Twice Shy

Rey (The Last Place You Look) returns with a tender, foodie romance about a pair of middle aged lesbians who find partners in each other and rediscover themselves along the way. The premises of Bake My Day, Amanda Russo’s popular bakery in Kenota, N.Y., are in desperate need of an upgrade. And after Amanda misguidedly hooks up with her ex-wife after years of avoiding romantic entanglements, she realizes she needs a change just as much as her business. When Amanda hires hot butch architect Quinn Sullivan, she soon realizes Quinn might be the woman to revamp not just her café but her life. Amanda and Quinn have both been burned before, but working together on the remodel sparks undeniable chemistry. As they fall in love, they reclaim lost parts of themselves, finding balance and confidence in their courtship. Rey’s cute, occasionally steamy, romance reminds readers of the giddy intensity falling in love brings at any age, even as the characters negotiate the particular complexities of dating in midlife—meeting the children, dealing with exes, and revealing emotional scars. This queer love story is as sweet and light as one of Bake My Day’s famous cream puffs. (Oct.)