Disclosure: I received this book to review. The post contains affiliate links; opinions shared here are 100% mine.

These are the romance novels for those readers who say they don’t want a romance novel but they really do. A twist here, a turn there, sometimes can be a welcome relief from the predictable.  If you fall in that category, wishing for something a little less than the mundane, then look no further. These three novels are made just for you.

Siri Mitchell nailed it again with Like a Flower in Bloom. This time we live through the hopes and dreams of sweet Charlotte Withersby, a girl destined to be a scholar but resigned to be a wife.  Unfortunately for Charlotte, she lived during a time when women were not indulged with education and other such mundane tasks. Instead, they were expected to become a wife and mother, managing a household rather than academia.  Like a Flower in Bloom is told in first-person, which makes it so easy to get to know Charlotte. Jane Austen would have enjoyed reading this book; the characters are so much like her own that I felt I was reading my own dogeared copies of Sense and Sensibility or Emma.  My favorite character in the book might have been Miss Templeton, who was so sure of her own early demise that she enjoyed life to the fullest in the present.  Like a Flower in Bloom presents life as it might be when women take their destinies into their own hands.

Where Rivers Part is the newest title from Kellie Coates Gilbert’s Texas Gold collection.  You needn’t worry about missing the first book, although I think you’d enjoy it!  Where Rivers Part is completely standalone with a brand new storyline that will remind you of Erin Brockovich.  We get a sneak peek into the inner workings of a water bottling plant….in some ways, more than you’ll ever want to know!  The main character, Juliet, was not my favorite person throughout this book. She had a major chip on her shoulder, lording her education and dreams over everyone in her presence.  As her background becomes a bigger part of the story, it’s easier to understand why she behaves the way she does, but I constantly felt that she showed a serious lack of judgment in her actions.  The spiritual element of this book was minor; most of the scriptural references fell with Juliet’s mother who was a Christian woman.  Juliet led a fairly worldly lifestyle that wasn’t truly addressed.  I never felt that Juliet resolved her issues with God, but hoped that she made progress toward that end.  The book held my interest primarily because of the intrigue and scandal that surrounded the story.  Perhaps my favorite part, though, was the fact that the book was set in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.  My memories of the Riverwalk and its colorful umbrellas made a pretty vision as I turned these pages.  As for the romance aspect,  I recommend this book to anyone who likes to have a question mark hanging in the air when it comes to love.

For all of you Jane Austen fans out there, you simply must grace your Kindle app with this 99-cent version of Lizzy & Jane. It’s clearly a not-so-subtle reference to Pride and Prejudice, but that’s where many of the similarities end.  If you go into this waiting for a strong correlation between the two, you’ll hear fingernails on the chalkboard.  It’s a great modern take on the dysfunctional families thing, though.  As in Where Rivers Part, the Christian theme in Lizzy & Jane isn’t the focal point.  Katherine Reay offers a believable, sometimes painful version of sisters trying to make their ways in the world.   The romantic parts of the book are pretty clean and underwhelming, which is just how I like it.  The foodie world is well represented in this book; I could almost envision an episode of Chopped in one of the chapters. Would you enjoy a modern version of a story for the ages?  This is it.  Go get it now!