda
Don’t sweat. Don’t laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them. Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t move with lightning speed; sunlight doesn’t hurt him, and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. When he’s chosen for an assignment to hunt down the other remaining humans, he can’t really say no. And when he meets his partner, he doesn’t want too.
Tags: Opposites Attract, Mythic
Sexy Rating: Steamy
Historical Romance
…stop it…you’re making me blush…
The Bridgerton Books – Julia Quinn
All kinds of machinations and shenanigans go on in the Bridgerton household; fake courtships with royalty to establish oneself in society; bossy older sisters intent on standing in the way of loveless marriages, and of course, the old standby, falling for the help. If only they knew going in, love ignores all the rules!
Tags: Fake Relationships, Arranged Marriages, Opposites Attract
Sexy Rating: Steamy
Devil Comes Courting – Courtney Milan
Captain Hunter is in a battle to complete the first worldwide telegraphic network, and he intends to win by any means necessary. When he discovers a reclusive genius is the key to victory, nothing will stop him. That is until he finds out he is a she, and she wants nothing to do with him.
Tags: Smart Girls & Sexy Guys, Opposites Attract
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Lady’s Formula For Love – Elizabeth Everett
What is a Victorian lady’s, who’s also a secret scientist, formula for love? Mix one brilliant noblewoman and her enigmatic bodyguard. Add in a dash of danger and an abundance of attraction and heat slowly. The result? Yummy.
Tags: Opposites Attract, Sexy Smart, Witty Banter
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Flame In The Mist – Renee Ahdieh
The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place. She may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother, but her future has always been out of her hands. On the way to meet her betrothed, she narrowly escapes an assassination attempt and goes undercover to discover her would be killer. A choice that will turn her entire life on its head.
Tags: Reimagining’s, Destined For Each Other
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Down Comes The Night – Allison Saft
Wren’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything, she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend, the girl she secretly loves. To redeem herself, she takes a position as healer to a reclusive lord in a crumbling mansion. If you enjoy an edge of Gothic in your romance, this one is for you.
Tags: Magical, Opposites Attract
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Queen Of Coin & Whispers – Helen Corcoran
When Lia, an idealistic queen, falls for Xania, her new spymaster who took the job to avenge her murdered father, they realize all isn’t fair in love and war. As they unveil all the treason going on around them, they are bound not only by their inherent goodness, but by love as well.
Tags: Star-crossed, Destined For Each Other
Sexy Rating: Sweet
So This Is Love – Elizabeth Lum
Unable to prove that she’s the missing princess, and unable to bear life under Lady Tremaine any longer, Cinderella looks for a fresh start. Hired as a seamstress for the King’s visiting sister, she becomes witness to a conspiracy to take both the King and the prince out of power. Answers the question, what if Cinderella never tried on the glass slipper?
Tags: Star-crossed, Reimagining’s
Sexy Rating: Sweet
Never Love A Highlander – Maya Banks
Caelen’s young, reckless heart nearly destroyed his clan. Now, putting family loyalty above all else, he steps up to marry his older brother’s jilted bride and salvage an uneasy alliance between two clans. They do everything in their power to avoid their growing attraction, until a real life battle forces them to embrace their feelings for each other.
Tags: Friends To Enemies, Destined For Each Other
Sexy Rating: Sizzlin’
Games In A Ballroom – Jenny Flint
Olivia has resigned herself to never finding a love match. Her father has insisted she marry a man with a title, mostly to increase his own standing and reputation in society. But these men are at best, boring and uninspiring and at worst brutish. Deciding to attempt a last hurrah with her friends before settling down to a dismal and loveless life, she gets more than she ever expected.
Tags: Friends To Lovers, Soulmates
Sexy Rating: Sweet
