Romance Novels Perfect For Valentine's Day

How quickly time is flying by!  It is almost Valentine's Day, which means the perfect time to snuggle with a good romance novel..or even that special someone.  Throughout my years of reading I have come across a lot of different romance novels that I  have come to love and enjoy.  I have gone through series like Lords of The Underworld by Gena Showalter or the Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon and I have gone through stand alone novels as well.  Here are a few romance novels that are perfect for the Valentine season (is it a season?)

Bowman's Inn is a collection of short stories from some amazing authors  The idea is that all the stories correlate with the Bowman Inn, where folks help Anteros find love.  Each story deals with magic, myths and legends, love at first sight and more.  You will find yourself pulled into each of the stories wanting more from the characters.  Because it is a collection of short stories, it is easy to put the book down and pick it back up where you left off without feeling like you missed out on something.  I am not one for short story collections, but I do love this book and highly recommend it.  It is a great way to discover new romance authors that you will be sure to fall in love with, I know I did.  I look forward to other installments of the Bowman's Inn and find myself looking for books by some of the authors included.

Speaking of authors included in Bowman's Inn, it's only appropriate that I mention RA Winter's series Kiowa in Love.  It starts with Little Sparrow which follows Karen as she returns home for the holidays and meets Richard, a man she ended up in bed with and vowed it would be a one time thing.  When she arrives home, low and behold there is Richard!  What are the odds.  Thanksgiving turns into a fiasco with a multitude of personalities and Grandfather who tries to play matchmaker for his granddaughter.  I love this series, I love this author.  She writes in a way that is beautiful and graceful, with a hint of naughtiness.  This novel does not focus on the sexual aspect of a relationship but rather the bond one needs to build.  The emotional intimacy rather than the physical.  Every time RA comes out with a new book or story, I find I have to jump on it to add to my collection.

Jacob is the veterinarian for a circus, Marlena is the star of the show.  When the circus takes on an elephant Marlena becomes the rider of the animal and Jacob must train her.  A bond forms between the man and woman as well as the humans and animal.  This is a romantic story with a little bit more added into it.  This was one of those books that is difficult to put down.  I know it's not as popular now, but I still think it was a fantastic novel to read and a great movie to watch (though I prefer the book).  It is one of those books that you find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next with Jacob and Marlena as well as with the elephant. The characters are one that will stick with you well after finishing the novel.  Rosie is as much a character as the humans were and provides humor and heart warming moments.  

The next is a series: the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilynn Kenyon.  Any one of these books would make for a great read.  I will say that the earlier novels are much better than some of the more recent ones.  The series revolves around a group of immortal warriors who live to serve Artemis and protect the world.  Each book focuses on a different hunter and him finding the love of his life and his freedom from Artemis.  What I love about this series is that it adds an interesting twist to traditional mythology that I am used to.  While there are some sex scenes, a lot of the books are action base and develop the relationships to show why each scene is so steamy and hot. I have read just about every novel in this series and find myself completely addicted to it.  Even though I didn't like the last novel, I find myself wanting to read more.

 This is one that is still on my to read list.  From the synopsis it is about a college girl who find herself drawn to the bad boy Travis who is tattooed, spends his nights fighting and charming women across campus.  he ends up making a bet with Abby that if she wins he's abstinent for a month if he wins she lives with him for a month.  Interesting bet.  I am not sure what the book holds or what type of romance novel this is.  I am interested in seeing what it holds, and look forward to checking it out, so you may see a review of it in the future!  If you happen to have read it or read it soon, let me know what you think of it.

There are many great novels out there that it's hard to touch upon all of them and give an adequate recommendation for novels of any genre.  These are just a few that I have enjoyed and one that I am looking forward to reading.  What are some romance novels you would recommend?  Leave your recommendations in the comments.

Happy Reading!

Hearts Under Siege

 Alexandra awaits the brief return of her twin brother Jeffy, when a steamboat he is supposed to be on explodes and she fears he is dead.  Refusing to believe her brother to be dead she goes in search of him, bringing herself into the middle of the Civil War.  Her grandfather soon gets kidnapped and she is needed to deliver an important message to Confederate officers.  WHile she travels the lands she is stalked by an unknown man, and protected by a handsome man she believes to be a Yankee soldier.  Through their travels the mysterious stalker turns his sights onto Thomas.  Now they need to struggle to survive and make it through the war torn lands.  Will their affections for one another be strong enough to make it through?

Within the first few moments of this book I found myself gasping, you already find yourself feeling for Alexandra as she awaits her brother only to have the steamboat explode! Holy crap, I may have also audibly whispered "NO."  There were a few things that had me a little weary such as the events leading to Alexandra and Thomas's first meeting.  Thankful nothing too graphic was described and I like that about Kelly's writing, there isn't anything graphic or explicit in this novel.  I would be willing to allow a teenaged reader to read this novel.  It is a clean romance, by that I mean little to no sex scenes.  GASP what do I mean?  How can there be romance without sex right?  Kelly focuses on the build-up of their relationship almost in a courting like sense.

There were points when Alexandra would have memories or dreams about something and it flowed with the same text as when she was awake, it would have been easier to distinguish if the text was in italics to differentiate the state of consciousness.  There is a lot that happens throughout the story from Grand-pere being arrested, to Jackson being shot, Alexandra trying to deliver this message through war zones and the romance building between her and Thomas.  The time period is the 1800's so a few things don't fit, but at the same time would it be as interesting if the dialogue fit exactly to how a Southern Belle and gentleman solider would?  I actually liked the more modern way of speaking as it made it easier to understand their emotions and get a feel for the characters. 

There are some surprises and twists to the story and the characters are relatable.  They develop slowly and pretty much stay true to their original characteristics they had in the beginning.  I have read other reviews about the story jumping around a lot, but I honestly do not see that within this book.  It all remains pretty consistent and true to the original plot.  When George comes into the picture, I am unsure of how Thomas figures out who he is, I caught onto something that wasn't addressed during this point and doesn't makes much sense, but I may have missed something in my reading leading up to it.


That being said, I enjoyed reading this book, I pretty much finished it within a day. Hearts Under Siege was the perfect novel to read on a rainy spring day.  I do recommend this book for those who like clean romances, historical romances, and romance in general, even chick lit in general.  If an I am not mistaken this is the first book in a series and I look forward to reading other books in the series and other books from Kathryn Kelly.  As for a rating, I would give this a 3.5 because there did seem to be moments where things didn't add up for me, but it was still a great book to read to pass the day away.

Destiny's Plan By Victoria Saccenti

Fist off I want to comment on how beautiful the cover art of this novel is.  This is definitely a cover that will draw readers into the story.  The look on the woman's face is beyond enticing and what I would imagine Raquelita would look like.

Raquelita's mother is moving her and her younger sister from Texas to Florida, away from their father.  While on the train ride to Florida, Raquelita is seated next to a young soldier. They are instantly connected and begin a conversation that changes their lives.  The two quickly fall in love and must try to figure out how to manage their budding romance through harsh trials such as Raquelita's mother's iron fist, and Matthew being deployed to war.  Things do not turn out exactly as the two love birds planned and both struggle with choices they make in the time away from one another.  Will they be able to make their love work?  Will destiny have other plans?

Destiny's Plan is an interesting story in that it tells the story of not only Raquelita and Matthew, but also her mother: Isabel.  I will warn you there is a lot of adult content within this novel including abuse and allusions to rape in the past.  I actually wanted a little more of Isabel's past to be told or rather Raquelita to learn more about her mother.  There were some points in the story that felt dry and seemed to drone on, but those were far and few between, the rest of the book made up for those moments.  I was drawn into the story of Matthew and Raquelita, and honestly I was worried it would be a story of just them missing one another and trying to get past the hardship of her mother, but it is so much more than that.

Victoria has a style of writing that is very descriptive and informative.  Though it does not feel as if it was too much, it was perfect for the story.  We see Raquelita develop through the story from a scared little girl to a semi-confident woman trying to learn things on her own.  While she makes the wrong decisions and learns the harsher lessons of life the hard way, she learns and becomes stronger because of them.  As Isabel deals with her demons in various ways, she becomes a kinder woman, even if not completely.  It is interesting to see her transform and struggle with alcohol addiction, the demons of the past, and so much more.  While she may seem like a weak character, she is indeed a strong one. 

Victoria does a fantastic job with this story, I would recommend this for those who enjoy a historical romance.  She does her homework in the Vietnam war and includes that into the story.  She is a very talented author and I look forward to reading more.  I give this book a 4 out of 5 because of the dry moments that seemed dull, but as I stated, the story really picks up in other places.