Mystery writer Armstrong (The Boy Who Cried Bear) turns to romance with this sharply funny satire. Aspiring author Daphne McFadden is tired of agents rejecting her zombie romance novel and decides to try something radical. She goes back on submission using the male alter ego Zane Remington and calling the book a fantasy (though she doesn’t actually remove any of the romance). The ruse works, landing her a $500,000 book deal. Daphne’s lawyer friend, Nia Paramar, helps her maintain the deception by roping in Chris Stanton, Nia’s accountant, to play Zane in Daphne’s author photo. For a video shoot, Chris travels from Vancouver to Daphne’s home in the Yukon, where he portrays Zane as macho and arrogant, though Daphne gets glimpses of the sweet, nerdy man underneath. The novel becomes a runaway hit, and Daphne and Chris’s mutual attraction ignites on a book tour where Daphne poses as Chris’s assistant. But they must face the fallout together when Daphne’s creepy neighbor threatens to reveal their deception. Armstrong packs in plenty of laugh-out-loud moments while driving home her point about gendered expectations and inequities in genre publishing. Add in believable chemistry between the leads, and the result is sure to please fans of meta rom-coms. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (June)

Reviewed on 04/26/2024 | Details & Permalink

A heartfelt reunion between high school friends animates this light, summery contemporary from Chalsen (Kismet). After college, Maggie Monroe followed her screenwriting dreams all the way to L.A. and never looked back, distancing herself from her close friends in New York City. Six years later, after a significant career detour, Maggie returns to Manhattan and receives an unexpected invitation to spend three weekends in a Fire Island beach house with her formerly close-knit high school friend group, including her old flame Mac and her estranged bestie Liz. Maggie left town at Liz’s lowest point and her return reignites old anxieties, adding unease to Liz’s recent engagement to her high school sweetheart. Over the course of the summer, Maggie, Mac, Liz, and their closest friends journey back and forth to Fire Island to spend some quality time in the sun, even as old memories and new drama bubble up. Maggie’s personal growth as she reconnects with her past unfolds with a cozy and comforting vibe, and though Chalsen keeps things breezy, the emotions are real. This fast-paced and sun-filled romp is sure to brighten readers’ spirits. (June)

Reviewed on 04/26/2024 | Details & Permalink

Allen’s delightful latest (after 2022’s Guidance) combines snarky one-liners with some serious spice. Aaliyah James, 29, hasn’t found Mr. Right yet, but her family’s putting pressure on her to settle down ASAP. It doesn’t help that her eccentric uncle Al is sure her weight is the real problem keeping her from a relationship. To prove him wrong, she’s determined to bring a boyfriend to her 30th birthday party—which is just seven weeks away. Despite some trepidation, she agrees to a blind date with a friend of a friend, which goes disastrously wrong. The only saving grace is that Ahmad Williamson, the very sexy bartender who watches it go up in flames, can’t take his eyes of Aaliyah. She and Ahmad click when she tells him about her mission and he encourages her to try dating apps, promising to look out for her so long as she brings all her dates to his bar. Aaliyah takes him up on it, but as their friendship grows increasingly flirtatious, his presence becomes a distraction when she’s supposed to be on dates with other people. Allen makes the friends-to-lovers romance sing with a body-positive message, some laugh-out-loud moments, and charming supporting characters—including Aaliyah’s enviable friend group. Readers will hope for more time with these endearing characters in future installments. (June)

Reviewed on 04/26/2024 | Details & Permalink

Dressler draws from a classic enemies to lovers tale in her sparkling debut, a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Bea Hayes, 37, is on the cusp of receiving tenure at Messiman, a small college in Washington State and her alma mater. Her career’s on track, but her romantic life is stalled; she’s still caught up in resentment about the perceived betrayal of her college friend Ben, who she once thought could have been something more to her. Meanwhile, Bea’s beloved cousin, 22-year-old Heron Hunter, is a starry-eyed undergraduate at the same college with a wealthy and seemingly devoted new fiancé, Charlie, and an unsure career path. When Heron and Charlie hatch a plan to get Bea and Ben together, the pair tentatively bury the hatchet. Things are looking up for both couples­—until a malicious actor plots to ruin their happiness. Dressler’s multilayered romance sensitively takes on a number of touchy topics, including misogyny and fat shaming, and easily draws in readers with its three-dimensional characters. This is a promising start. (June)

Reviewed on 04/26/2024 | Details & Permalink

Delaney (Stealing His Mate) casts a spell with the first in her Witches of Star Island paranormal series. Hedge witch and tarot card reader Laurel Bay lives on magical Star Island with her four witchy sisters, Verbena, Lavender, Rosemary, and Sage. Their ability to see the future means all five sisters are aware that they will soon meet their soulmates, starting with Laurel. As a “sonofawitch,” Owen Davies is aware of the supernatural but his own powers are limited to being able to tell if a storm is rolling in. Now fate is pushing Owen to Star Island—where Laurel eagerly awaits him. Owen and Laurel have spent past lives together, and have visited each other in other realms—but there’s a major roadblock to their destined happy ending. In a past life, spiteful witch Morana incited a mob to burn Laurel at the stake—and, in her final moments, Laurel placed a curse on Morana in retribution. As Laurel and Owen reunite in the present day, vengeful Morana also reappears. The love story is endearing and the supernatural twists propel the story forward at an exciting clip. The ending leaves many questions unanswered and is sure to annoy those who hate cliffhangers, but Delaney’s sturdy worldbuilding ensures this series has plenty of places to go. This is a strong start. (May)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

Lambda Award winner McMan follows up 2020’s The Big Tow with a goofy romance for goth mortician Lilah, the sister of book one’s heroine, Frankie Stohler. Thirty-something and resolutely single, Lilah has spent her whole life in mortuary science and is about to be rewarded with control of her family’s funeral parlor. But dear old Dad isn’t retiring without one more power move: hiring Sparkle Lee Sink as “community outreach liaison.” Lilah is outraged and intrigued at once, a snarl of emotion that tangles further when Sparkle’s marketing success leads to Lilah’s reluctant elevation to Instagram stardom. Buyout offers and a joint junket to a Vegas convention up the ante as the two enemies pratfall their way toward becoming lovers. McMan relies on relentless one-liners to cover for spotty characterization and plotting, but she’s not entirely successful in encouraging the suspension of disbelief. It makes no sense, for example, that Lilah has spent her life in funeral homes yet refuses to interact with grieving families and resents the idea that anyone would think it a part of the job. Nor is the central love story likely to set readers’ hearts aflutter; it’s primarily a comedic exercise. Fans of McMan’s particular brand of quirky, pop-culture infused humor may find something to enjoy, but newcomers will be left scratching their heads. (July)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

Angyal turns to the enemies-to-lovers trope in her adorable second ballet romance (after Pas de Don’t). New York Ballet corps de ballet dancer Carly Montgomery’s trip to Sydney, Australia, to be maid of honor for her best friend, Heather Hays, gets off to a rough start when she accidentally runs a man over with her airport luggage cart—and he’s so rude about it! Things get worse when she’s later introduced to him as the groom’s best man, Nick Jacobs. The pair agree to keep their mutual ire under wraps for their friends’ sakes and play nice as they attend to various wedding tasks. They grow closer when Nick, a professional dance photographer and former premier dancer, agrees to Carly’s request to photograph her for social media as part of her campaign to be promoted to soloist. Nick and Carly traverse Sydney’s one-of-a-kind beaches taking striking shots that cause her social media following to skyrocket—and along the way their enmity transforms into intense attraction. But when Carly learns that Nick overplayed his success as a photographer, their whirlwind romance may be at an end. Angyal’s intimate familiarity with the ballet world shines through and it’s easy to cheer on her flawed, three-dimensional characters. This is a page-turner. (May)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

Miller debuts and launches her Guardians of Farlight Isles series with an overheated romantasy pirate yarn that sails through a diversely populated fictional world patterned after the 18th-century golden age of piracy. At 22, Maeve Cross, Princess of Farlight, longs for freedom. She’s spent her life locked up in a tower by her father, wicked King Varric, who now wants to marry her to sadistic Lord Nathaniel Pike as a strategic move in his plot to dominate the world. Just after the wedding, however, Maeve savagely bites Pike and flees, finding refuge on the pirate ship Ollipheist. She instantly melts at the mere sight of hunky Captain Leviathan, leader of the motley pirate crew, who is capable of shape-shifting into a fearsome sea dragon. Between their sizzling encounters, Maeve quickly learns to love cannon-shooting, deck-swabbing, and cutlass-slashing, all of which fuel her growing determination to help the captain regain the throne that Varric stole from him. The character development isn’t particularly believable, and the dialogue is frequently anachronistic. Still, the sex scenes will be the main draw, and they are undeniably steamy. For all it’s flaws, this is sure to find an audience among those looking for raunchy adventure. (June)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

Moore (To Tempt a Saint) sparkles in the chaste first installment of her Duke’s Men Regency series. As travel guide author Lady Aurora Melforth’s paid companion, aspiring writer Viv Bradish gets the opportunity to contribute to The Lady’s Guide to Walking in London. Hoping to make an impact, she hatches a plan to allow a thief to snatch her purse and then write a piece about defending herself, a scheme that goes awry when Edward “Lark” Larkin comes to her rescue mid-robbery—and gets in the way of her bullet. Viv rushes Lark back to Lady Aurora’s home to tend his wounds and the pair wind up caught in a compromising situation. Lark proposes a fake engagement to protect Viv’s reputation and­ makes himself appear a favorable potential suitor by mentioning that he has friends in high places, including the Duke of Wenlocke. He does not mention, however, that their association began when they were both in the same gang. A reformed criminal, Lark was at the scene of the crime in the first place because he’s friends with Viv’s assailant (another fact he keeps from her). Real feelings grow out of Viv and Lark’s sham betrothal—but what will Viv think when she learns the truth? Moore highlights the restrictive class structure of Regency England with authenticity and empathy for the desperation of the less fortunate. This enticing series starter will keep readers riveted. Agent: Pamela Ahearn, Ahearn Agency. (June)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

Flint’s solid, G-rated sequel to Games in a Ballroom pairs a plucky heroine with her brother’s stoic friend in Regency London. Though Baron Henry Northcott has a reputation for being morose and standoffish, Arabella Latham can’t forget the kindness he showed to her and her brother during their father’s dying days. Though Henry is attracted to Arabella, he feels he must hold himself aloof, having decided never to marry or have children for fear of passing on the mental illness that plagued both his mother and sister. Arabella, however, is entirely unperturbed upon learning his family history, and even executes a daring plan to free his sister from Bedlam hospital, where she remains wrongfully committed. Arabella’s progressive approach to mental health is admirable and Henry’s admiration of her feels well earned. Witty repartee fills the pages, and the protagonists especially bond when Henry recognizes the origins of Arabella’s frequent Shakespeare quotes. Readers looking for chaste historical romance will want to check this out. (June)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink