Contemporary romances and erotica are branching out in exciting ways, including choose-your-own-adventure books and some matches between royals and commoners that upend or entirely abandon the familiar Cinderella story.
Top 10
Ashes on the Moor
Sarah M. Eden. Shadow Mountain, Mar. 6
Eden’s rich, lovely story set in 1871 Yorkshire examines the many ways of belonging or being an outsider, including gender, class, and place of origin.
Bad Men and Wicked Women
Eric Jerome Dickey. Dutton, Apr. 17
Dickey’s erotic thriller revolves around a low-level enforcer’s professional and family drama in Los Angeles.
Cowboy Bold
Carolyn Brown. Forever, May 29
The always-reliable Brown launches a contemporary western series with this entertaining story of a down-on-her-luck woman who falls for a ranch owner and does well by doing good.
The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang. Berkley, June 5
In Hoang’s creative debut, an autistic mathematician hires an escort to give her the sexual experience she lacks, and the two find unexpected love.
Lady Scandal: Ladies in Disgrace, Book 1
Miranda Neville. Kensington/Zebra, May 29
Readers will be tickled by Neville’s historical series kickoff, in which a woman driven out of high society by scandal picks up her pen and tackles the hypocrisies of the upper classes.
A Lord for Whenever
Alexis Hall. Avon Impulse, Mar. 20
Hall shifts gears from queer contemporary romance to this intriguing historical in which an older widow begins an affair with a duke’s son that soon becomes a scandal.
My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris. Quirk, Apr. 3
Readers can choose any number of paths for the romance heroine in this interactive story, including affairs with men and women and adventures in various fascinating locales.
Night Shift: A Choose Your Own Erotic Adventure
Joanna Angel. Cleis, Feb. 13
Readers guide a sex toy shop clerk through a maze of fun, tacky, and startling objects and townspeople in this entertaining work of metafiction.
The Princess Deception
Nell Stark. Bold Strokes, May 15
Double-crosses and shocking surprises flavor Stark’s entertaining novel of a princess stepping in for a prince and the journalist who pretends not to notice.
A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals
Alyssa Cole. Avon, Feb. 27
Cole opens a series with an entertaining romance between an African prince and his American fiancée who’s totally forgotten he exists.
Romance & Erotica
Amberjack
The Perfect Duchess: The Macalisters, Book 2 by Erica Taylor (Apr. 17, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-944995-57-7). Lady Clara Masson’s twin sister jilted Andrew Macalister at the altar five years ago, but Andrew had been smitten with Clara long before that, and he finds her presence a ray of sunshine in his dreary ducal life. When Clara is threatened by her evil brother, Andrew does the only thing he can think of to save her: he proposes marriage.
Avon
The Bride Takes a Groom: The Penhallow Dynasty, Book 2 by Lisa Berne (Apr. 24, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-06-245182-8). Katherine Brooke is a fabulously wealthy heiress, but she’s a pawn in her parents’ ruthless plan to marry her into the nobility. Capt. Hugo Penhallow—charming, handsome, and from a noble but impoverished family—comes into her life once more, and she sees a chance to be free.
How to Forget a Duke by Vivienne Lorret (May 29, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-06-268548-3). The duke of Rydstrom needs a wife, preferably one with a large fortune and a complete lack of curiosity. Jacinda is a professional matchmaker who’s sure the duke is hiding something. When amnesia strikes her, she forgets all the reasons she shouldn’t fall in love wih her client.
A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals, Book 1 by Alyssa Cole (Feb. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-06-268554-4). Between grad school and multiple jobs, Naledi Smith doesn’t have time for the constant e-mails claiming she’s betrothed to an African prince. Prince Thabiso, sole heir to the throne of Thesolo, is intent on tracking down his missing fiancée. When Naledi mistakes the prince for a pauper, Thabiso can’t resist the chance to experience life—and love—without the burden of his crown.
Avon Impulse
A Lord for Whenever by Alexis Hall (Mar. 20, e-book, $3.99, ISBN 978-0-06-269217-7). When widow Marion Genley is paying her annual respects at her husband’s grave, almost a decade after his death, the last thing she expects is to attract the interest of a remarkably handsome and dissolute young man who turns out to be a duke’s son. Their clandestine romance becomes a shocking scandal.
Berkley
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (June 5, trade paper, $15, ISBN 978-0-451-49080-3). Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. Her algorithms to predict customer purchases lead to a job that pays her more money than she knows what to do with but leaves her no time to date. She hires escort Michael Phan to give her the sexual experience she lacks, and soon their no-nonsense partnership makes a strange kind of sense.
Ocean Light: Psy-Changeling Trinity, Book 2 by Nalini Singh (June 12, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-101-98782-7). Security specialist Bowen Knight has come back from the dead. A chip implanted in his brain to block telepathic interference could fail at any moment, killing him. Changeling Kaia Luna has suffered too much loss in her life to fall for a human who is a dead man walking. When Kaia is kidnapped, Bo will do anything to get her back.
The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick (May 8, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-399-58532-6) returns to the 1930s seaside community of Burning Cove, Calif., where people with dangerous secrets go to reinvent themselves—and some pasts refuse to stay buried.
Someone to Care by Mary Balogh (May 1, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-399-58608-8). Balogh’s fourth Westcott Regency romance foregrounds the dispossessed widow of the Earl of Riverdale, who throws all caution to the wind when adventure calls in the form of a handsome aristocrat.
Bold Strokes
Certain Requirements by Elinor Zimmerman (May 15, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-63555-195-2). After years of hard work, Phoenix Gomez realizes her dream of being a full-time aerial dancer—but it doesn’t pay enough to live on. Desperate for funds, she accepts a gig as a live-in submissive. Kris Andersen’s rigidly ordered life leaves her no time to fall in love. When Phoenix challenges the rules Kris thought she wanted, their connection grows.
Hunger for You by Jenny Frame (Apr. 17, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-63555-168-6). Byron Debrek, the principe of an ancient vampire dynasty, must put the good of her clan over her own desires. When she falls for the first woman to set her blood on fire in centuries—Amelia Honey, a suit designer at a Savile Row tailor—Byron hardens her heart and walks away. But when a dangerous enemy befriends Amelia, Byron must act.
The Northwoods by Jane Hoppen (Mar. 13, trade paper, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-63555-143-3). In 1853 Wisconsin, widow Evelyn Bauer makes ends meet by disguising herself as her husband and working at a logging camp for the winter. After Sarah Bell loses her partner, Abigail, to pneumonia, she takes a job as a cook’s helper at the logging camp. The two women secretly forge a connection as they struggle to survive.
The Outcasts by Alexa Black (July 17, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-63555-242-3). Spacebus driver Sue Jones pilots a shuttle into uncharted regions and crash-lands on a harsh world. Kara, an alien whose outcast people survive in artificial rings above the storm-swept surface, rescues Sue. As Sue discovers her protector’s secrets, Kara struggles to keep Sue safe and her own feelings at bay.
The Princess Deception by Nell Stark (May 15, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-62639-979-2). Sebastian, the crown prince of Belgium, overdoses on heroin shortly before launching a campaign to host the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. His twin sister, Viola, impersonates him to keep Belgium’s bid alive. Freelance reporter Missy Duke spots the substitution, plays along to get the scoop—and unexpectedly falls for Viola.
Cleis
Night Shift: A Choose Your Own Erotic Adventure by Joanna Angel (Feb. 13, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-62778-252-4). College grad Taryn works the graveyard shift at Dreamz, a sex shop in a seedy strip mall. In a sketchy and sexy world filled with tissues, gallons of lube, sex toys, tiger print, cross-dressing truck drivers, and swinger parties, readers must help Taryn choose her way as she learns what happens in this small, unexpectedly kinky Florida town. 5,000-copy announced first printing.
Delacorte
High Voltage by Karen Marie Moning (Mar. 6, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-399-59366-6). Immortal Faerie, ancient feuds, secrets, and sacrifices fill the 10th installment of Moning’s Fever paranormal romance series, in which assassin Dani O’Malley and her lover, the immortal Ryodan, fight to save Dublin from a terrifying evil determined to enslave humankind.
Dutton
Bad Men and Wicked Women by Eric Jerome Dickey (Apr. 17, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-5247-4219-5). Ken Swift, a low-level enforcer in Los Angeles, is divorced from one woman, in love with another, and wrestling with a strong desire to get to know a third. His life gets even more complicated when his troubled daughter resurfaces, pregnant and demanding $50,000 for her shotgun wedding. 50,000-copy announced first printing.
Ebury
Single for the Summer by Mandy Baggot (June 1, trade paper, $11.95, ISBN 978-1-78503-672-9). When her heartbroken best friend invites her for a girly getaway in Corfu, Tess is sure she can stick to their pact to stay single for the summer. Then she meets gorgeous restaurateur Andras. To keep his overbearing mother off his back, Tess agrees to pretend to date him, but this fake relationship starts to feel like the best one she’s ever had.
Forever
Cowboy Bold by Carolyn Brown (May 29, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-5387-4486-4). With sassy humor and sexy cowboys, bestseller Brown launches the Longhorn Canyon contemporary western series. Every summer Cade Maguire looks forward to opening his Longhorn Canyon Ranch to underprivileged city kids. But this year, he’s having no luck finding a counselor for the children—until Retta Palmer walks through his door. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
HarperCollins/Carina
Blind Trust by Lynda Aicher (May 22, e-book, $4.99, ISBN 978-1-4880-8125-5). Lawyer Ryan Burns pursues his career ambitions by networking with executives who share his taste for BDSM. At the club called the Boardroom, he gets to pleasure women while maintaining emotional distance. Then he meets Brie Westfall, who’s ready to break out of her conservative life and try something exciting and new.
Guardian’s Bond: Ancient Ink, Book 1 by Rhenna Morgan (Mar. 12, mass market, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-335-01655-3). Priest Rahandras has lived for years with the darkness trapped inside him. Betrayed by his own brother and forced to watch his clan’s brutal annihilation, the only thing Priest wants more than to escape the curse that haunts him is to rebuild. Kateri Falsen is a woman of logic and facts. Priest knows they’re fated mates, but he’ll also have to show her his love, and protect Kateri from the evil trapped inside him.
Hard Wood: Ash Brothers, Book 1 by Jenika Snow (Mar. 19, e-book, $2.99, ISBN 978-1-4880-9703-4). Noah Ash’s wife died on their honeymoon, and for the decade since, he’s been celibate and focused on working at the lumber company he owns with his brothers. When Mia Stone moves to Rockbridge, Colo., to start a new life and a new profession, she’s surprised to fall for the big, burly lumberjack.
Squared Away by Annabeth Albert (Apr. 16, mass market, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-335-98080-9). In the wake of tragedy, SEAL Mark Whitley has returned stateside to act as guardian to his sister’s three young children. But complications arise when he learns a conflicting will gives custody to their cousin Isaiah James, a former wild party boy. As the legal details are sorted out, the cousins move in together to temporarily share custody, and their long-buried attraction quickly resurfaces.
HarperCollins/HQN
Best Laid Plans by Brenda Jackson (Feb. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-335-90069-2) is the 21st book in Jackson’s long-running Madaris contemporary family saga. Nolan Madaris, a notorious fun-loving ladies’ man, could never connect with someone as straitlaced as tech whiz Ivy Chapman. Their families keep hoping, so Ivy suggests they pretend to be a couple just long enough to satisfy the bystanders. But Ivy’s plan to get her relatives off her back has an unexpected side effect: getting her into Nolan’s bed.
Herons Landing by JoAnn Ross (May 22, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-335-94935-6) launches a small-town contemporary series. The rivalry between Honeymoon Harbor’s Mannion and Harper families has divided them for over a century. But in Honeymoon Harbor, nothing—not even a longstanding family feud—is a match for love.
The Morcai Battalion: The Pursuit by Diana Palmer (Mar. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-335-58016-0) is an intergalactic tale of love and betrayal. The first time Mekashe, captain of the Cehn-Tahr Imperial Guard, meets blue-eyed human beauty Jasmine Donally, the two nearly come to blows. Years pass before their paths cross again, but Mekashe hasn’t forgotten the way Jasmine makes his heart race. As their mutual attraction builds, they seek a way to bridge the distance between their worlds.
Smooth-Talking Cowboy by Maisey Yates (Feb. 20, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-335-00698-1) opens a contemporary western series set in Gold Valley, Ore. Olivia Logan has a plan: win back her ex by fake-dating someone else and making him jealous. Laid-back cowboy Luke Hollister wants her help convincing her father to sell him land, and agrees to help her if she’ll help him. Naturally, their plans go awry.
HarperCollins/Mira
As You Wish: Summerhouse, Book 3 by Jude Deveraux (Mar. 6, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-7783-0761-7). One fateful summer, three very different women find themselves together in Summer Hill, Va., where they find they have much more in common than they realized. And when they’re presented with a chance to right the wrongs of their pasts, all three discover what can happen when dreams come true.
Shallow Grave by Karen Harper (Feb. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-7783-3119-3). Forensic psychologist Claire Britten and her partner, criminal lawyer Nick Markwood, volunteer with a support group for children stressed by domestic violence. But a leisurely field trip to a wildlife sanctuary turns deadly, leaving Claire to question whether the death was an accident, a suicide, or murder.
Welcome to Moonlight Harbor by Sheila Roberts (Apr. 17, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-0-7783-6805-2) launches a contemporary series set on the Washington State coast. Jenna Jones is getting a divorce for her 40th birthday. She’s barely able to support herself and her teenage daughter, so when her great-aunt Edie invites her to help run the ramshackle Driftwood Inn, she leaps at the chance. New friends and and a handsome love interest help restore her faith in life.
Head of Zeus
Anna: One Love, Two Stories by Amanda Prowse (Apr. 1, trade paper, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-78854-206-7). Anna Cole grew up surrounded by her mother’s love. They may have been poor, but her mother made her feel rich every day. When Anna’s mother died, her childhood was shattered. Years later, she gets stuck in an elevator with a kind young man in a stiff suit, and everything changes.
Theo: One Love, Two Stories by Amanda Prowse (Apr. 1, trade paper, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-78854-210-4). Theo Montgomery grew up rich, privileged, and terribly lonely. His father wanted him to be more sporty. His mother wanted him to be a little less awkward. Then he gets stuck in an elevator with a shy young woman with dark hair, and everything changes.
Kensington
Raw Power: 11th Hour, Book 1 by Jackie Ashenden (Feb. 27, trade paper, $9.95, ISBN 978-1-4967-1632-3). Jack King was invalided out of the Marines; now he works for a special unit that employs ex-military to do extralegal jobs. He’s not thrilled when his first assignment is babysitting a politician’s daughter. Callie Hawthorne hates politics and hates having a bodyguard, even if he’s super hot. When it turns out her father is the greatest threat, Jack has to kidnap Callie in order to protect her.
Kensington/Dafina
Touched by You: Wellspring, Book 1 by Elle Wright (May 29, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4967-1600-2). Brooklyn Wells fights her dominating father, CEO Parker Wells, at every step. Instead of taking her appointed place in the boardroom, she’s a social worker in Wellspring, Mich. Instead of living for diamonds and designer gowns, she helps her community’s poor and lost. And instead of entering into an arranged marriage, she’s falling hard for the troubled newcomer who saved her life.
Kensington/Zebra
Home with You: The Bradshaws, Book 1 by Shirlee McCoy (Feb. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-4522-9) launches a small-town contemporary series. When a car crash kills Matthias Bradshaw, his brothers return to Benevolence, Wash., and take turns caring for his six children and the ancestral farm. Commitment-averse bachelor Sullivan Bradshaw wants to do his part, but he desperately needs to find the perfect nanny. What he gets is pretty Rumer Truehart, a free spirit who changes everything he ever thought he wanted.
Lady Scandal: Ladies in Disgrace, Book 1 by Miranda Neville (May 29, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-4341-6). Miss Dorothea Oakley-White uses a pen name to skewer the hypocrisies of high society. When her latest target—dashing Lord Layburne, whom she blames for the scandalous end to her last engagement—hunts her down, she says she’ll stop writing about him if he finds her a suitable husband, a role he may decide to play himself.
Lone Rider by Lindsay McKenna (Mar. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-4535-9). Two years after returning home from working as a combat photographer in Afghanistan, Tara Dalton is still haunted by what she saw. Desperate to make a change, she joins the crew at the Bar C Ranch and meets other veterans with PTSD, including a strong, gentle bear of a man who makes her feel safer than she has in years.
Stay with Me: Return to Haven, Book 1 by Jules Bennett (Mar. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-4496-3). Olivia Daniels is finally nearing the top of the corporate ladder when her father dies, leaving her part-owner of a rundown airport in tiny Haven, Ga. Olivia intends to buy out her co-owner, Jackson Morgan, and sell the land, but Jackson refuses to give up the airport where he practically grew up being mentored by Olivia’s dad—and crushing on Olivia.
What Ales the Earl by Sally MacKenzie (July 31, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-4671-4). At Puddledon Manor’s Benevolent Home for fallen women, unwed mother Penelope Barnes discovers a knack for cultivating hops. She tries to forget her scandalous affair with Harry Graham, knowing a farmer’s daughter has no future with an earl’s son. When Harry returns from war and learns he has a love child, he’s determined to make a family with Penelope and their daughter, Harriet—better late than never.
Kensington/Zebra Shout
Her Perfect Affair by Priscilla Oliveras (Mar. 27, mass market, $4.99, ISBN 978-1-4201-4429-1). Rosa Fernandez doesn’t act on impulse. She plans her career with precision and lands a job as librarian at conservative Queen of Peace Academy, confining her strongest emotions—including her passion for wealthy Jeremy Taylor—to her secret poetry journal. Jeremy, the adopted son of a prominent Chicago lawyer, is planning a move to Japan, but sweet, steady Rosa is a temptation he doesn’t want to deny himself.
Lyrical
The Singular Mr. Sinclair by Mia Marlowe (July 17, e-book, $3.99, ISBN 978-1-5161-0596-0). Caroline Chatham longs for a life of adventure and travel. To have control of her own choices, she must remain unmarried until she turns 21, when she’ll inherit funds left by her grandmother. Her plan to stay single and run her own life may well be upended by quiet, intense, powerfully attractive Lawrence Sinclair.
The Sweet Spot by Heather Heyford (Feb. 27, mass market, $4.99, ISBN 978-1-5161-0256-3) opens a series set in Ribbon Ridge, Ore. When Philadelphia music teacher Jamie Martel is offered a summer job at a lush Oregon vineyard, she meets Hank Friestatt, who took over the Vineyards at Ribbon Ridge when his parents died. With the business on track, he’s tempted to sell out and run, but something about down-to-earth Jamie is making him question his plans.
To Woo a Wicked Widow by Jenna Jaxon (Mar. 27, mass market, $4.99, ISBN 978-1-5161-0325-6). Lady Charlotte Cavendish’s father trapped her in a loveless, passionless marriage. Now widowed—and still a virgin—Charlotte is free to reenter the giddy world of high society and pursue love and pleasure. Nash, the 12th Earl of Wrotham, is beguiled by Charlotte at first sight, and the feeling is mutual.
Morrow
The Locksmith’s Daughter by Karen Brooks (May 22, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-06-268657-2). In Queen Elizabeth I’s England, second-generation locksmith Mallory Bright can pick any lock. After scandal destroys her reputation, Mallory returns to her father’s home and lives almost as a recluse until spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham draws her into his world of codes, spycraft, intrigue, and romance.
Rainy Day Friends by Jill Shalvis (June 19, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-06-244814-9). Six months after Lanie Jacobs’s husband’s death, she learns he was a serial adulterer and each of his lovers believes herself his legally wedded wife. Desperate to make a fresh start, Lanie impulsively takes a job at the family-run Capriotti Winery and meets Mark Capriotti, a gruffly handsome Air Force veteran who manages to wind his way into Lanie’s cold, broken heart.
Quirk
My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris (Apr. 3, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-68369-013-9). Curran and Zageris’s cheeky riff on the Choose Your Own Adventure stories puts readers in the shoes of a feisty 28-year-old Regency miss who’s living as a lady’s companion to a sour dowager. Those looking for a farcical romp will find plenty of laughs, winks, and nods in how the stories play out. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Riptide
Cam Boy: Murmur Inc., Book 3 by Quinn Anderson (Feb. 12, trade paper, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-62649-697-2) steams up the pages from the start. After years of making minimum wage, college dropout Josh Clemmons tries working as a porn star. Mike Harwood is a loud-and-proud professional adult entertainer who’s so used to faking attraction that he can no longer tell when something real is staring him in the face—like Josh.
Sandstone
Wait for Me, Jack by Addison Jones (Feb. 11, trade paper, $15, ISBN 978-1-910985-38-0). Set near San Francisco, this novel follows the fortunes and failures of Jack and Milly over 60 years. They marry in 1952 and cling to each other through the years despite having little in common. The social changes they live through affect their relationship in complex and surprising ways. What holds them together is stronger than what pulls them apart.
Shadow Mountain
Ashes on the Moor by Sarah M. Eden (Mar. 6, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-62972-402-7). Eden (the Longing for Home series) blends bucolic 1871 Yorkshire with deep characters for a rewarding tale. Spunky but socially conventional Evangeline Blake is stuck teaching in the northern English mill town owned by her grandfather. Never having lived on her own, she relies on a neighbor, ambitious Irish immigrant Dermot McCormick. 19,000-copy announced first printing.
Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen (July 3, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-62972-414-0) is a steampunk Sleeping Beauty story from the author of Beauty and the Clockwork Beast. Each night, Isla Cooper falls into a deathlike sleep from which she cannot be awakened for six hours. To make it worse, after a year, the sleep will become permanent. Isla must work with airship owner Daniel Pickett to keep their secrets and find a cure. 17,000-copy announced first printing.
Simon & Schuster/Gallery
Ain’t She a Peach by Molly Harper (June 12, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-1-5011-5133-0). Atlanta ex-cop Eric Linden comes to sleepy Lake Sackett, Ga., seeking peace and quiet—but he hasn’t bargained on falling for Frankie, the cutest coroner he’s ever met. As Frankie and Eric do their best Scooby-Doo impressions to catch the person breaking into the funeral home, they get closer to spilling some secrets they thought were buried forever.
Leading the Witness: Conflict of Interest, Book 4 by Chantal Fernando (Apr. 17, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-1-5011-7239-7). Divorce attorney Hunter Brayze is determined to win his case, even if he thinks his client is a terrible man. Then he learns that the client’s soon-to-be ex is pub owner Riley McMahon. Hunter has been flirting with Riley for months, having no idea she was married. And when someone sets Riley’s pub on fire, he can’t help suspecting his own client.
S&S/Pocket
The Secret of Flirting: Sinful Suitors, Book 5 by Sabrina Jeffries (Mar. 27, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-5011-4448-6). The moment spymaster Baron Fulkham meets Princess Aurore of Chanay, he’s positive her royal persona is a ruse and she’s really Monique Servais, the mysterious actress he met three years before. As he pursues his suspicions, he uncovers an assassination plot that could destroy his career, expose his own secrets, and ruin the woman he’s rapidly coming to love.
Skyhorse
Love Like This by Maria Duffy (June 5, trade paper, $16.99, ISBN 978-1-5107-3368-8). William and Donna almost meet many times, but it never quite happens. Then Will decides to travel the world in the hope of finding happiness, and Donna leaves Dublin to pursue her dreams. More than 10,000 miles away from their homes, they connect. After tragedy strikes, they hope for one last chance to build love together.
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Caught Up in a Cowboy: Cowboys of Creedence, Book 1 by Jennie Marts (May 1, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4926-5569-5). At 18, cowboy Rockford James left the ranch—and his girlfriend, Quinn Rivers—to pursue his hockey dreams. Heartbroken, Quinn had a one-night stand that led to an unplanned baby. When Rock returns to Triple J Ranch, Quinn swears to keep him at arm’s length so her heart doesn’t get broken all over again, but he’s determined to win her back.
The Cowboy Who Came Calling: Texas Heroes, Book 2 by Linda Broday (Feb. 6, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4926-4647-1). Glory Day may be losing her vision, but she’s determined to provide for her struggling family. She confronts an outlaw with a price on his head, but when a mysterious cowboy gets between her and her target, Glory accidentally shoots him instead. Flustered, she has no option but to take the handsome stranger home to treat his wounds.
Every Deep Desire by Sharon Wray (Mar. 6, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4926-5560-2). Rafe Montfort was a decorated Green Beret, the best of the best, until a disastrous mission and an unforgiveable betrayal destroyed his life. Now, this deadly soldier has returned to the sultry Georgia swamps to reunite with his brothers—and his beloved, Juliet Capel.
The Gunslinger’s Vow by Amy Sandas (June 5, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4926-5197-0). Alexandra Brighton has spent the last five years in Boston. Before she settles down, she’s determined to visit her childhood home on the frontier, so rugged Malcolm Kincaid escorts her to Montana. Malcolm is focused on finding the man who killed his brother, and has no interest in protecting a pampered eastern lady—until she steals his heart.
I Am Justice by Diana Muñoz Stewart (May 1, mass market, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-4926-6238-9). Rescued from a brutal childhood, Justice Parish vows to protect and avenge others, starting by going undercover to take down a sex-trafficking ring. Former Special Forces soldier Sandesh Ross founds a humanitarian group and hires Justice to bring in donors. They’re both too busy saving the world to pursue romance, but they might not be able to help themselves.
Sparkpress
Hidden: A Gripping Romantic Thriller by Kelli Clare (June 5, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-943006-52-6). Small-town Connecticut art teacher Ellie James finally finds the intense connection she’s longing for when she meets handsome Will Hastings at the town’s old fishing pier. Just days later, Ellie discovers the bodies of her murdered sister and grandmother. If she and her young niece are to survive, Ellie must decide whether Will is the killer, a man she can trust, or both.