OK, enough of the serious stuff – fancy something feel-good, easy to read and quite a bit saucy? Catherine Robertson has just launched two vineyard romances, the first in the Flora Valley series, and they are exactly what romances should be. Smoking hot (4 chillies, my friends), all the sex is consensual and, frankly, glorious. The characters are well rounded but as hand-picked as a 1980s pop band – there is the bubbly one, the smart one, the cool executive type, the strong silent one, sporty, ginger – you get the picture. They all bring different things to the party.
The series is set in Flora Valley; the first, Corkscrew You (where did these titles come from?) concerns our girl Shelby, who has taken over her late father’s vineyard which is course is wholesome and good. Too-busy for love Shelby is paired with the love-rejected Nate, who sets about fixing things without realising what it is that is broken. There are some disagreements, hurt feelings and more glorious make-up sex.
The second, You’re So Vine (see what I mean), is Nate’s sporty sister –over achieving, in need of calm – teaming up with the strong-but-silent Cam, who is war damaged and needs a loving woman. There are some hiccoughs along the way, and – you guessed it – lots of making up in the bedroom. Yes yes yes, all that.
The girl and the boy take turns in narrating the story in rom-com convention. The writing is good, the action smoking, the plot lines nicely contrived to get to the correct end for a romance book, which really hasn’t changed since Darcy married Elizabeth.
You know what the ‘4 Chillies Spicy Books’ logo means, don’t you?
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