A new wave of contemporary romance flouts traditional gender roles, placing its heroines in historically male settings.
Harlequin, for one, is banking on the trend continuing, with Lauren Dane’s Whiskey Sharp trilogy—female lead Maybe Dolan works at a barbershop by day, whiskey bar by night—scheduled for publication August–December 2017. In the meantime, several forthcoming titles see their heroines making waves in the realms of bounty hunting, street fighting, men’s sports, and more, and if there’s a damsel in distress, he just might be a dude.
Beyond Reason
Kat Martin. Zebra, June 2017
The heroine: Carly Drake
The gig: Owner of Drake’s Trucking, her family’s business
The love interest: Lincoln Cain, wealthy owner of a rival trucking business
“She’s gone to trucking school and learned how to drive the truck so she won’t be discredited by her male peers,” Alicia Condon, Kensington editorial director, says of the standalone novel’s heroine.
Bodyguard
Jessica Linden. BookShots, Nov.
The heroine: Abbie Whitmore
The gig: Bodyguard to Rep. Jonathan Lassiter
The love interest: The congressman himself
The BookShots Flames title launches the Under Covers series, which will continue in May 2017 with Sabotage.
Getting Inside
Serena Bell. Loveswept, Jan. 2017
The heroine: Iona Thomas
The gig: NFL coach
The love interest: Ty Williams, linebacker
Kicking off the Seattle Grizzlies series, this romance sees coach Thomas fall for one of her players.
Going for the Goal
Sara Rider. Pocket Star, Feb. 2017
The heroine: Jillian Nichols
The gig: Sports agent
The love interest: NHL bad boy Nick “the Punisher” Salinger
For her third book in her Perfect Play sports series, the author leaves the soccer field for the ice hockey rink.
Into the Firestorm
Kat Martin. Zebra, Feb. 2017
The heroine: Emma Cassidy
The gig: Bounty hunter
The love interest: Luke Brodie, also a bounty hunter
In the third installment of the BOSS, Inc. series, seasoned pro Luke meets his match in M. Cassidy, the novice hunter he’s surprised to learn is a woman.
Make It Hurt
Jackie Ashenden. Loveswept, Dec.
The heroine: Nora Sutcliffe
The gig: Bounty hunter
The love interest: Smith—who’s such a bad boy he only needs one name
In the second novel in the Texas Bounty series, a woman working in fugitive recovery pairs up not with another bounty hunter, but with an outlaw.
Sandpiper Cove
Irene Hannon. Revell, Apr. 2017
The heroine: Lexie Graham
The gig: Police chief of Hope Harbor, Ore.
The love interest: Ex-con Adam Stone
This is the third book in Hannon’s series named for the seaside town of Hope Harbor, which PW called “a place of emotional restoration that readers will yearn to visit” in our review of the first book.
Underground
Cecilia Johanna. Crimson Romance, Dec.
The heroine: Robyn Monroe
The gig: Street fighter
The love interest: Andrew Alexander, the ER doctor who treats her wounds
In this debut standalone novel, the heroine hopes to escape the traditionally male world she inhabits and rekindle her ballet dreams.
