Romantic Novelists' Association

New Releases: August 2019

2 August 2019

Jennifer Bohnet: Villa of Sun and Secrets

Boldwood Books
e-book; paperback; audio
8th August 2019

Carla Sullivan’s 50th birthday is fast approaching when her whole world is turned upside down. Discovering her feckless husband is having yet another affair and following her mother’s death, she is in need of an escape. Finding an envelope addressed to her mother’s estranged sister Josette in the South of France gives Carla the perfect plan.
Seizing the moment, she packs her bags and heads to Antibes to seek out the enigma known as Tante Josette. But as the two women begin to forge a tentative relationship, family secrets start to unravel, forcing Carla to question her life as she has always known it.

 

 

 

 

Annie Burrows: A Marquess, A Miss and a Mystery.
Romance
Mills & Boon
paperback and ebook version.

After one disastrous season, Miss Horatia Carmichael avoids the ton—her mind and her tongue are too unfashionably opinionated for her to land a husband! But to find her brother’s killer she must join forces with incorrigible rake Lord Devizes and allow the Marquess to pretend to seduce her for all to see! Horatia knows it’s not real—she’s a plain spinster after all—but as the danger grows so does their desire…

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Bennett: Sunshine over Bluebell Castle

Contemporary Romance, Chicklit
HQ Digital UK
Ebook
5th August

The summer she will never forget…
Time’s running out for Iggy Ludworth to restore the wild gardens of Camland Castle in time for the Summer Fete, so she ropes in hotshot gardener Will Talbot… But she regrets her decision as soon as he sets foot in the historic grounds – not only is Will arrogant and bossy, he’s totally gorgeous! And very soon, sparks are flying amongst the bluebells. Yet with summer nearly over, will their summer fling convince Will and Iggy to go the distance? Perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Rachael Lucas and Hilary Boyd. Book 1: Spring Skies Over Bluebell Castle. Book 2: Sunshine Over Bluebell Castle
Book 3: Starlight Over Bluebell Castle

 

 

 

 

Julie Stock – The Bistro by Watersmeet Bridge

Contemporary romance
Indie Published
Ebook and paperback
6 August 2019

When Olivia goes to manage Finn’s failing bistro, will they end up sharing a table for two, or will it be a recipe for disaster?
Olivia Fuller longs to manage one of the restaurants in her father’s chain and to break free to live the independent life she’s wanted for so long. When her father finally puts his trust in her and sends her to a failing restaurant in Devon, she’s confident she can prove herself capable of doing the job. Finn Anderson is about to lose his beloved seaside bistro unless the bank can find a buyer to dig him out. When George Fuller offers Finn a deal, he has no choice but to accept if he wants any chance of getting his bistro back one day. And then the new manager arrives…
Even after meeting the prickly chef and discovering his complete lack of business skills, Olivia is confident she can turn the struggling business around. But as Olivia and Finn start working together, a mutual attraction develops between them, and soon, nothing is going according to Olivia’s plan.
When there’s a real chance that the bistro might be sold off, Olivia and Finn determine to fight for it, united by their hard work and their growing feelings for each other.
But can they save the bistro and be together, or does destiny have a different path in mind?
A feel-good contemporary romance set in a bistro beside the sea in Devon.

 

 

 

 

Francine Beaton, Taste for Wine

Contemporary romance
Electronic and print (on demand)
6 August 2019
Book link: https://books2read.com/u/bzvPKG

Book 2 in the Taste for Love Series
The first kiss, like the first glass of wine, is the best!
Businessman Santiago Figueras arrives in Edinburgh to reclaim his missing wife. But why should Olivia Holmes trust him now, when he left her stranded in a foreign country three years ago? All she wants to do is to protect the son he did not know he had. Santiago makes her a shrewd offer she cannot refuse – and she follows him to Argentina to rebuild their marriage. Olivia is still addicted to the taste of his kisses, but can she give him her heart again? Years of hurt and mistrust are not easily erased and threaten to tear them apart once more. Can Santiago and Olivia’s love grow deep roots among the vineyards of Mendoza, or will they harvest only a lifetime of regrets?

 

 

 

 

Kathleen McGurl: The Stationmaster’s Daughter:

Dual timeline
HQ Digital
Ebook, paperback coming later
7th August 2019

As the last train leaves, will life ever be the same?
Dorset, 1935
Stationmaster Ted has never cared much for romance. Occupied with ensuring England’s most beautiful railway runs on time, love has always felt like a comparatively trivial matter. Yet when he meets Annie Galbraith on the 8.42 train to Lynford, he can’t help but instantly fall for her.
But when the railway is forced to close and a terrible accident occurs within the station grounds, Ted finds his job and any hope of a relationship with Annie hanging in the balance…
Present-day
Recovering from heartbreak after a disastrous marriage, Tilly decides to escape from the bustling capital and move to Dorset to stay with her dad, Ken.
When Ken convinces Tilly to help with the restoration of the old railway, she discovers a diary hidden in the old ticket office. Tilly is soon swept up in Ted’s story, and the fateful accident that changed his life forever. But an encounter with an enigmatic stranger takes Tilly by surprise, and she can’t help but feel a connection with Ted’s story in the past…

 

 

 

 

Wendy Clarke: We Were Sisters

Romantic Suspense (psychological thriller)
Bookouture
ebook, paperback, audio
August 8th 2019

I turn to where I left my baby in his pushchair and pull up short. With a racing heart, I look around wildly, fear gripping my stomach. I only looked away for a moment. The pushchair and my baby are gone.
Kelly is taking her twin daughters to their first day of school, ushering them into the classroom, her heart is breaking to think they might not need her any more when she turns around and sees that her newborn baby is gone. As a desperate search ensues, baby Noah is quickly found – parked in front of a different classroom. But when Kelly reaches forward to comfort him, she finds something tucked beside his blanket. A locket that belonged to her sister Freya. A locket Kelly hasn’t seen since the day Freya died. And then Kelly’s perfectly-ordered life begins to unravel…

 

 

 

 

Lisa Swift: When You Were Mine

Hera
ebook
14th August 2019

Life is a love song when you find the right notes
Maggie and Ibby make up a happy – if unconventional – family. After meeting at university, they now live in the village of Applecroft on the beautiful West Country coast.
Okay, so Ibby’s gay and prone to disastrous dates, while couples’ counsellor Maggie spends her days helping people with their relationship problems despite having no sex life of her own. Nevertheless, they’re devoted to bringing up teenage daughter Amelia – the result of a drunken one-night stand when they were students – in a stable and loving family. Until a face from the past – in the form of hard-partying rock star Jordan Nash – disrupts their quiet lives. As Jordan struggles with his personal demons and old secrets are revealed, can Maggie and Ibby stay strong? Or, will bringing back the past threaten all that they’ve built in the present?

 

 

 

 

Ashley Croft: The Love Solution

Romantic Comedy
Avon Books
ebook
15th August 2019

Sisters Sarah and Molly are close, but they couldn’t be more different. Sarah makes jewellery and is obsessed with all things shiny and glam, whilst Molly is most at home in her white coat and goggles, working in a science lab. When Molly is put on a new assignment, she’s over the moon. It’s an important, top-secret project – and she has a handsome new boss to ogle at when she’s not staring into a petri dish…
But when Sarah finds herself on the painful end of a disastrous break-up, no amount of Ben & Jerry’s or trashy rom-coms can cheer her up. She wants to take a more drastic approach to dealing with her heartbreak, and one that only her sister – and perhaps a sprinkle of science – can help with…
Is love really all in the chemistry? Or will Sarah get more than she bargained for?

 

 

 

Sylvia Broady: The Lost Daughter

Historical Saga
Allison & Busby
Paperback
22 August 2019

 

Alice is involved in a road accident and when she recovers, her daughter is missing.
Betrayed, homeless, penniless, and WW2 looming, she becomes a nurse with the air ambulances, never losing sight of her search for her daughter.

 

 

 

 

 

Belinda Missen: Lessons in Love

Lessons in Love: The perfect laugh out loud romantic comedy for summer!HQ Digital/HarperCollins
Paperback
August 22

Eleanor Manning is finally leaving behind her glittering but empty life in the city (and her soon-to-be-ex-husband) to return to the comfort of her childhood home in Apollo Bay.
She’s landed a lovely new job and a flatshare with her bubbly best friend, Penny. So yes, she’s well and truly learnt her lesson when it comes to love…
But then she meets gorgeous teacher Marcus Blair and Eleanor’s self-imposed rules fly out of the window! Surely she can resist him long enough to keep this fling no strings attached?

 

 

 

 

Daisy Tate: The Happy Glampers

Commercial Women’s Fiction
Harper Fiction
Ebook

 

 

Four friends find themselves again over a year of tears, tantrums and tent pegs. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Raisin and Ali McNamara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie O’Neil: A Return, A Reunion, A Wedding

Medical Romance
Mills & Boon/Harper Collins
Paperback, ebook

 

Jayne Sinclair left behind the man she loved to fulfil her late twin sister’s dreams. Now a paediatric cardiologist, Jayne has hit crisis point…and coming home to heal reminds her of her own dream?a life with Sam Crenshaw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liz Fielding: A Secret, a Safari and a Second Chance

 

Contemporary Romance
Mills and Boon True Love
Paper and eBook

 

Is Eve’s bid at a charity auction a chance for closure on the past, or is she running away from her future?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emma Davies: The Beekeeper’s Cottage

Contemporary fiction
Bookouture
eBook and PB

Comforted by the gentle hum of the beehives at the bottom of the garden, Grace drains the last of her tea and walks slowly back towards the little hillside house she adores. Her marriage is over, but is it too late to start her life again?
Beekeeper Grace thought throwing out her cheating husband would be the hardest thing she ever did. But when she opens the door to a property developer one morning, it’s clear that keeping her beautiful home and garden – her only sanctuary throughout her miserable marriage – will be the greatest challenge of all…
Fleeing to her best friend at the farm next door, Grace blurts out all her problems, only to be overheard by Amos, a handsome, free-spirited visitor with a twinkle in his eye. Fascinated by Grace and her bees, Amos offers to stay in the village of Hope Corner, to help turn her home into a guest house in return for lessons on beekeeping. As Grace shows Amos how to nurture a hive and harvest honeycomb without getting stung, he is charming but secretive. He never stays long in the same place after an incident in his past involving a mysterious woman named Maria. But as their eyes lock over a jar of homemade honey, Grace can’t help feeling that she’d really like him to stay… Determined to dispel her growing suspicion that Amos is running from something serious, Grace goes in search of the truth about Maria. But when she finds it, will she still want Amos to put down roots in Hope Corner, and will they still have a house to return to?
No matter how far they travel, bees will always find their way home…

 

 

 

Katie Ginger: Summer Season on the Seafront

Romantic Comedy
Harper Collins/HQ Digital
Paperback
22 August 2019

For Sarah, summer brings the chance for a fresh start. As well as playing Miranda in the Greenley Players’ production of The Tempest (where she’ll get to spend loads of time with her best friends Lottie and Sid) she finally feels ready to find love again after surviving heartbreak. Could handsome colleague Dr Finn Macdonald be the very man she’s looking for? Famous actor Nate finds himself hiding out in Greenley whilst a potentially career-ruining scandal blows over. But when the Greenley Players get wind of his arrival, they draft him in to help out with their performance – and Nate certainly doesn’t bank on his instant connection with the beautiful woman in the lead role… As the temperature rises and the Players’ performance draws closer, can Sarah and Nate overcome their pasts and find love again?

 

 

 

 

Louise Allen: A Love For the Moment (Time Into Time 3)

Timeslip historical romantic mystery
Indie
Ebook

Cassie Lawrence might be getting used to being pitchforked back to 1807 – and into the arms of Lucian Franklin, Earl of Radcliffe – but familiarity doesn’t make it any easier to be in a relationship across centuries. This is love – but surely it can only be for the moment?
But while Cassie and Luc try to live in their fleeting present they also have to deal with another mystery, one very close to home. Garrick, Luc’s enigmatic henchman, has never known who his father was and his mother vanished when he was days old. Now the man whose name he carries has been found murdered and all the old, unspoken suspicions about who Garrick really is have begun to surface. Could Garrick be even closer to Luc than just a friend? And who is the killer? Someone lethally good with a cut-throat razor is on the loose – this can’t be the end of the danger.

 

 

 

 

Jenny Worstall: Three Hundred Bridesmaids

Amazon
Ebook
18th July 2019

‘Three Hundred Bridesmaids’ is a romantic comedy novella set in the seventies.
Rosie Peach falls for the dashing David Hart but, haunted by his dark and troubled past, he is unable to give her the love she craves. Can Rosie and David overcome the obstacles to true love – can they escape the past? This story has been previously published in an edited version by The People’s Friend (‘Love And Lies’ People’s Friend Pocket Novel 883).

 

 

 

 

 

New Releases are brought to you every month by Sheila Riley.

Sheila is represented by Felicity Trew at Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency. Her brand new Liverpool saga, The Orphan Daughter, will be published by Boldwood Books on the 5th September.

http://my-writing-ladder.blogspot.co.uk
twitter@1sheilariley

 

Happy reading!