A bluestocking discovers love with one of London’s most notorious rakes in Benoit’s playful and sexy Regency debut. After being discovered alone in a library with reprobate Lord Alexander Stirling, the rumored bastard son of the Duke of Belhaven, Lady Harriet Bancroft must marry him to save her and her sisters’ reputations. With the help of his mistress, Harriet kidnaps an inebriated Alexander and whisks him off to Gretna Green, Scotland, where they can be swiftly wed. Though Alexander agrees to a marriage in name only, sexual tension ignites between them when innocent Harriet requests Alexander’s help in working on a dictionary of slang words she is writing with an Oxford professor. Alexander’s explanations (and demonstrations) of the erotically charged words Harriet seeks to define, including “cockstand” and “quim,” leave him sexually frustrated while her sunny disposition and caring nature soon have him wanting more than a marriage of convenience. The dictionary project adds a fun dimension to the classic setup of a jaded, worldly man falling for an innocent. This should win Benoit plenty of fans. Agent: Jessica Felleman, Jennifer Lyons Literary. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

A revenge plot, mistaken identity, and professional hockey animate the cute but uneven sophomore outing from Brown (Shoot Your Shot). Olivia Hinckley’s father Kevin, a player for the Minnesota Freeze, died young from complications caused by numerous on-ice concussions. Olivia blames a dirty hit by rival player Erik Parker, and when Erik’s son Brody joins the Freeze, she sees a prime opportunity to exact revenge. Assuming that Brody is just like his cocky father, Olivia gets a job as the team’s mascot and embarks on a passive-aggressive campaign of undermining Brody by, for example, oversharpening his skates so he falls and smearing Icy Hot gel in his jockstrap. This somewhat petty scheme is abandoned when she learns that Brody is nothing like his father and has also suffered at his hands. But as the pair get closer off the ice, Olivia does not disclose either her initial pranks or that she’s the one wearing the mascot head. When the truth is revealed, it could tear them apart. For all the plot’s sometimes silly contrivances and overly drawn-out conflict, Brown sensitively addresses Olivia’s lingering grief and Brody’s history of emotional abuse and makes it easy to see their compatibility. It’s not perfect, but there’s plenty here to enjoy. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Gilmore (The Gingerbread Bakery) welcomes readers back to quaint Dream Harbor for another gentle small-town romance with Hallmark movie vibes. Daisy Scott is just “one in a long line of Daisies,” including her mother and grandmother, to run her family’s flower shop. Business is struggling after the last three weddings Daisy was hired to decorate resulted in quick divorces. With town gossips labeling her cursed, she’s stuck primarily making funeral wreaths. It doesn’t help her unlucky in love reputation when her ex-fiancé comes to town scouting wedding venues. To save face in front of the happy couple, she impulsively claims town newcomer Elliot as her boyfriend. Given that he’s been attracted to Daisy since noticing her at city council meetings, Elliot, an architect remodeling the local inn, is happy to fake a relationship to help her business and boost her reputation. With previous couples from the Dream Harbor series popping up to offer Daisy advice on her supposed new relationship, it isn’t long before real sparks ignite between her and Elliot. The plot offers few surprises but plenty of comfort, especially for returning readers. Dream Harbor remains a cozy spot to linger. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Ramirez’s satisfying debut matches up a pair of opposites to delightful effect. It opens on Camille “Cam” Luna having a really bad day: first, she loses her job as a social media content writer, then she gets arrested for disturbing the peace after lighting a cigarette in a smoke free-zone, accidentally starting a fire, and berating a police officer. Fortunately, her college friend Danny Brennan is there to bail her out. Among their five-person college friend group, Danny was always the laid-back one. While the other four—Cam, Morgan, Cory, and Drew—were obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder as soon as possible, Danny’s path was never clear and he didn’t stress about it. Now, he runs Beau’s, a beachside bar in Rhode Island that he inherited from his uncle, and he convinces Cam to come spend the summer with him to regroup. Cam settles into an idyllic, beachy summer, during which she waits tables at Beau’s, rekindles her love for creative writing, and fights an unexpected attraction to Danny. But when an opportunity arises to prove herself in the corporate rat race, Cam must confront her priorities. Ramirez does a sensitive job illustrating Cam’s struggle to define her future, and creates such an appealing hero in supportive Danny that readers will swoon. It’s impossible not to root for these charming leads on their well-paced journey from friends to lovers. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Murphy (You Were Never Not Mine) scorches the pages of this steamy small-town romance. After a tremendously embarrassing breakup, pampered Manhattan socialite Rachel Henderson retreats to her parents’ lake house in Foxglove Bay, Calif.—and accidentally sets the house ablaze with an errant candle. Coming to her rescue is straitlaced firefighter Wyatt McKinney (whom Rachel dubs Captain Grumpy Pants), single father to adorable, scene-stealing six-year-old Dot. When Rachel’s furious father cuts off her access to family funds, a local woman named Paige Lawrence offers her a place to crash. To everyone’s surprise, Rachel falls in love with small-town life and begins a sexy fling with Captain Grumpy Pants himself. Wyatt and Rachel’s explosive chemistry ignites fast and burns hot, but their conflicting priorities—and Wyatt’s dangerous profession—may keep them from forming a lasting relationship. Murphy’s playful prose complements her taut plotting and the sex scenes smolder. Meanwhile, an endearing supporting cast—especially Wyatt’s playboy brother, Nate, Paige’s longtime crush—adds emotional ballast. Readers are sure to be titillated. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

“The Little Mermaid” gets a modern, gender-bent twist in the humorous Jersey Shore Merman series launch from Duke (Vampires Never Say Die). Ten years before the start of the book, Hannah was saved from drowning by a boy with a fishtail who promptly vanished without a trace. Now she helps run Sunny Side Bed-and-Breakfast, and her parents are finally giving her a chance to prove she can handle the business on her own. Hannah is quickly distracted by the reappearance of her savior, Xander, who is not only a merman but from another world entirely. With zealous treasure hunters hot on his tail, he can’t stay long—but maybe just long enough to fall in love. Hannah and Xander’s romance is somewhat rushed and occasionally cheesy, but their genuine care for each other shines through amid all the fish puns and relationship hurdles. A heartwarming if underdeveloped subplot about a bid to save local businesses from corporate development helps fill out the world, creating a lived-in feel. This “gill-ty” pleasure of a paranormal rom-com is sure to please fans of My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine and The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson. Agent: Maria Napolitano, Bookcase Literary. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Loosely riffing on The Scarlet Letter, Mare (Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon) delivers a sweeping sapphic tale of generational trauma and boundary-breaking love. The Prynnes and the Steadfasts have been feuding for 400 years. Every generation, a Prynne gains the power to steal the souls of unwary dreamers, and a Steadfast gains the power to stop them. Lucy Prynne and Ashes Steadfast grow up as inseparable best friends despite their fathers’ enmity, and eventually become young lovers—though they can feel their destinies waiting. When Rye Steadfast’s heart stops and Draven Prynne disappears, Ashes and Lucy are called to take their place and realize how little their fathers told them about the real scope of the powers they would gain and the way the battle would consume them. Forced to be mortal enemies against their will, their only hope is to break the curse that defines both their families before they destroy themselves by destroying each other. The women’s cat-and-mouse dynamic entices, and Mare’s examination of family legacy and inheritance goes deep. It’s irresistible. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Martin (How to Sell a Romance) sparkles in this cute western romance. When cowboy romance enthusiast Luna Starr buys a farmhouse in Celestial, Tex., sight unseen and relocates from Denver, her best friend Gabby thinks she’s lost her mind. But after the death of Luna’s mother, she needs an escape, and small-town Celestial feels “like a Hallmark movie come to life”—especially when she meets two smoking hot bachelors, Silas and Tate Jacobs, who happen to be somewhat-estranged fraternal twins. Silas is Luna’s new neighbor, owner of the successful Starlight Ridge Ranch, while Tate is a high school football coach and handyman. As Luna works to transform her new home (she wants it to look like “if Barbie were to buy a farmhouse”), she’s plagued by problems big and small, including a bathtub falling through the ceiling, Gabby’s overprotective worrying, and the lingering grief she can’t outrun. Getting involved with the perpetually bickering Jacobs twins will only add more chaos to her life, but the more she comes to know them, the harder she falls for one of the brothers. The leads charm, and a cast of lovable, folksy locals adds to the fun. Readers will be eager to return to Celestial. (May)

Reviewed on 03/06/2026 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Monaghan (It’s a Love Story) takes on the fake-dating trope in this heartening summer romance. Single mom Dolly Brick returns to Whitfield, R.I., for a few weeks each summer to help her father at their family’s business, the Brick Fish House. This year, after a fire breaks out in her childhood home, she agrees to stay longer to assist with cleanup. Hardworking Dolly reckons with her place in the family as she works with her father; cares for her brother, who has schizophrenia; and tries not to resent her more easygoing younger sister, Patsy. Meanwhile, Stewart Whitfield, the handsome but hapless heir to the famous, old-money family for whom the town is named, faces personal and professional challenges after a very public breakup with his fiancée. After Dolly helps Stewart with a flat tire, their photo is printed in the tabloids and he proposes a PR relationship to improve his public image, offering a hefty payout. Through fake-dating, the pair open up about their vulnerabilities and family struggles, strengthening their bond and boosting Dolly’s confidence. Monaghan’s sunny tale expertly balances the joy of falling in love with the realities of making difficult life decisions, dealing with anxieties, and managing stress. Throw this one in the beach bag. (May)

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

Dripping with suspense and sensuality, this standalone Regency from bestseller James (the Accidental Brides series) proves she remains at the top of her game. Genevieve “Evie” Hughes marries the decades older, thrice-widowed Lord Burnsby, whom she believes to be kind and harmless, in exchange for his agreement to put up the dowry for her younger sister, Rosie. She travels with her new husband to his hunting lodge, a converted abbey in the Scottish Highlands, to celebrate his 70th birthday. The servants say the lodge is haunted by Burnsby’s previous wives, and Evie immediately begins searching for the ghosts. Also in attendance are Burnsby’s heir, Lance; his wife, Colette; and Lance’s friend, Sir Godric Everley, a solicitor with ties to the British government, who makes clear his negative opinion of both Burnsby and fortune-hunting Evie. Worse, Evie discovers that her husband’s mistress, Sophonisba Ainsworth, has lived at the abbey for years, causing Evie to question her previous assessment of Burnsby’s character. As the intrigue ramps up—complete with death, scandalous revelations, criminal allegations, and the potential for supernatural interference—sparks fly between Evie and Godric. The gothic abbey proves a perfect backdrop to their tumultuous and compulsively readable romance. It’s an unmitigated delight. (May)

Correction: An earlier version of this review misidentified the book as part of the Accidental Brides series.

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink