Some Interesting Recent Reads Part 1
I’ve read some really enjoyable books lately, and I thought I’d devote a couple of Favorite Things columns to sharing some recommendations with you! Today it’s three great romances for your reading pleasure.
I’m starting with Cathryn Hein’s wonderful, touching Elsa’s Stand which was the third book in the Outback Brides series, although you can read it as a standalone.
This one’s a real charmer, but it packs a huge emotional punch as well. I was crying at the end when the hero and heroine find their happy ever after, despite all the odds stacked against them. When his mother’s death forces ruggedly handsome loner Jack Hargreaves to return to the country town that has always loved to hate him, he encounters old prejudice – but he also meets big-hearted hairdresser Elsa O’Donoghue who is willing to look past the gossip to the real man beneath the bad reputation.
A really gorgeous romance that will leave you a mushy, sentimental, sighing mess. Love those!
I’ve long been a fan of English contemporary romance writer Liz Fielding. In fact, her A Wedding at Leopard Tree Lodge regularly makes my list of favorite romances ever. I recently read her The Sheikh’s Unsuitable Bride and as always with Liz’s stories, found myself completely enchanted.
As you probably gathered from the title, this is a Cinderella story about a London limousine driver from a humble background who falls in love with her latest client, Sheikh Zahir. But Zahir needs to marry for duty not love, even though he’s as bowled over by Diana Metcalfe and her sparkle as she is by him. He should stay away from her, but she’s irresistible – and then the paparazzi catch a hint of this fairy-tale romance between the chauffeur and the sheikh, scandal ensues, and everyone’s good intentions go haywire. Can this impossible match find a happy ending? Well, obviously it can – I don’t think that’s a spoiler!
Another lovely romance with a gorgeous epilogue! If you haven’t read Liz before, this is a nice one to start with.
My final romantic recommendation is a really hot read, a collection of sensual short stories from Sarah Dahl. I love a sexy historical and Tales of Freya is one of the sexiest I’ve read in ages.
These steamy tales are set in the often brutal Viking age. There’s a couple of stories featuring the same couple, a free-spirited shield maiden called Nyssa and her brawny companion in arms, Aldaith. In between, other stories explore this dangerous, exciting, pre-Christian world where death can spring from anywhere and people seize what sensual possibilities they find, because they may not be around to get a second chance. Really high stakes stuff!
My particular favorite in the set is a stand-alone menage story called “Monk” about the seduction of an innocent captive, but they’re all excellent. Beautifully written, great characters and vivid authentic setting. This one might be a bit off your usual piste when it comes to romance reading, but I highly recommend giving it a go!
Come back next month for a couple of my favorite nonfiction reads of recent months!