We're pleased to show you the cover for Jade Lee's What the Groom Wants, Book 4 in the Bridal Favors series. Apparently what the groom wants is to get him and his heroine less clothed! Funny, we're looking forward to that as well...

Here's the cover blurb:

Wendy Drew, co-owner of A Lady's Favor dress shop, is working at a gambling den to help pay off a relative's debt when she catches the eye of the den's owner. Wendy is attracted to his dark, dangerous ways, but she has no idea how far he'll go to make her his. 

Seaman Jacob Teel has been in love with Wendy from the first time he met her. Now he's home, done with the seafaring life, and has recently inherited a Welsh title. Finally, he can court Wendy for real—if he only he knew about his deadly competition.

What the Groom Wants will be available on February 4, 2014. In the meantime, look out for Book 3 in the series, What the Bride Wore, out this August!

The White Queen (BBC One), an adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s best-selling trilogy of novels set around the Wars of the Roses, had a strong debut in the UK on BBC One over the weekend, a good sign for when the series debuts August 10 in the United States on the Starz network. The White Queen centers on Elizabeth Woodville, wife of the man who became England’s first Yorkist king, Edward IV.

A glimpse at the full trailer shows just why it's so appealing. Will you be watching? Could it perhaps help fill the void left by historical dramas The Borgias and (while it's on hiatus) Downton Abbey?

****SPOILERS****

Last season on True Blood things went a bit off the rails for book readers. The Vampire Authority wasn’t a part of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series. So Bill’s turn into Billith was a complete shock. Will Sookie recover from seeing her former lover go vampire god? Will he go crazy on all humans? Everything along this line will be a surprise. Plus, the writers twisted the faerie plot, too, so Andy’s a dad times four!

This season we get to meet Niall (finally?) and maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll see the turn of Arlene Fowler a la the book events. Fingers crossed.

[Onward to Season 6!...]

Yesterday was Father's Day, where we celebrated the procreating males in our lives.

So if they had their wish of reading whatever they wanted to, what would it be?

What do the fathers in your life like to read best?

Given that tonight is the premiere of its sixth season on HBO, how could we not dedicate the second edition of Shipping Sunday to a couple from True Blood? And since we know that many of you are Sookie/Eric fans...well, this one's for you!

Let us know what you think and please do add your own Eric/Sookie pictures in the comments!

[+2 more very, very pretty pics!...]

Barbara Delinsky 
Sweet Salt Air
St. Martin’s Press / June 18, 2013 / $25.99 print, $11.04 digital

Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, spending summers together in Nicole's coastal island house off of Maine. But many years, and many secrets, have kept the women apart. A successful travel writer, single Charlotte lives on the road, while Nicole, a food blogger, keeps house in Philadelphia with her surgeon-husband, Julian. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she invites her old friend Charlotte back to Quinnipeague, for a final summer, to help. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for talking to people and making friends, and Nicole could use her expertise for interviews with locals. Missing a genuine connection, Charlotte agrees.

But what both women don't know is that they are each holding something back that may change their lives forever. For Nicole, what comes to light could destroy her marriage, but it could also save her husband. For Charlotte, the truth could cost her Nicole’s friendship, but could also free her to love again. And her chance may lie with a reclusive local man, with a heart to soothe and troubles of his own.

Barbara Delinsky's Sweet Salt Air is an emotional story with strong, likeable central characters—Charlotte, Nicole and Leo—all of whom are guarding secrets. It would be too simple to say that Sweet Salt Air is solely about secrets, as it goes much deeper than that. Delinsky’s story is about atonement and redemption. It is also about and a sense of belonging and of finding oneself, especially for Charlotte. Delinsky has chosen a wonderfully rich and vibrant coastal island as backdrop, the close-knit community of Quinnipeague, Maine, and its eclectic inhabitants.

[In other words, perfect summer reading?...]

Lately in romance so often we have the billionaire hero, the clan chief, and the pack alpha. On Facebook earlier this week, we asked how you felt about “normal” heroes and now we're asking you here!

Of course, we want our heroes to be extraordinary, but do you want to see more normal heroes with normal jobs? What's a “normal” job that you don't think gets nearly enough love in romance? What do you think of the high-ranking men that have dominated (*wink, wink* in more ways than one!) the genre lately?

Recently when looking at Man of Steel star, Henry Cavill, we couldn't help but quote Emma Stone's famous line in Crazy Stupid Love “Seriously? It's like you're Photoshopped.”

The man is certainly made of steel—whether it's buns of steel, abs of steel, or...pretty much his whole body. When looking up photos, there certainly isn't a shortage of Beefcake-worthy material as he's been seen nearly-naked in almost everything he's been in. From Tudors, to Immortals, and most recently, Man of Steel—and we most certainly don't mind!

Share your favorite pictures of Henry Cavill in the comments. Will you be seeing Man of Steel this weekend?

[+3 more mouthwatering, and shirtless!, pics that will steel your breath...]

Mary Alice Monroe
The Summer Girls
Gallery Books / June 25, 2013 / $26.00 print, $10.38 digital

Three granddaughters. Three months. One summer house.

Set amid ancient live oaks and palmettos, overlooking the water, historic Sea Breeze is Marietta Muir’s ancestral summer home. Her granddaughters once adored vacations there, but it’s been years since they’ve visited. Mamaw fears once she is gone, the family bonds will fray. The Muir family is one of Charleston’s oldest and the blood of their pirate captain ancestor runs strong, so Marietta drops a subtle promise of loot—pearl necklaces, priceless antique furniture, even the house—to lure her “summer girls” back to the lowcountry.

For years, Carson Muir has drifted, never really settling, certain only that a life without the ocean is a life half lived. Adrift and penniless in California, Carson is the first to return to Sea Breeze, wondering where things went wrong . . . until the sea she loves brings her a minor miracle. Her astonishing bond with a dolphin helps Carson renew her relationships with her sisters and face the haunting memories of her ill-fated father. As the rhythms of the island open her heart, Carson begins to imagine the next steps toward her future.

Mary Alice Monroe is at her best with the first in her new trilogy, The Summer Girls. When she’s at the top of her game, she engages a reader’s emotions and makes intimate places and situations that may be far removed from personal experience. Southern Fiction evokes a laid-back, naturalistic lifestyle that keeps the focus on family and fighting personal demons. Romance is a lovely part of this, but it’s just one component. The most profound type of romance in Southern Fiction relates to its setting, nature, and often with Monroe, animals.

[Let it sweep you away...]

Fathers of the heroes and heroines of historical romance novels come in a variety of flavors. There’s the father who is absent due to death or abandonment, the father who is an ineffective bumbler, and the father who, through indifference or outright malice, harms the protagonist. Even the good father is often nothing more than a paper-doll figure. I’ve long thought that Loretta Chase is an exception to the norm, creating throughout her career some of the most interesting father figures in historical romance fiction, from the scene-stealing Devil Desmond in The Devil’s Delilah (1989) to the solid Lord Lexham in Don’t Tempt Me (2009), but by far the most interesting of Chase’s fictional fathers is the Earl of Hargate.

Hargate is the father of five sons, the heroes of the Carsington Brothers series: Alistair (Miss Wonderful), Rupert (Mr. Impossible), Benedict (Lord Perfect), Darius (Not Quite a Lady), and Geoffrey, who is happily married when the series opens and is never seen, only mentioned occasionally. Hargate is a character for whom the term “lord” is more than recognition of his status as an aristocrat. His sons view him as a godlike figure, omnipotent and omniscient. He sets the hero on his journey in the first, second, and fourth books and serves as the deus ex machina who resolves the hero’s dilemma in the third book.

[Father knows best...]

Robyn DeHart
The Secrets of Mia Danvers
Intermix / June 18, 2013 / $3.99 digital

Since losing her sight in a childhood accident, Mia Danvers has resided in a small cottage on the vast Carrington estate. Thought to be dead, Mia lives a life of virtual seclusion—until one night, while walking home, she happens upon a horrendous crime.

Alex Foster, Eighth Duke of Carrington, lives according to society’s expectations for him. He’s never met the woman who lives in the cottage at the edge of his property. But when she arrives at his door in the pouring rain terrified and claiming she has witnessed a murder, she seizes his attention.

Mia is determined to help the authorities track down the culprit, even though the only person willing to accept her aid is the handsome, arrogant duke. Working closely together proves difficult as Mia’s beauty and independence tempts Alex to ignore convention and follow his desire. But what neither of them know is that this murderer has struck before in Whitechapel, taunting the British press only to vanish—a ruthless killer who knows that Mia is the only living witness to his crime.

Mia Danvers, the heroine of Robyn DeHart's The Secrets of Mia Danvers, was only 16 when her mothers and sisters dropped her off at the little cottage on the edge of the property belonging to the Duke of Carrington. After a riding accident left her without sight, her mother didn’t have time for a damaged daughter who would never find a husband. She had two other girls who needed to find husbands to support the family now that their father was dead. Although her mother intended to leave Mia there alone, her governess and dearest friend Rachel would not abandon her and together the two women made a life in the little cottage that would become a place for Mia to spread her wings.

[At least until her life gets turned upside-down again, huh?...]

This Sunday sees the return of True Blood, with a brand-new showrunner, Brian Buckner, who promises changes: He says that the show will “get back to a little bit of our soap opera roots and remember that romance matters in the midst of all the plot we do.”

Thank you, Brian!

While we wait for Sunday, can we point you to two of our most delicious True Blood posts, both penned by the Vampire Book Lover herself, Chelsea Mueller?

First there's the post where she painstakingly goes through and catalogues every instance of Alexander Skarsgard, as Eric Northman, in the altogether, the True Blood Booty Call post. And then there's her compilation of all the reasons she thinks True Blood will be worth the wait: 20 Reasons We Can't Wait for True Blood Season Six.

Finally, there's Joe Manganiello, who graces this month's issue of Men's Health, and who is also—reportedly—getting naked in the first episode.

Who's in for True Blood Season Six?

Sabrina Jeffries
What the Duke Desires
Pocket / June 18, 2013 / $7.99 print, $6.64 digital

Maximilian Cale, the Duke of Lyons, long ago buried his grief for his missing elder brother, Peter, who was presumed dead after being kidnapped. When a mysterious note arrives from Tristan Bonnaud asserting that the Duke's brother is alive, it leads Max straight to the winsome Lisette Bonnaud, illegitimate daughter of a viscount and Tristan's sister. Soon he and Lisette are traveling to Paris posing as husband and wife, in search of Tristan, who has disappeared. And the longer he spends with Lisette, the easier it is for Max to see that the line between dukedom and desire is easier to cross than he imagined.

What the Duke Desires is the first book in Sabrina Jeffries's new The Duke’s Men series, and although the title indicates that we should be more interested in the duke, this story is much more fascinating in following what Lisette desires.

[And what does Lisette desire, hmm?...]

We’re reading our way across America…one romance at a time.

Oregon: Fionna’s Will by Lana McGraw Boldt

Now we turn to the very novel that inspired the entire Perfect Unions project. Here’s the story (and what a story it is): One day, I was in the basement, cleaning out the cats’ litter box (ah, the thrilling life of the freelance blogger), when my eye fell upon a bookshelf loaded with old paperbacks that hadn’t been touched in years. One of them was Lana McGraw Boldt’s wildly readable Fionna’s Will, and because thinking about this Oregon-set historical epic was considerably more pleasant than thinking about what I was doing at the time, I began to meditate upon the fact that I had absolutely loved it when I first read it back in college. And then, the light bulb: “You know, there really aren’t that many romance novels set in Oregon. Or New Mexico or Nebraska or Delaware…but I’ll bet there are some.”

Anyway, I picked up the book for a re-read, wondering how it would compare with the book I knew and loved back in the day (I was in college, let us say, several years ago). And guess what: It holds up just fine!

[What makes it so readable?...]

Captive Prince by S.U. Pacat

Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos, but when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Beautiful, manipulative and deadly, his new master Prince Laurent epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is at it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.

Forced to hide his identity, Damen finds himself increasingly drawn to the dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But as the fledgling trust between the two men deepens, the truth of secrets from both their pasts is poised to deal them the crowning death blow.

SPOILER ALERT FOR VOLUMES ONE AND TWO OF THE CAPTIVE PRINCE. MANY SPOILERS, INCLUDING DEATHS AND PLOT TWISTS.

(For an introduction to the story, check out Mandi Schreiner's post Captivated by S.U. Pacat's Captive Prince.)

Captive Prince by S.U. Pacat began online, being posted for free, chapter-by-chapter, in the author’s journal. In February 2013, it became two independently-published volumes. In May 2013, rights to publish the existing two volumes and the upcoming Volume Three were purchased by Penguin Berkley. This has both good and less good aspects for longtime fans. The good: the author will attain a wider audience, and the sale might lead to a faster release of Volume Three, which would be a boon because of Volume Two’s cliffhanger ending. The less good: Volume Three won’t be released chapter-by-chapter, so waiting for the completed book might be more difficult for those accustomed to the serialization model.

So, what do we do in the interim? We speculate, of course!

Here are my thoughts on three big events we might expect in Volume Three.

[What do you think might be ahead for Damen and Laurent?...]

Recent headlines have caused people to revisit—and purchase—George Orwell's 1984, published 64 years ago, the “nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world.” At this writing, one edition is at #83 in Amazon's Kindle store, and has the top slot on “Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Science Fiction > Dystopian.”

But since we're romance readers, we want to know what you think is the best romance corrollary to 1984? What's the best dystopian romance novel?