<— It’s Eden Butler’s book birthday today (she just released her latest, Roughing the Kicker (Saints and Sinners Book 1) – a sports romance featuring the NFL’s first female kicker.”)…
“…The NFL. A pro career. All eyes on the league’s new kicker. Millions of people expecting her to fail.
But Reese wasn’t a novelty and the spot she landed on the New Orleans Steamers was one she planned to keep. With her teammates giving her hell and the world doubting her every move, Reese will have to fight harder than anyone else to make her dream a reality.
Even if that means following the lead of Quarterback Ryder Glenn —the only man who brought her to the edge of ecstasy and the depths of heartbreak…”
…and to celebrate, she’s sponsoring this week’s newsletter and is guest posting today on the site. OMG this is my FAVORITE kind of guest post.
When an author lets us into her own very favorites reads!! YAY US. :D!!!
These are her absolute favorites and I’m right there with her. So many of these are my favorites, too. I have no doubt those who have read these will agree, and if you haven’t, these are MUST READS. Every. Single. One.
Eden Butler’s Top 5 Swoony Books To Read Over and Over
“We all have our favorites, right? Favorite beer, favorite movies, favorite fictional boyfriend whose name we love to scribble with hearts and arrows right across our Trapper Keepers. (Yep. I’m THAT old). That favorite preference is most true, in my not so humble opinion, when we’re discussing books. Some books just resonate with us. Some take complete possession of us and refuse to let go. Some books go bone deep and become as intrinsic to our lives as the color of our eyes and the tone of our voice.
But among those old reliables, even the ones we love to read, again and again, there are still favorites…call them favorites within favorites, especially those of the swoony variety.
My personal favorites are my personal favorites for good reason. They sink their nails in and leave a mark. When I’m in a given mood or want to reread in the hopes that a particular emotion will be invoked, these are the special favorites I go back to because they never disappoint.
While I still claim American Gods and The Night Circus among my all-time favorites, these books are the ones that always leave me with a swoony, love-struck hangover.
So here goes, guys…my Top 5 Swoony Books To Read Over and Over. I’d love to hear about yours in the comments below!”
1. Outlander: A Novel (Outlander, Book 1) by Diana Gabaldon
The Outlander series is a personal favorite for so many people that its inclusion on my personal favorite list shouldn’t be surprising. But there are probably two books, and two major scenes that really make me swoony: the “Lavender Scene” between Jamie and Claire in book one and, of course, the print shop scene in Voyager. Gabaldon set the bar for all writers looking to insert a little breathtaking swooning in their stories and I doubt any of us will ever reach it.
2. Hard Time by Cara McKenna
Oh, Cara McKenna. Thanks to the flattering mention by our own Maryse about Hard Time, I fell hard for Ms. McKenna. (Sidebar: I’ve found that Maryse’s recommendations match perfectly with my own. This lady has exceptional taste). Annie is a librarian worn down by life and an abusive ex, hiding in the dreary northern landscape far from her South Carolina home. She’s the tutor at Cousin’s Correctional Facility, a scary place housing men who take no crap, and Annie holds her own. But when she discovers a connection with one of her convict pupils, the gorgeous Eric, Annie discovers not every prisoner’s story is the same. Through sensaual, erotic and the epitome of swoon-worthy letters, Annie and Eric fall in love.
It’s those letters and ultimate connection they share that make me go back to Hard Time again and again. This book is a lesson in great love letter writing and makes me miss the process, but it’s Eric, that beautifully flawed man, and how attentive, how eager he is to live and be and breath for Annie that keeps me swooning.
3. Shadowfever: Fever Series Book 5 by Karen Marie Moning
I resisted reading this series for years. The Fey Court? I mean, fairies have never really been something I had any interest in, but a work friend was obsessed and kept telling me how much I’d love them and so I used plenty of corporate time digging into KMM’s glorious series.
The reason I come back, to Shadowfever especially, can be summed up in two words: Jerricho Barrons. Folks, there is no other character that is more alpha than Jerricho. When he hates, it’s eternal. When he loves, it’s consuming and, well, you’ll definitely want to be consumed by him. Case in point:
“You’re Mac,” he says. “And I’m Jericho. And nothing else matters. Never will. You exist in a place that is beyond all rules for me. Do you understand that?”
I do. Jericho Barrons just told me he loves me.”
Who wouldn’t want to read about this enigmatic man over and over again?
Swooning for days.
4. Corrupt (Devil’s Night #1) by Penelope Douglas
It’s dark. It’s haunting. It’s suspenseful, but if you like a little…okay a LOT… of spice with your swoon, do yourself a favor and dive into the first book in the Devil’s Night series. Pen is a friend, so I got a first glimpse of that sauna scene before it was “THE” sauna scene.
Trust me, it was still smoking hot. Michael. Ericka and…company? I’m still swooning from reading this one.
5. Crazy Good (CRAZY GOOD SEALS Book 1) by Rachel Robinson
Navy SEALs. Best friends. Ill-attempted bikini waxes. I fell in love with this book, (and Maverick and Windsor) the first time I read, and that I accomplished in one sitting. There is heartache. There is smoldering sex and such a beautifully satisfying epilogue.
Warning though: you’re gonna swoon for weeks after reading this one and yes, it is indeed Crazy Good.
Thanks for letting me hang out, Maryse!
<3
That was SO fun, Eden and I see we both have amazing book taste. 😉 *hug* You just might be another one of my book-twins.
About Eden Butler
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of Mystery, Suspense and Contemporary Romance novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum.
She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.
Please send help.
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Roughing the Kicker sounds like my kind of book. Love a good sports romance! 😉