Spotlight: Green Valley Heroes

I have told people that I enjoy Smartypants Romance books a lot before, usually in social media in response to questions about fun books to read with compelling characters, or during meetings of the romance book club I’m in. Smartypants Romance is an imprint created by Penny Reid to publish books about smart, well-developed women and the men who love them.

A friend of mine brought me into the Penny Reid universe with the recommendation of a series called the Winston Brothers. Featuring a bunch of brothers (and their sister) in Green Valley, Tennessee the stories feature strong women and sexy bearded men! It’s awesome.

The world has grown into adding a bunch of other series, with other writers taking up some of the storytelling. And my favorite offshoot series, Green Valley Heroes, has some new books coming out very soon. Because I subscribe to Penny Reid/Smartypants Romances’ Patreon, I get early access to some of the ebooks (in this case ALL) and I decided it was time to check Green Valley out again.

The first book in the series was written by Kilby Blades, who I constantly try to read (I also love to buy her book boxes, available on her website with curated gifts related to said book). One of the new books coming out in May is also by Kilby Blades.

Green Valley Heroes is a series that celebrates the heroes of the area–the firefighters, forest rangers and postal workers that help keep infrastructure going. I read 1 and then let the others fall to the sides of my TBR. When I got a notification of the new books coming out, I snagged them and then read 5 and 6 in quick succession, followed by 2. By the time this is posted, I will be done with 3 and will most likely be working on 4. They’re great books. They have some steamy bits for sure, but the reason I enjoy this series is because the jobs that each of these heroes have doesn’t define them, and real life is shown in these books.

Kennedy Ryan (another writer I enjoy) recently talked about raising standards when reading. In particular she talks about romance and the way people think of it. How fidelity should not be considered out there. And it’s true. One of the things I love most about SPR and the authors is that even if this is fanciful, the character arcs are also rooted in real life. They have problems and they try to find solutions. The women in these books have choices, and they may have made the worst choices before, or they may have always made the right choices–but the point is that they have choices and the room in which to make them.

I love these books, and will continue to advocate for them. Check out Smartypants Romance to read more of the series.