Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh
Defender by Catherine Mann
With a Twist by Deirdre Martin

Jean Johnson ~ The Mage
Erin Mccarty ~ Hard and Fast
Elizabeth Vaughn ~ White Star

Very hard pick only 3 though

Thanks, so many to choose from.

1. Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy
2. With a Twist by Deirdre Martin
3. Defender by Catherine Mann

1. Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh
2. Ghostland by Jory Strong
3. Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy

Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh
Burning Wild by Christine Feehan
Sea Lord by Virginia Kantra

There are so many awesome books out this year!

My choices:

Ghostland by Jory Strong
White Star by Elizabeth Vaughan
Sea Lord by Virginia Kantra

1. Lora Leigh’s Nauti Intentions, because, hey, who can resist any of Lora’s super alpha heroes? :) Seriously can’t wait for Alex’s story!

2. Erin McCarthy’s Hard and Fast. She always has the fantastic ability to make her readers laugh and fall in love with everyone of her books.

3. Christine Feehan’s Burning Wild. Read the excerpt at the end of Murder Game and I’m excited to see how this book will pan out.

I’m with Chenebe, I too come from a fantasy/Sci-fi reading background, read historical got a bit board, found paranormals but wish the world building was a little deeper.
Saying that though, I really like the Psy/Changling series

I think Berkley is also on its way to build audience loyalty, to the publishing house for consistently choosing some of the best authors in the genre out there. There is a lot of choice out there, and I don’t know if I am the only one or if most people will flick their eyes to see who published a book, before I even read the blurb!

Listing out all their new titles like this really raises awareness that they have something for everyone. I’m impressed, eventhough I am partial to paranormal.

Their cover art is exceptional and moving fast away from the cheesy covers that have plagued romance novels and prevented them from being taken out into public (seriously, the publishers who created an ‘adult cover’ for Harry Potter knew what they were about).

Regarding the paranormal titles that Berkley has out there, I have to first qualify that I am traditionally more a fantasy/sci-fi reader, who has been driven through sheer desperation to search for fresh world building and views outside of that genre. My search has seen me foraging in YA territory (some of the best and most original fantasy is in this category) and more recently, I’ve been giving paranormal romance a go. I did read historical romances when I was younger, but eventually got bored by the eternal sameness.

I am perhaps a little less impressed by the current level of the world building in romance novels than the average. I read reviews praising the world building to the skies and I am often still dissatisfied when I actually do read the books. I think it still has quite a way to go before it reaches the levels seen in the pure fantasy/sci-fi genre. I suppose that is inevitable if a book is classed as romance – and I am aware there is a backlash from readers who think the romance is sacrificed for world building.

I am interested to see the publishers pushing sub-genres like the two urban fantasy titles mentioned here. This is something I will be watching with interest. Another neglected sub-genre is sci-fi or novels emphasising technology levels. There is a lot out there currently about shape-shifters, and other mythical creatures which I do enjoy, but technology can be as/more fascinating as elves or people turning into tigers. Would love to see someone make it sexy! ;P Sci-fi is often targeted at a male audience (the romance is often very dry and yawn) and I am sure geek girls out there would love to read about technology and great love stories against that setting.

Another thought is that a fantasy of epic proportions might be nice … you know, sort of like what they used to do with medieval romances, only populated with otherworldly creatures, where you get a sense of the length and breadth of the created world. But again, perhaps a romance novel (which focusses on the very intimate relationship between two people) is not the right vehicle for that. The series that comes to mind is Jaqueline Carey’s Kushiel books, but then, that is classed as fantasy (even though there is some pretty hot sex in there).

Another gripe I have about the current romances out there – what’s with the grisly murders, gore, serial killers and mental cases out there? In romance novels no less. I know the whole death heightens awareness of life (a.k.a. hot sex) connection, but I find it hard to avoid the blood splatters on the wall as I navigate in the bucolic waters of romance. It really spoils it for me (it is one of the reasons why I never bought into the Psy/Changeling books, though I thought that was a sure ringer for me). I begin to think that women are far more violent and bloodthirsty than men (considering the kinds of death I have to read in sci-fi/fantasy – are are present but they are not so … gross).

Anyway, enough of me yammering on, my three choices:

#1 Ghostland – Jory Strong (the cover is so good, I’m not entirely certain I was not influenced by it; it reminds me of Neil Gaiman’s urban fantasy ‘Neverwhere’)
#2 The Mage – Jean Johnson
#3 Sea Lord – Virginia Kantra

I will probably also read Angels’ Blood, the excerpt on the author’s website looked very good and quite different from the Psy/Changeling books, though it did make me think of Anita Blake and Sharon Shinn’s ‘Archangel’.

Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh
Ghostland by Jory Strong
Burning Wild by Christine Feehan

Burning Wild (Christine Feehan)
Riding on Instinct (Jaci Burton)
White Star (Elizabeth Vaughn)

Defender by Catherine Mann
Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy
Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh

Thanks! Good luck to all.

I’d love:

Ghostland (love the cover and the description sold me)
Angel’s Blood
Her Ladyship’s Companion

I was a little confused about if our 3 choices had to come from the 17 books in the graphic, or if we could include a choice from the descriptions. So if Angel’s Blood doesn’t count, I’d swap in Hard and Fast.

*fingers crossed*

I would love to read :

Revealed by Kate Noble

Cry for Passion by Robin Shone (get well soon, Robin!)

Her Ladyship’s Companion by Evangeline Collins

white star by elizabeth vaughn
revealed by kate noble
her ladyship’s companion

I would love a chance to win a copy of:

1. GHOSTLAND by Jory Strong
2. ANGELS' BLOOD by Nalini Singh
3. ETERNAL MOON by Rebecca York

Thank you again and by by!
Katharina