Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas (Friday Harbour #3) Piatkus Books (August 2012) Paperbook, 336 pages Contemporary / Paranormal Romance Dream Lake is book number three in Lisa Kleypas’s contemporary romance series Friday Harbour. It follows three brothers who have all suffered from a neglectful upbringing, so much so that none of them have believed in happily ever afters. The last book had a paranormal twist, as does Dream Lake, this time in the shape of a ghost. The story centres around Alex the third brother of the family. Alex is…

Bittersweet by Brooke Moss Entangled Publishing (Apr 2012) Ebook, 95 pages Contemporary Romance Having loved Brooke Moss’s novel, Keeping Secrets in Seattle, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her short novella, Bittersweet. Expectations were high and, although it didn’t quite live up to my previous experience, it was still a sweet romance to indulge in. The book begins with Anna and her eight-year-old autistic son, Bowen, at one of their weekly sessions with therapist, Gianna. Bowen has sensory issues, and struggles with the idea of touching or walking…

Fangirl by Angel Lawson Self-Published (July 2012) Ebook, 303 pages Contemporary Romance This was a freebie on Amazon Kindle and I *thought* it would be some zombie book and therefore would have fitted into the zombie event we had back in November. I was wrong, but rather than be completely disappointed, this book was an enjoyable little romance. There are a lot of “What if’s” in the book and the author manages to write in such away that you are experiencing the events that the main character, Ruby, is going through….

Playing the Maestro by Aubrie Dionne Entangled Publishing (Feb 2013) Ebook, 190 Pages Contemporary Romance Melody Mires has banned herself from dating musicians, especially since her latest nightmare, Blake, the individual that runs the orchestra that suffers from a VERY huge ego. She vows to find a man outside of the music industry. However, a little hurdle comes in the form of the failing orchestra’s new conductor: Wolfgang Braun. Wolf is young, fresh German conductor that has been roped in to help the struggling orchestra where Melanie is the main flutist….

Keeping Secrets in Seattle by Brooke Moss Entangled Publishing (Feb 2013) Ebook, 204 pages Contemporary Romance Every so often a book comes along that completely grabs you and won’t let go until you’ve devoured every last page. For me, one such book was Keeping Secrets in Seattle by Brooke Moss. The book has a fairly simple premise which we’ve all seen several times before: out of two best friends who have known each other years, one has romantic feelings for the other. In this case, the friends are Violet Murphy…

Something from Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill Hodder & Stroughton (May 2011) Hardback, 404 pages Contemporary Romance Warning: contains spoilers for the book’s ending It has been a while since I have read a book that would have been classed as “chick-lit”. This is due to the fact that they are all pretty much the same, but I picked up this book since it fit nicely in with the “SmeXmas” event held in December. Unfortunately I didn’t finish it in time, but this is not a reflection on the quality of the novel as…

Cutest Couple by Kate Davies (Girls Most Likely to… #2) Carina Press (April 2013) Ebook, 79 pages Contemporary Romance Cutest Couple is the second instalment in the Girls Most Likely to… Series. This edition follows the antics of Marc and Bree. The pair were the golden couple when it came to high school duos, so much so that they were voted Cutest Couple. This lasted up until their high school graduation night where they had the mother of arguments which crushed their relationship. Marc swiftly joined the military and Bree…

‘You Need to Read This!’ is a new feature at BCC. We recommend a book or genre that we love to one of our fellow reviewers. It’s a bit scary as they can hate a book you love or love a book you hate. Let the fun begin! Phantom Waltz (Kendrick/Coulter #2) by Catherine Anderson | Signet (2007) Kindle, 418 pages | Contemporary Romance LAURA: Why I Chose Phantom Waltz Catherine Anderson is one of my favourite romance authors, but I don’t think any of the other reviewers on the site have picked up…

Losing It (Losing It #1) by Cora Carmack Ebury Press (March 2013) | Paperback, 280 pages New Adult | Contemporary Romance Bliss Edwards is twenty two and in the last year of her degree at university. Her life is pretty good other than one thing which hovers over her head like a dark cloud – her virginity. It’s not that she’s held onto it for any reason other than she’s not found anyone she particularly likes enough to lose it to. So her friend, Kelsey, decides she needs to go…

Most Likely to Succeed (Girls Most Likely to… #1) by Kate Davies | Carina Press (Mar 2013) Ebook, 69 pages | Contemporary Romance Girls Most Likely to… is a contemporary romance series set in and amongst a high school reunion. Our first instalment comes in the form of Most Likely to Succeed. We follow the story of Kelsey Moore, a 28 year old woman who was voted most likely to succeed in high school. She set the barrier when it came to success and had high hopes when it came…

Reason to Breathe (Breathing #1) by Rebecca Donovan Penguin (Jan 2013) | Paperback, 544 pages New Adult, Contemporary Romance I respect the hell out of Reason to Breathe for broaching the subject of child abuse in the straight-forward way that it did. I like the fact that it was unflinching about the raw subject matter, that Rebecca Donovan was unafraid of portraying quite graphic violence. The way that we, as the reader- but somehow placed in Emily’s shoes – never saw the violence coming, despite the constant threat, was really well…

RAINSHADOW ROAD (Friday Harbour #2) by Lisa Kleypas PUBLISHER: Piatkus Books RELEASE DATE: 28th February 2012 FORMAT: Paperback, 308 pages GENRE: Contemporary Romance Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful, Friday Harbor, Washington. She is stunned and blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal: her fiancé Kevin has left her. His new lover is Lucy’s own sister. Lucy’s bitterness over being dumped is multiplied by the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life. Facing the severe disapproval of Lucy’s parents, Kevin…

Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis (Lucky Harbor #1) Forever (Oct 2010) Paperback, 311 pages Contemporary Romance After her mother dies, Maddie Moore returns to the small coastal town of Lucky Harbor, having inherited an inn from her free-spirited mother. The inn was left to Maddie and her two half-sisters, Tara and Chloe. Having only met her sister’s a few times, Maddie feels a little overwhelmed and awkward around them, but after a while the sisters begin to relax and get to know each other. What a great start to a series….

NO RESERVATIONS (Bad Girls Know #1) by Lilly Cain PUBLISHER: Carina Press RELEASE DATE: 29th October 2012 FORMAT: Ebook, 44 pages GENRE: Contemporary Erotic Romance Travis Morgan is thrilled to encounter the one woman who’s never failed to get his blood pumping. Seeing Alicia Davis again brings it all back: their fierce academic rivalry, and the fact that he never followed through on his erotic fantasies about her. Alicia can’t resist Travis’s smoldering sensuality–or the opportunity to finally bed the man who starred in so many of her lustful daydreams…

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton Omnific Publishing (Nov 2012) | Ebook, 314 pages Contemporary Romance Caroline Reynolds is an independent women who’s just moved into a new apartment. She’s also a women who has lost her “O” after a calamitous night with an ex-lover. It’s been months. So when her nights are suddenly intruded upon by her next door neighbours late night booty calls, she’s even more irritated. And thus a war ensues between Caroline and her sexy next door neighbour, Simon Parker.I didn’t know what to expect when I downloaded…