I have never really been one for reading romance novels. I have always preferred crime thriller and other world novels, the likes of Ian Rankin, Michael Connolly and Terry Pratchett – how’s that for a random combination!

Like a lot of women I was introduced to the infamous 50 Shades of Grey and that opened the door for my reading romance novels. There had to be something out there staring someone more my kind of man than Mr Christian Grey, and there was!

I asked a friend what she was reading and she pointed me in the direction of Beverley Hollowed and Krissy V, neither of which I thought were very good or my cup of tea. I kept on searching, what had other people bought that was similar? What could Amazon suggest for me? I eventually landed on Consumed by Skyla Madi and it was love at first read! I read all three books in the series and couldn’t get enough. I loved the writing style and reading about a fighter ticked more of the boxes for me – my husband is a 2nd Dan Shotokan Karate instructor so I like a fit man who knows how to use his body!

I plowed through everything that she had written that I could get my hands on after that series, The Unfortunates being a big favourite as well as The O Intention. Reading through the books you can almost see the development of her as an author on the pages in front of you. Not all the books were to my taste but each drew you in to their tale and let her imagination play out infront of you.

When I eventually ran out of things to read again I stumbled into The Knights MC with River Savage’s Incandescent and found a whole group of people reading books like me! Not just hiding away in their Kindle reading while their baby is feeding or once he is asleep like I was but reading and enjoying as part of their life.

What a transformative experience! Everyone read 50 Shades of Grey, even my mum read 50 Shades of Grey but after that it went quiet … men had decided that these women were obviously not busy enough if they had time to read that smut. That there can be no enjoyment in reading if it has sexual content, it must just be porn on paper and so demeaned did it become. I was suddenly reading these books on my Kindle on the way to work hoping that no one could see what I was reading, thinking I was just some book slut, only to find a whole community of women reading without fear! What on earth had I been doing? Not talking about these books with friends because however much I enjoyed them, people would just think less of me? Stuff them! I now had all these people who loved these super HOT, super SEXY, tattooed, muscle clad men as much as I did and it was AWESOME!

Not long after that I found Storm by Nina Levine and found another MC to submerge myself in. Some more hot alpha’s and their sassy women to keep me on my toes!  Another group of women, openly enjoying romance novels – when did it become so taboo? By this point I had stopped work with my first child to be a stay at home mum full-time and this gave me a much needed outlet back into world, separate from being a mum and a wife, and a community of people to connect with.

There were other authors in there too though! Suddenly the traipsing through Amazon recommendations was gone, in these two interlinked reading communities there were authors, and people who could recommend other books! Chelle Bliss, Max Henry, Gillian Jones and Christine Bell were all found in here, through The Billionaire Banker Series, Eraser, Samantha Fontein and Nicky Charles before coming to a stop.

I needed something different, a change. My sister recommended JR Ward, she had the set I could borrow, bargain! I was now heavily pregnant with our second child and  spending more time parked on the sofa while daddy played with our eldest and I could enjoy a good old paperback 🙂 I plowed through all 14 books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and moved onto the Covet series of 6  once again running out. What a fantastic world she created! How amazingly detailed, the way she eases you in through the first books, drip feeding the society through these seriously hot alphas and the strong women needed to keep them in check. I’ll be reading them again at some point, of that I’m pretty sure!

With tiny baby hands about I went back into my Kindle to Aly Martinez, Kit Rocha (another amazing series of books and a fantastic way of opening their world to you that draws you in and keeps you fighting with them) and Erin Noelle. Eventually finding the Men of Inked by Chelle Bliss and losing myself in the highs and lows of this family.

I decided, just less than two weeks ago, that I’ve really enjoyed reading these books, and wouldn’t it be fantastic to be able to share that with other people? To be able to put down on paper what I love and why. So, I started this blog. To do exactly that!

It’s been an emotional book week!

I spoke with the first woman who captured my heart in romance novels – Skyla Madi, she sent me an ARC and promoted my blog! What an amazing experience! I have dived through the heart wrenching experience of The Unfortunates (The Unfortunates Review) and The Fortunates (The Fortunates Review). I absolutely love Kade as a character and to be able to see the good underneath slowly be resurrected and drawn from within him is a sight to behold.

Only to then be plunged into the emotional rollercoaster that is Hetch by River Savage (Hetch Review). It takes some serious balls to tackle such a depth of emotion and this really got me and dragged me through the wringer, in a way that only River Savage can do. Those who have spent time in The Rebels will be able to see the little glimpses of herself scattered throughout the book, I laughed and I cried and she took my broken heart and completed it again. I can’t wait for the next book in this series and am really looking forward to seeing some more of Fox!

Needless to say I have a serious book hangover! I am looking forward to some more of the fabulous Ashton Scott on Monday from Nina Levine and Steal My Breath coming out later this month (also Nina Levine). Until then, I have Without Me and Honor Me by Chelle Bliss to read and The Beyond series by Kit Rocha to re read before Beyond Ecstacy is released (date pending).

Thank you all for coming on this journey with me x