Under Her Influence

The fireworks are both real and metaphorical when a serious theme park owner collides with a bubbly social media influencer in this wholesome lesbian romance from Radley (Detour to Love). Beth Fraser is a hard-nosed businesswoman; she needs to be to successfully run Fraser Park and Resort, a Scottish vacation destination, with her charismatic but scatter-brained brother, Cameron. Cameron’s newest scheme is to invite influencer Jemma Johnson to the park to promote their struggling business to her hundreds of thousands of followers. Sparks fly as the two women are thrown together again and again over Jemma’s week-long visit, sharing roller coaster rides with Beth’s excitable niece, Abigail; taking a tour of the spa; and weathering a family emergency. But as romance blooms, Beth fights a hostile takeover of the park and Jemma struggles to feel authentic within her social media persona. The pressures of their stressful work lives provide the novel’s central tension, propelling the relatively simple story along. The setting also shines: it’s just plain fun to see Beth and Jemma eating “instagramable” ice cream treats and taking in the park’s attractions. Light, sweet, and remarkably chaste, this sapphic love story will make as enjoyable a vacation pick as it is an armchair getaway. (June)