Loads of fun reading the first few chapters from several romance authors, many completely new to me. I especially enjoyed Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn  McKInlay. Ms. KcKinlay is my new favorite romance author and I look forward to finishing her latest release. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publishers Lunch for the chance to review this book! But note, this book is widely available as a free e-book full of samples to build book buzz.

I love the annual Buzz Books samplers, even if I tend to only come away with a few titles I'm excited about -- maybe my taste just isn't very mainstream! I will say that I miss the initial survey of books, those few pages jam-packed with mentions of upcoming trends, like the earlier Buzz Book Romance had. Now this is just the collection of the 14 excerpts - which is still a great chance to read early samples of books that haven't come out yet! And I appreciate that the introduction mentions the conscious effort to be more inclusive of diverse authors and stories.

ROMEANTICALLY CHALLENGED by Marina Adair
Cover: the lime green is a little blinding but it's certainly eye-catching, and there's a fun texture to the cover with the clouds and the e popping out
Excerpt: completely hilarious and engaging, I loved the scenes with her chewing out the clueless ex
Would I Read This: I actually won a copy on Goodreads and really liked it. I will warn that even though the introduction and cover are fun and light, there are some pretty serious themes in the book that put me through the emotional wringer

THE BALLAD OF HATTIE TAYLOR by Susan Andersen
Cover: this looks like historical women's fiction, not a romance (and the title has the same vibe)
Excerpt: I'm confused about why there's so much of the man's perspective when the cover is all about the heroine Hattie. And when we meet Hattie, she is an orphan kid and the man Jake is definitely an adult....is this....going to be a romance?
Would I Read This: I'll pass on this - the cover copy promises a coming-of-age Western, which are not two things I particularly care for, and the excerpt didn't grab me

SEARCHING FOR ROSE by Dana Becker
Cover: I instinctively avoid anything that looks Amish because of my negative associations with the genre, and the air of menace that hints at romantic suspense which is probably going to be too much because I am a scaredy-cat
Excerpt: I was very confused because the cover has a woman in an Amish cap, but our heroine April is a tough girl in the big city, and I couldn't reconcile the two (if you look over the cover copy, which I clearly didn't read, it mentions that she *goes* to the Amish countryside)
Would I Read This: yes, the prose is engaging and I'm interested in what happens next, but probably from the library if I can since I'm skeptical about both Amish romance and romantic suspense

THE ROOMMATE by Rosie Danan
Cover: fun 80s neon color and style
Excerpt: this flew by, it was very snappy and I was hooked from the first sentence
Would I Read It: yes, I've pre-ordered this

MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE by Devon Daniels
Cover: well, it's very clear this is about politics
Excerpt: So, back when I was still on Twitter, I saw a LOT of complaints about the idea of this book. Republican propaganda etc etc. So I was not going in with an open mind, sorry. Much to my surprise, I hated this excerpt for other reasons! The heroine's opening thoughts are complaints about hashtags, which is honestly the most Fellow Kids thing I have ever seen and I hate it. The next page talks about Justin Timberlake memes and some other meme I've never heard of, and I hated it even more. My eyes rolled into the back of my head when reading about the wonderful boss Senator *Warner* (get it? she's from the Northeast and stands up for women's rights...hmmm I wonder who in the world this could be a reference to). Then we get to the hero and heroine meeting, and we're supposed to feel bad for the heroine because the hero is not paying attention or taking her seriously or something, but honestly all I was thinking was how justified he was and how utterly naive and incompetent the heroine was being. This woman has all the political acumen of a toddler and I loathe her. I'm sure I could hate the hero too if given a chance, but it's never a good sign when we spend the whole excerpt in the heroine's head and I'm all "well I hate you but this guy seems reasonable." So, yeah. I hate this book already, thanks to the writing style and characterization, without even needing to assess the politics.
Would I Read It: absolutely not

THE CUL-DE-SAC WAR by Melissa Ferguson
Cover: this looks much more "women's fiction" or even "chick lit" than romance
Excerpt: this opening chapter is pretty chaotic and I'm confused about why it was so hard to find emergency clothing repair on hand in a theater group, and the whole weird road rage thing (with the despicable bumper stickers that I'm assuming will turn out to be a borrowed car from a brother-in-law or something)
Would I Read It: I don't think so -- the scene with the hero was charming but a little too-good-to-be-true, and the rest of the time the heroine was completely scatterbrained

FOLLOW YOUR HEART by Brenda Jackson
Cover: soothing beach scene
Excerpt: I like the meddling matchmaking matriach who's going to pair up the heroine. I always get nervous about political protagonists but nothing bothered me about the hero so far. And then our heroine talks to some jerk.
Would I Read It: not sure, as I didn't really get a good taste, I'm not sure what the point of the heroine talking to the jerk was and I wish we'd gotten to see the hero and heroine together

PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA by Jenn McKinlay
Cover: very cutesy, looks like a light travel memoir rather than a romance
Excerpt: wow I hate the heroine, she is a total jerk to her poor dad who's just embracing happiness. I want his story, not this brat's
Would I Read It: no thanks - the heroine was being inflexible and selfish (and creepy Electra complex when she told her dad he didn't need to re-marry, he had his adult daughters). plus, the cover copy is about jet-setting around Europe and I don't think I have patience for the "poor little rich girl I'm just finding myself by traveling" routine

BETTER THAN PEOPLE by Roan Parrish
Cover: tones are much more muted than on most romance covers, but I love the action shot of the dog, and the walking couple in the background
Excerpt: A CAT IS WALKING ON A LEASH ON THE FIRST PAGE so I was done for with the cute. All the scenes grabbed me and warmed my heart with animal antics and two heroes who think animals are, well, better than people
Would I Read It: pre-ordered immediately

A DUKE, THE LADY, AND A BABY by Vanessa Riley
Cover: cute, with unusual eye-catching color scheme. i like the detailed silhouettes
Excerpt: I was thrown off when this historical was in 1st person POV, and I was very confused as we start right in the thick of things. Also, I'm very skeptical of children in romance so starting out the first scene with feeding the baby was not the most engaging introduction for me, even though there was a lot of action and stakes
Would I Read This: I read a copy from the library but never warmed up to the writing style; however, I'm delighted that a historical with a POC lead and by a POC author has gotten such a big push from the publisher

THEN THERE WAS YOU by Mona Shroff
Cover: none available
Excerpt: wow, reading about back-to-school was VERY weird to do in August 2020. and this excerpt has a LOT of heavy themes - explicit racism and a random character's suicide attempt to name two, plus hints at a traumatic background and lots of emotional baggage for our hero
Would I Read This: no thanks - the heroine was sympathetic but the hero was kind of a creepy stalker, just because he realized it didn't make it less creepy

HOW TO FAIL AT FLIRTING by Denise Williams
Cover: I like the dark background and bright colors but I don't like that both protagonists have their back to us
Excerpt: oof, academia is really tough for me to read about because I have a lot of baggage around gunning for the same path this heroine did, and then ditching it in the middle of grad school for a much more stable and mentally healthy life. Also, we get a lot of hints at an emotionally abusive ex and that just sounds like more than I'm up to reading (especially for a book with such a cute title and rom-com-type cover)
Would I Read This: no thanks, this sounds like it will be too emotionally exhausting for me

SCANDALOUS SECRETS by Synithia Williams
Cover: cute cover with loving pose (even if I hate the chin scruff) and gorgeous sunrise colors in the background
Excerpt: political scandal and protecting heroine from abusive ex getting out of jail
Would I Read This: this will be wayyyyyy too stressful for me

THE WAY YOU TEMPT ME by Elle Wright
Cover: really cute even if it looks a little more stock than the others. I LOVE her dress, the couple looks cute together, and I like the neon lighting of the big city in the background
Excerpt: I was wary at first because it's all about high-pressure business (agency) and family succession, which is more drama than I like. but the hook at the end of the excerpt, well, hooked me!
Would I Read This: I would give this a try and look forward to checking it out at the library

OK, so of 14 books -- I've read 2, pre-ordered 2, and will try to get 2 from the library. Disliking or even hating more than half of the samples isn't great, but hey they're samples! And I appreciate the chance to try some things out I might not have picked up otherwise.

A nice overview of upcoming titles, and it is nice to see a blend of familiar names and debuts! I particularly enjoyed the excerpt for How To Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams.

This was a great way too see what books are coming up. I can’t wait to read more if Romantically Challenged, Follow Your Heart, How to Fail at Flirting just to name a few.

A book of excerpts of upcoming romances. Enjoyed reading these sneak peeks!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This sample anthology contains some interesting selections that I’ll be looking for when they come out.

I’ve been hearing about A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby and was very excited to read an excerpt. I found the beginning a bit tricky to follow, but I am intrigued. There is a lot to unpack here, and I believe more would be explained in chapters to come. So far, I don’t see a lot of emotion from the main character, I would hope for more. I might check this book out, but it would be based more on external interest than on these first chapters.

How to Fail at Flirting

I love a heroine who shows the difficulties of research and academia and I also love a story in which her career plays a significant role.  This sneak peek teased friendships with my kind of humor and a story about the heroine finding herself again. I definitely want to read this book! 

Better Than People

The start of this story was almost too graphic for me, and the number of animals was a bit much to keep up with. I’m curious about Jack and Simon, but not feeling like I need to pick this up right away.

The Roommate

I have heard from trusted sources that this book is right up my alley and the first two chapters have definitely caught my interest. I find the family curse intriguing, the unrequited love for the absent best friend very easy to relate to, and I can’t wait to see our heroine open up! I am dying to read this book.

short samples of upcoming books.  I find this difficult to work with on an e-reader as if I want to find a particular book it's hard to do so.

I was so excited to read this issue of Romance Buzz Books and it did not disappoint! There are so many good romances coming out and I cannot wait. I love using this guide to discover new authors as well.

Thanks! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ I live diecoteing the latest novelties and you present us always the best in terms of great books and literature. Thanks for existing!

I really enjoyed this big book of excerpts. There were so many that was entertaining and made me wish it lasted just a little bit longer. I made an extensive list on books that I’m waiting to be published, as well as requested some from publishers on NetGalley as well. I’m tell you if you want discover new books and don’t where to begin...start here.

I love Buzz Books. They're free, what's not to love about that, and there are several chapters in each sample, enough to evaluate whether you'll like a book or not. I found four to request ARCs of: The Cul-de-Sac War, ROMEantically Challenged, The Ballad of Hattie Taylor, and the Roommate. I would have requested more, but my TBR list was getting too long!

There's something for everyone in this edition. LBGT, animal lovers, western romance, Caribbean romance (?), an Amish mystery, truly a little bit of everything.

My thanks to Publishers Lunch and Netgalley. I received an ARC in exchange for agreement to review; my opinions are my own.

I recently learned about this publication that provides excerpts from soon-to-be -published books. It is a handy way to preview books that might interest you and to learn about new authors. I am always looking for new authors to read and for new approaches to the romance genre. I will be looking forward to reading this each time it is published.

Amazing collection. I totally recommend every romance reader to check out this collection for upcoming books they may not know about. I know I found a few new to me authors here.

There are many interesting books in this selection. I am looking forward to reading most of them. You can't go wrong with this book.

"Buzz Books 2020 – Romance"
A great resource for finding your next TBR book.  
I used the summary to decide whether I cared to read the first chapter..
and the First Chapter to decide If that book was headed for my TBR list.
This collection held a good variety for reading choices.

Buzz books,2020 Romance By Publishers Lunch 

This is a quick snapshot of how NetGalley operates and there system. Then it’s a look at upcoming Romance books coming out that is a wonderful mixture of fresh new authors and established authors. I think it’s a great way to get a synopsis of titles and authors that you might not normally have considered because so many books come out on a daily basis, but this just gives you a chance to view a select mixture!  I hope to get The RoomMate , Paris is Always a Good Idea and Follow Your Heart! I normally would not have chosen these books, but I hopefully will get them, if not I have them in my calendar to purchase because they sound fun and interesting! 
I received this from NetGalley and I am willingly giving my thoughts and opinions!

I haven’t heard of many of these books, but several of them look good, based on the excerpts. I’m especially excited about “A Duke, The Lady, and a Baby”!

This was an excellent sampler of some of the biggest books yet to come in 2020, including:

- How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
- The Duke, the Lady and a Baby by Vanessa Riley

The samples are about two chapters or so, depending on the novel. Definitely enough to get the flavor of the book. Each book contains a summary at the top, publication info, a bio of the author and a link to request the full ARC. 

I’m blown away by how great it was to have a romance look book like this. Highly recommend! 

Also, sidenote: these stories were Senate-heavy. Three included stories with senator characters. As a politico, it was amazing to see political romance novels.

Interesting read that is certain to increase your to be read pile. Especially if you like to read romance. Useful reference if you like to keep up to date with what is being published and trends in a particular genre.