As a fan of Kwana Jackson’s other pen name K.M. Jackson I’d been looking forward to her debut under this name with Berkley. The summary alone delighted me because it screams complex family dynamics and the idea of grown men trying to figure out how to run a knitting and craft business really appealed to me.

The romance between Jesse and Kerry is sweet and a bit of a slow burn but is also low angst, which honestly I needed right now. I really liked Kerry in particular and loved seeing her stand up for herself as things went on. And the Strong brothers made me sit up and say ask what is behind each of their stories exactly Ms. Jackson!?

Not even COVID-19 can stop the arrival of Spring. Romancelandia, my sincere wish for all of us during this time is that we snatch our moments of joy where we can find them. Mine has taste-testing new tea blends from a company I learned about on Facebook (hey, it’s not a complete dumpster fire over there…), getting back into a reading groove, and, of course, hunting up new unusual historicals.  Here’s what is catching my eye for May.

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In the final book of the Consortium Rebellion, Chaos Reigning, Catarina the youngest of the von Hasenbergs, takes center stage when the survival of not only her house but the whole Consortium is at stake. Catarina is used to being dismissed by others, hiding her sharp mind and unexpected strength behind frivolous conversations and colorful accessories.

Sometimes you meet a novel that just clicks. Such was the case for Andrea and debut author Kevin Van Whye's Date Me, Bryson Keller.

Guarding Temptation was previously published as a short story titled Resisting Desire in the Rogue Nights anthology. The new and updated version has been revised to double the original story so if you’ve already read the original version, there’s a lot more to the story of Nina and James in this novella.

Did you catch Allie Therin's debut m/m 1920's paranormal romance last year? Because we did. If you read Spellbound, you'll want to get in on this giveaway of the sequel, Starcrossed. And if you didn't, now's a great time to grab that first book! (It's only $1.99 as I'm writing this on 5/5/20.)

Here’s the thing about anthologies. They usually contain a couple of good stories that anchor the collection and a couple of middling to forgettable stories that might just get skimmed. However, He’s Come Undone features five incredibly strong, nuanced, sweet romances featuring five of the brightest voices in romance today. The connective thread that ties these stories together is that they feature buttoned-up, rather stuffy heroes who embark on unexpected romances with people who help them to, well, become undone.

Mini-reviews of Flying Gold, Shift Out of Luck, Time of Our Lives, and House of Salt and Sorrows. So that's an f/m adult contemporary romance, an f/m paranormal, an f/m YA contemporary and an f/m gothic fantasy.

Let me begin by saying that The Rogue of Fifth Avenue was my very first Joanna Shupe and it definitely won’t be my last. I already have the next book ready to go and have pre-ordered the final book in the series.

In the spirit of finding moments of joy during all of this, here are some May releases we're looking forward to reading. We hope you're safe.

Editor's Note: So many books have moved, it's been chaos. If these dates are incorrect, please know that we did the best we could!

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