Fake dating blossoms into true love in this cozy and uplifting contemporary from Kung Jessen (Red String Theory). Chrysanthemum “Chryssy” Hua Williams is haunted by her family curse, which has doomed all Hua women to never find lasting love. After several painful breakups, she’s resigned herself to a loveless existence, instead throwing herself into her work as a Traditional Chinese Medicine chef and acupuncturist who specializes in healing heartbreaks. Everything changes when Chryssy meets Vin Chao, one of the two brothers who make up the renowned cellist duo the Chao Brothers, also known as the Heartbreakers due to their reputations as serial daters. Chryssy and Vin soon realize they could help each other: Chryssy needs a brand ambassador for her new product line, and Vin could use a new relationship to distract the media while his brother recovers from his own recent heartbreak. They agree to pretend-date and then break up at the end of June, but despite their best efforts, the line between what’s real and what’s pretend blurs and feelings creep in. The narrative alternates between the leads’ perspectives, but unfortunately Chryssy’s and Vin’s voices are often indiscernible from each other. Still, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise endearing love story. Anyone looking for a feel-good take on the fake relationship trope will be charmed. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/01/2024 | Details & Permalink

Friends become lovers in Lorini’s steamy and hilarious second Love & Other Recipes romance (after Dessert for Stressed People). Chef Amelie Preston has her wedding to her high school sweetheart, Frank, planned to the last detail, never mind the fact that he hasn’t proposed yet. Then she meets sexy, opinionated Ian Roberts at a friend’s wedding and the pair spends all night talking, with Ian making her question her carefully organized life—before she realizes he comes from her family’s long-standing rivals. Still, they agree to keep in touch via text. A year later, Amelie’s life is in shambles: she’s unemployed, her fairy tale ending with Frank will never happen, and her relationship with her best friend is at a breaking point. When she unexpectedly meets Ian again at the weeklong International Cooking and Culture Expo in Ian’s hometown, old feelings come rushing back—but family business secrets threaten to wreck the happy reunion. Lorini toggles between past and present to slowly untangle how Amelie’s life fell apart and tease the slow build of emotion between her leads. The characters are easy to love, and readers will have no trouble rooting for them to find their happily ever after. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this raucous and raunchy romp, Lemming (That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human) plays merry havoc with all manner of romantic comedy and science fiction tropes. Wildlife biologist Dorothy Valentine wakes up on an alien spaceship, surrounded by mutant owls and a lion, who was also abducted. Dory and the lion escape, only to find themselves stranded on a strange planet. While avoiding the dinosaurs inhabiting the landscape, Dory and the lion—who now speaks English—encounter the fire-breathing, satyr-like alien Sol and his rival, Lok, both members of a race called the Sankado. It turns out that this world is home to what’s left of the Sankado following the destruction of their planet. Dory was intended to be part of a breeding program instituted by the owl-like Biwban and, due to an injection of an alien serum, she’s mated to both Sol and Lok. She still hopes to steal a spaceship and go home, but first, she needs to deal with her newly insatiable sex drive with help from two extremely accommodating lovers. The erotic scenes are intense, inventive, and frequent, while the aliens’ misinterpretations of human culture add tongue-in-cheek humor. Ruby Dixon fans will be thrilled. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

Cherry delivers a soapy take on the grumpy/sunshine trope in her twisty fourth Elements contemporary (after The Silent Waters). Free spirit Lucy owns and runs a floral shop with her sister, Mari. Uptight Graham Russell has followed in his famous father’s footsteps as an author, but despises the man for the abuse he heaped on Graham’s stepmother. Their worlds collide when Graham’s father dies and Lucy delivers floral arrangements to the funeral—where she’s shocked to see that her estranged sister, Lyric, who now goes by Jane, is married to Graham, and heavily pregnant. After the baby, Talon, is born prematurely, Jane abandons both Graham and her daughter. Lucy swoops in to help Graham with her niece, and despite themselves, prickly Graham and emotional Lucy develop a friendship that turns into a forbidden romance. Throughout, Cherry keeps the surprises coming, including a bombshell revelation that calls relationships past, present, and future into question. It’s markedly less angsty than previous installments but still delivers plenty of emotional upheaval. Readers will be hooked. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

An unexpected living situation leads to love in the charming latest from Wood (The Tycoon’s Diamond Demand). United Nations translator Rheo Whitlock was put on medical leave after she was caught complaining about climate change on a hot mic and, subsequently, dumped by her boyfriend. In the four months since, she’s been squatting in her grandmother Paddy’s vacation home in Gilmartin, Wash., while trying to regain her confidence. Paddy, who doesn’t know Rheo’s there, rents out the property to wilderness lover Fletch Wright, and Rheo gains a surprise roommate when he shows up at her door. Fletch will be staying for two weeks before embarking on a kayaking trip with Rheo’s cousin, Carrie, a travel influencer whose fearlessness and adventurous spirit make homebody Rheo insecure. Fletch, too, is a thrill-seeker. After a serious illness confined him to bed as a teenager, he’s spent his adulthood summiting Mount Everest and hacking through the Amazon. Despite their differences, Rheo and Fletch have white-hot chemistry—and then give into it. But what will happen when Fletch’s two weeks are up and Carrie arrives for the kayaking trip? Woods makes the opposites-attract trope sing with believable leads who must come to realistic compromises and rethink their assumptions about each other. The result is sure to tug on readers’ heartstrings. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

Calhoun’s tender second Moose Falls, Alaska, contemporary (after Falling for Alaska) turns the focus onto Caleb Stone. The Stone brothers are still in Moose Falls, where their meddling grandma Hattie is working to convince them to take over her cider business. Though eldest Xavier is ready to settle in town after getting engaged to a local woman, he wants the decision to be unanimous. Caleb, meanwhile, dreams of fame and fortune in Hollywood, though so far his career consists of only one villainous turn on a reality dating show. His priorities may change, however, when he meets Sophia Brand, a photographer and single mother hired by Hattie to take promotional photos. The pair discover an immediate connection while trapped together in Hattie’s attic, where Sophia was searching for an old camera and Caleb had been sent to help her before the door unexpectedly locked behind them. Afterward, their relationship toggles between avoidance and attraction. Hattie interferes, playing matchmaker by forcing the two to work together on a new ad campaign using Caleb’s infamy to bring attention to the brand. The prose is simplistic and there’s some redundant exposition, but the love story is sweet and moves at a swift pace. Fans of the first book won’t be disappointed. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

Picking up immediately after the events of Mercedes’s Bride of the Shadow King and paying quiet homage to the Hades and Persephone myth, this captivating romantasy brings readers to the underground kingdom of Mythanar. Still a pawn in her father’s ever-growing war with the fae, heroine Faraine finds herself both a prisoner of the shadow realm governed by her new husband, Vor, and drawn into its politics. As governmental disputes and fanatical religious movements rock the new couple’s nascent relationship, the pair must find a way to trust each other if they hope to survive the volatile court. Meanwhile, Faraine’s gods-gift, which was debilitating in the human realm, begins to evolve in her new home in ways that confound, and an unknown poison is affecting mythical creatures. Epic, bloody battles pave the way for character growth throughout, and readers will fall in love with the expanded secondary cast, including Vor’s brother, Sul, and his trusted guard, Hael. Mercedes skillfully unfolds the mysteries of Mythanar but leaves the answers to come. Readers will be on the edges of their seats. Agent: Amanda Jain, BookEnds Literary. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

A comic book writer has an episodic relationship with a cosplayer in this steamy but meandering debut romance from comics author Glass (The Pride). Welsh indie superhero comics creator Arran Wilson gets on Grindr to stave off boredom at a 2018 London comic con and connects with Cameron Perkins, a dreamy accountant who’s also attending the con as a cosplayer. Despite their age gap (Arran is nine years older than Cam), the two men’s chemistry propels them through the weekend and across several years of conventions where they meet up for deliciously described sex. Arran’s insecurities and career stumbles, including his longtime artistic collaborator landing a permanent gig with Marvel, choke off the chances for a deeper emotional investment, even after Cameron treks to Swansea for a visit. As Cameron pushes for more, Arran, under attack by bigoted online trolls after a platform agrees to support his LGBTQ superhero series, yearns to be able to offer a real relationship but can’t get out of his own way. Glass’s plot advances in fits and starts, and Cameron comes off as a bit too perfect at times, but the chemistry between the leads and rawness of their emotions makes up for the plodding pace. With a unique fandom focus and high-heat love scenes aplenty, this is sure to hook nerdy queer erotica fans. (Self-published)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

Gracie closes out her Brides of Bellaire Gardens series (after The Heiress’s Daughter) with this bumpy Regency. Artist Zoë Benoît, “an illegitimate, half-French orphan,” has just finished a three-year stint in Paris learning how to be a lady so she can make her half sisters proud upon returning to London for her society debut. On her way home, she decides to visit the country estate where her mother was born—only to find the chateau in ruins. Luckily, a roaming painter-for-hire who introduces himself as Reynard offers Zoë—who tells him she’s a maid named Vita—a place to stay. They spend a picturesque week together, painting and rescuing a scruffy dog. But when Zoë comes to suspect that Reynard is stealing art from the villagers, her dreams of a future together are dashed. She’s shocked when, months later, they meet again in London and she learns that Reynard is really Julian Fox, the Earl of Foxton—and that he’s been desperate to find her and profess his love. The characters’ backstories are filled in through repetitive exposition, and all the lies and misunderstandings often feel unnecessary. As a result, Zoë comes across as shockingly naive while Julian seems unnecessarily difficult. Gracie neatly ties up other subplots from previous installments, which will please returning fans, but it’s hard to get on board with this central couple. It’s a disappointing finale. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink

Heath’s riveting and deeply sensual fifth Scandalous Gentleman of St. James romance (after Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses) takes the series to new heights. After a railway accident in Victorian England results in a brain injury, Viscount Langdon secludes himself at his family’s remote island residence, hoping for insight on how to recover his mathematical abilities. He’s terribly lonely and desperate for companionship. Enter Marlowe, London’s most beautiful courtesan and the mistress of Langdon’s acquaintance Hollie, the Earl of Hollingsworth. She quite literally washes up on his beach after falling from a failing hot-air balloon. The pair spend a lot of time together while she recovers from her ordeal and along the way, feelings bloom. Langdon learns that Marlowe’s beauty is more than skin-deep, as she reveals the story of how she came to be Hollie’s kept woman. When their time on the island comes to an end, Langdon offers to be Marlowe’s next protector—but Marlowe refuses, having fallen too deeply in love to be anything but his wife. Both leads possess remarkable emotional intelligence as they do what they must to survive while going against upper-crust society’s expectations. Readers will have no trouble rooting for this pair to reach their happy ending. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/25/2024 | Details & Permalink