Just In Case You Thought There Were No More Good Books Left At Elloras Cave...

Little Known Favourites Meme...

The Rules:

List and describe 3 of your favourite books that other people may not be familiar with, then tag five people to do the same.

I got tagged by Elizabeth.

I usually avoid these things like the plague, but what the hell…

Incidentally, seeing as e-book publishers have been going through a difficult period just lately, I thought I’d highlight some of my fave e-books, that maybe aren’t as well known, as others.




First up, is Kathy Allred’s, The Sweet Gum Tree

People, this book is wonderful, wonderful, and wonderful. Allred is such a talented author, she really is. Anyway, here’s the blurb:

Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beans—everyday fare for eight-year-old Alix French, the precocious darling of a respected southern family. But nothing was ordinary about the day she met ten-year-old Nick Anderson, a boy from the wrong side of town. Armed with only a tin of bee balm and steely determination, Alix treats the raw evidence of a recent beating that mars his back, an act that changes both of their lives forever.


Through childhood disasters and teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night when Frank Anderson, Nick's abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy trailer.


Suddenly, Nick is gone—leaving Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick's abandonment, a bad marriage, her family and friends. But finally, she's starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is booming, and she's content if not happy -- until the day she looks up and sees Nick standing across the counter. He's back…and he's not alone.


Once again Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something she resists with all her strength. Only one thing might break the protective wall she's built around her emotions—the truth about Frank Anderson's death. But when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal

This was one of those books that was very hard for me to put down once I started reading it, so I didn’t. Put it down, I mean.

Fabulous characterisations, fantastic setting, great plot, finely woven story, and flawless prose. I’d recommend this book to anybody. You can find my original gushing review here.



Shiloh Walker’s, Her Best Friend’s Lover

Basically, this is a friends-to-lovers book (my favourite plot device).

Lauren’s been in love with playboy Dale for about ten million years, but he just sees her as a friend… until one night when he gets completely pie-eyed, after learning that the ‘love of his life’ is expecting another baby with her hubby.

Anyway, he gets drunk, seduces Lauren, and totally forgets about the fact that he shagged her, the next day. Don’t worry folks, this is a romance, of course it ends happily ever after.

I liked this book because A, I loved the theme, and B, I loved the characters. I Really liked Lauren, and even Dale wasn’t such an arsehole, ya know? What more could one ask for?




My third book choice would be Ruby Storm’s Twilight Kisses.

This is a time travel erotic romance, by one of my fave EC authors.

I can’t be arsed putting my own spin on it, so here’s the blurb from EC:

Most women spend a lifetime in search of one extraordinary love. The average woman will never experience the magic touch of a man who sends a hotbed of molten lava racing through her veins. She will never know the beauty of embracing that one special person who knows her every thought, who has loved her enough to wait his entire life for her to appear…


As a young Sioux brave seeking his vision, Moon Runner discovers that only one woman, his Ghost Woman, will bring his life full circle. He believes…and he awaits his destiny, never envisioning that she will come to him from years in the future.


After stumbling upon a photograph of a mighty Sioux warrior captured in 1884, Shannon Dunne is driven to discover why this shadowy figure calls out to her soul. She journeys to the Black Hills of South Dakota. There she discovers a love powerful enough to send her back in time, and into Moon Runner's tender embrace.


But Shannon has seen the past from the future, in the form of a hangman's noose…


They are lovers from two different worlds, unable to escape their past or their future. They must rely on that extraordinary love to be enough to keep them together always, to reshape destiny, to remain in one another's arms for all time.


Only fate can decide…

I loved this book. I really did. It felt like an epic Gone-With-The-Wind kinda romance, but I didn’t intensely dislike the heroine, and the hero didn’t make me want to barf. I loved the characters, and I thought that the author did a fantastic job, with what could have easily been a total snoozefest. The love story was compelling, and it wasn’t all about spilling enough sex liquids to rival Vesuvius. That’s always a bonus surely?




My fourth choice (yes I know I’m only supposed to choose three) is Ashleigh Raine’s, Lover’s Talisman.

I used to be a Shadow Walkers Groupie, and to this day, I’m still gutted that EC stupidly decided not to let Jen and Lisa finish this series with them. Bastards. Their loss.

Anyway, here’s the blurb, from their website, seeing as I can’t find the books on the EC site anymore.

Fighting demons and protecting those in harm's way don’t faze a man used to danger. That's life as normal for Stephan Rashleigh. Until Mariah. It should've been easy--rescue her, then let her go. But he wants her, more than he’s ever wanted anyone. Vibrant, breathing life into him, she makes him feel again. He'll do anything to keep her by his side...in his bed...in his life.


Mariah never wanted to fall in love. Lust she can deal with--and around Stephan, her hormones are on serious erotic overdrive. But even she can't deny that there's more between them than an explosive romp between the sheets, against the wall, and everywhere in between.


When Mariah's best friend is kidnapped, a sinister evil is revealed—someone who's been watching, waiting for Stephan to find his destined love. Now there's more at stake than Stephan's heart. Their very lives, the lives of the rest of the Talisman Bay Shadow Walkers, are placed in jeopardy. But nothing can keep these two lovers apart. No matter how wicked the adversary, eternal love never loses.


Welcome to Talisman Bay. Where all hell breaks loose on a daily basis...especially when you fall in love.

I’m sure you will have noticed that this is a paranormal, yes? Well years ago, before the paranormal craze went into overdrive, I used to enjoy them, but alas, like everything else in romance, the bandwagon got overfull, and I got bored.

I loved the Talisman Bay series, because the writers, Jen and Lisa, created this wonderful world that drew you in, and they wrote about these wonderful characters who felt like friends. Corny I know, but seriously guys, that’s how I used to feel reading these books. Loved them.

OK, so who shall I tag? Hmmmm… Sod it, everybody who reads this post is tagged.

Ciao for now!