Returning to Blue Ridge, Ga. (after Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair), Lee delights with a sensual sapphic rom-com as heady and complex as the wines it describes in breathless detail. For years, Zoe Brennan has worked tirelessly alongside her father to keep her late mother’s dream, Bluebell Vineyards, running smoothly. When she learns that a notable wine festival is scouting locations nearby, she hopes to pitch Bluebell as the host and beat out a competing winery run by her “best-friend-turned-enemy” Rachel Woods. Her plans are impeded, however, when her father reveals that his ill mother requires his assistance in Italy, leaving the vineyard without a vintner. To relieve her mounting anxiety, Zoe agrees to a blindfolded threesome with her friend-with-benefits and a stranger—who, she learns after the fact, turns out to be Rachel’s intimidating older sister and Zoe’s first queer crush: Laine Woods. Hoping to swiftly forget the encounter proves impossible when Zoe discovers that Laine is the temporary vintner her father hired. The pair clash, but behind Laine’s arrogance and Zoe’s stubbornness is intense chemistry. Moments of reflection, comedic episodes, and plenty of steamy encounters balance this heartfelt story about honoring loved ones’ legacies while still realizing one’s own aspirations. This demands to be savored. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Cowles (Delicate Escape) dazzles in this twisty romantic suspense novel. Ever since Ridley Sawyer’s twin sister Avery vanished from a fraternity party on the eve of their college graduation, Ridley’s life has been defined by the mysterious loss. Five years later, Ridley channels her trauma into her work as a popular true crime podcaster, solving cold cases from the comfort of her beloved VW van, accompanied by her judgmental cat, Tater. Now she heads to Shady Cove, Calif., to investigate a suspected serial killer and interview Emerson Sinclair, whose abduction fits the killer’s pattern but who alone managed to escape his clutches. Emerson also happens to be the sister of gruff local sheriff Colt Brooks. While Ridley and Colt clash at first, passion ignites as they join together to search for answers. After an attempt on Ridley’s life, they realize the case might not be so cold after all and the stakes rise exponentially. Cowles keeps the surprises coming a mile a minute, culminating in the unmasking of a villain readers truly won’t suspect. The quirky Shady Cove locals only add to the fun, especially bar owner Trey and eccentric activist Celia. With a perfect balance of romantic tension and spine-tingling mystery, this is a must-read. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Shalvis returns to Sunrise Cove (after Summer Escape) for an irresistible enemies-to-lovers romance. PR guru Olive Porter fled Sunrise Cove, Calif., 12 years ago after accidentally hitting her high school crush turned fake boyfriend, Noah Turner, with an ATV at their graduation party. Meanwhile, Noah traded his dreams of professional baseball to stay in town and work as an investigative agent for the National Park Service. After Noah’s work partner Joe—who is also Olive’s twin sister’s husband—is seriously injured in the line of duty, Olive returns to her small hometown to offer moral support. Initially, Noah and Olive clash over the past, but they soon discover intense chemistry and begin an affair that they try to hide from their disapproving families. Then a bombshell revelation from their high school days surfaces—but will the new context for what happened back then be enough to allow them to get together for real? The drama pairs with tenderness and plenty of steam to keep the pages turning. Series fans and new readers alike will be drawn in by the clever plotting and buoyant prose. It’s another winner from Shalvis. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Deveraux (My Heart Will Find You) ventures into romantasy in this unconventional adventure—with mixed results. Kaley Arens is at loose ends after a setback in her PhD studies in folklore and decides to travel with her friend Jobi to his homeland. She believes they’re traveling to a distant island, but Jobi is actually from another planet, Bellis. Jobi, a seer, believes Kaley is destined for great things on his home world, but for now, she joins an attractive swan herdsman, Tanek, and a powerful warrior, Sojee, to search for the king’s son across a dangerous and fantastical island populated almost entirely by men. Bellis’s particular blend of spacefaring technology, fairy tale magic, and preindustrial society is unexpected, but it also raises more questions than the novel cares to answer. The hints of romance are unlikely to satisfy Deveraux devotees, while fantasy fans may find the sketchy worldbuilding frustrating. The quest narrative keeps the pages flying, however, and there’s plenty of exciting setup for future installments. It’s a rocky first foray, but there’s real potential here. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Holliday (Canadian Boyfriend) spins a winning romance that convincingly chronicles its leads’ transition from misunderstood coworkers to friends with benefits to lovers. On the eve of her 40th birthday, dance instructor Gretchen Miller seeks to avoid a midlife crisis by making two resolutions: 1) open a new and improved dance studio, and 2) quit dating altogether. She’s tired of the apps and unhappy with the person she becomes while unintentionally trying to please men. When she’s offered a chance to spend a month as an artist in residence at Wild Arts summer camp, she thinks the time away from men and her phone will be a great way to kick off her dating ban. Enter rock star Tennyson “Teddy” Knight, who comes to Wild Arts aiming to write a revenge solo album after the breakup of his band. When the two meet at the airport, Teddy assumes Gretchen is a devoted fan and rudely ignores her attempts at conversation. Gretchen in turn assumes that Teddy is a stuck-up narcissist. But as they spend more time together in the wilderness, they find common ground in their difficult childhoods and discover intense chemistry. Gretchen decides it’s fine for hooking up with Teddy to be her last hurrah before she swears off men forever—as long as neither of them catches any feeling. The characters have great banter, the sex scenes sizzle, and Gretchen’s later in life coming-of-age arc makes for a strong emotional center. Readers will be swept away. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

This swoony friends-to-lovers take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the third in Liese’s Wilmot Sisters series (after Better Hate Than Never), kicks off with a chance meeting—and almost kiss—between Juliet Wilmot and tall redhead Will Orsino at a bar in Scotland. The two meet again seven months later when Juliet finds Will asleep in her greenhouse, nearly attacking him with a trowel before he explains that he’s a college friend of her brother’s who got their neighboring properties mixed up. After these spark-filled first meetings, Will confides in Juliet that his family expects him to get married soon, even though he’s painfully shy around girls. He and Juliet make an agreement: through texting, social engagements, and unrelenting banter, she’ll help him learn how to romance somebody. But before long, they’re the ones falling in love. Liese’s breezy tone charms and she establishes an appealing flirtatious rapport between the two leads. Unfortunately, the focus on disparate intimate moments between the protagonists comes at the expense of narrative momentum, and the meandering plot lacks meaningful stakes. Still, the undeniable chemistry between Will and Juliet will be enough to hook fans of lighthearted romance retellings. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

A movie director and his former student reignite their past romance years later in this multidimensional contemporary from Erwin (the Titans of Tech series). Xavier Ducal and Sutton Spencer shared a single kiss while he was still her film professor, after which Xavier apparently ghosted her. Now, 10 years later, Sutton works as a production executive for Monument Studios and she’s assigned to oversee Xavier’s next project, The Quantum Wraith. She’s thrilled at the power reversal now that she’s the one in charge. But while on set in Arizona, Xavier clears up their past misunderstanding and they agree to act on their mutual attraction while keeping it secret from their coworkers and Xavier’s young nephew who lives with him. Both expect it to be just a physical thing, but when they catch feelings, they must decide how they want their relationship to proceed after production ends. Erwin fully fleshes out her protagonists and makes their past miscommunication as believable as their present rekindling. This is a treat. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

This action-packed rom-com from Wilkens (If I Stopped Haunting You) follows archaeologist besties Louise Morganstern and Isadora “Isi” Ross. Isi’s Cherokee mother, an archaeologist herself, disappeared somewhere in the mountains of Georgia while Isi was in college, and is presumed dead—but Isi still has questions. Though her lifelong friendship with Louise has been rocky for the past few years—in part due to the fact that they’re both repressing feelings for each other—the pair are brought back together by the discovery of Isi’s mother’s journal. The diary may lead them to the truth about her whereabouts—and to the lost Cherokee gold she was looking for. But a group of ruthless treasure hunters are also on the trail and kidnap the women hoping for intel. Isi and Louise manage to escape but now must follow the journal’s cryptic clues with limited supplies and pursuers hot on their heels. The lovely and often steamy friends-to-lovers arc that unfolds in the midst of this danger is only marred by how long it takes the heroines to own up to their emotions. The adventure story, meanwhile, rivets, with well-earned nods to Indiana Jones and respectful treatment of Native culture and tradition. Readers won’t want to put this down. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Feuding second-grade teachers learn they make a great team in this cute rivals-to-lovers romance, the third in Adams’s When in Rome series (after Practice Makes Perfect). Sharp, witty, and often abrupt, Emily Walker is known and loved by the locals of Rome, Ky., who feel partly responsible for her after the early deaths of her parents and grandparents left her to raise her four younger siblings. When the bane of Emily’s existence, people-pleasing Jack Bennett, a rival from her college days, moves in next door and takes a job at the school where Emily works, she’s furious. Jack has come to Rome to heal from both a broken engagement and a traumatic childhood spent in the shadow of his narcissistic father, a famous author. He and Emily butt heads—until aspiring romance author Emily accidentally emails her super spicy manuscript to the school’s conservative principal and Jack, who has his own secret, pseudonymous publishing career, steps in to help manage the crisis. Readers will love watching this couple grow together as they realize their animosity veils powerful attraction and Jack breaks down Emily’s emotional armor. Folksy locals and plenty of comic misunderstandings add to the fun. This charms. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Bailey follows The Au Pair Affair with another irresistible sports rom-com. After a difficult childhood with a struggling single mother, Sig Gauthier basks in his newfound financial comfort as a member of the Boston Bearcats hockey team. When his truck breaks down while he’s driving through Connecticut with a dead cellphone, he walks into a nearby country club for help, where he meets Chloe Clifford, a beautiful blonde harp player. The pair are smitten from the first glance and share a passionate kiss. There’s just one thing standing in the way of their relationship: Sig’s absentee father, who wants back into his life, happens to be engaged to Chloe’s mother. After Chloe moves to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music and play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the pair try to avoid each other—and their feelings—to stave off a scandal that would put both their futures in jeopardy. But the chemistry between these soon to be stepsiblings is explosive and ignoring it proves impossible. Readers who don’t like the instalove trope may not buy into the immediate connection between the leads, but Bailey backs it up with thoughtful characterization and red-hot sex scenes. This is a winner. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink