There are multiple layers of metafictionality to this clever romance about romance from Okie (The Best Worst Thing). Katie Caruso makes a perfectly good living ghostwriting for the famously reclusive romance author Meredith Bradford. However, the latest project comes with a wrinkle: thanks to tight deadlines, Katie has been assigned to work with a partner. This turns out to be literary fiction author Tyler McNally—Katie’s deceased older brother’s best friend and her former crush. Despite their rocky history, the two agree to work together on Meredith’s next book, a trope-filled love letter to Southampton. As their project proceeds, Katie and Tyler experience the very tropes woven into their plot (which, as it happens, is also about authors), each explicitly called out by Okie and her characters. Their “grumpy/sunshine,” “brother’s best friend,” and “girl next door” dynamics lead to a classic “second-chance romance” that ramps up a notch when circumstances necessitating they both take up residence in Meredith’s luxurious estate leave them in “forced proximity.” There’s a late twist about Meredith that many readers will predict, and all the fourth-wall breaking can get to be a lot, but Katie and Tyler’s chemistry is undeniable as they work through lingering grief and trauma to arrive at a predictable but satisfying destination. Fans of the growing self-referential rom-com subgenre will want to check this out. (June)

Reviewed on 04/17/2026 | Details & Permalink

Sadie Whitlock, the vivacious heroine of this flirty contemporary from Olson (The Lodge), sets out to prove her ex wrong by signing up for a rigorous backpacking adventure that he deemed her too “high-maintenance” to handle. Upon arrival in the Sierra Nevada, however, Sadie realizes she has all the wrong equipment and is deeply unprepared to rough it on the trail. Fortunately, gruff but handsome wilderness guide August Thorn is there to lend a hand. August has been wary of romance since his girlfriend took off with his best friend two years ago and knows getting involved with a client is forbidden, but he can’t help admiring Sadie’s determination and unexpected grit. Sadie and August’s early banter and easy friendship give way to some sizzling moments along the trail. Olson keeps the pages turning with entertaining drama involving the other backpackers and vivid descriptions of the mountains from both August’s and Sadie’s perspectives. She doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of their trek, creating both humor and danger along the way. The emotional journeys of the leads are similarly well rendered as they both gain confidence, learn to let each other in, and build a lasting connection. Armchair travelers will be especially delighted. (June)

Reviewed on 04/17/2026 | Details & Permalink

Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare, writing as Marvel (If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You), deliver a high-heat, high-velocity sapphic romance. Edie’s Wisconsin-based vegan creamery has failed and she’s licking her wounds on an affordable vacation at Gregory Place, a faded inn in a picturesque English village. California socialite Cosima could have afforded a trip anywhere she liked, but Gregory Place is where her famous actor mother, Phoebe, met her father, and it’s the best place to hide from the havoc Phoebe’s death has wreaked on Cosima’s life. At loose ends in the otherwise empty inn, Edie and Cosima are getting to know each other when the elderly innkeeper, Morag, presents them with a mystery to solve: 50 years ago, author Agatha Llewellyn left a coded entry in the inn’s guest book. It’s the first clue to a treasure hunt that will take Cosima and Edie all over Europe, a hunt they learn that Agatha set out for Minnie, the love of her life. Marvel rapidly propels the characters through several brochures’ worth of locations, and readers will need to pay close attention to keep up. Cosima and Eddie are fun and believably flawed with palpable chemistry, while Agatha and Minnie’s romance adds a sense of history and found family to the contemporary plot. This whirlwind of a love story is sure to please. (June)

Reviewed on 04/17/2026 | Details & Permalink

This fanciful and quirky novel from Hayward (The Good Boy) follows awkward but brilliant AI scientist Ava Green. She’s a finalist in the prestigious Beaumont Foundation Innovation Prize, which comes with a three-week stay at Beaumont castle with the other finalists: prickly artist Forrest Faulkner, handsome and strangely familiar bioengineer Hal Babbage, and perky businesswoman Sasha Reeves. Navigating the shoals of competition between this elite cohort with help from her bestie, Rani, Ava toils in her custom-designed lab, determined to win. That is, until she realizes Hal is a walking manifestation of her AI technology, which built itself a body in order to pursue her romantically. Hal is literally the perfect man, created just for her, but Ava soon learns that what works on paper doesn’t necessarily work in real life—and that instead someone who seems like her opposite may be her perfect match. A charming and robust supporting cast—especially widower Forrest’s ebullient six-year-old daughter, Artie—add charm and heft to the humorous narrative. It’s a romantic, lighthearted ode to human imperfection. (May)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Forest (the Greene Sisters series) delivers a flirty fake-relationship romance. At 27, Noelle Lewis is determined to correct the past mistakes that cost her her college scholarship and finish her degree. To pay her tuition, she works at a bookstore and has a side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. When the wedding season slows down and she gets laid off from her bookstore job, customer Jeremiah Smith II offers to help her financially if she pretends to be his girlfriend for the weekend. A reformed party boy and heir to the famous bakeshop Smith’s Sweets, Jeremiah feels like the family disappointment, especially after the explosive argument he had with his late grandfather on the night he died. Determined to make something of himself, he left Smith Sweets to become an entrepreneur. He has no time for romance but lied to his mother about having a girlfriend to keep her from worrying. As the weekend turns into a summer of weekends, the chemistry between Noelle and Jeremiah becomes very real, but the transition from transactional relationship to true love won’t be easy. Forest couples the sweet romance with a heartwarming exploration of love, loss, and the courage required to pursue one’s own path. The result is an uplifting contemporary perfect for the lazy days of summer. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Old tensions resurface during a huge family wedding to threaten a new romance in Lakshmi’s chaotic debut rom-com. Simran Gopal has seen her aunt Veena Iyer, who took her in after her parents died, arrange a deeply unsuccessful marriage for her cousin Kavitha and refuses to be next. So she flees New Jersey for Toronto to follow her own path. Seven years later, Simran returns for the wedding of another cousin, Geeta, in a tentative attempt to reconnect with her family. Potentially derailing this reconciliation is the fact that she’s just started dating Canadian translator Leo Bridgers, who is not at all the “nice Tamil boy with a good job who lives close by” that Veena envisions for her. Simran and her cousins cook up a scheme to introduce Leo as a friend of the groom, hoping he’ll impress the family enough to win them over. They also stage a fake meet-cute for him and Simran, hoping to make it look like they are falling in love for the first time. Lakshmi sets up a lot of meaty character conflicts and disparate desires among her large cast, but doesn’t deliver satisfying payoffs in an ending that relies on flimsy and unconvincing compromises all around. Simran and Leo’s relationship is similarly sidelined by endless wedding hijinks. It’s a fun premise but a rocky follow-through. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

A travel agency goes to unlikely lengths to stay in business in this disappointing contemporary from O’Roark (the Favorites series). After spirited Rebecca “Bex” Daniels’s father, stepmother, and stepsister die in a freak train accident, she’s left to take over the New Jersey travel agency co-owned by her father’s young but stodgy British business partner, Theo Porter. The pair have vastly different styles, and the company is on the brink of bankruptcy. To save it, this opposites attract pair hatch an implausible scheme: they’ll get married and televise their whirlwind honeymoon as a reality show. Their on-camera banter highlights the sexual tension between them, and Theo soon realizes that Bex is playing herself down: her unintelligent party girl persona is a facade she developed to appease her jealous stepmother. As Theo and Bex jet between romantic locations, from Reykjavík to Madeira, their mutual unburdening of their past tragedies, including his brother’s suicide and her family’s deaths, leads to a love and understanding neither anticipated. The angst is heavy-handed, and the prickly characters are difficult to root for; while still in the enemies phase of their relationship, Bex makes multiple jokes about getting Theo deported, and Theo reveals that he hasn’t met his late brother’s son because it would mean interacting with his “whore of a mother.” The reality show conceit and vibrant destinations add some fun, but readers will struggle with this. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

In the delightful final volume of Daws’s Mountain Man Matchmaker quartet (after Honeymoon Phase), the focus finally turns to perky Everly Fletcher, who, having successfully paired up her father and all three of her uncles, is now looking for love of her own. Unfortunately, her talent as a matchmaker doesn’t translate to her own romantic life, which sees her nervously discussing her pooping habits while trying to flirt. As she prepares to graduate from Dublin’s Trinity College and return to her Colorado hometown, Everly doesn’t expect to have her best friend Cliona’s surly twin brother, Conri “Wolf” Reilly, in tow. Wolf is a talented rugby player, but after getting into one too many fights on the pitch, no Irish team will take him. There’s a fledgling squad in Denver that’s interested, on the condition that he prove he can play nice with others. He recruits Everly to help clean up his image and, while working together at Everly’s aunt’s animal rescue, the pair let their guards down and fall in love. Daws delivers all the spice and raunchy humor that fans expect, coupled with touching displays of vulnerability. Cameos from past series leads add to the appeal. This is grumpy/sunshine done right. (May)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

The explosive conclusion to Robert’s bestselling Dark Olympus series (after Tender Cruelty) offers readers an un-put-downable final trip to the dystopian city of Olympus, where the ruling council of 13 “gods” face the wrath of Circe. Fifteen years before the start of the book, Circe was ripped away from her lover, Hecate, by the reigning Zeus, who wanted her for a bride and is widely believed to have murdered her. There’s been a regime change since then, however, and the new legacy titleholders are far more principled than their predecessors. So much so that Hecate, who infiltrated the ranks of the 13, taking up the mantle of Hermes to seek revenge, is now willing to move on and explore the possibility of new love with her dear friend Atalanta. But Circe, who has revealed herself to be very much alive, remains out for blood. As her twisty revenge mission plays out, however, she doesn’t expect to fall hard for both Hermes and Atalanta. Injuries, close calls, and unexpected deaths abound in the page-turning political plot, bolstered by the women’s tense emotional arcs and powerful chemistry. This is a worthy finale to a blockbuster series. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Debut author Averick sparkles in this empowering rom-com. Pre-K teacher and romance novel lover Phoebe Berman is a few weeks away from her 30th birthday and despairing that she’s never had sex. Unfortunately, crippling social anxiety has left her terrified of dating, still traumatized by an unfortunate vomiting incident during her first kiss 17 years ago. Now, however, the chronic list maker creates a “Guide to Losing Her Virginity in Thirty Days,” encouraging herself to explore a range of scenarios for potentially meeting someone, from the cute (petting a dog and striking up a conversation with its attractive owner) to the last resort (advertising herself on Craigslist). Things seem to be looking up for Phoebe when school starts and she meets gorgeous new fourth-grade teacher Finn. But even as Finn appears to take an interest, Phoebe’s roommate and close friend, Jonathan, suddenly starts acting weird (could he be jealous?), and a former classmate, Matthew, with whom she once exchanged flirtatious text messages, unexpectedly reenters her life. Averick makes the romantic entanglements fun and surprising, and Phoebe’s personality—including her palpable and sensitively handled anxiety—leaps off the page. The result is smart, savvy, and irresistible. (May)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink