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Unexpected – An RNAA Recommended Read

 

 

 

 

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Linda Fausnet

Genre: Contemporary, Rock Star, Single Parent Romance

My Thoughts on the Book:

Books like these are a dying breed these days. Like many readers, I’ve started to become accustomed to (resigned to..?) the “churn and burn” of  Amazon where authors are financially rewarded for writing as fast as humanly possible. This book doesn’t read like somebody just slapped it together. This author took her time, actually taking you through the emotions and situations of the characters while artfully describing sights, smells, and FEELS like authors used to do. The heroine, Ava, has been through tremendous hardship, including several deaths in her family as well as dealing with extreme poverty bordering on homelessness. Whit is a rich rock star who isn’t able to live a real rock star life due to his being a devoted single parent. We aren’t simply told these things by the author, we are shown them. The author also paints a realistic portrait of poverty without glossing over the “Cinderella” nature of this tale. I highly recommend this steamy, emotional, romantic tale with a HEA!

Where to Find This Book:

AMAZON

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The Sandman – An RNAA Recommended Read

 

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Maxine Keith

Genre: Paranormal Romance

My Thoughts on the Book:

While I’m not a fan of duel, single POV, the concept of this book gripped me quickly. I loved the slow burn and build up of their relationship. I was intoxicated by the sacrifice. I’d love to have a reaper of my own.

Where to Find This Book:

Amazon or Kindle Unlimited

Follow the Author on Book Bub

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Haven – An RNAA Recommended Read

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Maxine Keith

Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling

My Thoughts on the Book:

Get ready for a ride. I honestly laughed out loud and shed a few tears. Audrey is a princess without a clue, but she’s willing to have her eyes opened. Coming of age can be hard and truth is bitter. But having friends and a hot guy does help sweeten the sour. Mace is a real swoon-worthy guy, hot and cold and delicious. Read it slow and savor every piece…. Then pack your bags… I’m moving to Haven.

 

Where to Find This Book:

AMAZON OR KINDLE UNLIMITED

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Innappropriate – An RNAA Recommended Read

 

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Tammy Hils

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Thoughts on the Book:

Fired for inappropriate behavior during her time off, leads to an inappropriate yet hilarious drunk email to her bosses boss.  What could go wrong? Funny, witty and emotional times blend together for an enjoyable read!

Where to Find This Book:

AMAZON NOOK KOBO APPLE 

AUTHOR WEBSITE

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Truth Keeps Silent – An RNAA Recommended Read

 

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Maxine Keith
Genre: Romantic Suspense
My Thoughts on the Book:

What an incredible book!!! A must read!!!

Not just a simple romance, The Truth Keeps Silent is an intriguing tale of who did it tied with who loves who. Suspenseful, romantic, sexy!!! Gorgeous settings support likeable/hate worthy characters. The storyline is solid and keeps you wanting more. I devoured this massive novel in twelve hours then was left with a two day hangover. The Truth Keeps Silent is a definite must read for  the year!!!

Where to Find This Book:
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Marked Prince – An RNAA Recommended Read

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Linda Fausnet
Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Thoughts on the Book:
This whole universe was new to me, as this was the first book I’ve read by this author. The book was quite engaging and easy to understand, even if you are brand-new to the series. The heroine, Fiora, has incredible fortune-telling abilities and can tell everyone’s future but her own. She is also cursed in that she is compelled to tell the truth when asked about anything/ It’s rather horrifying to think you would be forced to answer even the most personal questions with sheer honesty. A lot of bad boy romance “heroes” might take advantage of that, but Jaxx (a dragon shifter) doesn’t which I love. When Fiora’s visions foretell disaster, she must find a way to alter the future. Overall, this was a fascinating read with excellent world-building.
Where to Find This Book:
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A Note to My Readers

I ASSURE YOU THIS IS NOT MY OFFICE. 

I debated for a long time about whether or not to write this note to my readers. After much reflection, I decided I wanted to go forward with it. 

As authors, I think sometimes we like to have a little mystery to our lives. It can be nice to have our readers think of us as dreamy writers who work diligently all day in our offices creating stories. The truth is often quite different, and sometimes it can be tough to be honest about it. But this is me, peeling back the curtain.

I have made the difficult decision to not write any more ghost stories after I release the final book in the Williamsburg Ghost Series. I’m not saying “never”, but as of now, I have no plans to do any more. Please understand that it isn’t that I don’t love writing them – because I truly do. They are quite difficult to write, though, with the inherent limitations of writing about characters who cannot touch, taste, breathe, or feel anything physical. Plus, the books require extensive historical research which, while fascinating, can be time-consuming and difficult at times.

The truth is, after writing these complex, difficult, and often heart-wrenching (while hopefully also being heartwarming!) stories for many years, I have never made a dime on any of the ghost series books.

The truth is that I have a full-time day job and two kids. My alarm goes off at 4:45am every day so I get writing done before my day job starts at 9am. Please believe me, I certainly did not become an author for the money. 

That being said; I’m tired, my friends. 

I’ve reached a point in my life that I feel I just can’t work for free anymore. (Less than free, really, since each book costs around $800- $1000 to produce because I refuse to cut corners on things like covers, editing, and the like). 

One problem is that Amazon greatly rewards “rapid releasers'”, meaning if you publish a book a month or even a book a WEEK, those books get pushed to the top of the visibility pile. Even if I had the luxury of writing full time, I doubt I could write anything meaningful in a month’s time – and definitely nothing as complicated as my ghost series. 

Another issue is that in RomanceLandia, “trope” trumps EVERYTHING. Though I don’t really understand it, it seems most readers would prefer to read the same type of story over and over again rather than give something new a try. In that kind of world, my ghost series never quite fit in. Instead of being one thing, they are a mix of historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance. Many readers don’t know quite what to make of them, therefore advertising my books is prohibitively expensive. The good news is that, once people actually give Somebody’s Darling a try, the read-through rate for the rest of the series is pretty high! You could even say I’ve developed somewhat of a cult following (in the very best sense of the word. Sincerely.) I really felt like I’d “made it” when someone told me she was writing fan fiction! But getting people to even give the series a shot in the first place has been a persistent, uphill challenge. 

For historical romance, readers often expect Regency (think Bridgerton) romance with heroes like dukes, rakes, and rogues. I wrote about a poor farm boy from Texas.

With paranormal romance, people want vampires, demons, witches, angels, and otherworldly creatures. I wrote about chivalrous Civil War soldiers who just happened to be dead.

The American Historical romance genre might seem ideal for my books, but those tend to be Western/ Frontier type stories and are often squeaky clean. As you know, I like to include sensual scenes in my books. As much I try to warn readers about the sexual content in my stories, I still get angry reviews about it (check out the ones on Darling Soldiers…)

With contemporary romance, obviously, readers expect romance in a modern-day setting. I wrote about sexy soldiers from long past who exist in towns that are somewhat frozen in time.

Unfortunately, my little misfit stories have a really hard time finding a home. 

They did, however, find a home with you.

I can’t tell you much it has meant to me over the years that the Gettysburg and Williamsburg Ghosts Series did find readers. They may have numbered in the hundreds instead of thousands, but they’re out there. Many times, it’s been hard to get out of bed hours before I had to in order to write these books, but knowing that my words would be read by you is what kept me going. Believe me, these books made me cry as I wrote them with their bittersweet tales of love and loss, and hearing that my readers often had the same reaction is incredibly meaningful to me. 

In some ways, writing out this letter makes me feel like I am admitting to being a failure. If I had not told you the truth, you might have gone on thinking that perhaps these books were a great success. In the end, I guess I really wanted you to understand that I would no longer be writing them not because I didn’t love writing them. I plan to continue writing, but you will see me writing more commercial stuff in the future. 

There’s still a part of me that worries that people will think I’ve “sold out”, but I just don’t have the strength…or the means…to keep taking money from my own pocket to produce books that simply do not sell. At this point, the harder I work, the more money I LOSE. Again, that’s very tough on the writerly soul no matter how incredible my readers might be. 

The easiest way (and sometimes it feels like the only way) to turn a profit in this business is to write a very common story, like fake marriage, alpha billionaire romance, etc. That’s hard for me because that’s really not what I want to do, and it’s not something I ever thought I would do. 

So, for my next series, I’m trying hard to compromise. There are certain things I WILL NOT do even if they are guaranteed to make money. I won’t write cliffhangers, and no matter how popular they are, I won’t write bad boys, cocky alpha jerks, or God forbid, bully romance. Ugh. I despise those “heroes”, and I find them really stressful to read let alone write. I feel like the villain gets the girl! I’m trying to find a balance of what readers want to read and what I want to write. For example, I don’t mind alpha males as long as they’re not mean. The strong protective type? Yeah. That works for me. I also really love baseball, so my next series will be a baseball series featuring strong, sexy heroes and equally strong and smart heroines.

I understand that many of you won’t be along for the ride in my next adventure. And I understand. Please know that it has been an honor and privilege for me to write those ghost stories for you all. Knowing that you enjoy reading them and often are eagerly awaiting the next book is what has kept me going all these years. 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the “mistfits” who have been with me on this most incredible adventure. And thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for loving Jesse and Lucy, Sean and Theresa, Avery and Remy, Gregory and Rebekah, Jackey and Anthony, and Paige and Orlando as I have loved them. I look forward to introducing you to Silas and Kendrick in the final book in the series, and I promise you will see several other familiar faces in that final book as well. I have done the best I could to wrap up the series well and give you the finale you deserve.

Thank you for taking the time to read my message. I truly hope you understand. 

Lots of love,

Linda 

P.S. I caved, and I will be replacing the new cover for Eternal Hope with the Orlando one 😉

 

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Inn by the Lake – An RNAA Recommended Read

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by:  Linda Fausnet

Genre: Sweet romance, contemporary romance

My Thoughts on the Book: This was a delightful, sweet story involving a loving family, a charming inn, and a lovely romance. Both Luke and Amanda work too much and need to learn how to balance work and life better. Luke’s parents, Henri and DeWayne, own the old-fashioned inn that is in danger of being sold off to make room for a new development. The author does a particularly nice job on the setting here, with the inn feeling like it’s an additional character. The romance between Amanda and Luke developed realistically and is lovely. Highly recommend this novel!

Where to Find This Book:

CHAMPAGNE BOOKS

AUTHOR WEBSITE

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Ruin and Rule – An RNAA Recommended Read

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by: Bethany White

Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance

My Thoughts on This Book: 

He has been broken before, and will do anything he wants to seek revenge on those who wronged him in the past. A girl comes along, with her past, present and future twisted and more confusing, so she turns to a man to seek the truth of all the lies she has lived over eight years. Can she fall in love with possibly her greatest enemy and someone who refuses to face the truth? Can he finally see the light at the end of the tunnel? For those that like MC romances, this book was one that kept me intrigued the entire time. 

Where to Find the Book:

AMAZON NOOK AUDIBLE

AUTHOR WEBSITE

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You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – An RNAA Recommended Read

Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous Book Recommendation by:  Lila Dawes

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Curvy Romance


My Thoughts on the Book:

This book is one of the very first contemporary romances I read and I picked it because the “curvy girl” trope was calling to me, finally a book about someone like me! Neve has been in love with William for years, but he moved away to L.A and hasn’t seen her since she lost a lot of weight. Now he’s coming back and this is her chance to nab her dream man except for one thing, she has no relationship experience. Enter sexy, womanising Max who is the answer to Neve’s problems, he can show her the relationship ropes without her getting attached…right?The book is well written, sweet, funny, sexy and sad, the characters likeable and well developed. The chemistry is delightfully slow burning between our two heroes, none of that insta-love here, thank you! What I love about this book is it’s painful in places seeing what Neve goes through and her internal view of herself but it makes you champion her more. This book tackles body image issues and fat shaming and ultimately self-love and acceptance. A hugely uplifting read 🙂

Where to Find This Book:

AMAZON OR KINDLE UNLIMITED

AUTHOR WEBSITE

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