Sexy guys with guitars—there’s a reason romance readers love them, and we’re covering three titles out this month that illustrate why rock stars make readers swoon. Put your hands together for Brennan, Calix and Jake and prepare to fall in love.

ARTISTIC DIFFERENCES
New York Times bestselling author Julia London takes readers to the lakeside resort town of East Beach, New York, for her latest novel, Suddenly In Love. Struggling artist Mia Lassiter reluctantly returns home to East Beach when she loses her job in Manhattan, but fortunately, her aunt offers her a position in her interior design shop. Working on a renovation project at a historic mansion on the shore of Lake Haven is a welcome challenge for Mia’s talents. Unfortunately, the owner’s reclusive son is in residence, and their first meetings are more hostile than friendly.

Guitarist Brennan Yates is stunned when he realizes pretty Mia has no idea that he’s really Everett Alden, lead singer of legendary rock group Tuesday’s End. Mia prefers Bach and rarely listens to rock ’n’ roll. Having a woman treat him no differently than any other guy is refreshing after 10-plus years of stardom, and he puts off telling her who he really is. He’s hiding out at his mother’s new house while he struggles to come to grips with stardom-burnout and a band member’s overdose. All too soon, however, he’s discovered, and the fallout from not being honest with Mia will have repercussions that shake both their worlds.

The sexy, reclusive rock star and passionate artist make a wonderfully romantic pair; both are wary after past disappointments, and both have artistic career choices to make. The bucolic setting of Lake Haven, crazy paparazzi and coping-with-fame moments, plus charming secondary characters, all add to the reading experience. This is the first installment in the Lake Haven series, and readers will surely be impatient for the second.  

COOKING UP TROUBLE
Erika Kelly serves up a delicious romance in Take Me Home Tonight, the third novel in her Rock Star Romance series. The daughter of a well-known restaurant owner, Mimi Romano desperately wants her father to hire her for his elite team of chefs. To prove her worth, she auditions for a spot on a reality-TV cooking competition. While she’s waiting to be accepted—or rejected—she stays with her best friend and works as chef for the rising rock band Blue Fire.

Keyboardist Calix Bourbon knows he should leave Mimi alone, but everything about her draws him like a magnet. She’s talented, intense, compassionate smart, and beautiful. But he has commitments to family that he can’t turn his back on, and he can’t make promises he knows he won’t be able to keep. Still, their mutual attraction in undeniable, and before long, both are swept up in a relationship that’s surely guaranteed to break both their hearts.

Intensely emotional and passionate, this latest entry in the series does not disappoint. Readers will fall in love with this couple as they struggle to deal with family issues and survive the obstacles thrown in their way.

ROCK STAR AND THE RESTAURATEUR 
Music and cooking are mixed together yet again in the first in fan-favorite Kristen Proby’s Fusion series, Listen to Me. Five best friends realize their dream when they open Seduction, a hot new restaurant in Portland, Oregon. The restaurant is beautiful ex-model Addison Wade’s main focus, and she has no time for other interests. But her friends decide to add live music to the restaurant when Jake Keller walks through the door. Addison has always adored Jake’s music, but the instant attraction she feels has her unsure if they should hire him.

Jake doesn’t need the money; he’s a sought after songwriter. He walked away from the glitz, glamour and deadly lifestyle of touring and rock stardom, however, he misses playing his music for a live audience. When he meets Addison, he immediately wants the gig at Seduction—he’ll have a chance to play again, and it will give him an excuse to get to know the beautiful restaurateur. Jake has a past that haunts him, however, and just when he can see a future with Addison, his history drives a wedge between them.

The backdrop of the world of rock music and the restaurant business is engaging, and the heat between Jake and Addison is off the charts, but the emotional connection that binds them is even stronger. 

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington