Hello, and welcome back! Baseball season is nearly over here in Little League land, and by the end of the month--unless playoffs drag on longer than we expect, I should have a few more evenings to myself to sit beneath the tree with my reading material of choice (Harry Potter, anyone?).

So, romantic suspense. It's been huge in romance the last few years, and I've been hearing some griping the last year or so that some readers are tired of it. What about you? For me, they have to be well-written--Linda Howard springs immediately to mind, with her sexy alpha heroes and sassy heroines and the love scenes that singe your fingers on the pages--and they have to have at least as much romance as suspense. I think that might be where some of the complaints are coming from--a few readers in the survey last month mentioned hating that their fave authors seemed to be writing straight suspense now as opposed to romantic suspense. Hard balance to strike, I believe. Then, too, when romantic suspense (RS) first became more popular, every publisher jumped on the bandwagon, so some readers looking for other types of romance may have been disappointed to see so much RS on the shelves instead of their fave subgenre.

This week, I have a new book from Linda Castillo--whose last book I loved, by the way--from Berkley, The Shadow Side. Detective Adam Boedecker shouldn't even be working this case because of his medical leave, but he tracks down Dr. Elizabeth Barnes after his brother and sister-in-law are killed--after his brother's been dosed with Valazine, the medicine Eli's been developing, and which Adam believes is connected to a series of bizarre deaths. You like a tortured hero? Look no further than this book. Adam is imperfect, wounded (literally), and sexy as all get-out. Eli's his perfect match. I'm giving this one four of Cupid's five arrows. Can't wait for the next book from Ms. Castillo.

For fans of Indian romances, Madeline Baker's latest is now available (Signet), Wolf Shadow. Teressa Bryant was taken as a child to be raised in an Indian village, and is now known as Winter Rain. Chance McCloud, aka Wolf Shadow, is set to bring her home to her parents after many years. Too bad his heart gets in the way of his job. For me, not a keeper, but only because I'm not a huge fan of Indian romances. If you feel otherwise, this may be a good choice for you.

Finally, we have Susan King's new one (Signet), Taming the Heiress. Meg MacNeill had a chance encounter years ago with a man she'd believed at the time was a selkie, though she found out later he was all too human. When she comes face to face with him many years later, her situation is much different, and the man in question doesn't realize she is the same woman who pulled him from the angry sea one long ago night. Stubborn woman, determined man, innocent child, and malicious suitor--all come together to bring you a delightful read. I'm borrowing four arrows for this one, too.

Until next time, happy reading!