Love blossoms on the high seas and at 35,000 feet in this season’s offerings, which also deliver swashbuckling adventure, screwball comedy, seasonal cheer, and a sprinkle of magic.
Top 10
10 Things That Never Happened
Alexis Hall. Sourcebooks Casablanca, Oct. 17 ($16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-72824-510-2)
In this queer rom-com, a spin-off of Hall’s Boyfriend Material, salesman Sam Becker fakes amnesia to avoid getting sacked by his handsome boss.
Enchanted to Meet You
Meg Cabot. Avon, Sept. 5 ($30, ISBN 978-0-06-332019-2)
To kick off the Witches of West Harbor series, bestseller Cabot introduces fashion-forward witch Jess, who, with the help of handsome warlock Derrick, must save her quaint seaside town from supernatural doom.
Every Duke Has His Day
Suzanne Enoch. Griffin, Sept. 19 ($18 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-84254-1)
Bestseller Enoch recasts the classic Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant film Bringing Up Baby as a romp through Regency England starring a bookish duke and a social butterfly.
Frequent Fliers
Noué Kirwan. Canary Street, Jan. 16 ($18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-42745-8)
Bridesmaid duties have Lanie Turner flying back and forth between New York City and London—and with every trip over the Atlantic she grows closer to a handsome fellow passenger.
Hunt on Dark Waters
Katee Robert. Berkley, Nov. 7 ($18 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-63908-5)
Evelyn, a witch with a gift for picking pockets, joins a dashing telekinetic pirate’s crew in this fantasy romance from bestseller Robert, the first in a new series.
Second Chances in New Port Stephen
TJ Alexander. Atria, Dec. 5 ($17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-66802-196-5)
Struggling television writer Eli, a trans man, returns to his Florida hometown for the holidays, where he reunites with his high school ex, now a single father, for the first time post-transition.
Silver Lady
Mary Jo Putney. Kensington, Nov. 28 ($16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4967-4663-4)
A dedicated British agent must protect a gorgeous amnesiac from French spies and Cornish smugglers in bestseller Putney’s Dangerous Gifts Regency series launch.
Stars in Your Eyes
Kacen Callender. Forever, Oct. 10 ($28, ISBN 978-1-5387-2603-7)
The National Book Award–winning YA author’s first adult romance follows bad boy actor Logan Gray and squeaky clean heartthrob Mattie Cole as they fake a relationship to generate publicity for their forthcoming film.
Three Holidays and a Wedding
Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley. Putnam, Sept. 26 ($17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-54391-7)
In this interfaith holiday rom-com, a blizzard strands an unlikely cast—including a bridal party and a film crew—in small-town Snow Falls on a year when Christmas, Eid, and Hanukkah all happen to coincide.
A Touch of Chaos
Scarlett St. Clair. Bloom, Nov. 14 ($18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-72825-973-4)
War breaks out among the gods of Olympus in the finale to bestseller St. Clair’s Hades X Persephone fantasy romance series. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
Romance & Erotica longlist
Alcove
It’s a Fabulous Life by Kelly Farmer (Oct. 17, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63910-604-2) puts a sapphic rom-com twist on It’s a Wonderful Life, recasting the angel as a magical drag queen who reawakens protagonist Bailey George’s holiday spirit—and helps her reunite with a childhood crush.
The Mis-arrangement of Sana Saeed by Noreen Mughees (Oct. 10, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63910-511-3). The heroine of Mughees’s debut reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage to appease her parents and gain guardianship over her autistic younger brother, all the while crushing on her new boss.
Atria
The Long Game by Elena Armas (Sept. 5, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-66801-130-0). Bestselling BookTok star Armas sends a disgraced professional soccer manager to small-town North Carolina to rehabilitate her reputation by coaching a team of nine-year-olds with grudging help from a mysterious retired star goalie.
Avon
Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria (Jan. 23, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-296000-9). Divorced teacher Ava Rodriguez and wealthy hotelier Roman Vasquez embark on a “no-strings-attached” affair even as feelings grow on both sides, in the latest from bestseller Daria.
Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban (Jan. 9, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-331200-5). In Alban’s sapphic Victorian era debut, a duo of debutantes conspires to pair up their widowed parents—and fall for each other along the way.
Bantam Dell
Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar (Jan. 16, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-72388-3). Meghna Raman needs a date for her best friend’s wedding. Karthik Murthy will do whatever it takes to evade his parents’ matchmaking. Faking a relationship solves both their problems—until real love interferes.
Berkley
The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain (Jan. 9, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-54964-3). “The Bachelor’s Directory” aids Regency fortune hunters by listing England’s wealthiest widows. When said widows get wind of this list, however, they hatch a plan to reclaim the power in their courtships.
Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura (Dec. 5, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-54746-5) reunites grad school rivals on an archeological dig in Mexico, where threats from smugglers and corrupt authorities are matched only by the risk to their own hearts.
Blackstone
Mom Com by Adriana Mather (Nov. 14, $27.99, ISBN 979-8-212-01537-0) follows single mother Maddi DeLuca as she takes over her late father’s bakery, readjusts to life in her hometown, and finds a way to coexist with Wilder Buenaventura, the man who broke her heart.
Bloom
Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score (Sept. 5, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-72827-612-0). The third Knockemout contemporary from bestseller Score pairs icy billionaire Lucian Rollins with fiery librarian Sloane Walton for an enemies-to-lovers romance. 500,000 copy announced first printing.
Bold Strokes
An Independent Woman by Kit Meredith (Sept. 12, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63679-553-9) explores the attraction between two women who are both already in committed polyamorous relationships when they meet and must each work to accommodate the other’s approach to dating.
Leather, Lace, and Locs by Anne Shade (Nov. 14, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63679-529-4). Three linked sapphic tales follow an outwardly timid woman who leads a double life as a professional dominatrix, an aspiring burlesque performer who finds herself at the center of a love triangle, and a hairdresser who falls for a mysterious client.
CamCat
Managing the Matthews by Haleigh Wenger (Aug. 15, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7443-0011-6). When Hollywood’s Matthews brothers agree to star in a reality show, their manager, Kell Simmons, gets caught in a televised whirlwind of romantic drama.
Canary Street
The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan (Sept. 19, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-00512-0). Over the holiday season, Vermont inn owner Hattie Coleman, a single mother, joins a book club with four of her guests and navigates the transition from friends to lovers with her pal Noah.
Carina Adores
Dragged to the Wedding by Andrew Grey (Oct. 17, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-50813-3). Chicago police officer James Petika needs a date to his sister’s wedding, and his conservative family doesn’t know he’s gay. Enter Daniel Bonafonte, aka drag queen Lala Traviata, who agrees to pose as James’s girlfriend.
Time to Shine by Rachel Reid (Sept. 26, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-45853-7) takes a break from Reid’s bestselling Game Changers series with this m/m Christmas romance between a taciturn hockey goalie and his outgoing new teammate.
City Owl
Boleyn Time by Deborah Cohen (Sept. 5, $4.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64898-303-0). Cohen’s second Boleyn Bloodline time travel romance toggles between 1519, when Anne Boleyn works to break a curse on her family line, and the present day, when Anne’s descendant attempts to resuscitate her failing relationship.
Cleis
Sexy Strangers, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Sept. 12, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-62778-329-3), collects 19 erotic shorts centering couples who feel no need to learn each other’s names before indulging their desires.
Delacorte
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver (Oct. 3, $28, ISBN 978-0-593-72493-4). When Iris discovers that her family’s secret ice cream recipe is the same one used at a New York City gelateria, she’s sent down a rabbit hole of family secrets—and into the arms of the shop’s owner.
Dell
Love, Holly by Emily Stone (Sept. 26, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-72211-4). After Holly’s elderly pen pal, Emma, expresses regret over her estrangement from her adult grandson, Jack, Holly sets out to reunite them for Christmas, and ends up falling for Jack.
Much Ado About Margaret by Madeleine Roux (Aug. 1, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-49939-9) returns to the Regency England setting of The Proposition for a sparring hearts romance between an author and her editor.
Dial
Love at 350° by Lisa Peers (Oct. 10, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-59518-3). A TV baking competition serves as the backdrop to Peers’s sapphic debut, which follows the forbidden romance between plucky contestant Tori and notoriously prickly judge Kendra.
This Spells Love by Kate Robb (Dec. 5, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-59653-1). After Gemma and her friend Dax cast a spell purported to cleanse heartbreak, Gemma’s life becomes unrecognizable. To break the enchantment, she must get Dax to kiss her—but he no longer remembers who she is.
Entangled Amara
Trading Places by Emily Duvall (Sept. 26, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64937-395-3) riffs on the 1983 film of the same name with the story of a blue-blooded woman and a blue-collar man who agree to swap lives for two months. But what happens when they fall in love?
The Vicious King by Gina L. Maxwell (Dec. 5, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64937-377-9) closes out the Deviant Kings paranormal romance series with a final trip into the fae underbelly of Las Vegas.
Forever
For Never & Always by Helena Greer (Nov. 28, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-0655-8). Hannah and her ex, Levi, the queer black sheep of their small hometown, co-inherit a local inn. Hannah wants nothing to do with heartbreaker Levi—but needs his culinary expertise to save the business from shuttering.
My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley (Sept. 12, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-2611-2). The fourth Regency adventure in bestseller Ridley’s Wild Wynchesters series finds erstwhile wallflower Marjorie Wynchester investigating Lord Adrian Webb, whom she suspects of high-profile art forgery.
Grand Central
The Art of Scandal by Regina Black (Aug. 1, $28, ISBN 978-1-5387-2277-0) centers on a dissatisfied 40-something trapped in a loveless marriage to a presidential hopeful who finds relief in the arms of a 26-year-old artist.
Griffin
Fly with Me by Andie Burke (Sept. 5, $18 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-88637-8). After a video of ER nurse Olive Murphy saving a life midflight goes viral, ambitious pilot Stella Soriano asks Olive to play her pretend girlfriend, hoping the continued publicity will win favor with her bosses.
Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz (Sept. 12, $18 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-88829-7). Summer camp best friends turned bitter enemies reunite as adults in a debut rom-com exploring the experiences of Jewish people of color.
Harlequin
Full Moon over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez (Sept. 5, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-63993-6). Gillian Armstead-Bancroft, a type-A single mother and former bruja, must learn to let go if she hopes to reclaim her lost magic. Luckily, her one-time fling, free-spirited artist Nicky Mendoza, is on hand to help.
Wild Life by Opal Wei (Jan. 23, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-47595-4). In this gender-swapped reimagining of Bringing Up Baby, love blooms between a hard-nosed med student and the flighty but wealthy animal lover who wanders into her lab.
Hyperion Avenue
Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova (Aug. 1, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-368-05037-1). The third rom-com in the multiauthor Meant to Be series puts a rock and roll twist on “The Little Mermaid.”
Kensington
Love of My Lives by Yamile Saied Méndez (Sept. 26, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4967-3707-6) takes readers to Puerto Rico, where a woman who believes in soulmates—and that hers will have the initials JR—has her faith shaken when she falls for a man who doesn’t fit the bill.
One in a Million by Janet Dailey (Jan. 23, $27, ISBN 978-1-4967-4480-7). The murder of a rancher sparks both suspicion and love between those he left behind in this standalone cowboy romance from bestseller Dailey.
Lyrical
Wild Magic by Alexandra Ivy (Jan. 2, $7.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5161-1138-1) launches a paranormal romance series with the story of a budding witch investigating her mother’s murder with help from a dangerous vampire.
Mira
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer (Aug. 29, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7783-3440-8). Chronic pain forces Avital Cohen to hire help for her family’s kosher bake shop. Enter Ethan Lippmann, a model employee with a secret: he’s out to steal the recipes.
Montlake
Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen (Sept. 12, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-66251-370-1). James Beard Award–winning cookbook author Rosen makes her romance debut with this foodie tale of old flames reuniting at a destination wedding in Italy.
Thomas Nelson
To Free the Stars by J’Nell Ciesielski (Aug. 8, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7852-4848-4) concludes the 1920s-set romance between secret agents Jack and Ivy that began in The Brilliance of Stars.
Penguin
The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman (Sept. 26, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-14-313803-7). A found family of friends in New York City have one final holiday together before one of them moves away and another gets married. As they attempt a last hurrah, love blossoms in unexpected ways.
Putnam
The Good Part by Sophie Cousens (Nov. 7, $18 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-53989-7). Dissatisfied 20-something Lucy makes a wish to skip to “the good part” of life—and it comes true. Adjusting to her own perfect future—including a husband and kids—comes with surprising challenges. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
Wrapped with a Beau by Lillie Vale (Sept. 26, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-42204-5). A film location scout determined to put her hometown on the map as the backdrop to a holiday movie goes head-to-head with a curmudgeonly but handsome new homeowner who refuses to allow filming on his property.
Shadow Mountain
The Queen and the Knave by Sarah M. Eden (Sept. 5, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63993-152-1). Members of the Dread Penny Society are going missing, and penny dreadful author Móirín Donnelly teams up with dashing detective Fitzgerald Parkington to get to the bottom of it in Eden’s Regency series finale.
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Any Duke in a Storm by Amalie Howard (Jan. 9, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-72827-676-2). When Victorian spy Lisbeth Medford’s cover is blown mid-mission, she relies on annoyingly charming Raphael Saint to survive—even though he may be part of the very smuggling ring she’s investigating. 60,000-copy announced first printing.
A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles (Sept. 19, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-72825-588-0). A duke and a smuggler first become reluctant allies then enthusiastic lovers in Charles’s sequel to The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen. 50,000-copy announced first printing.
St. Martin’s
Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews (Sept. 26, $24, ISBN 978-1-250-28581-2). While selling Christmas trees in New York City, small-town girl Kerry Tolliver meets wealthy and cosmopolitan single father Patrick. 250,000-copy announced first printing.
Tule
The Remarkable Rise of Amanda Appleby by Trish Morey (Aug. 15, $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-959988-53-3) takes readers to the Cornish coast, where 50-year-old Amanda Appleby seeks to rebuild her life after divorce.
W x Wattpad
The Once and Future Fling by Leigh Heasley (Nov. 7, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-990778-48-3). Kairos, a high-tech matchmaking
service, allows its clients to time travel, a feature Ada Blum uses to look for love in either Regency England or Jazz Age New York—before love comes looking for her.
Zebra
Accidentally His by Sabrina Jeffries (Jan. 30, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-5381-1). The party planning proprietresses of Elegant Occasions return in bestseller Jefferies’s third Designing Debutantes Regency, which sees viscount and spy Rafe Wolfford wooing Lady Verity as part of a covert operation. 65,000-copy announced first printing.
The Wild Lavender Bookshop by Jodi Thomas (Nov. 28, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4201-5510-5). In the sequel to Strawberry Lane, Thomas returns to the small Texas town of Someday Valley, where a pair of sisters hatch a scheme to find love for their lonely father.
