A new wave of contemporary romance flouts traditional gender roles, placing its heroines in historically male settings.

Harlequin, for one, is banking on the trend continuing, with Lauren Dane’s Whiskey Sharp trilogy—female lead Maybe Dolan works at a barbershop by day, whiskey bar by night—scheduled for publication August–December 2017. In the meantime, several forthcoming titles see their heroines making waves in the realms of bounty hunting, street fighting, men’s sports, and more, and if there’s a damsel in distress, he just might be a dude.

Beyond Reason

Kat Martin. Zebra, June 2017

The heroine: Carly Drake

The gig: Owner of Drake’s Trucking, her family’s business

The love interest: Lincoln Cain, wealthy owner of a rival trucking business

“She’s gone to trucking school and learned how to drive the truck so she won’t be discredited by her male peers,” Alicia Condon, Kensington editorial director, says of the standalone novel’s heroine.

Bodyguard

Jessica Linden. BookShots, Nov.

The heroine: Abbie Whitmore

The gig: Bodyguard to Rep. Jonathan Lassiter

The love interest: The congressman himself

The BookShots Flames title launches the Under Covers series, which will continue in May 2017 with Sabotage.

Getting Inside

Serena Bell. Loveswept, Jan. 2017

The heroine: Iona Thomas

The gig: NFL coach

The love interest: Ty Williams, linebacker

Kicking off the Seattle Grizzlies series, this romance sees coach Thomas fall for one of her players.

Going for the Goal

Sara Rider. Pocket Star, Feb. 2017

The heroine: Jillian Nichols

The gig: Sports agent

The love interest: NHL bad boy Nick “the Punisher” Salinger

For her third book in her Perfect Play sports series, the author leaves the soccer field for the ice hockey rink.

Into the Firestorm

Kat Martin. Zebra, Feb. 2017

The heroine: Emma Cassidy

The gig: Bounty hunter

The love interest: Luke Brodie, also a bounty hunter

In the third installment of the BOSS, Inc. series, seasoned pro Luke meets his match in M. Cassidy, the novice hunter he’s surprised to learn is a woman.

Make It Hurt

Jackie Ashenden. Loveswept, Dec.

The heroine: Nora Sutcliffe

The gig: Bounty hunter

The love interest: Smith—who’s such a bad boy he only needs one name

In the second novel in the Texas Bounty series, a woman working in fugitive recovery pairs up not with another bounty hunter, but with an outlaw.

Sandpiper Cove

Irene Hannon. Revell, Apr. 2017

The heroine: Lexie Graham

The gig: Police chief of Hope Harbor, Ore.

The love interest: Ex-con Adam Stone

This is the third book in Hannon’s series named for the seaside town of Hope Harbor, which PW called “a place of emotional restoration that readers will yearn to visit” in our review of the first book.

Underground

Cecilia Johanna. Crimson Romance, Dec.

The heroine: Robyn Monroe

The gig: Street fighter

The love interest: Andrew Alexander, the ER doctor who treats her wounds

In this debut standalone novel, the heroine hopes to escape the traditionally male world she inhabits and rekindle her ballet dreams.

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