This month, we are going to continue our Reading Rainbow journey with purple. I love color in general, but if I were forced to pick a favorite, purple would definitely be on my short list. I think a lot of romance writers agree because there were a lot of great purple-covered reads. Check out the list and pick your fave!

Let me start by saying the I love Ali Hazelwood and will read everything she writes. Smart people doing smart things? Uh…yes please! Also loved the purple and aqua cover (and if you get the paperback version, the sides have water reflections in aqua). Basic premise: Vandy (aka Scarlett Vandermeer) is a collegiate diver with a mental block who is also on track to go to med school. Lukas is an Olympic swimming medalist who swims at Stanford where Vandy dives. When he learns about her block, he thinks that maybe he can help her overcome it. And maybe they have a few other things in common as well. If you haven’t read anything by Ali Hazelwood, you need to start now. They are all standalones, so pick one that looks interesting and dive in.

Set in Mumbai, Jia is a writer for a women’s magazine. But she dreams of so much more, writing her own blog on the side and trying to get a matchmaking business going. Too bad she can’t see the love right in front of her. This is a great desi romance that I didn’t want to put down once I started reading. Plus, it had me at its purple and orange cover. Yes please!

I’m not sure why, but it seems in romcoms, hockey players are only allowed to date figure skaters or ballerinas. This is totally that, but that said, I still enjoyed it. He’s struggling to make goals as a rookie and she’s struggling to make ends meet as a ballerina. Then they meet each other and spoiler alert - it all gets better. Eventually. While there’s nothing mindblowingly new here, I still like the characters and found myself pulled into the story. It’s worth your time. Also, be warned, this is the second book in Khabra’s Off the Ice Series. The first one is Collide - which I haven’t read yet. It didn’t seem like I missed much, but it still bugs me when I don’t read things in order. You’ll just have to choose your own reading order.

I must admit that I am not the biggest fan of this cover. Yes, it is mostly purple, but I also think it looks more like a graphic novel. It didn’t do the story justice. Basic premise: Devin played a guy turning into a werewolf on TV and now he’s actually turning in real life. Alex was the moderator for the number one fan site for Devin’s show and now she has to help him with his transition. I used to read paranormal romances all the time, but I’ve kind of gotten away from them. It was nice to revisit an old friend. If you like Buffy or Anita Blake, this one is your cup of tea. (And if you don’t know who either of those two characters are, we have some work to do…and I’m old. Sigh.).  

I will admit that I had this book checked out for almost it’s max amount of time before I finally got to it. I thought it was just a fake-it-til-you-make-it-doctor book. And it is. However, there is also the added layer of paranormal to this romance. Drs. Noah and Mackenzie are both shifters. A fact that was only obliquely referred to in the review I read. This was a little bit of a different take on the old lycanthrope chestnut. Fun read. Purple cover. Nothing wrong with that.

Sometimes when you read books based on their color, you find yourself at the end of the book thinking, “What did I just read?” This is one of those. Basic premise: Rae is sick, but she’s given a second chance at life when she chooses to enter the world of her favorite fantasy book. And then she gets to be the bad guy - which I enjoy. This one reminded me of How to Become a Dark Lord. This is the first in the series and I can’t wait for the second one because this one has a bit of a cliffhanger. Highly recommend, but read at your own risk.

This is a fun series of retelling fairytales by different authors. The series started with If the Shoes Fits by Julie Murphy - who I L.O.V.E. - the Cinderella Story. Then it moved to Beauty and the Beast in By the Book by Jasmine Guillory - who I also love. This is the story of…that’s right. The Little Mermaid. I haven’t heard of this author, but I did enjoy this story. Pop star Ariel hits the road with up and comer Eric Reyes. I’ll always show up for musicians falling in love. #4 is Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren - yes, I love her too - telling the story of Rapunzel. And it looks like a Mulan installment is coming out later this year in Worth Fighting For. You don’t have to read these in order, so feel free to jump in anywhere.

A hurricane wrecks Rosie’s aunt’s inn on Martha’s Vineyard (you know it had me right there with the hurricane). Her family just wants to sell, but Rosie is determined to fix it so enlists the help of her ex-husband who is now a big Broadway star. This one is a little Sweet Home Alabama and a little White Christmas. Give me a good fixer upper any day.

So many purple books, so little time. If you can’t find something here to fall in love with, you aren’t trying hard enough. If purple doesn’t do it for you, check out my favorite red and green reads. There are more colorful reads below - but we warned, those are part of a series, so you may have some work to do until you get to purple.

Happy purple-ing!
:) Amanda