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…

Love IrresistiblyA 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…

Barefoot in the SunCaught 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…
Cowboy Take Me AwayRainbow 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?

By Kat

Kat Latham writes sexy contemporary romance, including the London Legends rugby series. With degrees in English lit and human rights, she loves stories that reflect the depth, humor and emotion of real life. She's a California girl living in the Netherlands with her baby girl and British husband.

17 comments

  1. I’ve become a huge fan of Jane Graves after reading “Black Ties and Lullabies” and I’ve enjoyed each of the books I’ve read so far, but my favourite has to be “Tall Tales and Wedding Veils”. I love books set in Vegas 🙂
    Looking forward to reading “Cowboy Take Me Away”.

    Have a great week!

  2. Having read all of Julie James’ backlist, I’m looking forward to reading Love Irresistibly. Her books have intelligent characters, witty dialogue, and good stories. JJ’s books also have great secondary characters.

  3. I’m looking forward to reading Urgent: One Nanny Required by debut author, Olivia Logan.

    A friend reviewed it for my blog and loved it 🙂

  4. I’ve read books by all three of those authors! LOVE their work! Like you, all three of those books mentioned above, are on my books-to-buy list! But if I had to narrow it down, I’m most looking forward to Love Irresistibly by Julie James! I love how her books are set in a legal environment. With me working in that same environment, this will always grab my attention! While I love her FBI/US Attorney series, my favorite book by Julie is her very first one — Just the Sexiest Man Alive. It’s what made me a fan of her work and continue to be! Her characters are always charming, witty, funny, romantic… the list goes on and on. 🙂

  5. I met Jane Graves this past weekend at a conference and she gave me an ARC of “Cowboy Take Me Away”. **squee** Only a few chapters in and already I love it. Of course, I have never been disappointed with any of her books. 🙂

    And Julie James and Roxanne St. Clair are always on my TBR list. 🙂 The only thing that would make this month better is a new Jill Shalvis title go along with all of these. lol

  6. Black Ties and Lullabies was wonderful. Read Love Irresistibly and it was great too.

    Looking f/d to reading the St. Clair book but would have to choose Cowboy Take Me Away as what I am really looking forward to this month.

  7. I am looking forward to reading Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves, I have heard nothing but great things about this book and can’t wait to read it 🙂

  8. I am also looking forward to Jane Graves latest book, Cowboy Take Me Away. I have really enjoyed her other books. Can’t wait to read this new series.

  9. I’m most looking forward to Love Irresistibly by Julie James! I’ve loved all her other books as well 🙂

  10. I love Roxanne StClair and looking forward to Barefoot. Never read any Julie James but heard her books were awesome. Thanks for the chance to win.

  11. I just read my first Julie James book, Something About You, recently when it was on sale and I loved it. I’m so excited because I got an ARC of Love Irresistibly and I can’t wait to read it. I also love Jane Graves. I didn’t realize she had a book coming out this month. I’m also really looking forward to Lush by Lauren Dane (rock star hero and chef heroine!) and Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley. It’s going to be a great month for contemporaries.

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