Rom-coms delve into the awkward realities of dating apps and social media, while historicals pit norm-bucking heroines against the constraints of their time.
Top 10
American Sweethearts
Adriana Herrera. Carina, Mar. 31 ($8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-335-21598-7)
Herrera continues her Dreamers series with this interracial romance about pining childhood best friends who finally realize their feelings during a trip to the Dominican Republic.
The Boyfriend Project
Farrah Rochon. Forever, June 9 ($14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-1662-5)
In Rochon’s series-opening rom-com, three strangers discover via Twitter that they’ve been dating the same man, leading to a pact to put themselves first and avoid relationships, but when one of them gets a sexy new coworker, it throws a wrench in this plan.
Girl Gone Viral
Alisha Rai. Avon, Apr. 21 ($15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-287813-7)
The simmering romance between a camera-shy former model and her bodyguard is thrust into the limelight when a stranger’s live tweets of their flirtation go viral, forcing them to confront their feelings.
Heiress for Hire
Madeline Hunter. Zebra, Apr. 28 ($7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-4997-5)
Hunter’s new Regency series kicks off with an eccentric duke leaving a widowed female detective a fortune. She teams up with his attractive nephew to get to the bottom of the strange inheritance.
The Honey-Don’t List
Christina Lauren. Gallery, Mar. 24 ($28, ISBN 978-1-982145-21-7)
Assistants to a feuding celebrity couple are tasked with keeping the public from discovering the truth about their bosses’ rocky relationship in this romantic comedy.
How to Catch a Queen: Runaway Royals
Alyssa Cole. Avon, May 26 ($7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-293396-6)
Cole launches her Runaway Royals series with this contemporary about an arranged royal marriage and a new queen struggling for her people’s acceptance.
An Inconvenient Duke
Anna Harrington. Sourcebooks Casablanca, Feb. 25 ($7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-72820-008-8)
A woman working for a charity for abused women falls for her late best friend’s brother, a duke who is determined to catch his sister’s killer, in the first Regency romance of Harrington’s Lords of the Armory series.
The Marriage Game
Sara Desai. Berkley, June 9 ($16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-10056-1)
First generation Indian-American Layla Santos’s father signs her up for IndianGirlMatch.com to arrange a marriage in this take on intergenerational culture clash and listening to one’s heart.
The Real Thing
Laney Webber. Bold Strokes, Apr. 14 ($16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63555-478-6)
When Allison McDonald is catfished by a woman on a dating app, she seeks out the person whose photo the catfish used to try to protect others from being fooled, only to find that the real woman is even better than the fantasy.
Something to Talk About
Meryl Wilsner. Berkley, May 26 ($16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-10252-7)
In Wilsner’s debut, Jo, a Hollywood screenwriter, and her close friend and assistant, Emily, are mistaken for a couple on the red carpet, leading the pair to reevaluate their relationship in the face of media frenzy and homophobic industry fallout.
Romance Listings
Avon
Chasing Cassandra: The Ravenels by Lisa Kleypas (Feb. 18, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-237194-2). Kleypas continues her Ravenels series with this romance between a hard-hearted railway magnate on the hunt for the perfect wife and a quick-witted lady determined to marry for love.
First Comes Scandal: A Bridgertons Prequel by Julia Quinn (Mar. 24, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-295616-3). When Georgiana Bridgerton’s reputation is threatened, her childhood friend offers to marry her to save her from the scandal in this prequel to Quinn’s Bridgertons series.
The Rakess: Society of Sirens, Vol. 1, by Scarlett Peckham (Apr. 28, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-293561-8) opens Peckham’s regency-era Society of Sirens series, about three ladies determined to weaponize their scandalous reputations to fight for justice, with this tale of a no-strings-attached fling between a radical libertine lady and a Scottish architect that gives way to real feeling.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (June 23, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-294123-7). In the follow-up to Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown, a pragmatic grad student with no time for love tries to keep things casual with a hopelessly romantic security guard, even as photos of their relationship go viral on social media.
Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins (July 28, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-286171-9). A reporter for a black newspaper falls for a raucous female rancher in post–Civil War Wyoming in the second romance of Jenkins’s Women Who Dare series.
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa (Feb. 4, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-290987-9). Wedding planner Lina’s newest job requires her to work closely with her own ex-fiancé’s best man, the man she blames for ruining her wedding, in this steamy enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy.
Bauhan
The Story So Far by Jane Eklund (May 19, $22.50 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-87233-319-2). Eklund’s debut novel follows the relationship between a 22-year-old female librarian and a seductive older woman, a historical romance writer, from their first meeting in 1977 across 25 years of cultural evolution.
Berkley
Beach Read by Emily Henry (June 2, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-984806-73-4). A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge to write—and live—outside of their comfort zones in YA author Henry’s adult debut.
Heart and Seoul by Jen Frederick (July 28, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-10014-1). When Korean adoptee Hara Wilson learns the name of her biological father, she travels to South Korea to look for her family and ends up finding love along the way.
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (July 14, $26, ISBN 978-0-593-10081-3). Guillory returns with a romantic comedy about Olivia Monroe, the sister of the heroine of The Wedding Date; Olivia’s chance meeting with an attractive stranger in a hotel bar leads to a steamy affair with the junior senator from California.
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson (May 19, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-984806-50-5). After Jesse Strong’s adoptive mother dies, he struggles to keep her beloved Harlem knitting shop in business with the help of his foster brothers and his childhood best friend-turned-crush.
Bold Strokes
The Last Days of Autumn by Donna K. Ford (June 16, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63555-672-8). Autumn Landers, recently diagnosed with cancer, falls in love with her live-in caregiver, Caroline Cross, despite the small amount of time she has left to live.
The Mail Order Bride by R. Kent (Mar. 10, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63555-678-0). In this historical romance, Austin, a trans man, dreams of homesteading alone on the fringes of the wild frontier, but a troubled past, a deadly gunslinger, and a mail order bride who claims he sent for her, complicate his plans.
Cleis
52 Fridays by KamalaDevi McClure and Roxanne DePalma (May 12, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-62778-300-2). In this erotic romance, Raven discovers that her girlfriend enjoys being sexually submissive, leading both women to explore their kinkier sides.
Dafina
A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon (Feb. 25, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4967-2540-0). A fall lands chef Evie Buchanan in the hospital with no memory of who she is. The only person she remembers is her childhood friend, former rodeo champion Zach Pleasant. Their relationship ended badly years before, but maybe Evie’s amnesia will offer them a chance to start fresh.
The Way You Tempt Me by Elle Wright (July 28, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4967-2577-6). This series launch introduces the high-powered team behind the Pure Talent Agency, and the pair of feuding coworkers–with–benefits vying to be made partner.
Delacorte
Kingdom of Shadow and Light: A Fever Novel by Karen Marie Moning (June 2, $28.99, ISBN 978-0-399-59369-7). In the 11th paranormal romance in Moning’s Fever series, the brewing war between the Seelie and the Unseelie comes to a head, forcing MacKayla Lane to question her loyalties.
Entangled/Amara
Bane’s Choice by Alyssa Day (July 28, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-68281-475-8). This vampiric paranormal romance is the first in a new series from bestseller Day. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
Forever
Cowboy Strong by Carolyn Brown (June 30, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-5387-4878-7) concludes Brown’s Longhorn Canyon series with the story of a fake engagement between a rugged Texas cowboy and the girl next door. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
A Duke by Any Other Name by Grace Burrowes (Apr. 28, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-5387-0032-7). Tired of being a wallflower, Lady Althea Wentworth needs the backing of Nathaniel, the reclusive Duke of Rothhaven, to gain entrance into polite society, but it takes her prize hogs plundering his gardens to get his attention. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (Apr. 14, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-1564-2). A grieving woman takes in a lost dog only to discover that his real owner is her favorite rock star. 65,000-copy announced first printing.
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel (May 12, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-3333-2). Liya Thakkar ditches her parents’ latest attempt to set her up with Jay Shah, a man they want her to marry, only to arrive at work a week later and discover that Jay has been hired as a lawyer to save her struggling company. 70,000-copy announced first printing.
Grand Central
The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (June 16, $28, ISBN 978-1-5387-1591-8). After marrying the heir to the throne, Rebecca “Bex” Porter must survive her own scandals as she adjusts to life in the glamorous British royal family, in this follow-up to Cocks’s The Royal We. 60,000-copy announced first printing.
Postscript by Cecelia Ahern (Feb. 11, $27, ISBN 978-1-5387-4659-2). Ahern’s sequel to PS, I Love You picks up seven years after the death of Holly Kennedy’s husband as she’s invited to tell their love story on a podcast, leading to an outpouring of fans with love letters of their own that they want to share before they’re gone. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
Griffin
A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee (July 14, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-62110-8). Aubrey Choi is shocked to discover that the food critic who left a harsh review of her bakery is the gorgeous one-night stand she thought she’d never see again. Landon Kim apologizes and offers up a plan to save Aubrey’s business, but working together might risk her heart.
Head of Zeus
A Wedding in the Olive Garden by Leah Fleming (July 1, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-78854-870-0). Sara Loveday ditches her cheating fiancé at the altar and flees to the beautiful island of Santaniki, where she sets up a wedding planning business specializing in “second time around” couples, and grows close to Griff, the manager of a nearby artists’ retreat.
Kensington
Crushing It by Lorelei Parker (June 30, $15.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4967-2570-7). Competing in a local bar’s diary slam seemed like a great way for game developer Sierra Reid to overcome her terror of public speaking, until she realizes that Tristan, the college crush all the diary entries she’s read have been about, is in the audience, propelling Sierra into a love triangle with Tristan and bar owner Alfie.
Ghosting: A Love Story by Tash Skilton (May 26, $15.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4967-3065-7). Two jaded New York City matchmakers who make their livings ghostwriting profiles and text messages for their clients to send on rival online dating services meet their match in one another.
Lyrical Press
The Earl Not Taken by A.S. Fenichel (Mar. 31, $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5161-1051-3). Poppy Arrington makes a pact with her three best friends to protect each other from dangerous, disreputable men. When one of them is forced into an arranged marriage, Poppy determines to discover her friend’s future husband’s true character. Unfortunately, her investigation requires the help of London’s most unsuitable rake.
Making of a Marquess by Lynne Connolly (Mar. 31, $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5161-0953-1). Dorothea, a member of the Society for Single Ladies, a crime-solving club founded by the wealthiest women in London, is determined to uncover the truth behind a strange inheritance left to Benedict, a dashing American, and surprised when he offers to aid her investigation by posing as her fiancé.
Montlake Romance
Love on Beach Avenue by Jennifer Probst (Apr. 7, $12.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5420-1591-2). Wedding planner and reformed wild-child Avery Sunshine instantly regrets agreeing to plan her college bestie’s wedding once her best friend’s judgmental older brother insists on helping in this enemies-to-lovers series opener from Probst.
My Way to You by Catherine Bybee (Mar. 10, $12.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5420-0980-5). When a wildfire nearly destroys Parker Sinclair’s family home, public works supervisor Colin Hudson is assigned to protect Parker’s property and neighborhood from further damage. Control freak Parker doesn’t make it easy, and to work together, they’ll have to learn to open up.
Yours in Scandal by Lauren Layne (Mar. 10, $12.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5420-1880-7). New York City mayor Robert Davenport hires event planner Adeline Blake, the reformed party-girl daughter of his political opponent, in hopes of using dirt on her past as a political ploy, but their mutual attraction quickly turns to real feeling, leaving Robert with a difficult decision to make.
Morrow
After Sundown by Linda Howard and Linda Jones (Mar. 31, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-284263-3). In the wake of a catastrophic solar storm that wipes out the electrical grid, an ex-military mountain man finds love with the owner of a gas station as the survivors of the disaster adjust to a dangerous new world.
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane (Mar. 24, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-295850-1). Reeling from a breakup with a coworker she still has to see every day, Laurie recruits office playboy Jamie Carter to play out a fauxmance with her on social media and give the rumor mill something new to talk about, but it’s a thin line between fake dating and falling in love for real.
Thomas Nelson
Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson (May 26, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7852-3307-7). Wilson returns to Regency England with a tale of murder, mystery, and romance between single mother Elizabeth Cantrell and widowed Lord Torrington, a spy for the crown.
Putnam
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (Apr. 7, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-08542-4). In Hogle’s debut lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy, unhappily engaged partners each try to force the other to be the one to end their relationship, only to fall back in love in the process. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Quirk
Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida (May 5, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-68369-168-6). A millennial woman with amnesia must piece together her identity using clues on her Instagram account, which leads her to a cute house sitter named Max, a mysterious French billionaire named JP, and the startling discovery that maybe she wasn’t a good person.
Shadow Mountain
Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker (Apr. 7, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-62972-734-9). Walker’s debut Regency romance follows reluctant-to-love Amelia Moore’s attempts to save herself and her sister from destitution by securing a suitable husband.
She Writes
Lost in Oaxaca by Jessica Winters Mireles (Apr. 21, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63152-880-4). When solitary piano teacher Camille Childs’s star pupil Graciela disappears two weeks before her concert, Camille travels to Graciela’s childhood home in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, to look for her, aided by Alejandro, a Zapotec man who helps Camille navigate the unfamiliar culture and find love along the way.
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (July 1, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-72820-614-1). Reluctantly famous Luc O’Donnell recruits respectable, successful Oliver Blackwood to be his PR boyfriend in an attempt to save his floundering reputation from scandal, but when their fake relationship starts to feel real, they’ll have to decide how far they’re willing to go.
Kissing Game by Marie Harte (Feb. 4, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4926-9698-8). Harte’s rom-com sees die-hard romantic Rena Jackson ready to quit her waitressing job at a dive bar and give up on her crush on bar regular Axel Heller, even as Axel finally works up the courage to make a crazy, desperate play for his favorite waitress.
Rebel Wears Plaid by Eliza Knight (June 30, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-72820-032-3). This series launch introduces Lady Jenny Mackintosh, willing to risk her life to help the Jacobite rebellion, and warrior Toran Fraser, hell-bent on taking down the Jacobites responsible for his mother’s death. When their paths cross, Toran falls for Jenny, not realizing she’s his enemy.
The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler (May 5, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-72821-048-3). Morgenthaler’s series opener introduces readers to Moose Springs, Alaska, where a diner owner who resents the resort visitors who frequent his restaurant falls for a kind-hearted tourist.
Sparkpress
That’s Not a Thing by Jacqueline Friedland (Apr. 14, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-68463-030-1). When Meredith Altman’s ex-fiancé, Wesley, returns to the states after years abroad, Meredith is torn between the man who broke her heart when their engagement ended in disaster and her new fiancé, Aaron, who helped lift her heart off the floor. Meredith’s confusion about her feelings only grows when she learns that Wesley has been diagnosed with ALS.
Turner
The Weekend Wedding Assistant by Rachel Gladstone (Feb. 11, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-68442-378-1). Julia Holmes’s fiancé is struck and killed by lightning in this dark romantic comedy. Returning to her planned wedding venue in search of closure, Julia is offhandedly offered a job as weekend wedding assistant. Ushering four brides a weekend down the aisle forces Julia to wonder if she’ll ever find true love again.
Tyndale House
The Solid Grounds Coffee Company by Carla Laureano (Feb. 4, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-4187-4). Crisis management associate Analyn Sanchez loses her job when she refuses to cross an ethical line. Former professional rock climber Bryan Shaw decides to buy a coffee farm in Colombia, but lacks the know-how to run the business. When Bryan hires Ana to help, their professional relationship is strained by their polar opposite personalities and intense chemistry.
Zebra
Broken by Rebecca Zanetti (May 26, $7.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-4585-4). Former Navy SEAL Clarence Wolfe is on a mission to avenge his fallen unit. Reporter Dana Mulberry is on her own quest to avenge the death of a fellow journalist. Both their investigations lead to the same spot: a sex club. To keep from blowing each other’s covers, they’ll have to at least pretend to be a couple there for fun.
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras (Apr. 28, $15.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4201-5017-9). Social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery from an eating disorder, recruits Luis Navarroa, a firefighter paramedic, to play the part of her smitten fiancé on a family vacation in order to avoid the judgment of her more successful siblings.
This article has been updated to remove a title that is no longer publishing in spring 2020.
