Smashwords’ Featured New Releases list is a gold mine for those looking for an awesome indie read, including these five romance novels.
The Viking’s Consort by Quinn Loftis
Genre: Teen, Historical
Allete Auvray isn’t just heir to the English throne. Since marrying her beloved Viking fiancé, Jarl Torben, she’s also the new queen of his clan, fulfilling a prophecy made by the clan’s former Oracle who bespoke of a foreign bride who would lead their people and unite the Northerners. But life isn’t about courtesans and ballroom finery. It’s about leading a ferocious clan of Vikings into battle, and Allete can’t do that unless she completely becomes one of them—a shieldmaiden of Clan Hakon. With war against her former fiancé, King Cathal, on the horizon, Allete will sacrifice everything to ensure she’s up to the task of leading her clan to victory. But will she be able to do enough to earn the respect of her sisters-in-arms?
Allete’s sister, Dayna, is in the hands of a witch, her well-being unknown. Cathal has his armies at the ready, and Allete and Torben know they don’t stand a chance on their own. To make matters worse, Brant, Torben’s right-hand man and the Viking who has laid claim to Dayna’s heart, is holding onto his sanity by a thread—fighting the urge to go after Dayna with or without an army behind him. With everything to lose, Allete and Torben must hold onto each other as they fight to save her sister and bring Cathal down once and for all.
Get The Viking’s Consort on Smashwords today.
Striking Freedom by Viola Grace
Genre: Science Fiction
Lacey was the newest member of the station before the explosion, but she lost her future right after the blast.
Lacey had grown up with privilege, but she learned early exactly how deals got made. She used to use her skills to get Adaptation Station their hard-to-come-by supplies, but after the blast, the family that she had been gaining was pulled from her.
Lacey was transported across the stars where she sat at the side of her grandfather while he bargained away the human race. When she objected, she became a test subject that the Splice took apart.
Wallowing in depression lasted for a while, but when she got back on her feet and stood tall, she realized that she had work to do, and no one was going to do it for her. Time to get a plan into position and get her band back together.
Get Striking Freedom on Smashwords today.
Absolution by Lissa Kasey
Genre: Fantasy
Sam is used to being the bad guy. So when he becomes the undead, he doesn’t understand why it pisses him off. Sure guys throw themselves at him, and he’s strong enough to toss a car across a room, but he’s friends with two of the four pillars of Dominion power and mentored by one of the most powerful vampires in the world. Things that put a damper on his whole ‘scourge of darkness’ vibe.
For months he’s been letting a little red-eyed monster out to play and feeding on the dangerous instead of on the willing. If it weren’t for his endless desire to take a nibble from his sexy and tattooed roommate, Constantine, he’d still be stalking the night looking for human monsters to devour. Instead he’s taking on a cibo, a regular blood donor, in the form of Luca, a dhampir.
With Luca and his profound knowledge of undead politics in his life, Sam begins to realize he doesn’t know as much as he thought, and maybe that’s not his fault. His mentor’s sanity is slipping, the world is changing, and vampires are beginning to lose control. Will Sam fall into the darkness too, or can Luca and Con drag him back from the abyss?
Get Absolution on Smashwords today.
Tight-Knit by Shaya Crabtree
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
Four years ago, Lara Spellmeyer left her small-town life in Perry, Oklahoma, to pursue her dream of starting a cat sweater business. After being swept up in online fame and success, Lara is suddenly back home, dealing with her grandmother’s poor health and potentially career-ending negative press.
The only bright spots are Tight Knit, the knitting circle she starts with her friends, and Kerry, the charming young woman her best friend sets her up with.
When Chief Editor Paige Daley asks Lara to appear in her local paper’s Hometown Heroes series, it just might restore Lara’s image to its former glory. But working with Paige on the story is a battle between Lara’s loyalty to her community and a reminder of the suffocating small-town mentality she grew up with.
It doesn’t help that Paige is her ex, completely maddening, and can’t see eye to eye with Lara on anything. How could this possibly end well?
A charming, second-chance lesbian romance about finding love in all the old places.
Get Tight-Knit on Smashwords today.
Promises Kept by Elizabeth Silver
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ
When a dying woman makes him promise to care for her baby, the last thing Adam expects is for anyone to take him literally. Then the woman’s brother shows up on his doorstep, baby in tow, with wild stories of magic and fae, and his world changes.
At first, Kalen is too busy drowning in grief to care about the human with the claim over his niece. But Adam’s warmth, humor, and unwavering heart all manage to sneak through until he becomes more than roommate and co-parent to baby Moira. He becomes Kalen’s friend, someone to trust…and maybe love.
Kalen’s only supposed to stay until Adam gets the hang of parenting a fae baby. Falling in love is not part of the plan. But that’s the least of their worries when the past threatens Adam’s promises to both Moira and Kalen and they have to wonder if some promises can’t be kept after all.
Get Promises Kept on Smashwords today.
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