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 May of 2020.
A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional new suspense novel.
Caitlyn Sullivan, a daughter of Hollywood royalty, was already a star at ten, but still loved to play hide-and-seek with her cousins at the family home in Big Sur. It was during one of those games that she disappeared.
Despite her glamorous background, Cate was a shrewd, scrappy survivor, and she managed to escape her abductors. Dillon Cooper was shocked to find the bruised and terrified girl huddled in his ranch house kitchen—but when the teenager and his family heard her story they provided refuge and comfort, reuniting her with her loved ones.
Cate’s ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a betrayal that would send someone she’d trusted to prison. Then there were years away in Ireland, sheltered and protected but with restlessness growing in her soul. Then, finally, she returned to Los Angeles, hoping to act again and get past the trauma that had derailed her life. What she didn’t yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long-ago night—one of a great love, and one of a terrible vengeance…
Rowena: I haven’t been reading much Nora Roberts lately but the last book that I did read by her was one that I enjoyed so I’m keen to continue reading more of her stuff in 2020. This book comes out soon and it sounds like a good one so I’m totally interested.
Casee: I haven’t read a NR in awhile, but I know that when I do, I’m instantly hooked.
Abigail Haddock is stunning, sensible, and some would say…stuffy. But it’s not really her fault. She was raised in one of Wessco’s oldest, most affluent, aristocratic families—“stuffy” is their middle name. So is successful. Abby’s working overtime to distinguish herself as a top-notch physician, just as her family legacy demands.
She doesn’t have time for nonsense.
Tommy Sullivan’s all about nonsense.
Sure, he’s an elite bodyguard with lethal skills and co-owner of the renowned, S&S Securities Firm—protector of the wealthy and titled. But he’s also rowdy, fun and thoroughly irresistible.
Tommy knows how to have a good time, and he’s never seen someone more in need of a good time than Abby. The lass needs long, wet, filthy kisses—STAT—and he’s just the man for the job.
It doesn’t take long for a wildly sexy, sinfully satisfying, no-strings attached arrangement to turn into something more. Something sweet and addictive and real. But Tommy and Abby are too royally stubborn to admit it.
Opposites attract, everyone knows that. But can they last—can they love…for forever?
Rowena: Tommy’s book! Of course, this book is on my wishlist. I can’t wait until it comes out and look at how sexy Tommy is. He’s got that yummy yummy that I’m wayyy interested in reading about.
Casee: Yes, Tommy!
The boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have…
Dig a little and you’ll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern. Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old. Pry and one of us might confess we saved our first kiss for each other. The most clumsy, wet, sloppy . . . spectacular thirty seconds of my adolescence. Get into our business and you’ll see two families, closer than blood, torn apart in an instant.
Twenty years later, my “awkward duckling” best friend from childhood, the boy no one noticed, is a man no one can ignore.
Finer. Fiercer. Smarter.
Taken.
Tell me it’s wrong.
Tell me the boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have. When we find each other again, everything stands in our way–secrets, lies, promises. But we didn’t come this far to give up now. And I know just the move to make if I want to make him mine.
Rowena: Oh man, I adored the original series and I just know that I’m going to love this spin-off series. Queen Kimba is in the house!! I can’t wait to dig into her romance with Ezra. He’s a Single Dad and you know how much I love those stories!! Squee!! Look at that gorgeous cover, too. Hot damn!!
Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally
A new swoon-worthy romance following a couple’s love story on the same date over four years.
Every May 7, the students at Coffee County High School take a class trip. And every year, Lulu’s relationship with Alex Rouvelis gets a little more complicated. Freshman year, they went from sworn enemies to more than friends after a close encounter in an escape room. It’s been hard for Lulu to quit Alex ever since.
Through breakups, make ups, and dating other people, each year’s class trip brings the pair back together and forces them to confront their undeniable connection. From the science museum to an amusement park, from New York City to London, Lulu learns one thing is for sure: love is the biggest trip of all.
Rowena: I read this book months ago and thought it was super cute so this book is added to the post because if you’re a fan of contemporary YA, this book is for you. Miranda Kenneally is back in action, after her Hundred Oaks series, with an all-new YA romance featuring two kids who fall in love over the course of four years.
How to Catch a Queen (Runaway Royals #1) by Alyssa Cole
An arranged marriage leads to unexpected desire, in the first book of Alyssa Cole’s Runaway Royals series…
When Shanti Mohapi weds the king of Njaza, her dream of becoming a queen finally comes true. But it’s nothing like she imagined. Shanti and her husband may share an immediate and powerful attraction, but her subjects see her as an outsider, and everything she was taught about being the perfect wife goes disastrously wrong.
A king must rule with an iron fist, and newly crowned King Sanyu was born perfectly fitted for the gauntlet, even if he wishes he weren’t. He agrees to take a wife as is required of him, though he doesn’t expect to actually fall in love. Even more vexing? His beguiling new queen seems to have the answers to his country’s problems—except no one will listen to her.
By day, they lead separate lives. By night, she wears the crown, and he bows to her demands in matters of politics and passion. When turmoil erupts in their kingdom and their marriage, Shanti goes on the run, and Sanyu must learn whether he has what it takes both to lead his people and to catch his queen.
Rowena: I’ve enjoyed the couple of books that I’ve read by Alyssa Cole so of course, this one is on my wishlist. It sounds like something I would enjoy so I’m looking forward to digging in.
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson
When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop, while dealing with life and love in Harlem.
Jesse Strong is known for two things: his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hearts in Harlem. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans on what to do with Strong Knits, their neighborhood knitting store: Jesse wants to keep the store open; his brothers want to shut it down.
Jesse makes an impassioned plea to Kerry Fuller, his childhood friend who has had a crush on him her entire life, to help him figure out how to run the business. Kerry agrees to help him reinvent the store and show him the knitty-gritty of the business, but the more time they spend together, the more the chemistry builds. Kerry, knowing Jesse’s history, doesn’t believe this relationship will exist longer than one can knit one, purl one. But Jesse is determined to prove to her that he can be the man for her—after all, real men knit.
Rowena: I haven’t read anything by this author before but I’m mighty curious about this book. I’ve added it to my wishlist so that I can keep an eye out on what everyone thinks of this one.
Holly: I haven’t read anything by this author before either, but I’m really looking forward to this book.
Sure Shot (Brooklyn #4) by Sarina Bowen
A new stand-alone hockey romance from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.
On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, sports agent Bess Beringer is ready to make some changes. Armed with a five-year plan—indexed and color coded—she’ll tackle her personal life with the same zeal that she brings to her successful agency.
A big, tall, ripped hunk of hockey player who’s just been traded to the Brooklyn Bruisers is not a part of that plan. Mark “Tank” Tankiewicz has a lot of baggage. He’s a ride-or-die loner with a bad reputation. He’s on the rebound. He’s also the sexiest thing on two legs, and for some crazy reason it’s Bess that he wants.
She knows better. But then she falls stupid in love with him anyway. And for a while it seems like maybe he’ll do the same.
Until she asks him for the one thing he can never give her…
Rowena: A new Sarina Bowen? Of course, I’m looking forward to it and of course, it’s on my wishlist and of course, I’m going to read it.
Holly: Yeeesss. That’s all I have to say about that.
The Fiery Crown (Forgotten Empires #2) by Jeffe Kennedy
A queen and her rebel prince turn from enemies to lovers while evil forces plot to destroy them in this lush romantic fantasy.
Following The Orchid Throne, Conri and Lia’s marriage of convenience has turned into an uneasy alliance. If only the two leaders could agree on something. Driven by revenge, Conri wants to attack Emperor Anure before the tyrant gets to them first. But Lia needs to keep Calanthe safe, and refuses to sacrifice her kingdom. Their ongoing battle for control has built up tension they’re both more than happy to release in bed, the only place where they find common ground. But Conri and Lia are developing deeper feelings for each other that are complicating matters. In the second book in the Forgotten Empires trilogy, Conri and Lia find their loyalties torn, and with Emperor Anure’s threat growing, will they be able to risk everything with each other before it’s too late?
Holly: The first book in this series left me wanting more, so I’m excited for this one.
Dream Maker (Dream #1) by Kristen Ashley
Evie is a bonafide nerd and a hyper-intelligent chick who has worked her whole life to get what she wants. Growing up, she had no support from her family and has only ever been able to rely on herself. So when Evie decides she wants to earn her engineering degree, she realizes she needs to take an alternative path to get there. She takes a job dancing at Smithie’s club thinking this would be a quick side gig, where she can make the money she needs. But with her lack of dancing skills and an alpha bad boy who becomes overly protective, Evie realizes this might not be as easy as she thought.
Daniel “Mag” Magnusson knows a thing or two about pain, but the mask he wears is excellent. No one can tell that this good-looking, quick-witted, and roguish guy has deep-seated issues. Mag puts on a funny-guy routine so he can hide his broken heart and PTSD. But when Evie dances her way into Mag’s life, he realizes that he needs to come face-to-face with the demons of his past if he wants a future with her.
Casee: I’m really excited about this one.
What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Share in the comments!
One book I’m really looking forward to is Ainsley Booth’s FILTHY LIAR, the fifth (and, I believe, final) book in her Forbidden Bodyguards series. It’s scheduled for publication on May 19 and is about a couple whose dynamic has been playing out in the background of the previous books in the series.
hi! outstanding list. I am really looking forward to Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev to be published on 26th may. This is the second book in her ongoing series where she brings the worlds of Jane Austen and Indian diaspora together so charmingly. I loved the first one Pride, Prejudice and other flavours so much that I am very excited for the next one.
That Nora Roberts book looks enticing. I’m definitely looking forward to the forthcoming Murderbot novel.