There is a fun group over on Facebook called “Reading Is Sweet“, it’s made up of authors of mostly Sweet, Clean Romances (but some authors have pen names so you never know who you might run into there). Last year there was a Challenge that was fun, entertaining, and introduced me to a lot of new-to-me authors.
Now a new Challenge has begun and the three Lists of books will be released about two weeks apart. You can keep track of your reads through a link, there is a prize, but the real gem of all of this is the book experience. If you’ve never heard of this group – check them out on Facebook. You just might find some new friends, new authors and lots of new books to devour.
To make my reading life a bit easier I’m putting the lists here at Keeper Bookshelf. So while this is a mainly for myself post – I do honestly hope you go over and check out the group, I believe if you love Sweet, Clean Romance that you’ll also find some authors to follow and new to you books to read.
Firefighter Braden Mahoney is devastated when his beloved Weimaraner, Jelly Bean, fails the canine arson investigator test. Faced with the challenge of raising the money for advanced training, it’s Braden’s sweet grandmother and her best friend who suggested he use the services of the new event planner in town. Not that he needs a push in Cassie Santorini’s direction. Ever since she arrived, Braden has had his eye on the sassy Greek goddess…and can’t stop thinking about getting the rest of him on her, too.
Cassie has spent years putting family first, even moving to Bitter Bark when her mother falls in love with the local veterinarian. Having a huge new extended “family” is fun, especially when one smoke show of a firefighter attends the gatherings, but Cassie has no plans to remain in this small town. She’s ready to pursue her big-city dreams. But when Braden asks for an assist for his precious pup, Cassie agrees to help him set up a town-wide scavenger hunt. It isn’t exactly a hardship to be around those blue eyes and brawny shoulders, especially since they both agree that everything – even the undeniable sparks that crackle between them – is temporary.
But when temporary gets complicated by feelings that might lead to forever, Braden and Cassie start to question the direction they’re headed. Should they follow their dreams…or their hearts? It’ll take a dog with a bad nose and a sweet soul, two particularly meddlesome grandmas, and some help from the clan that loves them to make sure Cassie and Braden follow the clues and find their way to each other’s arms.
Titles in The Dogmothers series include — Hot Under the Collar – Three Dog Night –
The Dogmothers is a spin-off from The Dogfather series – a listing of those titles and links to review posts can be found on our Roxanne St. Claire page.
Mia Abbott never backs down from a challenge—especially one posed by sexy widowed billionaire Kit Faulkner.
He’s dark, dangerous, damaged—and pure, raw sex appeal. And for the next three weeks, he’s also Mia’s boss.
The rules of their wicked engagement? No romance.
Only, one night together isn’t enough. They’re about to discover that the most forbidden things are also the hardest to give up.
Titles in the Billionaire Bachelors series include — Forbidden to Want – Forbidden to Taste – Forbidden to Touch.
This title is part of Harlequin Dare™ a line of romances that are hot, steamy and explicit. Intended for adult, 18+ readers due to strong sexual situations geared toward an adult audience.
Logan Kase has reveled in being Willow Creek’s infamous wild child until one detrimental decision proved it was time for a change. Years later, Logan is back in her small hometown and ready to prove to everyone (especially herself) that she’s not that same girl anymore. But the new life she’s so carefully constructed starts to tear apart the second she runs into Cole Tucker.
Logan thought she’d put her childhood rival and their adolescent games behind her, but it takes her only one night before she’s forced into one final game, a series of hilariously immature challenges that has the whole town keeping score. A game that, should she lose, could destroy everything she’s built her new life around.
Titles in the Willow Creek series include — Keeping Score – Daring to Fall –
Roxie’s on the run from a bad boyfriend who will not catch the hint that it is o-v-e-r. She’s in no mood for love at first sight, but when her eyes fall on Hank, it’s trouble from the get-go. Roxie tries to hold Hank at arm’s length but Hank wants to be a closer (as in, a lot closer). Roxie’s trouble catches up with her and Hank wants to help but Roxie knows in her heart that she’s no good for a white hat guy. The problem is no one agrees with her, especially her crazy hippie best friend Annette or her parents; the even crazier small-Indiana-town Herb and Trish. Toss into the mix the gang from Rock Chick and Rock Chick Rescue and Roxie finds herself totally outnumbered.
Climb in for another Rock Chick wild ride through Rock Chick Redemption. As the odds stack up against Roxie, she has no choice but to hold on and just ride it out through the kidnappings, car chases, society parties, a riot at the strip club, Hank getting “Mom Bombed” and one crazy night at the Haunted House.
During all this Hank works at convincing her she really wants to stay and he, along with the Hot Bunch, go all out to make her safe. Hank also needs to work on showing Roxie that her past decisions don’t mean her future can’t include something as downright delicious as… normal.
Titles in the Rock Chick series include — Rock Chick – Rock Chick Rescue – Rock Chick Redemption – Rock Chick Renegade – Rock Chick Revenge – Rock Chick Reckoning – Rock Chick Regret – Rock Chick Revolution – Rock Chick Reawakening (1001 Dark Nights) – Rock Chick Reborn –
Series, connections, and review links for Ms. Ashley’s many addicting series can be found on the Kristen Ashley page.
The Hamilton sisters have found true love to rival any novels sold in their famous London bookshops. And the story continues, as each of their offspring discovers the perfect partner . . . Quiet and intuitive, Lady Mara Reeves has always felt more at home amid the green hills of her native Ireland than in London’s stifling ballrooms. Determined to remain single, she’s adept at gently rebuffing any suitor who comes her way. So why is she so drawn to Foster Sheridan, Earl of Sterling? It’s a connection unlike anything she’s ever known, yet complicated by one scandalous fact: the man she believes to be her destiny is already married. Trapped in a loveless union with a woman who refuses to divorce him, Foster is resigned to loneliness until he meets the exquisite Mara. He wants her as a wife, not a mistress, but he can’t resist her unconventional offer. Their passion is intense, as is the risk. For even as Foster follows Mara home to Ireland, their pasts will lead them toward danger that only the deepest love can overcome.
This series is a spin-off (or the children of the couples in) the Hamilton Sisters series which included — When His Kiss Is Wicked – Desire in His Eyes – It Happened One Christmas – To Tempt an Irish Rogue – His by Christmas
Real love is worth every risk . . . Ex-Air Force pilot Andy Whitcomb loves nothing more than the wide blue skies, but when a helicopter crash fighting forest fires in California leaves her injured and shaken, she’s ready to return home to the peace of Wind River Ranch. The good news is, there’s a chance for her to fly helos for the county sheriff’s department. The bad news? The person in charge is none other than Dev Mitchell, an ex-Army Black Hawk pilot—and the rugged, sharp-eyed man Andy has never forgotten after five days together running from the Taliban after a nerve-wracking near-miss in Afghanistan. Dev can’t believe his eyes when Andy walks into the interview. She’s as strong and sexy as he remembers, and every bit qualified for the job, which she clearly wants. Unfortunately, if he’s going to be her boss, their relationship has to remain strictly professional—a regret Dev fights to keep hidden as they begin to work together. But when a chance encounter with violent drug traffickers forces them into survival mode, both of them will fight to hold on to the connection they can’t ignore—and the chance of a future together.
Titles in the Wind River Valley series include — Wind River Wrangler – Wind River Rancher – Wind River Cowboy – Wrangler’s Challenge – Lone Rider – Wind River Lawman – Kassie’s Cowboy (#6.5) – Home to Wind River – Wind River Protector –
A SEAL is ready for anything…except losing his heart…
Lieutenant Amador “Stryker” Salas and his tight-knit Navy SEAL team are undercover on a Texas ranch and tasked with covert ops across the border. It’s an assignment that requires all their skills, all their secrets, and all their know-how.
Anya Gutierrez, the local veterinarian, has been serving the ranch for years. She loves the animals and ranching life, and Stryker finds her a breath of fresh air in his otherwise rigidly disciplined existence.
When Anya gets caught in the crosshairs of a mission gone sideways, Stryker must tell her the truth about who he really is, risking everything to keep her out of harm’s way, even if it destroys him.
David Parsons was on a straight shot to the top of professional rodeo until one thoughtless moment lost him everything. Now that his beloved horse has been found on the Blackfeet Reservation, he can finally get his life back together again.
It should be the happiest day of his life, but the troubled teen who’s riding Muddy now has had more than his fair share of hard knocks, and his custodial aunt Mary Steele will do whatever it takes to make sure losing this horse isn’t the blow that levels him. David finds himself drawn to both woman and boy, and is soon faced with a soul-wrenching dilemma. Claim his horse and claw his way back into the spotlight or lose everything he ever thought he wanted…and gain everything he never thought he’d need?
“You want to know what I’ve learned after living in Lone Creek all my life? I know the snow bleeds here …”
Former police officer Dean Matheson has been playing it safe since the case that cost him almost everything. But working as a PI doesn’t quite cut it, that is until a British woman walks into his office with a job that Dean can’t resist.
The woman’s daughter, Hannah Walker, and her friend Jodie have gone missing whilst working at a ski resort in Colorado. It’s clear there’s something sinister about the girls’ disappearance, but then why are the local police department being so unhelpful?
So begins Dean’s journey to Lone Creek on the trail of the missing girls – and he’ll soon find out that in Lone Creek, everyone has something to hide.
Titles in the Dean Matheson series include — Who Cares If They Die – Where The Snow Bleeds –
The Girl Who Died is a YA crime novel that has a connection to a character in Where The Snow Bleeds.
They call him Casanova.
But can this charming devil of a cowboy teach
a good girl how to change her ways?
Small-town preacher’s daughter Dixie King is used to having a lot on her plate. Keep tabs on her flighty grandmother? No problem. Handle the honky tonk’s first-ever Chili Cook-Off? In the bag. Vamp it up to charm a would-be developer into leaving Holiday, Texas for good?
…now there she might need a helping hand.
Enter Presley Walker: Holiday’s own Cowboy Casanova and the perfect tutor for a good girl looking to go bad. He’s got charms in spades, and he’s always seemed like a terrible idea waiting to happen. But as Presley and Dixie work together to save their beloved hometown, these polar opposites might finally see the good in each other…if they can only learn to trust their hearts enough to fall.
As the Queen of Impulsive Decisions, Kat Davenport has found herself without a job or a place to live. So settling on Pine Cove Island isn’t the sanest choice–meaning it’s perfect. Like the mysterious Holloway cousins, Kat has her own unique gift. In her case, it’s a knack for communicating with animals. Which makes getting hired at the local animal shelter feel like kismet. Especially when she finds a room to rent at a nearby lavender farm–complete with a sweet landlord and her brawny grandson–a guy who happens to give Kat an all-too-familiar flutter in her stomach…
Jordan Prescott isn’t back in Pine Cove to find romance. He’s here to sell the family farm, a fact that bewilders Kat. A former foster kid, she can’t understand why he’d give up his childhood home. So when the big-hearted beauty starts bringing home strays from the shelter, Jordan is suddenly her adversary. Until their fiery disagreements turn into fiery kisses…
Now Kat is falling for a man who will likely make her homeless yet again. Unless she learns how to lend her considerable powers to taming the beast lurking inside this prince.
In Victorian London, the Hamilton sisters are known for their bookshops—and for finding their happily ever afters on their own terms. Now, much to their chagrin, their offspring are following in their unconventional footsteps—in life and in love…
Raised in New York, shipping heiress Sara Fleming was ready to elope—until her disapproving parents tricked her onto a boat heading to England. Her only consolation is getting to see her beloved aunts and cousins. Even the start of London’s Season—and a strikingly handsome earl—can’t make her forget the man she left behind.
Considered one of London’s most eligible bachelors, Christopher Townsend, the Earl of Bridgeton, is not what he seems. Having inherited his father’s crushing debt, he must choose a wealthy bride to save his family’s estate. Though rumored to be penniless and committed to another, Sara takes his breath away—and makes him question what he truly needs to be free of the past. But he’ll have to win the headstrong beauty’s heart one kiss at a time.
This series is a spin-off (or the children of the couples in) the Hamilton Sisters series which included — When His Kiss Is Wicked – Desire in His Eyes – It Happened One Christmas – To Tempt an Irish Rogue – His by Christmas
Animal portrait painter Mia Chambers and architect Ben Thomas have volunteered at the High Grove Animal Shelter for years, and they share a complicated history. Ben has secretly loved Mia all this time, but she was married to his best friend. Now she’s newly widowed, with a young son, and Ben doesn’t know how to tell her what’s in his heart. All he can do is stay close, help her as much as she’ll let him, and watch for the right moment to bare his soul.
When a dozen adorable border collies get dumped in St. Louis’ biggest park, everyone at the shelter mobilizes for a large-scale rescue. Rushing to the park to round up the frisky collies, Ben and Mia unexpectedly plunge into a new phase of their entangled lives. Who knew that opening their hearts and homes—to animals in need and to each other—would lead to so many upheavals…and new beginnings…?
Will Gold Valley’s most reclusive cowboy finally find a reason to heal?
As a former EMT and a wildland firefighter, there’s no one Jacob Dalton can’t rescue–except himself. Since his best friend’s tragic death, Jacob has isolated himself…until Vanessa Logan returns to Gold Valley. He saved her life during a medical call years ago, and he’s never forgotten her. The instant jolt of heat between them takes him by surprise, but he knows that giving in to it would only end in disaster.
For Vanessa, returning home was about healing, not about exploring her attraction with Jacob. He is the guardian angel from her past–with strong, capable hands and an irresistible mouth. A temptation she knows she can’t afford. Until the chemistry between them explodes and unites them in a way they could never have imagined.
Titles in the Gold Valley series include — Cowboy Christmas Blues (#0.5) – Smooth-Talking Cowboy – Mail-Order Cowboy (#1.5) – Untamed Cowboy – Hard Riding Cowboy (#2.5) – Good Time Cowboy – Snowed in with the Cowboy (#3.5) – A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas – Unbroken Cowboy – Cowboy to the Core – Lone Wolf Cowboy – Cowboy Christmas Redemption
Firefighter Braden Mahoney is devastated when his beloved Weimaraner, Jelly Bean, fails the canine arson investigator test. Faced with the challenge of raising the money for advanced training, it’s Braden’s sweet grandmother and her best friend who suggested he use the services of the new event planner in town. Not that he needs a push in Cassie Santorini’s direction. Ever since she arrived, Braden has had his eye on the sassy Greek goddess…and can’t stop thinking about getting the rest of him on her, too.
David Parsons was on a straight shot to the top of professional rodeo until one thoughtless moment lost him everything. Now that his beloved horse has been found on the Blackfeet Reservation, he can finally get his life back together again.
