Notable romance debuts of 2008: pirates, blind ladies, and more!

While waiting for a new book by a favorite authors it might be worth to check out the newcomers: who knows, you could find a keeper and a new writer to watch out for! We prepared the list of the most interesting debuts of 2008, in all the romance subgenres.

Historicals

Sherry Thomas Private Arrangements

Sherry Thomas's first book, Private Arrangement, generated a lot of buzz on the romance boards in 2008. It expertly weaved together the past and present of one couple's turbulent relationship in the Victorian era. Private Arrangements was followed by another strong offering, .

Meredith Duran The Duke of Shadows

Meredith Duran's The Duke of Shadows is an intense story of a half-Indian lord and an unconventional painter, partially set in India during the Sepai rebellion.

Joanna Bourne The Spymaster's Lady

The spies of the Napoleonic era are common enough in the romance set in the Regency period. However, Joanna Bourne has managed to add new breath to this familiar theme in this suspenceful journey with two strong characters. Check out the follow-up,

Judith James Broken Wing

Parisian male prostitutes, pirates, unconventional ladies with astronomy as a hobby, adventures on the high seas and on land... "Broken wing" by Judith James has it all in this epic story of love and redemption.

Carrie Lofty What A Scoundrel Wants

"What a Scoundrel Wants" offers another take on the famous Robin Hood lore, but this time the hero is not Robin himself but one of his comrades, Will Scarlett. The dangerous rogue has found his match in the form of Meg, who is sightless, but far from helpless...

Joanna Waugh Blind Fortune (ebook)

As you can tell from the title, it's another book with a blindless heroine, but set in a more civilized time. Music is all her world and the last thing she wants is to deal with an arrogant lord who would never be a good match for her cousin.

Contemporary

Julie James Just the Sexiest Man Alive

Julie James's Just the Sexiest Man Alive is just the fun story of a career-oriented lawyer asked to babysit a gorgeous movie actor getting ready for a legal thriller. Sparks are about to fly.

Robin Kaye Romeo, Romeo

It's a given that a romance hero should be fantastic in bed... but when he's also a god in the kitchen, he's just about perfect and even being a millionaire wouldn't spoil it!

Jane Johnson The Tenth Gift: A Novel

"The Tenth Gift" is another novel this year featuring the barbary pirates and it's based on the historical fact. The heroine is presented by her former lover with a diary of a 17th century English girl kidnapped by the Muslim pirates and sold into slavery. Both women are connected by their love for embroidery... and when goes to Marocco to find out more about the girl their destinies become even more intertwined.

Paranormal/SciFi/Fantasy

Jamie Leigh Hansen Betrayed

You'd be hard-pressed to find characters who suffered more than the hero and heroine of "Betrayed". He's been a statue for nine hundred years and she's lived nine lives, trying and failing to save him in each of them. And when he's a living man again and they have a chance of rediscovering their love, it might actually unleash an ancient evil on the whole world... "Betrayed" is one of the rare books that make you feel sorry even for the villain.

Michele Lang Netherwood

Netherwood is a new novel in the popular Shomi line. A new sheriff in the futuristic cyberworld finds herself attracted to the man considered to be a criminal... and discovers new ideas that will challenge her beliefs about her world.