Contemporaries to covet in April – & giveaway!

Happy April, everyone! I hope the sun is shining wherever you are. Today is the first day for several days that we haven’t woken up to snow on the ground. It actually felt a little like Spring – hallelujah!

Since today’s the first Monday of the month, I’m doing my special Contemporaries to Covet giveaway. I’ll tell you which contemporary romance novels being published this month I’m most looking forward to. I want to know what you’re coveting, and I’ll choose one person to win a $10 gift certificate for herself AND for the contemporary romance author she mentions.

Giveaway details are below, but first, here’s what I can’t wait to read this month!

Love Irresistibly by Julie James

HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…

A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.

AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.

A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love…

My two cents
Julie James is one of my all-time favorite romance authors. When non-romance readers ask me why I love romance, she’s one of the authors I point them to. I don’t have many auto-buy authors, but she’s certainly one of them!

Publication date: April 2, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Powell’s

Barefoot in the Sun by Roxanne St. Claire

When running is all you’ve ever known…

Caught between fight and flight, Zoe Tamarin has always picked flight. Since she was rescued from a nightmare childhood by her great-aunt Pasha, they’ve been on the move, never staying in one place long enough to risk exposing their precarious past. But now that they’ve reached the sun-baked shores of Barefoot Bay, Zoe may have to stay and fight-for her aunt’s life . . . and for a love she ran from years before.

Sometimes the bravest act of all is to stand still.

Oliver Bradbury came to Florida to start over, as both a doctor and a father to his eight-year-old son. He never expected life to hand him a second chance with the woman he lost years ago-but one look at Zoe Tamarin and he knows he’ll do whatever it takes to prove that this time, he can be the man she needs. But when demands of family and friendship threaten to shatter their rekindled passion, Oliver must heal Zoe’s lifelong wounds with more than hot kisses…but will that be enough to keep her from flying off with his heart?

My two cents
Roxanne St. Claire’s Barefoot Bay series is fantastic – and just what those of us stuck in the snowy north need right now! This is the third book in the series and one I’ve been eagerly awaiting for a long time – I’m so glad it’s nearly here!

Publication date: April 30, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon B&N

Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves

First love burns hotter…
Rainbow Valley, Texas, has always been a refuge for animals, and Shannon North, director of the local shelter, intends to keep it that way. But with donations drying up and more pets in need of a loving home than ever before, Shannon’s beginning to fear she’s not the savior the shelter needs. When a tall, dark, and handsome cowboy from her past comes to the rescue, she knows that accepting his help may come with a high price: her heart.

…the second time around
Bad boy Luke Dawson shook the dust from this little town off his boots years ago. He walked away from everything . . . except the memory of the one night of passion he shared with Shannon. Now, a few wins away from becoming the world bull-riding champion, Luke’s headed for fame and fortune. But then a crisis calls him back to Rainbow Valley, and Luke is reunited with the good girl who stole–and broke–his heart. As their rekindled relationship deepens into desire, old secrets resurface, and Luke must choose between the future he’s always dreamed of and the only woman he’s ever loved.

My two cents
I love Jane Graves’s Plano, TX, series so I’m really excited for a new series centered around the very romanctic-sounding Rainbow Valley. Yay for a new series!

Publication date: April 30, 2013
Read an excerpt

Buy it at: Amazon (print) | Kindle | B&N (print) | Nook

Giveaway!

Answer at least one of the questions in bold below. By “contemporary romance” I mean romance between human beings set in the present day. It can be romantic suspense, inspirational, erotic, category-length, novellas or whatever.

I’ll randomly choose one winner on Tuesday April 9th (assuming I haven’t gone into labor!). That person will get a $10 gift certificate to the online book retailer of their choice, AND I’ll send the same to the author they mention.

If the winner mentions more than one author, I’ll ask her to choose which one gets the gift certificate.

This is open internationally.

Questions:
What contemporary romance novel(s) being released in April are you looking forward to? Have you read anything by the authors I mentioned? Which of their books do you like best?