‘He was wickedly handsome – a man who could easily make females blush just by casting a sinful smile their way.’ From How to Catch a Wicked Viscount by Amy Rose Bennett
Ahhhh… so good, right? Swoony even, and delicious – which is everything I excpect and know I’ll get from an Amy Rose Bennet historical. And exactly what I need this chilly August night. I need a Happily Ever After or HEA as we call it in the biz.
See, my television has let me down. I was all set for a carb fest and a tv binge to celebrate finishing my book, The Life of Jo, finally! But four eps into season 3 of the series I’ve been bingeing, British YA show, Wolfblood, I realise the heroine is not coming back and there will be no HEA, not that I get to see anyway, so I gave it up and watched the movie A Star is Born and quite frankly, f@*k you Bradley Cooper (although this may not be Braddles’ fault, I haven’t seen the other incarnations), how did the world not tell me the ending? And this, coming right after the much anticipated new season of Veronica Mars and yes, f@*k you too, Rob Thomas. So now, in the midst of my tv misery and their new obsession with killing love and joy, I am here with this pretty book knowing it won’t let me down because that’s what romance books, in all their genres and sub genres do. They’re reliable, they bring you hope and joy and happiness when all you want to do is kick back and feel good. That’s not to say they don’t come with some real world problems and angst of their own, they do, but they overcome things and survive things and you know when you turn that last page you’ll have a smile on your face and hope in your heart that you too can overcome your trials and find happiness.
It’s why I’m always sad when people bring their Negative Nelly attitudes to Romancelandia because it has a place, an important place in the world of books. Because sometimes you need the security of a HEA, you need to feel like there’s good in the world and hope and joy and yes, a man who is going to rock your freaking world. Because life is hard. Sometimes it downright sucks and sometimes Rob Thomas is just going to be an ass and mess with your emotionally unstable brain and leave you scarred for all eternity and you need something to ease the pain.
I don’t even have my usual array of relaible commercial tv to keep me going because everyone but Hawaii 5-0 and Bull (but I’m still on the fence following their bad publicity recently) is on hiatus. They’ve left us hanging with Jackson Avery missing in the fog on Grey’s and an unnamed dead doctor on New Amsterdam. Sometimes you just need your happy resolution, to know everything will be okay.
So, thank you romance writers for your continued committment to the genre, your happily ever afters, your fabulous meet cutes, your sweet romances, your hot and steamy ones, your cowboys and your rockstars, your dukes, duchesses, viscounts and princes and yes, Amy Andrews, thank you for your mighty wangs.
Now I’m off to open a celebratory bag of potato chips and work my way through this beautifully written and extremely entertaining story of disreputable debutantes to my very much needed happily every after.
If you too are in need of some romantic HEAs, here are a few of my fave romance authors (but really, it could be a very, very long list! Hit me up in the comments if you need more suggestions). You could read any of their titles and I’m sure you’ll be very happy.
You’re welcome!
Love Tamara
What else I’m reading: Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls – It is brilliant and beautiful and so wonderfully written.
What I’m watching: The Rook, Love, Love, Love. My Life is Murder is my surprise of the season. I’m also persisting with newcomers SWAT, The Rookie and Seal Team, not sure they’d get a look in if my faves weren’t on hiatus but they’re okay.
What I’m working on: The Life of Jo – just waiting on the cover to come through and Jo should be up by the end of the month. I’m finishing up an Untitled YA and I’ve started on the next book in the Almost series, Almost Free, which will be available next year. Stay tuned.
What are you reading and watching? I’d love to know!
ps: I did receive an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Amy Rose Bennett’s How to Catch a Wicked Viscount as you may have seen on my socials but I would have bought, read and loved it anyway because she’s brilliant!
