Throwback Thursday // Books That Made Me Fall in Love with Romance (again)

Hello and Welcome! Today I'm sharing five of the books that brought me back to reading romance. I used to only read psychological thrillers (think Iris Johansen, Kathy Reichs, etc.) or urban contemporaries. There would be romantic elements perhaps, but no way did a relationship take center stage.

Now I'm all about the romance, in all of its glory, and I'm so happy to be here!!

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Real by Katy Evans

A fallen boxer.
A woman with a broken dream.
A competition...

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting...

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I've ever met in my life.

He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I've never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong—but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents...

But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.
I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.
If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?

I'm not sure why after all these years, I can still remember so much detail about this book. About this series. I can recall with intense detail how deeply I fell for Remington Tate and everything he had gone through. He was my first taste of a tragic, brooding, stubborn romantic hero and he was delicious. I wanted more... More men like him, more stories like this, more romance (no matter how unrealistic) in my life.

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Bared to You by Sylvia Day

He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot.
I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life.
I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me.
I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily.

Gideon "knew."
He had demons of his own.
And we would become the mirrors that reflected each others most private wounds and desires.

OMG I cannot forget Gideon! I remember thinking that the Crossfire series was everything the 50 Shades of Grey story wasn't. It had angst, a tortured hero, an equally tortured heroine, pain and suffering... all of which gave me a saga to really sink my teeth into. It also introduced me to my BDSM era, and while I don't go looking for books with that theme anymore, I will always look back at this series with a special sort of fondness. Sylvia Day freaking KILLED it!

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In Flight by R.K. Lilley

When reserved flight attendant Bianca gets one look at billionaire hotel owner James Cavendish, she loses all of her hard-won composure. For a girl who can easily juggle a tray of champagne flutes at 35,000 feet in three inch heels, she finds herself shockingly weak-kneed from their first encounter. The normally unruffled Bianca can't seem to look away from his electrifying turquoise gaze. They hold a challenge, and a promise, that she finds impossible to resist, and she is a girl who is used to saying no and meaning it.

Bianca is accustomed to dealing with supermodels and movie stars in her job as a first class flight attendant, but James Cavendish puts them all to shame in the looks department. If only it were just his looks that she found so irresistible about the intimidating man, Bianca could have ignored his attentions. But what tempts her like never before is the dominant pull he seems to have over her from the moment they meet, and the promise of pleasure, and pain, that she reads in his eyes.

The Up in the Air series is another one that gave me all I needed when it came to BDSM and broken people. I was hooked from the start and my only regret is not writing actual reviews for these books when I read them. This was another series that put 50 Shades of Grey to shame.

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This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpas

Young interior designer Ava O'Shea has no idea what awaits her at the Manor.
A run-of-the-mill consultation with a stodgy country gent seems likely, but what Ava finds instead is Jesse Ward--a devastatingly handsome, utterly confident, pleasure-seeking playboy who knows no boundaries.

Ava doesn't want to be attracted to this man, and yet she can't control the overwhelming desire that he stirs in her.
She knows that her heart will never survive him and her instinct is telling her to run, but Jesse is not willing to let her go.
He wants her and is determined to have her.

Another series that gave 50 Shades of Grey a run for its money. Everything Christian was supposed to be... Jesse Ward was. Broken, hot AF, intelligent, rich, with a huge heart he didn't want to acknowledge, Jesse Ward was the stuff tortured heroes are made of. I've always wanted to do a re-read of this series, but I can't remember if it was in dual POV. I hope it is :)

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Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.

If you haven't read this book, or any of the many others by this author, you are missing out. I initially picked this book up because it was inspired by Sagittarius, and being the amazing Sagi that I am, I had to read it. My gosh, Archer Hale was so much more than I could have ever expected. He still and will always hold a special place in my heart and as I type this up, I'm realizing that I need to give this book a re-read and a proper review. Seriously, if you haven't read this book yet... READ IT!!