Books to Binge On: January 2020

Y’all. How in the world is it already 2020?? I can’t even with this nonsense. You guys know the deal…here are the books we’re looking forward to releasing this month.

Scot Under the Covers (Wild Wicked Highlanders #2) by Suzanne Enoch

When a resourceful English lady and a hot-blooded Highlander join forces to trick a scoundrel, every rule will be broken!

Miranda Harris is known for her charm, wit, and ability to solve any problem she encounters. But when her brother lands neck-deep in gambling debt to a crafty villain and Miranda is subsequently blackmailed into marrying him, she must enlist the help of the devil himself to save the family honor―and herself.

Devilishly handsome Highlander Aden MacTaggert knows next to nothing about the ways of the ton, but he most certainly knows his way around gaming halls and womens’ hearts. Still, Aden is not sure how he’ll manage to find a Sassenach bride in time to save his family’s inheritance. When his almost sister-in-law Miranda comes to him for assistance, he proposes a partnership: She will help him navigate London society and he’ll teach her everything about wagering…and winning back her freedom. The beautiful, clever lass intrigues Aden―but is she playing her own game, or are the sparks between them real? He is accustomed to risking his pocket. But betting on Miranda’s love is a game he can’t afford to lose. . .

Holly: I still have the first book in this series in my TBR pile, but I’m going to pick this one up because I know SE puts out a good novel.

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen

An emotional friends to lovers romance full of risky secrets and late-night lessons in seduction.

Dylan is my best friend, and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’ve been hopelessly, desperately in love with him since the first day we picked apples together in his family’s orchard.

But I know better than to confess.

Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.

Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra…and he actually says yes.

But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship. And I don’t know if anything will be the same again.

Rowena: Dylan Shipley goes to college, grows up and falls in love. I’m so ready for this book. A friends to lover story? Sarina Bowen writes stories that I absolutely love so I’m ready to fall in love with Dylan and his new girl.

Holly: What Rowena said.

Casee: What Holly said.

Sex and Other Shiny Objects/a> (Boyfriend Material #2) by Lauren Blakely

The second the test-the-sexy-scenes offer landed in my lap, I said yes.

After all, I’ve been damn curious about a few things I’ve read in romance novels. Do buttons truly go flying across the floor when you rip off a guy’s shirt? Is staircase sex hella hot or does it leave you with a big old bruise mark on your back? And don’t even get me started on all that panty shredding, and whether it even works.

Time to find out as I embark on Project Sexy Scenes Research, at the request of my hotshot book editor bestie.

All I need is a willing scene partner. Enter Tristan, my best guy friend. The witty, tell-it-like-it-is, bearded hottie volunteers for the experiment.

He’s also the guy who gave me the most devastating, toe-curling kiss of my life ten years ago. But nothing has happened since then.

And nothing will come between my panties and our friendship now since we have a plan to keep it PG.

But once the buttons start flying, all bets are off…

S-E-X AND OTHER SHINY OBJECTS is a standalone romance in the BOYFRIEND MATERIAL series. The other titles are ASKING FOR A FRIEND and ONE NIGHT STAND-IN.

Holly: I really enjoy Blakely’s books. I’m excited for this one.

Marriage on Madison Avenue (The Central Park Pact #3) by Lauren Layne

Can guys and girls ever be just friends? According to Audrey Tate and Clarke West, absolutely. After all, they’ve been best friends since childhood without a single romantic entanglement. Clarke is the charming playboy Audrey can always count on, and he knows that the ever-loyal Audrey will never not play along with his strategy for dodging his matchmaking mother—announcing he’s already engaged…to Audrey.

But what starts out as a playful game between two best friends turns into something infinitely more complicated, as just-for-show kisses begin to stir up forbidden feelings. As the faux wedding date looms closer, Audrey and Clarke realize that they can never go back to the way things were, but deep down, do they really want to?

Rowena: I’m always down for a new Lauren Layne and a Lauren Layne book with a best friends to lover plot? Yeah, count me all the way in.

Headliners (London Celebrities #5) by Lucy Parker

Sparks fly when two feuding TV presenters are thrown together to host a live morning show in Lucy Parker’s latest enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance.

He might be the sexiest man in London, according to his fan site (which he definitely writes himself), but he’s also the most arrogant man she’s ever met.

She might have the longest legs he’s ever seen, but she also has the sharpest tongue.

For years, rival TV presenters Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport have traded barbs on their respective shows. The public can’t get enough of their feud, but after Nick airs Sabrina’s family scandals to all of Britain, the gloves are off. They can barely be in the same room together—but these longtime enemies are about to become the unlikeliest of cohosts.

With their reputations on the rocks, Sabrina and Nick have one last chance to save their careers. If they can resurrect a sinking morning show, they’ll still have a future in television. But with ratings at an all-time low and a Christmas Eve deadline to win back the nation’s favor, the clock is ticking—and someone on their staff doesn’t want them to succeed.

Small mishaps on set start adding up, and Sabrina and Nick find themselves—quelle horreur—working together to hunt down the saboteur…and discovering they might have more in common than they thought. When a fiery encounter is caught on camera, the public is convinced that the reluctant cohosts are secretly lusting after one another.

The public might not be wrong.

Their chemistry has always been explosive, but with hate turning to love, the stakes are rising and everything is on the line. Neither is sure if they can trust these new feelings…or if they’ll still have a job in the New Year.

Rowena: This whole series is a good time and I’m looking forward to keeping the party going with Nick and Sabrina. Things were popping off at the end of the last book between these two and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us in this book.

Sweep with Me (Innkeeper Chronicles #5) by Ilona Andrews

From #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ilona Andrews…

There’s no place like home for the holidays…especially at Innkeeper Dina DeMille’s bed and breakfast, which welcomes guests who are literally out of this world!

Rowena: One of the series that I want to catch up on in 2020, is the Innkeeper Chronicles series. I need to know what goes down with Maud, Helen, and Arland. So this is definitely on my radar and I definitely have plans to binge on this one.

Holly: I love this series. I can’t wait for the next one.

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

Internationally bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane returns with another heartful romantic comedy perfect for fans of Josie Silver, Sophie Kinsella, or Sally Thorne.

If faking love is this easy… how do you know when it’s real?

When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.

Jamie Carter doesn’t believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about. It’s the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there’s a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend…

Rowena: Ever since I started reading McFarlane’s books, I have been a fan. This sounds like such a great book and I cannot wait to dig into my review copy of it.

Holly: I’m looking forward to this one, too. I enjoy her writing and the premise sounds good.

Hero’s Haven (Dark Protector #11) by Rebecca Zanetti

He’s her darkest fantasy. . .

After years of struggling, Haven Daly has finally accepted that she’s nuttier than a fruitcake. Why else would she see visions of a beautiful but tormented male every night . . . and actually believe she can talk to him, even feel his touch? But thanks to those dream journeys, she can paint images nobody else on earth can duplicate. In each brush stroke, she captures the blatant masculinity and raw desire in his eyes that promise he’s coming for her…and soon.

She’s the light that keeps him going. . .

Quade Kayrs has already suffered a lifetime of pain and torture. Completely isolated, he kept his sanity thanks to one beautiful female, a vision with kind emerald eyes. In the end, her soft voice led him out of hell. Now, naked and alone, he’s in a strange world that bears little resemblance to the one he left behind. All he knows is Haven. All he wants is Haven. His final mission? To protect her from the evil hunting them both—whether she likes it or not . . .

Casee: I love the Dark Protector series. It keeps getting better with each book. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Vendetta Road (Torpedo Ink #3) by Christine Feehan

Isaak “Ice” Koval is on a club mission when he sees a woman who stops him dead in his tracks. Soleil is a sweet, sexy, girl-next-door type. She’s an innocent who should be nowhere near the rough-and-ready world of the Torpedo Ink motorcycle club. But Ice knows Soleil belongs with him—and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.

After a life of drifting from one thing to the next, Soleil Brodeur is determined to take control of her life. When her breakup with her manipulative fiancé turns ugly, Soleil searches out the stranger who offered her a lifeline and ends up in a Las Vegas biker bar where she meets a gorgeous, dangerous man straight out of her most secret fantasies.

High on adrenaline, she finds herself falling faster than she thought possible. But Soleil knows little about the territory she’s stumbled into, and even less about what it really means to be Ice’s woman.…

Casee: This series has been hit and miss for me, but I can’t quit it.

What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Share in the comments!

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