meet him at a rental cabin near Copper
Ridge, Ore. But when the power at the
cabin goes out and she needs to call
Christopher, she knocks on a neighbor’s
door and is dismayed to be answered by
Sam McCormack, whom she last saw
shoeing the horses at her father’s estate.
Sam has left the farrier business and
moved up in the world: he’s now
designing art and has a successful metalworking business. Christopher can’t reach
the cabin in the snowstorm, and Madison
can’t deny her attraction to Sam, so the
two of them engage in a weekend of hot
sex. But once they agree to extend their
affair until Christmas, they both start to
wonder whether they will be able to just
walk away when it’s over. Though the
focus is on the sizzling attraction between
Sam and Madison, Yates deftly reveals
hidden facets of both of their characters
that give them depth and believability.
(Nov.)
The Legendary Lord
Valerie Bowman. St. Martin’s, $7.99 trade
paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-07259-7
Bowman’s sixth 19th-century Playful
Brides tale (after The Untamed Earl) is a
sweet and fulfilling snowbound romance.
Lady Sarah Highgate has run away from
London and the betrothal her father has
secured for her, only to land in the part of
the Scottish Highlands. After she and her
governess lose their way, they wind up at
the cabin of Christian Forester, Viscount
Berkeley. When Sarah and Christian are
snowed in together with no chaperone,
she agrees to help him find a wife as he
tries to concoct a plausible tale about her
disappearance from London. Neither
counts on their mutual attraction, which
continues to grow when they return to
London even though Sarah is still engaged
to a man she dislikes. Enjoyable characters
from earlier installments fill the pages as
they try to figure out how to unite Sarah
and Christian. The relationship begins as
a friendship, and readers will love
watching it develop into intense attraction and love. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal
Lyon Literary. (Nov.)
The Queer and the Restless
Kris Ripper. Riptide, $17 trade paper (238p)
ISBN 978-1-62649-438-1
The third in Ripper’s Queers of La Vista
she’s afraid he’ll hate her when he learns of
her deception. The novel hews very closely
to the plot of its namesake film, including
replicating some of its flaws, but Jordan
(Hell Breaks Loose) has added both disdain
and heat to the familiar story. The complex
characterization and eccentricities of
Struan’s relatives refreshingly diverge
from typical portrayals of Regency gentry.
Agent: Maura Kye-Casella, Don Congdon
Associates. (Nov.)
Hold Me, Cowboy
Maisey Yates. Harlequin, $5.25 trade paper
(224p) ISBN 978-0-373-73492-4
Yates continues her Copper Ridge:
Desire contemporary series (begun with
Take Me, Cowboy) with this fast-paced
holiday tale, in which the participants in
an unlikely affair discover that their
emotions for each other may be more than
mere lust. Ranching heiress Madison
West has decided that she is going to
break her 10-year sex drought with a
fellow named Christopher, planning to
series, a shop clerk falls for a self-made
man. Struan Mackenzie’s father, the pre-
vious Duke of Autenberry, abandoned his
pregnant mother and died before Struan
could confront him. Struan’s accumulated
wealth does nothing to impress his
scornful half-
brother, who now
holds the
Autenberry title.
Poppy Fairchurch
and her teenage
sister are barely
scraping by on
Poppy’s bookstore
wages. Poppy
moons after the
duke, who’s a frequent patron at her
London shop; after saving his life, she’s
mistaken for his fiancée, and his best
friend convinces her to keep up the ruse.
Struan sees an opportunity to take a dig at
his brother by stealing Poppy’s affections.
His ignoble motives change when he falls
in love with her. The feeling’s mutual, but
; Baron
Joanna Shupe. Zebra, $7.99 mass market (326p) ISBN 978-1-4201-3986-0
In Shupe’s engaging and sexy second romance set in the glittering Gilded Age, sparks fly when a hardworking and enterprising performer crosses paths with one of New York City’s powerful Knickerbocker families.
Railroad tycoon William Sloan knows his fledgling gubernatorial campaign needs his sterling reputation and every
single one of his connections to take on the corrupt
Tammany Hall political machine. His political aspirations
cannot afford the romantic distraction of Ava Jones, who
supports her three siblings with the money she earns as
the medium Madame Zolikoff. Unlike his sister, Lizzie (the heroine of Magnate),
who chafed under society’s strictures, Will doesn’t mind the traditions of New
York’s moneyed elite, but Ava’s scorn for the wealthy throws him off balance. He’s
intrigued that a young woman with no connections, money, or venerable family
name still refuses to be awed by his wealth or impressed by his grand plans. The
sexual heat between them burns slowly, but when Will finally gives in, he loses
control. Will is starch and pomposity personified, but every minute with Ava, in
and out of bed, musses him up and makes him more human. They have nothing
in common, but their personalities are highly complementary; Ava’s pragmatism
and devotion to her siblings draw out Will’s sense of fair play, honesty, and justice, and it’s increasingly difficult for him to remember why they have to stay in
their own social spheres. The impoverished, good-hearted woman marrying the
stuffy millionaire is what fairy tales are made of, but Shupe keeps the romance
grounded with the realistic details of Ava’s hardscrabble life. This tumultuous
love affair will charm even the most jaded society matron. (Nov.)
