Aidee’s Most Anticipated Books of 2018

Hi friends! (So… I waffled on whether I should do this because it seems obnoxious to comment on someone else’s post because yes this is definitely Aidee’s list and it’s ordered by publication date. I asked everyone on the Awesome Review Crew to send me their “read” lists, their Top 10 of 2017, and their Most Anticipated of 2018. Here’s our first “Most Anticipated” list! Whee!)

These are some of the books I’m most excited to read in 2018. Needless to say, I’ll read more books than appear on this list. I tried to stick to ten, but the more I looked, the more I made gimme gestures and marked up my calendar.

Zero Hour Cover
Zero Hour by Megan Erickson
Contemporary Romantic Suspense to be released on January 30

The Fast and the Furious meets Mr. Robot in USA Today bestselling author Megan Erickson’s thrilling new romantic suspense series. 
Hacker extraordinaire Roarke Brennan lives each hour – each breath – to avenge his brother’s murder. His first move: put together a team of the best coders he knows. They’re all brilliant, specialized, and every one an epic pain in his ass. Only now Wren Lee wants in too, threatening to upset their delicate balance. The girl Roarke never allowed himself to want is all grown up with sexy confidence and a dark past … and she’s the wild card he can’t control.

Roarke might still think she’s a kid, but Wren’s been to hell and back. Nothing and nobody can stop her – especially the tatted-up, cocky-as-all-hell hacker. But when years of longing and chemistry collide, Wren and Roarke discover that revenge may be a dish best served blazing hot.

I have tended to shy away from romantic suspense, but I’ve enjoyed most of what I’ve read by Megan Erickson, so I paid attention when I saw that this was happening.

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Brooklynaire Cover Image
Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen
Contemporary (sports) romance to be released on February 12

You’d think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You’d be wrong.
For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don’t know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.

When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It’s what friends do. But what friends don’t do is rip off each others’ clothes for a single, wild night together.

Now she’s avoiding me. She says we’re too different, and it can never happen again. So why can’t we keep our hands off each other?

I realize that the billionaire trope can get tiresome—it’s equivalent to the duke trope—but I’ve been waiting to read about this couple, and all rules and complaints about the ridiculous numbers of wealthy, available men can wait until after I read this book. This is a stand-alone novel, but it’s set in the same setting as the Brooklyn Bruisers books.

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My Once and Future Duke CoverMy Once and Future Duke by Caroline Linden
Historical romance to be released February 27

What happens at the infamous Vega Club . . .

Sophie Campbell is determined to be mistress of her own fate. Surviving on her skill at cards, she never risks what she can’t afford to lose. Yet when the Duke of Ware proposes a scandalous wager that’s too extravagant to refuse, she can’t resist. If she wins, she’ll get five thousand pounds, enough to secure her independence forever.

Stays at the Vega Club . . .

Jack Lindeville, Duke of Ware, tells himself he’s at the Vega Club merely to save his reckless brother from losing everything, but he knows it’s a lie. He can’t keep his eyes off Sophie, and to get her he breaks his ironclad rule against gambling. If he wins, he wants her—for a week.

Until now.

A week with Jack could ruin what’s left of Sophie’s reputation. It might even cost her her heart. But when it comes to love, all bets are off . . .

The cover copy tells me there is a professional female gambler and a duke, and the excerpt hints that there may be elements of found family; I am here for all of it. Yes, even the duke.

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A Princess in Theory CoverA Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
Contemporary romance to be released February 28

Between grad school and multiple jobs, Naledi Smith doesn’t have time for fairy tales…or patience for the constant e-mails claiming she’s betrothed to an African prince. Sure. Right. Delete! As a former foster kid, she’s learned that the only things she can depend on are herself and the scientific method, and a silly e-mail won’t convince her otherwise.

Prince Thabiso is the sole heir to the throne of Thesolo, shouldering the hopes of his parents and his people. At the top of their list? His marriage. Ever dutiful, he tracks down his missing betrothed. When Naledi mistakes the prince for a pauper, Thabiso can’t resist the chance to experience life—and love—without the burden of his crown.

The chemistry between them is instant and irresistible, and flirty friendship quickly evolves into passionate nights. But when the truth is revealed, can a princess in theory become a princess ever after?

I am here for self-sufficient, intelligent heroines in grad school. I am also curious about how Cole writes contemporary romances, because I’ve enjoyed her historicals a great deal.

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Burn Bright CoverBurn Bright by Patricia Briggs
Urban fantasy to be released on March 6

…Mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham face a threat like no other–one that lurks too close to home…

They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among their own kind. For their own good, they have been exiled to the outskirts of Aspen Creek, Montana. Close enough to the Marrok’s pack to have its support; far enough away to not cause any harm.

With their Alpha out of the country, Charles and Anna are on call when an SOS comes in from the fae mate of one such wildling. Heading into the mountainous wilderness, they interrupt the abduction of the wolf–but can’t stop blood from being shed. Now Charles and Anna must use their skills–his as enforcer, hers as peacemaker–to track down the attackers, reopening a painful chapter in the past that springs from the darkest magic of the witchborn…

This is also part of the Alpha & Omega series—I think there’s a theme in my choices—and I always devour these books, and then sit sadly after I read the last page and wonder when the next book will be out. Anyway, the couple in this series is great, and I’ve enjoyed watching them evolve, separately and as a team.

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Hot and Badgered CoverHot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston
Paranormal romance to be released on March 27

It’s not every day that a beautiful naked woman falls out of the sky and lands face-first on grizzly shifter Berg Dunn’s hotel balcony. Definitely they don’t usually hop up and demand his best gun. Berg gives the lady a grizzly-sized t-shirt and his cell phone, too, just on style points. And then she’s gone, taking his XXXL heart with her. By the time he figures out she’s a honey badger shifter, it’s too late.

Honey badgers are survivors. Brutal, vicious, ill-tempered survivors. Or maybe Charlie Taylor-MacKilligan is just pissed that her useless father is trying to get them all killed again, and won’t even tell her how. Protecting her little sisters has always been her job, and she’s not about to let some pesky giant grizzly protection specialist with a network of every shifter in Manhattan get in her way. Wait. He’s trying to help? Why would he want to do that? He’s cute enough that she just might let him tag along—that is, if he can keep up . . .

Laurenston’s writing can probably best be described as hilariously bloody—and no, I don’t understand how that works. All I know is that there is a honey badger and a grizzly, which guarantees a great deal of hilarious bloodiness.

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Hurts to Love You CoverHurts to Love You by Alisha Rai
Contemporary romance to be released on March 27

Well-behaved women don’t lust after men who love to misbehave.

Heiress Evangeline Chandler knows how to keep a secret . . . like her life-long crush on the tattooed hottie who just happens to be her big brother’s friend. She’s a Chandler, after all, and Chandlers don’t hook up with the help. Then again, they also don’t disobey their fathers and quit their respectable jobs, so good-girl rules may no longer apply.

Gabriel Hunter hides the pain of his past behind a smile, but he can’t hide his sudden attraction to his friend’s sheltered little sister. Eve is far too sweet to accept anything less than forever and there’s no chance of a future between the son of a housekeeper and the town’s resident princess.

When a wedding party forces Eve and Gabe into tight quarters, keeping their hands off each other will be as hard as keeping their clothes on. The need that draws them together is stronger than the forces that should shove them apart . . . but their sparks may not survive the explosion when long-buried secrets are finally unearthed.

The main character of this novel has been a secondary character in the other two books in the Forbidden Hearts series—which I have thoroughly enjoyed—and I’m super curious about her story. I like reading about quiet characters that find their voices, and it looks like this will be that kind of story.

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A Scandalous Deal CoverA Scandalous Deal by Joanna Shupe
Historical [American] romance to be released on April 24

They call her Lady Unlucky…
With three dead fiancés, Lady Eva Hyde has positively no luck when it comes to love. She sets sail for New York City, determined that nothing will deter her dream of becoming an architect, certainly not an unexpected passionate shipboard encounter with a mysterious stranger. But Eva’s misfortune strikes once more when she discovers the stranger who swept her off her feet is none other than her new employer.

Or is it Lady Irresistible?
Phillip Mansfield reluctantly agrees to let the fiery Lady Eva oversee his luxury hotel project while vowing to keep their relationship strictly professional. Yet Eva is more capable–and more alluring–than Phillip first thought, and he cannot keep from drawing up a plan of his own to seduce her.

When a series of onsite “accidents” make it clear someone wants Lady Unlucky to earn her nickname, Phillip discovers he’s willing to do anything to protect her–even if it requires a scandalous deal…

I also don’t usually read American historicals—they didn’t catch my interest when I first started reading romance, but with the resurgence of more diversely set historicals, I find myself curious. I enjoyed Shupe’s other series (The Knickerbocker Club) set in New York City in the 1800s, so I’m looking forward to reading this one—after I play catch up and read the first book in this series.
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Savor You CoverSavor You by Kristen Proby
Contemporary romance to be released on April 24

Two celebrity chefs compete in a culinary competition, but resisting each other will prove to be the greater challenge.

Cooking isn’t what Mia Palazzo does, it’s who she is. Food is her passion . . . her pride . . . her true love. She’s built a stellar menu full of delicious and sexy meals for her restaurant, Seduction. Now, after being open for only a few short years, Mia’s restaurant is being featured on Best Bites TV. To say Seduction is a wild success is an understatement. All the blood, sweat, tears, and endless hours of work Mia has put into the restaurant has finally paid off.

Then Camden Sawyer, the biggest mistake of her life, walks into her kitchen . . .

Camden’s celebrity chef status is world-renowned. He’s the best there is, and the kitchen is where he’s most at home. He can’t resist the invitation to Portland for a showdown against Mia for a new television show. Mia was in his life years ago, and just like before, he’s met his match in the beautiful Italian spitfire. The way she commands the kitchen is mesmerizing, and her recipes are clever and delicious. He’s never had qualms about competition, and this is no different. He can’t wait to go head to head with Mia. But can he convince her the chemistry they share in the kitchen would be just as great in the bedroom as well?

As Mia and Camden face off, neither realizes how high the stakes are as their reputations are put on the line and their hearts are put to the ultimate test.

I really enjoyed the other book in this series that I read, Blush for Me, so I’m curious to see how Proby will write two celebrity chefs—super competent people who feel strongly about their work. I suspect I’ll have to carefully plan when I read this book so I’m not reading on an empty stomach.

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Dark Queen CoverDark Queen by Faith Hunter
Urban fantasy to be released on May 1

Jane Yellowrock used to hunt vampires, but now she must fight–and win–beside them.
As Enforcer to the vampire Master of the City of New Orleans, Jane Yellowrock stakes her reputation and her life on keeping her territory safe. But Leo has been issued a blood challenge by the emperor of the European vampires, who seeks to usurp all of his power and possessions. If Leo loses the match to the death, the city will be forfeit, and the people of New Orleans will suffer the consequences. Jane can’t let that happen.

Preparing for the duel requires all of Jane’s focus, but with so much supernatural power in play, nothing goes according to plan. She has to rely on herself and the very few people she knows she can trust to stand and fight. Only two things are guaranteed: nothing is sacred, and no one is safe.

Amazon would like me to know that this is the 12th book in this series—and I am hoping that it will resolve all the long-running problems described in the cover copy. I’ve really enjoyed watching the heroine of this series evolve over the last eleven books, and I recommend it—as long as you remember that there are 11 books before this one and are okay with that.

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Ocean Light CoverOcean Light by Nalini Singh
Paranormal romance to be released on June 12

Security specialist Bowen Knight has come back from the dead. But there’s a ticking time bomb in his head: a chip implanted to block telepathic interference that could fail at any moment—taking his brain along with it. With no time to waste, he should be back on land helping the Human Alliance. Instead, he’s at the bottom of the ocean, consumed with an enigmatic changeling…

Kaia Luna may have traded in science for being a chef, but she won’t hide the facts of Bo’s condition from him or herself. She’s suffered too much loss in her life to fall prey to the dangerous charm of a human who is a dead man walking. And she carries a devastating secret Bo could never imagine…

But when Kaia is taken by those who mean her deadly harm, all bets are off. Bo will do anything to get her back—even if it means striking a devil’s bargain and giving up his mind to the enemy…

This one has ocean-dwelling shapeshifters, and Singh does marvelous things with her paranormal settings, so I am dancing on pins and needles until I have this book in front of me.

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The Governess Game Placeholder Image for CoverThe Governess Game by Tessa Dare
Historical romance to be released on August 28

He’s been a bad, bad rake—and it takes a governess to teach him a lesson
The accidental governess
After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don’t need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud: duke’s heir in the streets and devil in the sheets. The ladies of London have tried—and failed—to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart . . . without risking her own.

The infamous rake
Like any self-respecting libertine, Chase lives by one rule: no attachments. When a stubborn little governess tries to reform him, he decides to give her an education—in pleasure. That should prove he can’t be tamed. But Alexandra is more than he bargained for: clever, perceptive, passionate. She refuses to see him as a lost cause. Soon the walls around Chase’s heart are crumbling . . . and he’s in danger of falling, hard.

I know, I know, there are at least a hundred other romances with this exact same setup; I don’t care, I am here to read about how Dare will turn this whole thing on its head in all the best possible ways. I trust her to make me laugh, and to make this work—I only need point at all the other books she’s written that have turned things upside down in historical romance land to be justified in this belief.

3 thoughts on “Aidee’s Most Anticipated Books of 2018

  1. Limecello

    Thanks for sharing your list, Aidee! Some of these are on my “TBR” … and Brooklynaire has been on my radar since book one where I was like OMFG NATE AND BECCAAAAAAAAAAA.
    Also OMFG Ocean’s Light I didn’t realize until your post that it was BOWEN’S BOOK!!!! AHHHHHH.

    LOL I’ve already asked about ARCs for both 😛 Fingers crossed ALBTALBS gets on the list(s)! 😀

    Reply

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