As you have already seen from our other weekly posts, August is the month of romance!

I have teamed up with Sophie and Trisy to write different posts about romance!

Today we give you our dream collaboration between romance writers!

If we got to pair them, how would they collaborate and what story would they write?

Sophie’s pairing

I have several unicorn authors but two that I think would collaborate easily together and write something dream worthy: Amy Harmon paired with Leylah Attar!

How would they collaborate? Easily or with lots of booze to stand the other?

None of these is a “serial romance writer”. I mean they write one book a year or even every two or three year for Leylah Attar.

That’s important as that means that they should work and brainstorm at a similar pace.

No one would be rushed or pressured by the other.

Both have a deep, insightful and gorgeous writing. Leylah also adapts her writing and phrasing to the character and story she writes. Mingling with Amy’s style should be effortless.

Both have confided being booknerds as kids (see their respective interviews on this blog). Both have always been creative, even if Leylah had to wait a long time before writing.

Leylah is curious and loves to learn and I think that Amy being really into research and all to write her books (historical, fantasy) they would talk endlessly about everything they discovered and learned for their next book.

Leylah also has a deep sense of humor and I think that she would make Amy laugh so hard!

Verdict: easy collaboration.

What kind of story would they write?

I think a historical romance with a hint of supernatural would suit both of them. It would be an epic and exhilarating love story between two broken or flawed characters.

Let’s dream here!

The male character would be knightly like ...a templar! There is a hint of forbidden here as templars are akin to monks hence, not prone to have lovers. Templars were a Catholic military order and that should suit Amy’s love for spirituality.

Our hero would be a fighting templar sent in a crusade to free the Holy Land from Islam.

Let’s say that he was deadly wounded in a battle and left for dead. Our female character would be of islamic religion, from a nomad tribe but living on the outskirts of the tribe. Her mother died when giving birth to our female character and she was born with a special mark on her skin. Her people consider her a witch. She’s been beaten by her father as a kid and had such trauma that she has not spoken for more than a decade. Her best friend is a falcon she rescued when he was a fledgling.

She would stumble upon our knight and will heal him. He’ll spend time with her and her tribe, realizing that they are not the devils they are rumored to be. Except of course those tormenting her. He will blend in so well that when Catholics will attack the tribe, he will fight to protect them. Alas,she’s been captured in the attack to be sold as a slave. She will be shipped to France and he will follow her, trying to find her because he is in love and can’t stand the idea of living without her. He’ll find her thanks to her falcon and will go plead his case to the King of France or the Pope.

Of course you’ll have topics like: accepting differences, opening your eyes and heart to other culture, what’s faith and who is God etc.

It would be an epic romance with a HEA!

Caro’s pairing

Trisy’s pairing

What do you think of our pairings and our stories? Would you read them? Should we send this to these authors?

Title: Forest of Souls

Series: Shamanborn #1

Author: Lori M Lee

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo.

And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life.

Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soulguide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for.

Reading.

Loving it.

Then 2 words.

2 words.

Massive spider

Yeeeeeeew no!

I quickly got over my fear as the writing was so good and this fast paced story totally didn’t go in the direction I thought it would, no romance!

Sirscha Ashwyn is hoping to be made the Queens Shadow after working herself to the bone but her life takes a different turn when her bestie, Saengo is killed…..and Sirscha brings her back to life. Her powers revealed, she is taken to the Spider King and here is where our tale begins.

I’m not saying anymore because you need to read but I will say this….look out for Theyen. He was the star of the show for me. He is grumpy, sassy with such a dry humour that I wanted to be his bestie!

And then the ending. I was well, that’s interesting!!!

Title: Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Author: Melissa Bashardoust

A captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse…

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster.

‘There was and there was not’

We have Soraya, the Shah’s cursed twin sister, poisonous to the touch, locked away by her family.

Then we have a soldier, Azad, who captures a div, (who knows of the curse) and Soraya hopes the div Parvaneh, is the key to her freedom.

But freedom comes in different forms.

Soraya’s evolution in this book made me so happy to read. From love interests, from learning from her mistakes, to learning she has power and to not fearing herself and to becoming her.

This was such a unique story, it was actually quite dark and I was totally surprised by it.

Even though my tbr pile is large, I’m always on the look out for some more books to add especially seeing as the times we find ourselves in!

These books are due for release in September and I want NEED them!

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

 

Wild Fire by Kristen Ashley

 

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

 

What books do you want that are releasing next month?

I saw this somewhere, I think it was a Top 5 or 10 Tuesday, my apologies for not tagging but I can’t remember where I saw it (I’m still suffering lockdown brain!)

I thought this was a fab idea but as I am technically challenged it took me a while to figure out where I could get a tool to interpret the data from the .csv file from Goodreads!

Luckily I found a Bookstats tool here

https://almoturg.com/bookstats

You just need to add your exported .csv file.

The results really surprised me! Look how many romance authors versus YA authors!

• Cora Reilly – 15 books
• LJ Shen – 17 books
• Amo Jones – 19 books
• Sarah J Maas – 19 books
• Anne Malcom – 20 books
• Cora Brent – 22 books
• Tillie Cole – 24 books
• Aurora Rose Reynolds – 28 books
• Jamie Begley – 30 books
• Kristen Ashley – 37 books

I think this is something I will do periodically, maybe annually or every 6 months.

Have you ever done this?

Were you surprised at your results?

I thought I would change it up this month and do a Top 10 Tuesday which is hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl go check her blog out, you will love it.

For me 10 might be a struggle but I promise to do the best I can!

Topic = Books I Loved but Never Reviewed

So I really had to dig here! Like to the bowels of my Goodreads read pile to a time when I got back into reading and didn’t know the importance of reviews for authors!

Bridget Jones Diary

The Fellowship of the Ring by JR Tolkien

Mile High by RK Lilley

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

What books would be on your list?

Title: Viper

Series: Isles of Storm and Sorrow #1

Author: Bex Hogan

He will make me a killer. Or he will have me killed. That is my destiny.

Seventeen-year-old Marianne is fated to one day become the Viper, defender of the Twelve Isles.

But the reigning Viper stands in her way. Corrupt and merciless, he prowls the seas in his warship, killing with impunity, leaving only pain and suffering in his wake.

He’s the most dangerous man on the ocean . . . and he is Marianne’s father.

She was born to protect the islands. But can she fight for them if it means losing her family, her home, the boy she loves – and perhaps even her life?

I can’t tell you why I’ve taken so long to read this but blimey, I was hooked!

The world building was fab, numbered islands each completely different from one another coupled with the villains of the sea aboard the Maiden…….the Snakes and their Captain, The Viper.

All I can say about The Viper is that he is a very bad man. Marianne, his heir, is stuck under his control until the night of her Initiation so she can start her journey to take over as Viper…..and this is where her story is told, twists, revelations (a couple of which I was expecting!) and action.

Marianne, even though devalued by the Viper, is strong, she has morals and now she has a mission!

In the next book I want more, more Torin, more magic, more Grace and Bronn…..I’m so needy, I want it all!

Today is National Book Lovers Day!!!!

‘Book Lovers Day is celebrated on August 9 every year. This is an unofficial holiday observed to encourage bibliophiles to celebrate reading and literature. People are advised to put away their smartphones and every possible technological distraction and pick up a book to read.’

I am participating, are you?!!!