Hot August nights…anyone else think of Neil Diamond? No? Just me?
This month’s reading challenge is Summer/Vacation flings. We might not have hot August nights down here in Australia, but summer is coming! Meanwhile, in the northern hemisphere, summer is winding down…there’s no better time to while away those long summer nights curled up with a steamy book…or, conversely, snuggled under a blanket with a hot read to keep you warm as you wait for summer.
I’ve managed to find books in contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and historical romance this month (yay!) and I have an Australian author and New Zealand author to boot.
So whether you’re sweltering in the summer heat or wishing summer would hurry up, there’s something here for everyone.
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Hot Summer Fling
by Ali Parker
It’s rare I choose the bad girl in the group.
This time I got lucky.
A spunky New Yorker with a beautiful body and an interesting personality.
I need a break from life in general, and this girl is the perfect distraction.
Her being in a different state might be perfect for the fling I’m searching for.
Having just graduated from college with a Fine Arts degree, my billionaire father forces me into the banking industry.
Not willing to let anything get me down, I go after this new life with a vigor that says I was made for it.
But truth be known, the more I work at being something I’m not, the more I crave someone to remind me of who I am.
My pretty girl would be perfect for the job of loving me, but she’s pretty damn stubborn.
No marriage. No babies. No future.
Time to convince her otherwise. I’m good at just about everything, but at making her mine?
I’m going to figure out how to be great.
Second Chance Summer
by Kait Nolan
Professor Audrey Graham shouldn’t be alive. But she didn’t walk away from the accident that should’ve taken her life. She shouldn’t have ever walked again according to the doctors. But after two years of physical therapy and countless surgeries, she’s got a second lease on life. First stop? Camp Firefly Falls to try and catch up on some of the living she never did before her accident.
Firefighter Hudson Lowell shouldn’t be alive. In the wake of losing two members of his team in a structure fire gone wrong, he’s been unable to work, unable to pull himself out of the survivor’s guilt. In a last ditch effort to snap him out of it, his family surprises him with a 2 week reunion session at Camp Firefly Falls, reminder of a simpler, better time. The last thing he expects to find is the woman he helped cut out of a snarled up wreck of a car two years before.
As sparks ignite between rescuer and rescuee, Audrey finally gets the chance to repay her hero. But can she convince this proud, stubborn man that life is still worth living? Or will Hudson let this chance at happiness slip through his fingers?
Summer Sparks
By Kris Pearson
Scarlet Bay – where passions run deep, and surely everyone deserves a summertime treat? A walk on the wild side for uptight Anna Wynn so she can try and forget her shameful secret. An unexpected roll in the hay for unsettled Jason Jones – who doesn’t know how much he craves the tender touch of a worthwhile woman. They’ve no future together, of course. But…
Jason’s dreams of photography were ruthlessly crushed by his alcoholic father, and instead he’s become the the strong, focussed boss of his own construction company. Now, uptight interfering Anna Wynn is threatening to turn his life upside down.
Anna has arrived at the idyllic beach house to prepare for her wealthy family’s Christmas vacation. Big tough Jason Jones is right in the way – even in the bed she intended claiming as her own. She vows not to let this infuriating tower of testosterone upset her careful plans, but his rippling body and huge tattoo are hard to ignore.
Soon her closed-off heart is under siege from a man determined to break through her reserve. Enemies become lovers, but when her secret is revealed and her life is in tatters, will he be willing to pick up the pieces?
A Brit on the Side
by Brenda St John Brown
How do you tell your best friend you had the hottest hook-up of your life with her older brother? Short answer? You don’t.
At least that’s my method of (not) dealing with the awkward. Until my bestie invites me to spend the summer in England working at her family’s castle-turned-hotel – where I’m living within kissing distance of her older brother for the entire summer.
Unfortunately Jasper St Julien is as smart and sexy as I remember. And our nights together? Way hotter. Our tryst two years ago didn’t feel like much of a secret. But as Jasper and I grow closer, our “fling” begins feeling more like the kind of thing I’d gush about to my best friend. If I hadn’t been lying to her all along.
Love on a Summer Night
by Zoe York
Never say never. Especially not to a determined bad boy.
Zander Minelli is exactly the wrong kind of man. He’s dark, dangerous, and knows far too much about sawed-off shotguns.
Faith Davidson finds him irresistible. The widowed single mother knows she should dip her toe back in the dating pool with someone solid and dependable. Definitely no tattoos. But every time she looks up, the brooding soldier is watching her, and she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to let herself have a taste…
Small town summer nights have never been hotter—and one transplanted city-girl’s heart has never been more fragile.
Mistaken Identity
By Mindy Burbidge Strunk
Can she truly love him if she thinks he is someone else?
Jessica Standish is considered an upstart in the eyes of society because she is merely the daughter of a wealthy merchant. After a failed season, the devastating loss of her father and his fortune, her chances of a good match seem impossible. When her mother arranges for them to attend one of the biggest house parties of the summer, Jes dreads the idea of being seen as a fortune hunter. But then Lord Ian arrives. Even though she has only danced with him once, he has become the man of her dreams. As the connection between them grows, he seems so different from the man she thought she was.
Conrad Pinkerton, the Marquess of Kendal despises the ton and all the scheming, the guises and the games that go with it. For years he has declined their invitations. Then his twin brother, Ian, calls in a favor and Conrad grudgingly assumes a guise of his own–pretending to be his brother at a house party. When he meets Miss Standish, he wants nothing more than to pursue her. But that would mean exposing his lies which would hurt both their reputations and threaten the relationship he didn’t know he wanted.
With family names and fortunes on the line, can Conrad and Jes see past their schemes and guises to find a lasting love together?
Mistaken Identity is one of five books all set at the same Regency House Party. While each is a standalone story, watch our characters mingle together with others from the other books in the series. The stories are clean romances and can be read in any order.
Love at a House Party
by Kasey Stockton
Eleanor Wheeler married into misery. Now widowed, marrying again is the only way to save her sister and herself from their brother’s drunken temper. Mr. Bancroft offers her such an escape if she can gain his mother’s approval at the family’s house party.
Eleanor quickly discovers that obtaining Mrs. Bancroft’s blessing is near
impossible. A matter only complicated further when she stumbles across a fellow
guest in the middle of the night. Despite fear of scandal, Eleanor cannot
resist the Marquess’ easy manner, which appeals to her heart in a way Mr.
Bancroft never could.
However, losing Mr. Bancroft would be disastrous to her sister’s future. As her
past begins to catch up with her, Eleanor desperately holds the Marquess at
arm’s length in an attempt to preserve her plans. As
the house party draws to a close, she must choose between a safe
bet or following her heart.
A clean and wholesome Regency romance, Love at the House Party is the third book in the Women of Worth series. It can be read apart from the series or enjoyed in proper order.
The Amulet
by Effrosyni Moschoudi
Katie has a guardian angel… she just doesn’t know it. Plus, she’s falling for him.
When Katie loses her office job, a gypsy woman hands her an amulet for good luck. Next, she gets hired as hotel receptionist on a Greek island where gorgeous Aggelos, one of the guests, keeps saving the day whenever she needs help. Katie is intrigued by him and the mysteries surrounding him, and falls in love, unaware that he is a guardian angel that came with the amulet…
Summer Series Boxed Set
By C.J. Duggan
Enter a world of sweltering Aussie summers, fabulously addictive
characters and sweet intoxicating romance in
C.J Duggan’s SUMMER SERIES.
***
THE BOYS OF SUMMER
After first shift disasters, rude wealthy tourists, and a taunting ex boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come from working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer, and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love, and heartbreaking chaos.
All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.
It will be a summer she will always remember.
AN ENDLESS SUMMER
With the new threat of putting the Onslow up for sale, Amy reluctantly turns to a local tradesman for help: Sean Murphy, the very same Onslow boy who saved her life all those years ago. With his help and that of some old friends, the task is clear: spend the summer building the hotel back up to its former glory or lose it for good.
In an endless summer, Amy soon realises that sometimes in order to save your future, you have to face your past, even if it’s in the form of a smug, gorgeous Onslow boy.
THAT ONE SUMMER
Now the countdown begins to reach the others at Point Shank before the party is over and the new year has begun. Alone in a car with only the infuriating Chris Henderson, Tammy can’t help but feel this is a disastrous start to what could have been a great adventure. But when the awkward road trip takes an unexpected turn, Tammy soon discovers that the way her traitorous heart feels about Chris is the biggest disaster of all.
Fogged up windows, moonlight swimming, bad karaoke and unearthed secrets; after this one summer nothing will ever be the same again.