Love is love wherever it finds you (or, in this case, wherever it finds the fictional characters you’re reading about). But there is something special about following the love stories happening in your home country.
His Sweet Fix, Sofia Grey
If you’ve ever felt insecure in your own body, multiply it by a hundred to understand what’s going on inside Caitlin’s head every second of every day. She’s constantly obsessing about her weight, starving herself, blaming herself for eating a cupcake (she’s a baker, how could she not!) and counting calories. The only times she’s not comparing herself to all the skinny girls she sees around is when she’s around Jasper. And it’s such a sweet and beautiful way to show how these two were just made for each other! Jasper only sees a smart, sexy, confident woman – nothing like the way Caitlin describes herself. But he’s not perfect either. Because despite their explosive chemistry, Jasper is not willing to stay.
Will these two lost people find a way to overcome their fears and be together or will we see two hearts breaking?
Powder & Pavlova, Jay Hogan
Winter in Queenstown, snowboarding, a found family, an age gap, loads of coffee and even more snark – the story of Ethan and Tanner is like a warm cosy blanket that might not fix all the problems in the world but would certainly make you smile. There are some sexy times, some sad times and some really funny times in this book that will keep you hooked from page one. Good thing is you won’t have to leave these characters behind after you’ve formed an emotional attachment to them (which you will, trust us!), because Powder & Pavlova is only book 1 of 4 in the Southern Lights series, all of which happen in Queenstown and feature Ethan’s and Tanner’s friends and family.
Jay Hogan is the best in conveying New Zealand vibes through the pages of her novels. Be it a description of a location, a Māori tradition or the history of a legendary local wine – everything in her books live and breathe New Zealand… you can’t imagine the same plot lines or conversations happening anywhere else.
Changing the Script, Lee Winter
The first thing LA-based filmmaker Alex Levitin notices upon landing in Auckland is how chilly it is here in winter. The next thing she notices is how the names of the locations she’s passing by all look the same and she’s hopelessly lost. Things only start escalating from there – she discovers the most chaotic and disorganised film set ever that she’s somehow supposed to sort out and there’s the annoying and super unhelpful Senior Constable Sam Keegan who absolutely HATES everything about the set and makes sure everyone around her is aware of this. Of course, as tends to happen with your worst enemy, Alex seems unable to take a step without bumping into Sam. Why does the Universe hate her so much? Or did she get it all wrong and it’s actually a gift from the Universe that she’s just not ready to accept?
Made for You, Anyta Sunday
The queen of slow burn strikes again! If the anticipation, the angst and the drama that comes when the main heroes are totally head over heels for each other but are yet to kiss is your personal catnip, this is the book for you, as THE KISS doesn’t even happen till you’re 80% into the book. But the feels… oh goodness, the feels! There is a geyser worth a Guinness Record of them from the very first chapter. It’s sweet, it’s fluffy, it’s painful at times but it hurts so good.
Made for You is a story of 24-year-old Ben who is doing his best to take care of his brother Milo after their parents’ death. His parenting is unconventional at best and you’ll laugh so hard when reading their banter! It’s also a story of 39-year-old Jack, who moves into Ben and Milo’s family house in Wellington to renovate it. And it’s a story of how strangers become family in spite of way too many obstacles.
Melting His Heart, Kris Pearson
Who doesn’t love a good ol’ misunderstanding trope, right? There’s nothing like a painful heartbreak and a few pages of grovelling to melt OUR hearts on a long winter evening.
Matthew is suspicious of Kate’s intentions when she applies to work for his sister. He is a successful business owner and she’s the daughter of his competitor – why shouldn’t he be? Kate suspects nothing. In fact, Kate is so clueless it’s not even funny. OK, maybe a little funny. Despite his suspicions, as soon as Kate lands in Queenstown, Matthew goes all alpha on her – dresses her, flies her to Milford Sound, warms her up in a steamy jacuzzi and blows off some steam with her in the bedroom (well, it’s a ROMANCE NOVEL, what did you expect!)… until – BAM! – big misunderstanding. What happened? Our lips are sealed 😉
