Brothers of the Vine
Forever Evermore
Women of W.A.R.
August has arrived, bringing with it a fresh batch of books! If you’re craving an extra spicy ice hockey romance, complete with thrilling games and passionate moments, or perhaps a summer fling set against the picturesque backdrop of the south of France, filled with sun-drenched vineyards and whirlwind romances, there’s plenty to get excited about. For those who prefer the rugged allure of a romance with a hardworking rancher, or the heart-racing excitement of a story featuring a hunky firefighter saving the day, this month offers a diverse selection of tales. Indeed, there’s a little something for every romance reader looking to dive into new adventures and heartfelt stories this August!
Check out our top picks below.
Body Check by Elle Kennedy
New York Times bestselling author of the Briar U series Elle Kennedy’s first hockey romance, Body Check, is now released in an expanded version, with both new and enhanced scenes by the author! More story, more hockey-and more heat!
After a childhood spent being dragged around the country by her hockey coach father, Hayden Houston intends to take some time to figure out her future. Whether that future will include her currently off-again boyfriend remains to be seen. What it certainly won’t include is the for-one-night-only guy she just met at a bar.
It seems hockey star Brody Croft did not get the memo about being temporary. Big, bold and driven, he’s dedicated in everything he does. Up till now, that’s been his team – the one owned by Hayden’s dad. But his night with Hayden has sparked something he didn’t expect. The two of them are good together. Really good. There’s a connection he’s never experienced before, one he knows they’d be wrong to ignore. Even with a game-fixing scandal testing both their loyalties – to teammates, to friends…to family.
Part of Hayden wants to turn tail and run. A complicated relationship with a bad boy hockey player is exactly what she never wanted. But when it comes to Brody, Hayden is realising that people can be so much more than what they seem.
I See London by Chanel Cleeton
For the first time in print! New York Times sensation Chanel Cleeton’s international, angst-fuelled romance is perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Lucy Score.
Maggie Carpenter is a small-town Southern girl who’s never been kissed. She’s ready for a change – and to leave her ordinary life and a failed attempt to get into Harvard behind. She accepts a scholarship to the International School in London, where she’s suddenly mingling with the privileged offspring of diplomats and world leaders.
When Maggie meets Hugh, a twentysomething British guy, she finds herself living the life she has always wanted. Suddenly she’s riding around the city in a Ferrari, wearing borrowed designer clothes and going to the hottest clubs. The only problem? There’s someone else, someone she can’t seem to keep her hands off of.
Half French, half Lebanese and impossibly rich, Samir Khouri has made it clear to Maggie that despite their intense attraction, he doesn’t do relationships. He’s the opposite of everything she thought she wanted – a player with no interest in commitments – but she just can’t keep away. Torn between her dream guy and the one haunting her thoughts, Maggie must fight for her own happy ending. But in a city like London, you never know where you stand, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.
The Right Place by Sophia Money-Coutts
Escape the grey skies with this gorgeous summery beach read romcom set in the South of France!
From the outside, Maggie Lemon has a perfect life. But she and her husband have been trying for a baby for five years and she’s exhausted. She’s seen countless fertility experts and followed dozens of diets and homeopathic recommendations, and even gave up her dream restaurant in London when doctors suggested the stress might be too much. And now her estranged aunt has died, leaving her hotel in Provence to Maggie.
It’s been years since Maggie visited Le Figuier. There’s a lot of work to be done and she knows she should sell it. But when a disgraced Hollywood actor hiding out at the hotel lends a hand, the load feels a lot lighter. Is it just the chemistry with this handsome stranger, or is it starting to feel like Maggie might finally be in the right place?
Fake Flame by Adele Parks
In this fun, fast-paced romantic comedy, a bookish firefighter who knows his Jane Austen suggests a little fake dating to fend off an ex. What’s a feminist English professor to do — except say yes…
You can’t fake heat like this…
To an observer, hauling a baby grand piano onto a college quad to publicly serenade an ex might seem like a romantic gesture. To literature professor Eva Campbell, it’s the latest manipulative move by a cheating jerk who won’t take a hint. Plus, she never liked that song anyway.
Setting the piano on fire might be an overreaction, but Eva’s at the end of her rope, at least until hot young firefighter Sean Hannigan talks her down. And that’s not all Sean does. Soon he’s offering to be Eva’s fake boyfriend to get her creepy ex off her back. Unexpected, maybe, but there’s something about Sean — beyond the angelic face and take-me-now body — that makes Eva say yes.
Sean battles infernos for a living, reads romance on the side and is a straight-up, family-loving good guy. Eva’s not sure she’s ready for the danger he poses to her jaded heart. Given their differences, a relationship can’t last, right? But the line between fake and real keeps blurring, daring her to take the biggest risk of all…
The Girls From Fitzroy by Jennie Jones
An unlikely friendship between two young women from opposite ends of Fitzroy sparks lifechanging transformations they could never have anticipated.
Melbourne, 1945. Born into a well-to-do family, Maggie Johnson wants freedom from her parents’ strict conservative beliefs and their unbending desire for her to marry the right sort of man. Instead, Maggie longs to forge her own path in life. Lil Kelly, who lives in the slums, works tirelessly to care for her mother and sister. Lil looks for contentment wherever she can find it, not daring to dream of more.
When their paths cross during the exhilarating celebrations of Victory in the Pacific Day, they form a secret friendship. Determined to help lift Lil out of poverty, Maggie finds herself in need of her friend’s help when her own carefully ordered world collapses.
As Maggie discovers the strength and vibrancy within the close-knit community of southern Fitzroy, Lil is inspired to take a chance and look beyond the only life she has ever known.
In a world where destiny is dictated by the street where you were born, can Maggie and Lil find the courage to pursue their dreams and follow their hearts?
‘Jennie Jones entwines friendship, family and the class divide into a finely written tale that highlights the importance of love and a meaningful life.’ – Mary-Lou Stephens, author of The Chocolate Factory
Never Date a Roommate by Paula Ottoni
A hilarious, heartwarming romance from celebrated Brazilian author Paula Ottoni about finding happiness in unexpected places — maybe even in your very own apartment…
To find true happiness, they’ll have to fake it first.
Sol Carvalho desperately wants to get ahead in her career — and where better to do that than Copenhagen, the happiest city on earth? But there’s more to this place than cozy sweaters and hot cocoa; there’s a rich, vibrant culture the Brazilian game developer is eager to drink in. Especially since her boss wants to hand a promotion to someone who’s ready to put down roots in Denmark — which means having a steady place to live and an even steadier significant other. And Sol, unfortunately, has neither.
Unless she can convince Viking look-alike Erik Storm to be her roommate…and maybe even her fake boyfriend?
But Erik lost everything the last time he got involved with a roommate, including the app he’d developed. Convincing him to take a risk on her is a big ask, but Sol is up for the challenge. As long as she can ignore how he fills a room with that broad chest and somehow makes stoic brooding look sexy.
Instead, she’ll win him over with the end goal: her promotion will bring down their mutual tech nemesis. Before long, though, the lines between what’s fake and what’s real blur. And when their ruse reaches its boiling point, they’ll both have to decide: should they trust their hearts to a roommate this time?
I Love You I Love You I Love You by Laura Dockrill
It’s the year 2000. I’m fourteen. I’m trying really hard to be a grunger right now. There were rumours the world was going to end. It hasn’t as of yet but I still have reasons to believe that was true.
Ella and Lowe are teenagers when they first meet in summer 2000. For her, it’s love at first sight. But it’s safest to love from afar, where the friendship zone is her safety net and she can’t get hurt.
Certain that the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen couldn’t possibly feel the same, Ella counts herself lucky to have him as her best friend. Over the next fifteen years they share everything: bottles of cider and cigarettes in the rain, gossip and laughter, grief and fear.
But every time Lowe kisses another girl, Ella feels her heart break just that little bit more. She’ll have to choose whether it’s enough to be just friends with the love of her life, or if she’s prepared to let the terrifying, beautiful, all-consuming truth come to light.
From a unique new voice in adult fiction, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You is a glorious nostalgia trip for anyone who has ever known the exquisite pain and pleasure of first love.
His Runaway Royal by Clare Connelly
One week with his princess was never going to be enough! In this emotional royal romance from Clare Connelly, the billionaire wants much more…
Kidnapped by royal command…undone by desire!
Two years ago, Princess Amelia ran away to protect her family from scandal. Now, her brother has tasked his best friend, billionaire Benedetto to bring her home on his superyacht. He’ll stop at nothing to succeed — not even kidnap…
Ben’s expecting a week on the water with a spoiled socialite not the scorching attraction that explodes. Nor for vulnerable but determined Amelia to trigger the protective instincts he buried after a heart-rending loss. Now Ben must choose: keep his promise to the prince, or keep his runaway princess safe?
Greek Paradise Escape by Jennifer Faye
Greek Heir To Claim Her Heart
From Greek island fling to forever?
Managing a luxury resort on a picturesque Greek Island is more than a job for Hermione Kappas. It’s been her lifeline since losing her home and family. So, when gorgeous Atlas Othonos who has recently inherited the resort, arrives set on selling it, Hermione has just two weeks to change his mind. But as their Valentine’s Day deadline approaches, it’s Hermione’s feelings for Atlas that are changing into something more…
It Started With A Royal Kiss
An extraordinary kiss…will transform her ordinary life!
Whilst painting the formal portrait of Prince Istvan of Rydiania, artist Indigo’s buttoned-up emotions are derailed when they share an unexpected kiss! After Istvan’s family ruined her father, Indigo was always warned never to trust a Rydiania royal. Even though her head tells her they shouldn’t take this any further, Indigo sees something unique in Istavan. And putting her heart on the line, she knows he’s worth trusting…with her future!
Second Chance With The Bridesmaid
Reunited at a wedding, reawakening their spark!
Billionaire best man Krystof must preserve his friends’ dream wedding. Only he’ll be working alongside bridesmaid Adara. He can’t forget their undeniable bond, but Krystof could only ever offer something casual. Now, alone on a luxurious private island, their chemistry is once again irresistible. But this time, Adara makes it clear that she’s only interested in a second chance if the lone-wolf Greek promises it’s for ever…
River Justice by B.J. Daniels
When you look for the truth, there’s no telling what you’ll find…
Brand Stafford has long felt he didn’t quite fit in with his siblings. Now he has the DNA evidence to prove his real father is the Staffords’ ranching rival, Holden McKenna. That secret does more than complicate his family, it’s also made him prime suspect in a kidnapping. His unlikely ally in clearing his name is Birdie Malone, newly arrived in Powder Crossing in search of answers of her own.
Impetuous and stubborn, Birdie has a knack for pulling Brand out of his comfort zone. Suddenly this rule-following cowboy is determined to do what he knows is right, whether that’s tracking down a kidnapper or finally giving his heart. Even if he has to put everything on the line to do it…