Last winter I had the opportunity to participate as a reader in the Romance Writer’s of America New England Reader’s Choice Awards. I read 10 books as part of the process, and I won’t post on all of them here but wanted to briefly highlight a couple that I enjoyed.

Innocent Target by Katie Reus – 4.0 stars

I thought this book had great chemistry between Axel and Hadley – their relationship developed fast but the tension between them lept off the page. There were a lot of side characters mentioned – I’m fairly sure that they would have starred in their own novels in the series but I didn’t find that not having read them took away from my enjoyment of the book at all. This was a good read and I would recommend it.

Enter the Duke by Grace Callaway – 4.75 stars

I really liked this novel! Maggie was so nuanced and such a strong character, but also loving and vulnerable. And her daughter Glory was perfectly precocious. I just loved all the characters in this novel, and the plot was so exciting. There was action and adventure (a kick butt treasure hunt!) and lots of love. Both love through family interactions and relationship development but also through the hero and heroine’s romance unfolding. This book had an engaging story and a great cast of characters. I enjoyed it a lot and I’d recommend it!

Free to Dream by Tracey Jerald – 4.0 stars

This was a much darker story than I usually read but I did end up lot it. The story was engaging and ultimately a sweet read. I didn’t want to put it down! Cassidy had an interesting family also – I’m guessing at least some of them have their own stories eventually as well. And I loved that the ending of this book was realistic and involved the hero and heroine being in couple’s therapy to work through their issues. I also loved how climactic the ending was – I didn’t piece some of it together until the end (always nice to have a surprising plot twist included. This was a good read and I’d recommend it (be warned though that the book has some very dark pieces to it).

I had a great time participating in this and I hope I get to be a reader for it again next year.