Our Books to Binge On feature is pretty simple in its purpose. Every month, we put together a monthly new releases list of books that we’re all looking forward to. These are the books that we can’t wait to read and want everyone to add to their monthly binge-reading lists. Here are the books that we plan to binge on in September of 2023.
Things We Left Behind (Knockemout #3) by Lucy Score
There was only one woman who could set me free. But I would rather set myself on fire than ask Sloane Walton for anything.
Lucian Rollins is a lean, mean vengeance-seeking mogul. On a quest to erase his father’s mark on the family name, he spends every waking minute pulling strings and building an indestructible empire. The more money and power he amasses, the safer he is from threats.
Except when it comes to the feisty small-town librarian that keeps him up at night…
Sloane Walton is a spitfire determined to carry on her father’s quest for justice. She’ll do that just as soon as she figures out exactly what the man she hates did to—or for—her family. Bonded by an old, dark secret from the past and the dislike they now share for each other, Sloane trusts Lucian about as far as she can throw his designer-suited body.
When bickering accidentally turns to foreplay, these two find themselves not quite regretting their steamy one-night stand. Once those flames are fanned, it seems impossible to put them out again. But with Sloane ready to start a family and Lucian refusing to even consider the idea of marriage and kids, these enemies-to-lovers are stuck at an impasse.
Broken men break women. It’s what Lucian believes, what he’s witnessed, and he’s not going to take that chance with Sloane. He’d rather live a life of solitude than put her in danger. But he learns the hard way that leaving her means leaving her unprotected from other threats.
It’s the second time he’s ruthlessly cut her out of his life. There’s no way she’s going to give him a third chance. He’s just going to have to make one for himself.
Casee: I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK. It seems like we’ve been waiting forever. I can’t wait for Lucien & Sloane!
Holly: Ahhh! GIMME.
Fall Into You (Morally Gray #2) by J.T. Geissinger
Ruthless. Arrogant. Ice cold.
That’s how everyone describes Cole McCord, billionaire CFO of McCord Media. As notorious for his bad attitude as he is for his good looks, he’s the one every girl’s mother warns her about.
We spend one passionate, unforgettable night together, two strangers who bond over neat whiskeys and messy confessions in a Beverly Hills bar. Then we go our separate ways in the morning, never expecting to see each other again.
We soon discover that some connections can’t be undone. Some bonds, once made, can’t be broken.
And some loves can be as deep as they are destructive…yet impossible to let go.
Casee: I have been reading a lot by this author. I liked the first book in the series & hope this one is as good.
The Brood (Calamity Montana #6) by Devney Perry
The last thing Wilder Abbott needs is a houseguest. Solitude has been his stoic companion for nearly a decade. He prefers to brood over his mistakes in seclusion. Besides, he gets enough social interaction as a high school science teacher in Calamity, Montana.
But when his oldest friend calls, begging for a favor, Wilder begrudgingly agrees. For the next two months, he’ll give up his guest room to his friend’s little sister.
Iris Monroe isn’t the girl Wilder remembers. Gone is the shy, quiet mouse ten years his junior who always had her nose in a book. Grown-up Iris talks too much and asks too many questions, especially about his past. And her bright smile and clear blue eyes are hard to ignore.
Two months. He just has to survive two months. Except Iris is as nosy as she is beautiful. And his secrets prove hard to hide when she’s living under his roof.
Casee: I think I’ve only read one book in this series. I need to do some serious catchup.
Fighting the Pull (River Rain #5) by Kristen Ashley
Hale Wheeler inherited billions from his father. He’s decided to take those resources and change the world for the better. He’s married to his mission, so he doesn’t have time for love.
There’s more lurking behind this decision. He hasn’t faced the tragic loss of his father, or the bitterness of his parents’ divorce. He doesn’t intend to follow in his father’s footsteps, breaking a woman’s heart in a way it will never mend. So he vows he’ll never marry.
But Hale is intrigued when he meets Elsa Cohen, the ambitious celebrity news journalist who has been reporting on his famous family. He warns her off, but she makes him a deal. She’ll pull back in exchange for an exclusive interview.
Elsa Cohen is married to her career, but she wants love, marriage, children. She also wants the impossibly handsome, fiercely loyal, tenderhearted Hale Wheeler.
They go head-to-head, both denying why there are fireworks every time they meet. But once they understand their undeniable attraction, Elsa can’t help but fall for the dynamic do-gooder.
As for Hale, he knows he needs to fight the pull of the beautiful, bold, loving Elsa Cohen, because breaking her would crush him.
Casee: I’m a diehard Kristen Ashley fan, but I have yet to read this series. Another one for the TBR.
Holly: Eh, I haven’t read a new KA in quite some time. I think I’ll add this to the “wait and see” list.
September (particularly the last week) is shaping up to be one of the best reading months I’ve had in a while. I just hope my book budget can handle it!
YOURS CRUELLY (September 7) is the second in Winter Renshaw’s Paper Cuts series of angsty romances. This one features antagonists-to-lovers and an unplanned pregnancy. Renshaw’s books are well-written and very well-plotted. She does a great job of keeping her plot strands clear.
SALT KISS (September 12) by Sierra Simone is the first in her new Lyonesse series that is a modern retelling of the legend of Tristan & Isolde. Former soldier Tristan works at an exclusive club owned by the wealthy and amoral Mark. When Tristan is tasked with bringing Mark’s fiancée, Isolde, from Ireland to America, we already know what’s going to happen between them. I’m expecting to be thoroughly engaged by Simone’s trademark lush eroticism.
I’m going to give Elizabeth O’Roark’s THE SUMMER I SAVED YOU (September 14) a chance, even though her previous book, THE SUMMER WE FELL, was full of melodrama and what I’ve come to term as “Colleen Hooverization”, i.e., anything bad that can happen to a heroine will happen to her. Hopefully, the new book will move away from the obviousness of “a woman has to suffer traumas to appreciate a happily-ever-after”, but if it doesn’t, this may be my last O’Roark, which is a shame because her Grumpy Devils books were quite good.
HOTT SHOT (September 19) is the first in Serena Bell’s Hott Springs series about a group of siblings who run a spa & salon (we met the sister of the family when she was the heroine of Bell’s WILDER AT LAST, the last book in her Wilder Adventures series). HOTT SHOT is a romance between the woman who manages the Hott Springs spa and one of the owners. Bell always finds a way to make a trope individualized, so I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with grumpy-sunshine here.
Rachel Reid is back with a new m/m hockey romance, TIME TO SHINE (September 26). This one hits all the hockey romance tropes: backup player/superstar, veteran-rookie, roommates, grumpy-sunshine, bi-awakening. I’m really excited to read a new book from one of my favorite writers, but the only drawback is that Rachel Reid’s post-Game Changers popularity means that TIME TO SHINE’s ebook is priced at $9.99. Can I possibly wait for a sale or for the library copy to arrive before I devour the book? All signs point to unlikely.
Three of my favorite Harlequin Presents writers are also dropping new HPs on September 26: Pregnant with Her Royal Boss’s Baby is the third and final book in Jackie Ashenden’s Three Ruthless Kings trilogy. I’m expecting plenty of angst, drama, and references to dysfunctional childhoods in this unplanned pregnancy romance. Caitlin Crews’s THE SPANIARD’S LAST-MINUTE WIFE is the second of Crews’s Innocent Stolen Brides series. In TSLMW, the heroine steps in when the hero is jilted at the altar, but there’s a lot to unpack because the heroine believes the hero is the father of her late-cousin’s baby. Maisey Yates’s A VIRGIN FOR THE DESERT KING is the second of her Royal Desert Legacy books of Sheikh romances. In this one, a king who was imprisoned for much of his life falls for the consultant hired to prepare him for his new royal position.
I was thrilled to discover that Julie Kriss (one of Romancelandia’s most underappreciated writers, imho) was writing one more book in her Road Kings series of rock romances: WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT (September 28) is the story of the guy who funded the Road Kings’ reunion tour and his assistant. There’s enforced proximity in a snowstorm, which is always one of my favorite tropes. And I can’t wait to catch up with what’s been happening to the members of the band and their partners.