New historical series from big names, high-concept rom-coms, and meta romances with book-loving leads headline this season’s offerings.

Top 10

Bet on It

Jodie Slaughter. Griffin, July 12 ($16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-82182-9)

There’s an instant attraction when Walker Abbott meets Aja Owens at his grandmother’s bingo night, leading the pair to make a sex pact inspired by the game.

Book Lovers

Emily Henry. Berkley, May 3 ($17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-33483-6)

A dogged literary agent agrees to a getaway with her hopelessly romantic sister, who’s determined to find her a love story of her own, in this rom-com from bestseller Henry.

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

Adriana Herrera. HQN, May 31 ($16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-63984-4)

Luz travels to Paris hoping to expand her rum business at the 1889 World’s Fair—and gets some unexpected help from a charming Scottish earl in Herrera’s Las Léonas series launch.

Heckin’ Lewd: Trans and Nonbinary Erotica

Edited by Nillin Lore. Bold Strokes, June 14 ($17.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63679-240-8)

Erotic stories from genderqueer authors celebrate trans and nonbinary love and lust.

How to Be a Wallflower

Eloisa James. Avon, Mar. 29 ($9.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-313953-4)

A beautiful British heiress determined never to marry and a handsome, rough-hewn American wager on who can design the least-flattering wardrobe for the other in bestseller James’s Regency-set Would-Be Wallflowers series launch.

Part of Your World

Abby Jimenez. Forever, Apr. 19 ($15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-0437-0)

Bestseller Jimenez shows how worlds collide when an über-sophisticated ER doctor goes against familial expectation by falling for a laid-back carpenter who’s 10 years her junior.

The Romance Recipe

Ruby Barrett. Carina Adores, June 28 ($15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-50691-7)

Desperate restaurant owner Amy hires reality cooking show star Sophie to revitalize her menu—and Amy’s intense presence soon has Sophie questioning her sexuality.

Something Wilder

Christina Lauren. Gallery, May 17 ($26.99, ISBN 978-1-9821-7340-1)

The bestselling writing duo of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, writing as Christina Lauren, set their latest rom-com against Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, where exes get a second chance at love amid a treasure hunt gone wrong.

The Stand-In

Lily Chu. Sourcebooks Casablanca, May 3 ($14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-7282-4262-0)

A floundering Chinese Canadian millennial agrees to stand in for a superstar of Chinese cinema to whom she bares an uncanny resemblance at a series of high-profile events in Chu’s debut rom-com.

Twice a Quinceañera

Yamile Saied Méndez. Kensington, July 26 ($15.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4967-3705-2)

A jilted bride makes use of her prepaid wedding venue by throwing herself an elaborate 30th birthday party—but complications arise when she discovers that the venue’s owner is also her college fling.

Romance & Erotica Listings

Avon

American Royalty by Tracey Livesay (June 28, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-308450-6). A media-shy prince finds love with an American hip-hop star who desperately needs some good PR, in Livesay’s royal rom-com.

Chase Wilde Comes Home: A Wyoming Wilde Novel by Jennifer Ryan (Mar. 29, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-0-06-311140-0) launches a new series of cowboy romances centered on the Wilde brothers and their Wyoming ranch.

On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi (June 21, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-320914-5). Obuobi’s debut follows a medical student already struggling to balance her work with time with friends and family. The last thing she needs is to fall in love.

Ballantine

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin (May 31, $28, ISBN 978-0-425-28664-7). In bestseller Griffin’s 1970s-set latest, the scion of an American political dynasty finds unexpected romance with a model from humble beginnings.

Berkley

I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson (Feb. 22, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-33444-7). Ex boyfriends pretend to be still together to please one of their well-to-do parents in Jackson’s adult debut.

Remember Love by Mary Balogh (July 12, $27, ISBN 978-0-593-43812-1). A battle-hardened soldier, disowned by his scandalous family, reunites with the woman he once loved in the Regency romance that launches bestseller Balogh’s Ravenswood series.

bold strokes

Parallel Paradise by Mayapee Chowdhury (June 14, $17.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63679-203-3). While visiting family in India, Bindi discovers the cracks in her cousin’s seemingly perfect marriage—leading to an affair with her cousin’s wife.

CamCat

Bewitching a Highlander by Roma Cordon (June 7, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-7443-0503-6). A magical healer hoping to track down her vanished father catches the eye of a highland warrior—but loving her means betraying his clan.

Carina

After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez (July 12, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-63992-9) kicks off a series about Mexican American sisters—and the men who love them—in the quirky small town of Freedom, Kans.

The Long Game by Rachel Reid (Apr. 26, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-335-45852-0). Game Changers, Reid’s gay hockey romance series, makes its print debut in this sixth outing, about on-ice nemeses who have a secret relationship.

Carina Adores

Eight Weeks in Paris by S.R. Lane (May 31, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-62392-8). Lane’s debut sees costars in the film adaptation of a queer fantasy novel go from enemies to lovers as chemistry blossoms both on and off set.

Central Avenue

Come as You Are by Jennifer Haupt (Mar. 1, $27, ISBN 978-1-77168-225-1). Teens Zane and Skye go from friends to lovers while dreaming of making it big in 1990s Seattle. Ten years later, they must move past old baggage and dashed hopes to co-parent their child.

City Owl

Adrift in Starlight by Mindi Briar (May 10, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64898-145-6). Briar’s sci-fi romance debut follows a nonbinary courtesan on a galaxy-spanning mission to seduce an A-lister’s fiancé.

Dell

How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder (June 14, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-35895-5). The PR relationship between a fading teen soap star and a tarnished Hollywood heartthrob becomes all-too real in Wilder’s debut rom-com.

Dutton

Nothing but the Truth by Holly James (July 12, $17 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-18650-3). The heroine of James’s debut wakes up on her 30th birthday suddenly incapable of telling lies, with disastrous consequences for both her professional and love lives. 40,000-copy announced first printing.

Entangled Amara

It Takes a Villa by Kilby Blades (May 24, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-64937-208-6). A woman buys a dilapidated Italian villa on the cheap in Blades’s rom-com series launch—but revamping both the building and her life proves harder than anticipated. 100,000-copy announced first printing.

Forever

Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron (Mar. 8, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-3500-8) puts a Desi spin on Jane Austen’s Emma with a Bollywood-obsessed heroine who’s eager to help those around her find love—while ignoring the romance that’s right in front of her nose. 50,000-copy announced first printing.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall (May 24, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5387-5375-0). A trans soldier returns from Waterloo, is finally able to live as a woman, and finds love with her closest friend.

Summer on Blackberry Beach by Belle Calhoune (June 28, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-5387-3602-9) pairs a woman who hasn’t thought about love since being left at the altar with a Navy SEAL struggling with PTSD. 100,000-copy announced first printing.

Graydon House

Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead (Apr. 5, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5258-9974-4). The love-’em-and-leave-’em heroine of Winstead’s debut rom-com reevaluates her romantic philosophy when she’s forced to work together with her grad school ex, the one who got away. 50,000-copy announced first printing.

Griffin

Reputation by Lex Croucher (Apr. 5, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-83283-2). A sheltered wallflower is swept into society’s upper echelon by a group of Regency England’s most notorious party girls in Croucher’s debut.

The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon (June 14, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-80123-4) is the sophomore adult rom-com from bestselling YA author Sandhya Menon, writing as Lily Menon.

Harlequin Presents

Bound by Her Rival’s Baby by Maya Blake (Feb. 22, $5.25 mass market, ISBN 978-1-335-56842-7) launches the Ghana’s Most Eligible Billionaires series with a one-night stand between business rivals that leads to an unexpected pregnancy.

Harlequin Romance

Second Chance in Sri Lanka by Nina Milne (Apr. 26, $4.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-335-40710-8) sees a divorced couple reunite at a mutual friend’s destination wedding in Sri Lanka.

Hqn

For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa (July 26, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-335-50634-4). The antagonistic hosts of a Great British Bake-Off–style reality show must fake a relationship to salvage their careers after a scandal. 50,000-copy announced first printing.

The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery (Mar. 15, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-335-47999-0). The people-pleasing heroine of bestseller Mallery’s latest finally puts herself first, leaving behind the problems of her adult children and ex-husband for a vacation in Santa Barbara. 250,000-copy announced first printing.

Hyperion Avenue

By the Book: A Meant to Be Novel by Jasmine Guillory (May 3, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-368-05039-5). An eager editorial assistant attempts to coax a new manuscript out of a bullish author in bestseller Guillory’s take on Beauty and the Beast. 35,000-copy announced first printing.

Microcosm

Experience Points: Illustrated Smutty Stories by Nicholai Avigdor Melamed (Mar. 8, $9.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64841-074-1) follows the erotic escapades of a queer horror artist and his model as they enter a relationship.

Mira

A Family Affair by Robyn Carr (Apr. 5, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7783-3174-2). A grieving wife discovers her late husband’s affair, sending her and her family on an unexpected trajectory in bestseller Carr’s latest. 200,000-copy announced first printing.

A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña (May 24, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7783-8609-4). Octogenarian best friends blackmail their grandchildren, Puerto Rican chef Kamilah and Irish-American whiskey distiller Liam, into a relationship, sparking an unexpected love. 75,000-copy announced first printing.

Montlake

Can’t Resist Her by Kianna Alexander (July 19, $12.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5420-3409-8). Summer Graves hopes to stop the gentrification of her Austin, Tex., neighborhood. Her teenage crush, Aiko Holt, works for the neighborhood’s developers. Sparks fly when they’re thrown back together, but can they make it work?

West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras (May 3, $12.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5420-3123-3). The Capuleta sisters are willing to do whatever it takes to win San Antonio’s Battle of the Mariachi Bands—until one of them falls for the opposition.

Morrow

Garden Variety by Christy Wilhelmi (Mar. 29, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-311348-0) sets a contemporary romance in a thriving community garden, but its feuding members may threaten heroine Lizzie’s chance at love.

An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan (June 14, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-314188-9). Two weddings planned for the same day on a small Scottish island fuel a bitter rivalry in bestseller Colgan’s latest.

Putnam

By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate (Mar. 1, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7352-1254-1). A romance editor tasked with curing her idol’s writer’s block uncovers a shocking secret in bestseller Kate’s enemies to lovers rom-com.

Lease on Love by Falon Ballard (Feb. 1, $16 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-41991-5). Ballard’s debut kicks off when its down-on-her-luck heroine accidentally confuses her dating app with one intended to help find roommates, leading to an unusual living situation.

Shadow Mountain

The Valet’s Secret by Josi S. Kilpack (Mar. 8, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-62972-989-3). In Regency England, a widow falls hard for a man she believes to be a lowly valet—only to discover he’s actually an earl.

Sideways

I Am Ayah—The Way Home by Donna Hill (July 26, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64937-146-1). Photographer Ayah Flemming, a descendant of one of the captives transported by the Amistad, finds love while confronting her family’s past in Hill’s intergenerational sophomore outing.

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky (May 3, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-7282-5058-8). The inexperienced hero of Janovsky’s rom-com debut impulsively emails all the boys he crushed on from afar before coming out—among them the new social media intern at his drive-in theater.

Up All Night with a Good Duke by Amy Rose Bennett (July 26, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-7282-4829-5) launches the Byronic Book Club series, about gothic romance aficionados in Regency England who stumble on love stories of their own.

St. Martin’s

The ARC by Tory Henwood Hoen (Feb. 8, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-250-27677-3) centers on the eponymous elite matchmaking algorithm for those fed up with basic dating apps—but can true love really be guaranteed?

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (July 19, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-250-21939-8). A bodyguard must pretend to be her A-list client’s girlfriend while he visits his ailing mother, in the latest rom-com from bestseller Center.

Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft (Mar. 15, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-250-27476-2). Rose Hamilton escorts an orphaned child from England to Australia during WWII and discovers love along the way.

Tule

A New Mantra by Sapna Srinivasan (Apr. 21, $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-956387-19-3). After learning of her husband’s affair, Mira moves out, finds a new job, and decides to run a marathon—but she’ll need the help of a handsome coach.

Stuck with You by Fortune Whelan (Apr. 5, $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-954894-85-3). A former NHL player and a nurse whose recent celebrity fling landed her in the tabloids come together while each renting half of a shared condo, in Whelan’s debut and Dorseys of Conception Bay series launch.

W by Wattpad

Lead Me Astray by Sondi Warner (Mar. 15, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-7772900-6-1) sets a queer triad romance between a ghost, a psychic, and a werewolf detective in a version of New Orleans infused with the paranormal.

Zebra

A Duke for Diana by Sabrina Jeffries (May 31, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-5377-4) launches a new series centered on Regency-era party planners who help young ladies make their society debuts and find love of their own along the way.

A Duke, the Spy, an Artist, and a Lie by Vanessa Riley (May 31, $15.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4201-5227-2). The conclusion to the Rogues and Remarkable Women Regency series sees the romance rekindle between a Jamaican heiress and her estranged husband, a spy for the crown, while he investigates a murder.

His Amish Sweetheart by Jennifer Beckstrand (June 28, $8.99 mass market, ISBN 978-1-4201-4773-5). The final Petersheim brothers romance pairs eldest brother Austin with practical Hannah, with a little help from their friends.

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