Reviews of Bella Books are in—and they are truly glowing! From heart wrenching romances to mysteries and thrillers, our books are impressing reviewers who have so many nice things to say, you can’t help but blush. But don’t take it from us, read on to hear directly from them!

Early Reviews for our August Releases

The Commiment by Virginia Hale is getting some early love. Meike Zande, van der over at NetGalley says: “In short, another excellent addition to Hale’s list of novels, I easily recommend this if you’re looking for a well written angsty romance.” Gemma Johns on NetGalley raves “The story was beautifully portrayed and I’m keen to check out other books by the author. Overall I recommend.” Lezreviewbooks gives it 4.25 stars and raves: “I love romance authors that are a little different from the norm and to me that fits Hale perfectly. I love her unique ideas and settings and it always makes me wonder what she could be writing for us next. If you are looking for an angsty slow-burn romance, this book is for you.”

Karin Kallmaker‘s Simply the Best is also getting some early love. Danijela Mladenovic on NetGalley: “You can’t really go wrong with Karin Kallmaker. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by her that I didn’t like.” Bookseller B. Kajer-Crain gives it a 5 out of 5 stars and adds: “The romance between Alice and Pepper was lovely. Despite the age difference, there was enough connection to make them believable as a couple. I highly recommend this book.”

Debut author Jen Lawrence is getting some new fans with her first novel Guardian. Bonny Kay A on NetGalley also loved it: “Bravo!! This was an impressive fantasy.” Nutmeg on NetGalley raves: “For a debut writer, this is an impressive entry in the fantasy genre.” Meike Zande, van der on NetGalley is also impressed: “This was such a good surprise. I’m a fan of fantasy, so I was happy to see this book amongst the releases for this month. While this is set in a fantasy universe, the heart of this story is the romance. This is a debut book and I am impressed with the quality of the writing, I was immediately hooked and I will be reading more by this author.”

Bonny Kay A on NetGalley raves about Maryn Scott debut Talented Amateur. “This is an awesome well written mystery thriller with a side of romance. The characters are great and fully developed.” Reviewer Della Baczyk on NetGalley also shows Talented Amateur some love. “Talented Amateur is an exciting debut novel by Maryn Scott filled with Mexican cartels, kidnappings, family revenge and romance. The storyline is well composed with a number of twists and turns to keep you guessing on what will happen next. I could not put this book down and read it in one very late night sitting.”

Reviews for our July Releases

Red Tide at Heron Bay by Gerri Hill has received some very strong reviews. The Lesbian Review raves: “I know I’m reading something special when I can’t put a book down.” Over on NetGalley, reviewer Carole Coleman gave the book 5 stars, writing “Ms. Hill does a wonderful job of blending mystery with a love story (reminds me of Devil’s Rock and Hell’s Highway) and she did it justice again in this book.” On NetGalley, reviewer Bonnie Kay A gave the book 5 stars: “Ms. Hill has certainly done it again. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. This is a murder, mystery, romance with loveable main characters who are fully developed and has great chemistry.” Also on NetGalley, reviewer Claire Estelle gave the book another 5 stars, writing “Another brilliant gripping crime thriller from Gerri Hill, couldn’t put it down and read in one sitting!” While reviewer Bonnie Sherrard gushed over on NetGalley. “Ms Hill writes about characters that you can’t help but like and root for. Great plot, nicely paced means another best seller for Ms Hill. Excellent read.”

Stacy Lynn Miller’s Beyond the Smoke has received glowing reviews. On NetGalley reviewer Betty Harmon gave the book 5 stars: “Beyond the Smoke is the third novel in “The Manhattan Sloane Thriller” series by Stacy Lynn Miller… but I think this one might be the best yet.” Lex over at Goodreads gave the book 4.25 stars, writing “This is the third book in Miller’s Manhattan Sloane Thriller series and is the best written book of the series. All three books were great, but it is clear that Miller has now found her writing groove.” Lezreviewbooks also raves about Beyond the Smoke giving it a 5 out of 5 rating.

Sheryl Wright‘s Illusion Lake has thrilled readers. On NetGalley, reviewer Mikhila No gave the book 5 stars, writing “So, do I recommend? Hell yes! Compelling writing, mysteries and lovable characters that are sure to never leave you bored, what’s not to want?” Bonnie Sherrard from Netgalley raves: “Excellent read. Simply put, it is one of the best crime books I’ve read this year.” Lezreviewbooks.com gave the book 4.2 stars: “I got only 4 hours of sleep last night because I could not put this book down so I would recommend reading this book on a weekend. I truly believe this is Wright’s best book and it makes me excited to see what she has instore for us next.” Another NetGalley reviewer Carolyn McBride gushes: “There were so many wonderful layers to this story, and everything wrapped up in a satisfying way…I was so immersed in the story and the characters that when I came to the end, I was a little sad. I want to go back. I want more, Ms. Wright! Please?

Older Releases

Tracy Richardson’s Thursday Afternoons received a nice review from Yorkie Boi over at NetGalley. “What’s not to love. Great story, the main characters are always well developed and the reader is drawn in to enjoy every page of the journey. Can highly recommend.”

Save the Date an anthology by several Bella Books authors received a good review from educator/reviewer Kel Mo over at NetGalley: “Diverse characters and amazing stories full of love, mishaps, old and new wedding traditions. This is a must have for your collection. It is not your standard romance anthology. This one covers a range of topics.
Absolutely loved it.

The audio book version of Dawn of Change by Gerri Hill got a lot of love from The Lesbian Review. “Dawn Of Change by Gerri Hill is a slow burn, toaster oven romance with fantastic narration by the epic Abby Craden.”

Old Love by Nancy J. Hedin gets love from The Lesbian Review:
“The character development is superb, and I loved the warm community feel that grew as the story progressed. A really good mystery, with a second-chance romance.”

LezReview Books raves about The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo. “There’s so much more here, secret codes, clandestine agencies, dangerous meetups, and mysticism. But it’s the characters that make you care and maybe at the back of your mind, grow a seed of concern if you live here in the USA. The last third of the book absolutely flew and all I could think of was, when is book 2 coming out?

We’ll be back with more reviews soon!