A spring thunderstorm is rattling the windows in the Archives Reading Room as I type this, and the rainy weather we've had all month has me thinking of that old saying: "April showers bring May flowers." I'm ready to be in the thick of spring, with honeybees rumbling around my head instead of thunder, and grass beneath my feet instead of wet puddles on concrete. In celebration of the turning weather and the season, here are three books with the brightest flowers to welcome May, and with it, the rest of spring.
If you like: family dramas, bodyguards, strong independent women
Full Bloom, by Jayne Ann Krentz
“Jacob Stone was part bodyguard, part troubleshooter for Ravenscroft International - and the subject of many women's fantasies, including those of Emily Ravenscroft. Over the years, he'd pulled Emily out of countless acts of rebellion against her domineering family. And now he'd been summoned to rescue Emily from a marriage that promised to end in disaster. Instead of a reckless hellion, Jacob found a woman in charge of her life. Emily didn't need or want his protection - she needed his love. But did Jacob need this new kind of trouble?”
If you like: secret identites, political intrigue, international espionage
Petals in the Storm, by Mary Jo Putney
"A cool master of sensuality, Rafe Whitbourne, Duke of Candover, earned his rakish reputation in the silken boudoirs of England's aristocracy, never giving away his hand or his heart. Then a vital mission for a friend takes him to Paris to work with Countess Magda Janos, the most beautiful spy in Europe. To his shock, the smoky-eyed temptress is no countess, but the deceitful tart who betrayed him a dozen years before - the only woman he had ever loved, and the only woman he had ever despised. Margot Ashton wants nothing more than to forget her turbulent past and the mesmerizing man who had cruelly wronged her. But patriotism binds the two together in a shadowland of intrigue where a dangerous plot may plunge a continent into war... and a whirlwind of passion sweeps them into a shattering love that cannot be denied."
If you like: fantasy, princesses, soldiers in shining armor
Winter Rose, by Nora Roberts
"On a remote island cursed with eternal winter, a young queen heals a wounded soldier - and warms her heart with the joys of true love..."
The Rose and the Sword, by Jill Gregory
"An exiled princess's last hope for recovering her lost kingdom lies with the embittered prince she is pledge to marry - a man as impossible as he is irresistible..."
The Roses of Glenross, by Ruth Ryan Langan
"Sheltered in an abbey in war-torn Scotland, a lonely lass tends a haunted rose garden - while a heroic soldier basks in the pure glow of her love..."
The Fairest Rose, by Marianne Willman
"Embarking on a dangerous quest to win the hand of a princess, a bold warrior falls for the one woman who has the power to save his life - and hold his heart..."
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