“Sarah Mayberry has the rather amazing talent of writing category romance books that read like epic love stories. Even her Blaze bks are fab!”

I wrote that on Twitter, and it’s absolutely true.

I’ve just finished reading yet another Sarah Mayberry Blaze title, and I don’t know how she does it. It was simply delicious.

Here’s my blurb for Amorous Liaisons:

Amorous Liaisons is about Maddy, a prima ballerina who finds herself at a crossroads in her life when injury threatens to end her career permanently. Her dance company are forced to retire her due to a cruciate ligament injury, leaving Maddy utterly devastated.

Maddy’s whole life has revolved around dancing, and suddenly she finds herself at sea without anything to hold onto, so she makes the decision to go and see her best friend Max, who’s always been there for her.

Max has been in love with Maddy for the longest time, but was forced to let her go after her dancing career really took off. Maddy, unaware of his feelings for her turns up on his doorstep, looking for a safe harbour.

Max tries to stick to friendship, but he soon discovers that his feelings for Maddy are still as strong as they ever were. Maddy in the mean time is disconcerted to find that she’s looking at her best friend in a less-than-platonic way these days. She doesn’t have a great track record with romantic entanglements, which is why she is frightened to take their relationship any further, in case it damages their friendship, irrevocably.

Soon, things heat up between the two friends, leaving both uncertain about what the future holds for them as a couple.

Mayberry’s ability to drag emotion from this reader is incomparable, especially when I think about the kind of books she’s writing. Who knew that a Blaze book could make me cry like a baby?

I’m big on secondary characters who are there for a reason, and I’m pleased to say that as per usual, Mayberry did herself proud. Max’s sister, Charlotte’s struggle with an autistic child was very moving, and helped highlight Max’s sense of responsibility towards his family. Something that probably held him back from going after the love of his life, when his father was injured years ago.

There were so many poignant moments in the book, it’s hard to mention them all. The moment when Max puts aside his desire to be with her, in order to give her back her dancing is genuinely one of the most moving expressions of love I’ve read in a book in a while. It was of course an unnecessary sacrifice, but the selflessness of the act moved me.

Another fantastically written book by Sarah Mayberry, full of great moments and an emotional intensity, rarely found in your typical Blaze category book.

What is it about romance authors from the southern hemisphere these days? They are definitely showing up their American and British counterparts, it has to be said. Sarah Mayberry, here at KKB, we salute you.

You can read an excerpt here, and buy Amorous Liaisons here.