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Chase Me
RECOMMENDED: Chase Me by Tessa Bailey is $2.99! I’m a little on the fence whether to call this a contemporary romance or a new adult romance, because I feel like the latter is trying to get its footing as a genre. But that’s beside the point. I thought the book was a quick read and it was fun, silly, and emotional at all the right moments. The hero, Louis, is definitely a beta hero, though some of the book’s events seemed a little unnecessary. If I had to assign it a grade, I’d give it a B.
College drop-out Roxy Cumberland moved to New York with dreams of becoming an actress, but her dwindling bank account is quickly putting the kibosh on that fantasy. To make some quick cash, she signs up to perform singing telegrams. Her first customer is a gorgeous, cocky Manhattan trust-funder if she ever laid eyes on one. And what could be more humiliating than singing an ode to his junk, courtesy of his last one night stand? Maybe the fact that she’s dressed in a giant pink bunny costume…
After a night out to celebrate winning his last case, lawyer Louis McNally the Second isn’t prepared for the pounding in his head or the rabbit serenading him from the front door. But the sassy wit and sexy voice of the girl behind the mask intrigue him, and one look at her stunning face—followed by a mind-blowing kiss against his doorjamb—leaves Louis wanting more.
Roxy doesn’t need a spoiled rich boy who’s had everything in life handed to him on a Tiffany platter. But there’s more to Louis than his sexy surface and he’s determined to make Roxy see it…even if it means chasing her all over NYC.
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Light Her Fire
Light Her Fire by Samanthe Beck is $2.99! This is another book that seems to straddle the line between two different genres. Most people labeled it a contemporary romance, though some thought it was more on the erotic side. The heroine just left a very long engagement and plans to celebrate with the town’s new fire chief. Readers praised Beck’s ability to make the relationship and plot seem realistic, though some felt the predicability of the story took away from the book. It has a 3.9-star rating on Goodreads.
He’ll show this good girl the thrill of being bad…
Good girl Melody Merritt is ready to be bad. Fresh out of an unsatisfying ten-year engagement to the town golden boy, she’s determined to make up for lost time. And who better to burn her sterling reputation to the ground than Bluelick’s sinfully sexy new fire chief whose wicked gaze promises complete and utter domination? Yes, please.
Corrupting the prim and proper Little Miss Bluelick is the most action Josh Bradley’s seen since he transferred from Cincinnati to fast-track his career. He won’t let anything or anyone—not even the delectable Melody Merritt—trap him in this Kentucky-fried Mayberry, but when their searing chemistry yields an unexpected result, he realizes he’s started a blaze that’s completely beyond his control…
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Just Once
Just Once by Julianna Keyes is $2.99! The heroine is a travel writer who’s gone to a ranch to get some work done. The hero is the ranch foreman. The two have an antagonistic relationship exacerbated by tons of sexual chemistry. Some readers weren’t sold on the hero, but many loved the heroine’s POV – the book is written in first person. It has a 3.9-star rating on Goodreads.
Kate Burke is done making bad decisions. Thirty years old and belatedly determined to grow up, the successful travel writer and one-time party girl returns to work at the remote Ponderosa Pines Ranch to reassess her life.Although her kitchen/cabin staff is lacking and the workload never relents, Kate’s main challenge is Shane Maddox, the ruggedly handsome and doggedly stubborn ranch foreman. Instantly at odds, they battle over everything from ceiling fans to bothersome bats-studiously ignoring the sparks they generate with each confrontation. They can’t explain their explosive physical chemistry, but after a few frustrated weeks they can’t deny it either.Their solution? Just once. They’ll get past their inconvenient lust and move on. Kate’s been trying to think with her head instead of her hormones, but is this just another bad decision in a lifetime of careless choices? Has she really changed at all?Set in the striking and serene hills of southern Colorado, Julianna Keyes’ debut novel offers a sizzling and satisfying tale of unexpected chemistry and the power of second chances. Her characters will get under your skin and into your heart. Just once may not be enough for you either.Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
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Love at Bat: The Kemmons Brothers Series
Love at Bat by Elley Arden is 99c! This is a box set with three romances and a prequel novella, all of which has a sports theme. One romance even has a female footballer (soccer player, I assume), which is pretty darn cool as far as sports romances go. The set is less than a month old and doesn’t have a lot in the way of reviews, but it maintains a 4-star rating on Goodreads.
It’s root, root, root for the home team as these sexy boys of summer take their turns at bat. The Kemmons brothers have it all – the money, the moves, the connections – but they haven’t hit home runs in love. Until now.
Save My Soul: Baseball agent Jordon Kemmons has a problem the usual experts can’t fix: his star pitcher is too depressed to throw strikes. If desperate times call for desperate measures, then cynical Jordon has made the most desperate move of all. He’s hoping sexy psychotherapist Maggie Collins is the answer to all his prayers.
Change My Mind: Centerfielder Grey Kemmons is spending the off-season renovating the house he inherited from his father. When spitfire Nel Parker shows up wanting to list the house, their strictly business relationship soon gets very personal.
Heal My Heart: Dr. Tag Howard wants nothing to do with the Kemmons. He’s made his own way as an MLB team doctor, and is determined to steer clear of the family that abandoned him . . . until female footballer MJ Rooney crashes into his life with a concussion and a fresh perspective.
Trade Off: Traded and jaded, catcher Ben Border is considering stepping out from behind the plate. Then he runs into former flame Scarlett Dare. The sexy marketing executive still sends him into a fever pitch, but is she willing to trade Fortune 500 success for a happily ever after?
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The more you all can call out New Adult books for what they are, the better! I avoid them as much as possible.
@CC: I typically associate NA books with college-settings, which is why I hesitate to label Chase Me as new adult. To me, it read more like a romantic comedy or a very modern contemporary. Neither of the main characters are in school and one secondary character is a graduate student.
I think new adult is still trying to build itself as a genre and find its niche that isn’t occupied by other romances.
That guy looks like Justin Bieber.
I just can’t.
@Coco So it’s not just me! I immediately thought of Bieber too.
@CC – I’m with you! I can’t do NA. I can’t suspend disbelief enough to roll with contemporary Americans finding their permanent lifetime relationship at 23 unless the leads are for some reason unusually mature for their ages, but I think NA is often specifically not about that? It’s about the Big Emotional Swings of that age? Which I personally would love to never revisit again! Hah. I just tried another Tessa Bailey (about a virgin soldier returning from the wars at 26, already a major (strike one), and the 22-year-old daughter of a general who came to pick him up in tight jeans and a leather bustier (strike two) and is sassy (let’s just call it). That’s how I know I am not a NA person. “22-year-old daughter of a general who wears a leather bustier to a homecoming ceremony” – whatever other peoples’ brains can do to enjoy that, mine unfortunately cannot.
I think I’ll pick up the Julianna Keyes! I read two other things by her recently (“Going the Distance” and “Time Served”) and found them both really excellent, a type of real-feeling, character-driven contemporary that I always hope for and rarely find.
@Cordy New Adult stories rarely appeal to me as well. I’ve read very few, though I enjoyed Easy. But I have no trouble believing that people can find their life partners in their early twenties. I’ll be 30 in a few days, and I’ve been with the same guy since I was 21 and in my last year of university. And compared to our siblings, we were old when we found the right person! Both my brother and my partner’s sister married their high school sweethearts. Our experiences don’t seem particularly unusual either, when I think of our friends and acquaintances.
I got excited and did a furious google search when I read ‘female footballer’. Judging by the book’s cover, it’s definitely American football, not soccer. I’m not quite as excited now, but I still think it’s cool to see a female athlete. Can’t go wrong with a 99c price, either.
@Laura – I could sense that someone would take exception! Hence the “unusually mature for their ages”.
I feel pretty much the same way about the New Adult books. I have read one or two in which I felt that the characters played true to age, and I didn’t hate them, but I also didn’t believe that they had a happily ever after. The one that I’m remembering in particular didn’t have them running off to get married and living happily ever after, it has them going to college and trying to grow up. I find that believable.
I wonder if those of us who are really uncomfortable with the genre feel that way because we can’t put ourselves there. When I was 23, and I was a very mature 23, I didn’t see myself falling in love with somebody for the rest of my life. I was certainly looking forward to it, but I didn’t expect or want it to happen then. And in hindsight, I know that I was correct. For me.
I’m getting perilously close to 40 now, I am still unmarried, and I am so pleased about it. At 23 the idea that I would still be unmarried now would have been inconceivable to me. Of course I would be married, I would have children, teenagers even, I would have a home of my own, with a pool, and a two car garage.
So many things change, who you are changes, how you feel changes. I would so hate to be in that situation right now.
Of course if I were in that situation right now, I might feel completely different. But I think that is why the New Adult does not work for me.
I have some friends who have been married since they were in their early twenties. They’re now getting into their late forties. They’re terribly happy. And they work hard at it everyday. I am happy for them, but I don’t think it’s common. Certainly not in my experience.
Anyway, that’s my two cents.
I hate the NA novels too, and this is from someone who did meet her husband at 21. Granted, it took us 5 years to get around to getting married, but we were also seriously discussing marriage in our first year. I completely understand if you’re rolling your eyes right now; Gods know I am.
I just…can’t buy the one true love trope from a couple kids who are barely old enough to drink. I’d actually be curious to read a NA about a couple who’s NOT exclusive though. That I could buy. (Yes, for the record, my husband and I were never exclusive when we were dating and that continued right into our marriage. I’m a weird romance reader in that I don’t believe HEA has to end with two people devoted only to each other).
First off, great discussion about NA. I know it’s not everyone’s favorite genre and I know I have my own issues with it because for me, my problem is with the university setting. My college experience is nothing like an NA college experience.
I can’t recall the characters ages in Chase Me, but I think the way the romance was dealt with was realistic. Yes, they get together at the end, but there’s not forever declaration of love and I don’t think the characters are early twenties. Closer to mid-twenties.
What I find so interesting is that it’s easier to accept a 23-year old getting married in a historical than in something more contemporary. Yes, I know that cultural and societal aspects are vastly different, but the heroines are usually around the same age as an NA heroine. And most of the NAs that I’ve read haven’t really ended wit a definitive HEA. More like they realized their feelings for one another and are committed to having a relationship, which seems plausible to me. I try to look at the couple’s imaginary prospective future with a more realistic lens. Maybe they wind up dating for a few years and it doesn’t work out. Or maybe they do get married.
I know I’ve been in a relationship where I thought I found “the one” and we made all these grand declarations of love, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
I don’t know. I have mixed feelings about NA and most that I’ve read, I haven’t really enjoyed. But like I said before, I think they’re still trying to suss things out. Though I’m sure having such a glut of NA titles suddenly appear isn’t doing anyone any favors because it’s just too much to sift through.
I do prefer an HFN instead of an HEA for younger couples, though.
@Laura:
Yes! I think that’s what I was trying to say and instead, I just had word vomit all over the comments section.
Thought I’d add to the discussion . . . Keyes’s book is great and I enjoyed it. She’s a great writer and hopefully will work out some of the kinks that I didn’t totally enjoy.
Not a fan of NA myself but have enjoyed Elle Kennedy’s NA series. The books are just like her other writing style but with college-aged characters. That is the only part of the book that reads as NA, though. I would give them a try. I did just because it was Elle Kennedy and now I love The Deal and The Mistake. I’ve tried reading more NA just because of her. I’m not really sold on most of them – so many good reviews for Sarina Bowen but I just couldn’t.