Saldivar follows up Play You for It with an endearing, long-simmering love story between two softball players whose undeniable on-field chemistry pushes them together off-field, too. Insley University shortstop Kate Hutchins, raised by conservative Christian parents and a proud member of Collegiate Athletes for Christ (where she met her boyfriend, Blake), is recruited by her coach to give an extra hand to Abby Cruz, a transfer student who’s joining the team and whose mom’s recent death has led her into some self-destructive behaviors. The women’s opposite personalities initially clash, but through competing together, they find common ground. Readers follow Kate and Abby through their final two years of college, marked by mutual pining and poor timing, and then as their paths cross through the ensuing six years, when at times the only constant is softball. While there is plenty of tension between the heroines, with Saldivar doing an especially good job capturing their youthful yearning, their romance remains low heat, with a single sex scene that leans more into tenderness than spice. (“The curves, lines, joints, the plush and taut that could only be of a woman, left her ravenous.”) With dynamic leads and a sweeping scope, this is sure to reward fans of sapphic sports romance. (May)

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

Combining rodeo and reality show tropes, the diverting first installment of the Emerald Lake series from bestseller Silver (Wild Card) proves wonderfully entertaining. Bull rider Emmett Brandt performs as Emmett Bush and has cultivated a reputation as a playboy. At home on his family’s British Columbia ranch, however, he can drop his stage persona and cultivate his sensitive side. His worlds collide when the ranch lands in financial trouble and, to save it, Emmett agrees to star on the new reality dating show Romance Ranch, and allow it to film on his property. The producers want the full, raunchy Emmett Bush experience, but he can’t stop the real Emmett from shining through—especially after he meets Julia Silva, the sister of one of his biggest rivals and a location scout for the show. A parade of prescreened beauties vie for his heart, but he quickly falls for Julia instead, much to the dismay of the crude head producer, who threatens both Julia’s job and Emmett’s payday. A bevy of stellar supporting characters, especially a true crime-loving contestant who proves to be a valuable ally to Emmett and Julia, and a deeply hateable villain add to the fun. Silver’s fans will be well pleased. (May)

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

In Eng’s dry debut, two New York City workaholics learn there’s more to life than their jobs. Mei Li, a senior director of brand marketing at Livin, an “experiential lifestyle company” offering long- and short-term rentals around the globe, works 70-hour weeks. She believes the grind will be worth it in the long term, hoping to become one of the only women or people of color in the C-suite. Her immature fiancé Joey DiGiacomo is likewise a long-term investment, as she arranges for him to study for and complete certifications in his IT career. Now, however, she’s facing burnout. Her sister’s brother-in-law, Alexandre Brodeur, knows a thing or two about burnout himself. He’s “starting from scratch” in a teaching position at SUNY New Paltz after 20 years researching zebrafish failed to earn him tenure at the University of Oregon. Mei and Alexandre struggle against mutual attraction, complicated by their familial relationships, Mei’s impending nuptials, and their conflicted feelings about the value of carving a new path or sticking to what they know. The frustratingly one-dimensional characters read like LinkedIn profiles, and while Eng makes an admirable attempt to tackle workplace racism, the novel doesn’t get much deeper than what might be found in HR compliance training. Readers will be disappointed. (May)

Reviewed on 02/27/2026 | Details & Permalink

Kincaid (the London Ruthless series) titillates in this rocky erotic romance. Vigilante billionaire Lincoln Knight, 42, has spent 18 years picking off members of the Brotherhood, the criminal syndicate that killed his sister, and rescuing the women they sell at auction. Twenty-one-year-old Imogen DeMotta is one such woman, the orphaned daughter of a notorious traitor to the Brotherhood. Motivated by a mysterious connection to her family, Lincoln bids on Imogen, unwilling to let her fall into crueler hands before he can save her. He whisks her to his mansion, essentially imprisoning her in a gilded cage. Kincaid doesn’t shy away from the power imbalance and consent issues inherent in the premise, but nor does she dig into them enough to be truly satisfying. Imogen comes to trust and lust after Lincoln somewhat too easily, while Lincoln’s struggle to resist their connection grows repetitive. Imogen is so sheltered and naive as to verge into the “born sexy yesterday” trope: she knows nothing of culture or technology; she’s confused by the definitions of feminism and rape; Lincoln even has to show her how to insert a tampon. Meanwhile, the reveal of Lincoln’s link to her past doesn’t land as a twist because of the choppy way his backstory is meted out. The cliffhanger ending is a somewhat more successful shock—and there’s plenty of spice and angst leading up to it. This is best suited for dark romance diehards. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

The final installment of Hall’s London Calling series (after Boyfriend Material and Husband Material) delivers diminishing returns as, this time out, Luc and Oliver consider the next step in their relationship: caring for something more than each other. The couple gets a dog, Spud, to “take the first step towards building the life and the family that [Luc] sort of never quite dared to hope for.” The pet training, however, leads to disagreements, as Oliver is all about discipline and boundaries whereas Luc is characteristically more lax. Their different parenting styles become a source of even greater contention when the couple become foster dads to “porcupinish” 14-year-old Jasmine, aka Jaz. As Jaz gets in trouble with the neighbors, suspended from school, and implicated in car theft, Oliver fears he’s a bad dad, while Luc is more open to the “learning process” of raising a sullen teenager. Adding to Luc’s stresses, however, is that he may lose his job unless he can convince an obnoxious benefactor to support his dung beetle charity by staging a rock music festival. Hall crams in a few too many subplots and running gags that drag on far too long. There are some heartfelt messages about love and parenting along the way, but as a whole it’s overlong and underwhelming. (June)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

A supporting character in Woods’s bestselling Of Flesh and Bone series takes center stage in this whirlwind romantasy (after What Sleeps Within the Cove). A map, glossary, and character list at the start help reorient readers to this dark, medievalesque world, where “human women are subservient to their male counterparts.” Against this backdrop, series heroine Estrella’s best friend, Fallon, is forced into marriage with a stranger by her mother, Mab, the evil queen of the fae Shadow Court. Her husband is Etan, the new king of the Summer Court, where Mab’s brother once reigned. Mab believes the marriage politically expedient, unaware that Etan has his own reasons for wanting the match, including his desire to protect his court and his undeniable attraction to Fallon. For her part, Fallon is reluctant to marry and leave her people behind, but when Mab’s violence escalates, she must flee to safety with Etan. During their tumultuous travels, feelings blossom on both sides. Woods proves her series is capable of expanding beyond the narrow focus of Estrella and Caldris. Fans will be excited to learn more about Fallon and watch her enemies-to-lovers romance play out. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

The rocky third installment of Corinne’s Undone series (after Unloved) creates tension by toggling between past and present. As a freshman at Waterfell University, autistic athlete Bennett Reiner aims to fulfill his father’s dreams as the star of the hockey team while managing his OCD. When Bennett meets Paloma, the team’s equipment manager with whom he shares a poetry class, she becomes his poetic muse. As their relationship deepens, Paloma, a survivor of childhood abuse, finds comfort in Bennett even as she convinces herself she must carry her trauma alone. Three years after breaking each other’s hearts, the pair are unexpectedly reunited and their love rekindles. But when a monster from Paloma’s past resurfaces, she must decide if she’s willing to finally let Bennett in. Corrine takes on some heavy topics, including parental neglect and both physical and sexual abuse, using them as fodder for the soapy drama. All the darkness somewhat overwhelms the love story, especially as the characters struggle to discuss their issues with one another. Still, series fans looking for another angsty romance will find plenty to hold their interest. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

At the start of Wood’s entertaining debut, protagonist Annie is laid off along with her whole team at Taskio, a Manhattan-based software company. Fortunately, her best friend works in HR and helps Annie fudge her qualifications to move over to a job in data strategy. Her uptight, overworked new boss, Connor Reid, is disdainful of her lack of coding experience, but Annie gets him to agree to keep her on as a strategist if she can convince employees to use a new dashboard. As chemistry ignites between Annie and Connor, she must decide whether loyalty to her new team outweighs seeking justice for her former coworkers. Meanwhile, in her personal life, Annie tries to convince her sister, Shannon, not to go through with marrying her fiance, Dan, whom Annie once caught cheating. As Annie slowly realizes she may not always know best, Wood does a skillful job of peeling back her characters’ layers to reveal the genuine complexities of their lives and relationships. This appealing and often humorous outing will please fans of workplace romance. Agent: Caitlin Mahony, WME. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Offering beachy vibes and wish fulfillment, O’Brien’s genial debut follows about-to-be-divorced Dahlia Newberry to Long Island’s North Fork, where she plans to get the house she inherited from her great-aunt Lil in shape to be sold. She receives unexpected help from the gorgeous guy next door, Noah Sterling, the star of the home renovation reality show Hamptons House. Despite their 10-year age gap and status difference, the pair have instant chemistry, with Noah appreciating Dahlia’s girl-next-door appeal compared to the glamour of his showbiz colleagues. As they embark on their fun summer fling, however, Dahlia struggles with whether to tell him about her daughter, whom she had when she was a teenager. Noah makes a dreamy (and insatiable) book boyfriend, and the steamy scenes titillate as he helps Dahlia make up for lost time, but the narrative gets bogged down in a belabored subplot about Dahlia uncovering a generations-old family secret, slowing the pace in the middle. Still, the setting is appealing, and the eventual happy ending is sweet. Readers will have no trouble rooting for Dahlia to make her new relationship work. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink

Toon (What If I Never Get Over You) makes the most of the French countryside setting of this transporting destination romance. Londoner Grace and New Yorker Jackson grew up spending summers together in Ardèche, where Grace would visit her grandmother, a ceramicist, and Jackson would stay with his grandfather, the owner of prestige spring water company Eau de Sainte Églantine. Grace loved Jackson in secret for much of that time and is devastated when he marries someone else. Three years after the wedding, Jackson is freshly divorced and tempts Grace, now a marketing professional, to return to Ardèche to work with him on rebranding Eau de Sainte Églantine. Once there, she also reunites with French car restorer Étienne, whom she first met at 17 when he was caring for his terminally ill mother. Étienne offers to flirt with Grace to help spur Jackson to action through jealousy. As this scheme plays out, however, Grace questions which man is really her endgame. Toon plays fair with the love triangle, skillfully building out each character’s backstory. The real star here, though, is the dazzling scenery, from quaint small towns to caves bedecked with prehistoric art. Armchair travelers are sure to be pleased. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/20/2026 | Details & Permalink