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text 2014-10-21 16:06
Firefighter Romance Heroines
All Summer Long (Fool's Gold, #9) - Susan Mallery
Sex and the Single Fireman - Jennifer Bernard
Hidden Crimes - Emma Holly
Ride the Fire - Jo Davis
Burns So Bad - Anne Marsh
Flirting with Danger: A Firefighters of Adelaide Novel (Entangled Bliss) - Claire Baxter
Sparks - Sharon Horton
After The Fire - Kathryn Shay
So This Is Love (Callaways #2) - Barbara Freethy
Fully Engaged - Eve Gaddy

San Diego, where I reside, has endured several terrible fires in October. This year we have been lucky and the fires of the summer and last spring much smaller than they could have been. 

 

Each October, I think of my friend's wife who was lost when flames jumped the road and engulfed her car. I think of my cousin's home, the family quits, the baby photos all gone when the wind blew embers and then a wall of fire through the neighborhood.  I think of the firefighters I know working long dangerous shifts away from their families for too many days. 

 

Here is a list for the women firefighter out there in the stations and on the line. Thank you. 

 

1. All Summer Long  by Susan Mallery

 

Former underwear model turned entrepreneur Clay Stryker has loved, tragically lost and vowed that he'll never risk his heart again. After making his fortune, the youngest of the rugged Stryker brothers returns to Fool's Gold, California, to put down roots on a ranch of his own. But he's frustrated to discover that even in his hometown, people see him only for his world-famous…assets.

Firefighter Chantal (Charlie) Dixon grew up an ugly duckling beside her delicately beautiful mother, a feeling reinforced long ago by a man who left soul-deep scars. Now she has good friends, a solid job and the itch to start a family—yet she can't move toward the future while she's haunted by painful memories.

Clay finds an unexpected ally, and unexpected temptation, in tomboyish Charlie, the only person who sees beyond his dazzling good looks to the real man beneath. But when Charlie comes to him with an indecent proposal, will they be able to overcome their pasts and find a love that lasts beyond one incredible summer?

 

2. Hidden Crimes by Emma Holly

 

Cats and dogs shouldn't fall in love. Like any wolf, RPD detective Nate Rivera knows this. He can’t help it if the tigress he’s been trading quips with at the supermarket is the most alluring woman he’s ever met—sassy too, which suits him down to his designer boots. 

Evina Mohajit is aware their flirtation can’t lead to more. Still, she relishes trading banter with the hot werewolf. This hardworking single mom hasn’t felt so female since her twins’ baby daddy left to start his new family. Plus, as a station chief in Resurrection’s Fire Department, she understands the demands of a dangerous job. 

Their will-they-or-won’t-they tango could go on forever if it weren’t for the mortal peril the city’s shifter children fall into. To save them, Nate and Evina must team up, a choice that ignites the sparks smoldering between them . . .

 

3. Sex and the Single Fireman by Jennifer Bernard 

 

The toughest captain on the East Coast, single father Rick Roman has come thousands of miles to San Gabriel to put an end to the "Bachelor Firemen" media hype. But when a stunning woman he nearly hooked up with in Reno turns out to be a firefighter from his new station, Roman realizes it's going to be tough keeping the tabloids at bay.

 

But there's even more Sabina isn't telling him. Before dedicating herself to battling blazes, Sabina led a very different life, one that made her famous. The last thing she wants is to have her secret exposed. The papers, bloggers, and TV gossips will have a field day with that—expecially when they sense the obvious sexual heat between Sabina and Chief Roman, who's torn between firing her . . . and falling in love with her!

 

4. Ride the Fire  by Jo Davis 

 

After he lost his wife and children to a tragic accident, Captain Sean Tanner drowned his pain with alcohol. Now, fresh from rehab, he wants to regain the trust of his team and begin again. The last thing he needs is to have feelings for beautiful firefighter Eve Marshall. But even as they dare to explore their growing desire, Sean learns that his family may have been murdered. And that a shadow from his past has returned to finish off Sean--and anyone he loves...

 

5. Burns So Bad by Anne Marsh 

 

ONE JUMP PUTS IT ALL ON THE LINE… 
Summer is heating up in Strong, California. The jump team’s bad boy, Rio Donovan is one hundred percent pure, sensual trouble. He never backs down from a fire or a dare and he loves putting it all on the line when he parachutes into the heart of the fire. When the fire camp gets a much-needed new player, however, Rio lands in uncharted territory. The jump team’s newest member is sexy, strong—and female. She’s supposed to be just one of the boys, but Rio burns to claim her one heated kiss at a time. This jump, Rio Donovan’s putting it all on the line. Body and heart. 

INTO THE FIRE… AND INTO LOVE 
Kissing a fellow smoke jumper would be career suicide and Gia Jackson has worked too hard and too long to earn her spot on Strong’s jump team to jeopardize it all now for a man. The love-em-and-leave-em boys of summer aren’t her type and she’s hiding a few secrets of her own, but, when her chute tangles with Rio’s on a jump, he’s thrown into her arms. Literally. She’s held firm on the fireline for years—but can she hold the line now against Rio’s seductive charm? 

 

6. Flirting with Danger: A Firefighters of Adelaide Novel by Claire Baxter 

 

Firefighter Jasmine Mackinnon has always just been one of the guys. So no one’s more shocked than she is to find herself kissing fellow firefighter and all-around sinfully handsome playboy Aaron Parkes after a friend’s wedding. Jasmine knows she can’t risk an emotional connection with a colleague—a potentially dangerous entanglement when fighting fires together—and nothing's more important to her than her job.

 

Aaron never noticed how beautiful Jasmine was until he saw her out of her firefighter duds, but there’s something about the fiery woman that tempts him. Though he knows pursuing a real relationship is out of the question for a serial dater like him, when their casual flirtation builds into something more serious, it's not just their jobs or their safety on the line. It's their hearts.

 

7. Sparks by Sharon Horton 

 

All her life, Callie O'Rourke wanted to be a firefighter. A lifelong nightmare of being in a fire has driven her to pursue a career to fight fires and save lives. She won't let being a woman stop her from achieving that goal. When her determination and training land her a job, Callie has no idea being the city's first female firefighter will gain the attention of more than just its citizens.

Although haunted since childhood by the fiery death of his father, firefighting is in Danny Redmond's blood. He comes from a long line of firemen, all the way back to his great-grandfather. 

Callie's refreshing candor ignites Danny's interest. With her ability to fight fires, combined with the way she puts him at ease, it's not long before they become friends. Focused on being the best firefighters possible, neither is looking for romance. Yet the more they're together, the more they realize firefighting may not be their biggest challenge.

 

8. After The Fire (Hidden Cove Series Book 1) by Kathryn Shay 

 

Three firefighters from the Malvaso family are trapped in a burning building and almost lose their lives. After they are rescued, they decide to change the way they’ve been living. Mitch, the eldest, wants to make some decisions about his dysfunctional marriage and spend more time with his kids. Jenn decides to have a baby—with her best friend, Grady. And Zach, the bad boy of the group, vows to make up for his past sins and become a better man. 

 

9. So This Is Love (Callaways #2) by Barbara Freethy 

 

For Max Harrison, love seduces and then destroys. His brother went to prison for love. His father left his family for love. And Max is determined not to follow in their footsteps, until he meets Emma… 

Emma runs into burning buildings without an ounce of fear and embraces life as if every day is a new adventure. But while she's fearless on the job, Emma is a coward when it comes to love. Betrayed by an ex-boyfriend, Emma has no intention of putting her heart on the line again, until she meets Max… 

As the fires around the city rage, the heat between them ignites in a blaze of passion that's far more dangerous. Will it destroy them or will they finally get everything they ever wanted… 

 

10. Fully Engaged by Eve Gaddy 

 

Their passion is one fire they can’t put out.

Nine years ago, he left her alone and pregnant. Now he’s back.

When hotshot firefighter Callie Kilpatrick gets a new partner, he’s the last man she ever wanted to meet again: Rick Montana, the man she once loved and planned to marry, the man who left her without explanation. Rick resurrects all the old, unresolved feelings she had for him. Though she never told him about her pregnancy, she blames him for the loss of their child. 

As for Rick, he's never forgotten Callie. But as her anger singes him, he wonders if he’ll ever be able to get past the walls she’s built around her heart. When they must work together to discover a murderer, they discover that passion still burns hot between them.

 

Do you have any favorite Firefighter Heroines? Let me know!

 

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Firefighter Romance Heroines. 

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text 2014-04-01 16:14
Best Sunny Heroes of Romance
Wolf with Benefits - Shelly Laurenston
The Famous Heroine - Mary Balogh
Curve Ball - Charlotte Stein
Three Little Words (Fool's Gold, #12) - Susan Mallery
Thanksgiving - Janet Evanovich
The Chocolate Temptation (Amour et Chocolat) (Volume 6) - Laura Florand
The Last Rogue - Deborah Simmons
Lady Be Good: A Novel - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Perfection (Neighbor from Hell #2) - R.L. Mathewson
The Perfect Rake (Merridew Series) - Anne Gracie

I am in the mood for some non brooding, non tortured, happy-go-lucky, charming heroes. 

 

Springtime is here and I need some light.  Now, it doesn't mean that sometimes inside these heroes have darker parts (we all do) but for the the most part they are affable. 

 

Happiness is sexy. Smiles are sexy. Silliness is sexy. Being unreserved is downright hot and laughing? Now, that is just outright erotic! 

 

Bring on the Sunny Heroes! Here are my recommendations and as always I would love to know yours.

 

1. The Perfect Rake by  Anne Gracie...Lord Carradice

2. Playing For Keeps by RL Mathewson... Jason

3. Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips...Kenny Traveler

4.The Last Rogue by Deborah Simmons...Raleigh

5. The Chocolate Temptation by Laura Florand...Patrick Chevalier

6. Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich... Dr. Patrick Hunter

7. Three Little Words by Susan Mallery...Ford Hendrix

8. Curve Ball by Charlotte Stein... Steven Stark

9. The Famous Heroine by Mary Balogh...Francis Kneller

10. Wolf with Benefits by Shelly Laurenston...Ricky Lee Reed

 

Oh, this list makes me happy just looking at it!

 

If you would like to get even more recommendations and spend quality time with sexy happy fellas, check out my Pinterest Board: Sunny Heroes of Romance. 

 

If you are feeling competitive and wish to vote for the best of the best, go to the Goodreads list: Best Sunny Heroes of Romance. 

 

 

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text 2014-02-13 12:28
Best Friends to Lovers Historical Romance
The Ladies' Man - Lorraine Heath
Seduce Me at Sunrise - Lisa Kleypas
Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, book 4) - Eloisa James
The Last Man in Town - Susan Kay Law
The Lord Next Door - Gayle Callen
When He Was Wicked - Julia Quinn
Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold - Ellen O'Connell
A Most Unconventional Match - Julia Justiss
The Famous Heroine - Mary Balogh
Runabout - Pamela Morsi

The separate worlds of men and women were much stronger than they are now before women began working outside the home in all of the social classes and the kinds of work that women did began to overlap more often with the labor of men. 

 

Also, the prohibitions on men being alone with a single women have eased a great deal over time in at least the Western world. 

 

This is what makes historical romances featuring the friends to lovers theme especially sweet to me. Over coming the barrier to remain friends from childhood , coming into friendship as as adults, or becoming friends before lovers makes for a great love story in any era.

 

Here are some of my favorite Friends to Lovers Romances historical style!

 

1. Courting Miss Hattie, Runabout  and Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi

2. Lord Carew's Bride and The Famous Heroine by Mary Balogh 

3. A Most Unconventional Match by Julia Justiss

4. Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O'Connell 

5. What Happens in LondonWhen He Was Wicked and The Duke and I 

 by Julia Quinn 

6. The Lord Next Door  by Gayle Callen 

7. The Last Man In Town by Susan Kay Law

8. Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James

9. Again the Magic  and Seduce Me At Sunrise  by Lisa Kleypas 

10. The Ladies' Man and Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath 

 

What are your favorites?

 

If you would like to vote for the best of the best, go to the Goodreads list: 

Best Friends to Lovers Historical Romance.

 

 

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text 2013-10-25 23:54
Love in the Merchant Class or Working Class in Historical Romance
The Weaver Takes a Wife - Sheri Cobb South
A Lady's Lesson in Scandal - Meredith Duran
In for a Penny - Rose Lerner
Hester Waring's Marriage (The Dilhorne Dynasty) - Paula Marshall
The Proposition - Judith Ivory
Beauty and the Blacksmith (Spindle Cove, #3.5) - Tessa Dare
Dreaming of You - Lisa Kleypas
The Raven Prince - Elizabeth Hoyt
With Seduction in Mind - Laura Lee Guhrke
The Famous Heroine - Mary Balogh

These are great Historical Romance novels in which the Hero or Heroine is a Cit, works for a living, or is part of the working class-commoners. British mostly. 

 

The culture clash and change over in social systems represented in these books is lovely fun.

 

Here is the definition of Cit from the Oxford English Dictionary. 

 

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text 2013-10-15 18:15
My Cup Runneth Over: The Buxom Heroine
At Last - Billy London
Wicked Wings - Sahara Kelly
Dangerous Curves Ahead - Sugar Jamison
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake - Sarah MacLean
It Had To Be You - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Sweet Dreams - Kristen Ashley
The Famous Heroine - Mary Balogh
Bet Me - Jennifer Crusie
Falling for the Backup (Assassins, #3.5) - Toni Aleo
The Mane Event - Shelly Laurenston

A month or so ago I was thinking about breast size in Romance Novels. I think I must have read a book with a heroine with notably small breasts like Finding Grace. 

 

When I think about physical traits of romance characters, I am usually wondering about which are the best books that take that characteristic and make it a real part of the character or even sometimes the plot.  Who we physically are shapes us and really good romance novels build on these outer details to create a rich round character.  

 

I also think that we all like to see ourselves reflected in the fiction we read. The heroes tend to be more on the scale of fantastical in Romance because men aren't the primary audience while heroines meander between the Goddess and the more down to earth because female readers like both. 

 

So, I was thinking about boobs...lol 

 

I already posted my thoughts on the small breasted in romance. Here is that lovely blog: Small Breasted Women Have Bigger Hearts.

 

This post is on those heroines who are much more generously endowed. 

 

The books named above have heroines whose large breast size is discussed or part of the plot. 

So, for example in It Had To Be You, the heroine is often misjudged as not so bright partly because of her size being large. Dez in The Mane Event gets a lot of remarks because of her bounty.  She even has trouble fitting her bullet proof vest over the girls.

 

These details make for that layering in a romance novel that make the characters come alive. 

 

A wonderful article/rant reposted by Huffington Post: Women about having large breast starts like this

 

If you've got C-cup or larger-sized breasts, chances are it feels like you permanently have a toddler attached to your body, and like most demanding children, they dominate your whole life. Oh yeah, you can fill out a sweater like it's nobody's business, and you certainly get male eyes on you, but with your giant ta-tas comes a life of watching your boobs pop out of bras, shirts and dresses like they're rampaging bulls on the streets of Pamplona.

 

                    from "Tits McGee" 

 

 

The article goes into sarcastic exploration of the impact of having large breasts on one's life. 

 

There is also an Amazon Discussion on Seeing Ourselves in Romance: Breast Size

 

I would love the know your recommendations for great heroines whose cups runneth over.  

 

If you would like to vote for the best of the best, go to the Goodreads list: My Cup Runneth Over: The Buxom Heroine. 

 

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