Like May, June is going to be an AWESOME release month. I know, because I've been lucky enough to get early reads on a couple of the books. < --blatant neener-neener

On my shopping list this week:

Amie Stuart's Hands On. I've really been looking forward to her first Aphrosisia single-title, so I can't wait to get this! It's received some fantastic reviews, and great news…it releases today!!!!

Eden Bradley's Dark Garden. She's a novella mate in the Bantam anthology that will be coming out next year, along with Stephanie Tyler and our own Sydney Croft. I've read Eden's writing, and it's lush and gorgeous!

Speaking of Stephanie Tyler, Risking It All releases this week! I got to read this a long time ago, and as usual, I fell in love with her hero. Sigh. She does the BEST heroes, and Cash is no exception. (In fact, I'm constantly telling her how jealous I am of her ability to write heroes.)

The thing about this story is that it's "big." It's got a big plot that doesn't lose the romance, which is another thing Stephanie is good at, and I'm not just saying that because she's the other half of Sydney and she's making me.

Seriously, I've always admired her ability to create emotion and romance that isn't buried beneath the plot. And her humor is exactly what I like–it's present, but it's subtle and sarcastic, which is my favorite kind of humor in romance novels. I love this book!

Lara Adrian's second Midnight Breed novel, Kiss of Crimson, also releases today! I'd been dying to read it, and finally got the chance last week. Two things I loved about this book: The heroine is a veterinarian (and you know how I love animals,) and the hero is, well, yummy! Dante is haunted, dark, and hungry for a life he doesn't think he can have. I really enjoyed reading his story, and even the subplot, which I normally skim over, was intriguing…with an ending I didn't see coming.

Another thing I liked about KOC is that you don't need to read Kiss of Midnight to make sense of what's going on in the sequel. Lara's ability to weave in backstory without making it seem like a history lesson is nothing short of amazing. And so is her worldbuilding, and some of her description actually makes me stop and re-read out of sheer admiration (and a touch of jealousy.)

Like I've said before, I'm super picky about vampire romance. Lara Adrian is one of the few authors, alongside Lynn Viehl, JR Ward, and Angela Knight, who can write a good vamp. Book three can't come soon enough!