Ruth Saberton: Katy Carter Keeps a Secret

Nominee for the RNA’s Romantic Comedy of the Year Award, glowing reviews from daytime giants Richard and Judy, renowned guest writer for Little Black Dress, Avon, Orion, etc. – it’s not difficult to see why Ruth Saberton’s latest work makes our list. Saberton’s work fits perfectly in the romance genre. Emotion reigns supreme – the characters’ vulnerability, kindness, sadness and joy are central to what makes her novels so great.

One issue our panel sees with many romance writers is that of ‘one-dimensional’ characters. People are either the love interest, the antagonist, the comedic character and nothing more than that. For Saberton, her characters’ personalities extend well past these confines, understanding and relating to them are wildly more easy and enjoyable. Characters develop, not simply due to its necessity in the narrative, they develop intelligently. Your attitudes change so that you’re constantly enthralled. A personal favourite for our panel has been the Escape series and Dead Romantic, the latter mixing supernatural ideas with heartbreaking emotion.

It’s easy for us to say Saberton’s latest novel, Katy Carter Keeps a Secret, makes our list for the Most Eagerly Anticipated Erotic and Romance Fiction of 2016.

Available on 18 June, 2016. Get your copy here.

Lily Harlem: One Night in Cape Town

Number 23 in the City Nights series, One Night in Cape Town follows Tia, after her fiancé and best friend’s betrayal she escapes to South Africa. Anger doesn’t mask her desire for too long and soon she’s left to the mercy of a wild storm and the sexy and charming Levi’s survival skills.

Harlem’s work is easily commendable for its variety, no matter the story matter, love interests, gender, setting, Harlem keeps a smart and sexy current throughout. One of Harlem’s best work, The Silk Tie, is a favourite for our entire panel. Simply put, it’s hot! Really hot! Harlem seems to be the queen of the menage a trois, with Silk Tie (and it’s predecessor The Glass Knot) being 2 of the smartest, sexiest books our panel have read. Fire warning needed!

‘One Night in Cape Town’ is out 29th June. Available here.

Keep your eye out for cougar sex story, Toy Boy, out soon.

Sharon Lynn Fisher: Before She Wakes

We’ve seen a lot of authors mix fantasy and science fiction with eroticism, Sharon Lynn Fisher is a standout author in this hybrid genre. Before She Wakes is a series of short stories all embracing these themes and is set to be a fantastic piece of work. Not only is that obvious from Fisher’s past work that our panel loved (Ghost Planet being a particular favourite), early reviews have been glowing.

So many readers have been giving this series of novellas five stars on GoodReads with one reviewer saying ‘Wow. This collection of short stories was definitely a fun read. Every story was just so out there and interesting that at times I couldn’t help but be completely drawn into it.’

Our favourite thing about Fisher is her masterful creation of worlds, it’s easy to become invested in the fantastical settings that she creates. We’re hoping Before She Wakes is just as fantastic.

Purchase Before She Wakes on the 19th July here.

Sydney Landon: Aiden

Sydney Landon came to the attention of our panel because of the fantastic Weekend Required, part of the Danvers series. The novel follows couple; Claire and Jason. While the presence of a wonderful romance is undeniable, it’s the heartbreaking start of Claire’s story that turns this work from general romance to something you deeply care about. The following novels in the series (Not Planning on You, Fall for Me, etc.), don’t let the romance be extinguished. Subplots and other characters add to the rich and varied story, making these novels down all the more difficult to put down.

It’s the latest in the Lucian and Lia series which makes our list. Similar to the Danvers series, heartbreak from the start guarantees you relate and care deeply for the characters in this romantic series – especially in the second installment; the dramatic, yet at times wonderfully funny, Fractured. We can’t wait for the latest in the series: Aidan.

Aiden is available 31 Jul, 2016. Get your copy here

Audrina Lane: Bloodstained Heart

Our list wouldn’t be complete with a few darker tones, who doesn’t love a novel with something sinister? Audrina Lane’s Bloodstained Heart is set to have just that. Abandoned and betrayed, Felicity is hell bent on taking revenge and destroying the lives of those who get in her way. Following an evil and vindictive protagonist, Bloodstained Heart is set to be an enticing novel.

Lane’s work has never been afraid to look at the darker side of romance and love. Her novels mix laughter and melancholy, while keeping you on your toes with so many twists and turns. A good starting place is the fantastic The Heart Trilogy, which looks at themes of memory, love and loss and mother and daughter relationships.

Bloodstained Heart is out 8 July, 2016. Available here.

Cecillia Tan: Wild Licks (Secrets of a Rock Star)

Award winning author Cecillia Tan is back and it’s set to be as steamy as ever! We’re so excited for Wild Licks (Secrets of a Rock Star)!

Rock ‘n’ Roll, fantasy and magic, science fiction – Tan has done it all! While transcending so many genres, she has never neglected to inject romance, eroticism, intelligence and spellbinding enthrallment throughout her work. Daron’s Guitar Chronicles takes you back to the time of sex, drugs and rock & roll in the 80’s. Like most of his generation, Daron is lost and unsure of where his life is leading. A story of struggle, Daron’s Guitar Chronicles paints a world so vivid it’s difficult not to be enthralled.

A magic university, erotic sex and Cecilia Tan’s witty writing – what’s not to love? The Magic University series ask ‘what would Harry Potter be like at a hormonal, sex crazed university?’ Magic and eroticism mix to make this series fun and steamy in equal measure.

It was difficult for our panel to pick out particular stand out works in such a varied and wide ranging collection of novels, however other highlights include the award winning Slow Satisfaction and Slow Surrender, the BDSM driven Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords and the prequel to Tan’s addition to our list.

Wild Licks is out 2nd Aug, 2016. Get your copy here.

Laurelin Paige: Last Kiss

We’ve got some stern words for Laurelin Paige, release the second in the First and Last series already! After the cliffhanger in First Touch, we’ve been waiting for the the second in the series, Last Kiss, with bated breath.

First Touch was fantastic. Not one for the feint of heart, the novel never pulls any punches. It’s progantist, Emily, is far from a flat stereotype. Her complexity will make you hate and love her at the same time. Paige clearly knows what she’s doing, masterfully written and deliciously charming, the first in the First and Last series combines dark eroticism with intelligent grace.

One’s not enough! With so many of us needing the know what happens next, Last Kiss easily makes it on our list for the Most Eagerly Anticipated Romance and Erotic Fiction of 2016.

Last Kiss is available 14th June. Get your copy here.

Fox Emerson: A Boy Called Q & Toby

We can cheat! Fox Emerson is our first author to get two books on our list. A Boy Called Q and Toby are out 16th and 15th June respectively.  

Why has Emerson made our list? If you haven’t read Monique you are missing out. So many of our panel loved Emerson debut novel that he has to get a mention on this list. Monique follows Kelly-Anne as she struggles through a dark world of drugs, rape, violence and more. Warning, this is a powerful story that is far from light and fun, it is not an easy read yet is full of emotion and at times heart-breaking.

We’re really looking forward to Emerson’s latest work. The plot to A Boy Called Q is quoted as following ‘Q, [a] young man from Yorkshire who moves to London and finally gathers the courage to embark on his first gay, erotic experience with another man’. However for Emerson sensuality and eroticism isn’t all fine and dandy, torn between his gay feelings and his shame Q struggles to overcome what may have been ‘the biggest mistake of his life’.

Toby also makes our list, the novel follows a bisexual sex worker in Barcelona, whose life is  ‘spiraling out of control’. ‘In order to escape, he must win over the power his childhood demons have over him.’ If Toby is as powerful as Monique, we will not be able to recommend it highly enough.

Purchase Fox Emerson’s work here.

Brenda K. Davies: Good Intentions

If we were making a list of the top erotic novel front covers Brenda Davies (also writing under Erica Stevens) would take the number one spot. However, it’s not just the covers that have made us eagerly anticipate Davies’ next work.

Davies’ most popular series must her fantastic Vampire Awakening Series, currently spanning over 5 books. I know what you’re thinking; the vampire erotic thing has been done to death! Thankfully the series breaths new life into this subgenre, adding something extra that makes it more enthralling than so many other novels we’ve read. It would be difficult to go into detail without spoiling anything, but be rest assured, the mature use of action and eroticism makes this series something you need to check out.

Our addition to the list is the first in a new set of books, The Road the Hell Series. It’s set to continue the dark themes, supernatural and otherworldly ideas and exciting eroticism from the preceding series.

Good Intentions is out 17 Jul 2016. Get your copy here.

 Lainie Suzanne: Wicked

Nexus: The Core of Erotic Desires. What a name for a series opening book! The Nexus series is hot! Really hot!

The first in the series, our personal favourite, follows Katherine Stevens. Divorced and lonely she finds her life transformed after a night at Nexus, a local BDSM club. The second in the series, Soleil, follows Debra who ‘is on the verge of experiencing a life she never realized she desired’. The third, Deceit, features our most interesting character yet. Gina struggles to give herself to Leo as her dark past comes back to haunt her.

With erotic BDSM action these books are definitely not for the feint of heart. Suzanne pulls no punches in her depiction of the dramatic, sexual play. All of which seen through the seemingly innocent eyes of her protagonists.

We can’t wait for the next in the series, this time following the sordid Charlotte and Edward. Wicked is out June 28, 2016. Get your copy here.

Related posts:

The Most Eagerly Anticipated Romance and Erotic Novels of 2016 (Part 1) The Most Eagerly Anticipated Dating & Romance Literature of 2019 [Part 1] The Most Eagerly Anticipated Dating & Romance Literature of 2019 [Part 2] How To Write Erotic Fiction