Cousens (Is She Really Going Out with Him) questions what makes the perfect man in this entertaining sci-fi-tinged rom-com. Chloe Fairway dreads her Oxford college reunion. Her fellow classmates are extremely successful, especially her former best friend turned Hollywood screenwriter, Sean Adler, while Chloe, who had great hopes of becoming a writer herself, is stuck working as a PA for a film producer and living with her parents in London. Not wanting to show up without at least a date, she signs up for secretive new dating service Perfect Partners, which promises to match her with her ideal guy. Rob Dempsey, the man she’s paired with, is exactly her type in both looks and personality and he’s demonstratively smitten with her. Chloe is thrilled—until she learns that Rob is a robot programmed to her exact specifications. Still, she takes him as her date to the reunion—where she reunites with both Sean and another friend, John Elton; reexamines their shared past; learns she can’t trust the glossy facades she sees on social media; and feels unexpected sparks with a perfectly imperfect man. Some serious suspension of disbelief is required, but Cousens has a lot of fun with her premise, and it’s easy to root for Chloe to find true love. Readers will be charmed. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 09/12/2025 | Details & Permalink

Marriage comes with extremely high stakes for the sapphic heroines of this riotously entertaining Regency, the adult debut from bestselling YA author Lee (A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue). For Emily Sergeant, whose reputation has been tarnished by scandal in her small hometown, finding a wealthy match in London is her best hope of avoiding an arranged marriage to a despicable and much older neighbor. Meanwhile, Harriet “Harry” Lockhart, the libertine daughter of a prostitute, is shocked when the Prince Regent reveals himself as her father and offers her an inheritance on the condition that she settle down with a respectable husband. Loathe as she is to change her ways, Harry needs the money and imagines that marriage might be bearable with her friend and occasional lover Alexander Bolton, Duke of Rochester. Unfortunately for her, Emily has also set her sights on the duke. Emily initially sees Harry as a “sneering amazon,” while Harry calls Emily an “infernal pixie,” but after Emily naively asks for Harry’s help winning Alexander’s attention, sparks soon fly between the two women. Lee injects this sprightly enemies-to-lovers tale with equal parts humor and sensuality, and it’s especially gratifying to see Emily come into her own. The result should win Lee a legion of new fans. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 09/05/2025 | Details & Permalink

Black (The Art of Scandal) wows with this showstopping contemporary romance that doubles as both a love letter to and a critique of the country music scene. Small-town waitress August Lane’s semi-estranged mother, Jojo, is about to become the first Black woman inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and invites August’s high school sweetheart Luke Randall, the only other semi-famous musician from Arcadia, Ark., to open for her at a celebratory concert in their shared hometown. A washed-up and only recently dried out one-hit wonder at 31, Luke harbors a big secret: he didn’t write the love song that made him famous—August did. Their emotional and impressively nuanced second-chance romance plays out over dual timelines, chronicling their messy reunion in 2023 and flashing back to show how their shared love of music brought them together in 2009 before a series of painful events tore them apart. Both leads feel achingly real, with painful backstories involving familial abuse and adolescent bullying that are refreshingly unsensationalized, and it’s as satisfying to see them renegotiate their creative collaboration as reignite their romance. The incisive indictment of the country music industry’s treatment of Black artists is carried off just as skillfully. Full of heart and unafraid of wading into thorny territory, this is a tour de force. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

This tantalizing Regency from bestseller Roux (Much Ado About Margaret) sends budding watercolor artist Violet Arden from London to the British countryside to ride out a scandal after her affair with her French art teacher is exposed. While staying at her cousin’s home, she becomes reacquainted with art collector Alasdair Kerr, who was a childhood friend despite the long-standing feud between their families. It’s not a happy reunion: before leaving the city, Violet overheard Alasdair dissing her paintings at an art opening. Though she’s determined to stay mad at Alasdair, she slowly warms to him, especially when he helps her save a cat caught in a fire at a local theater. Their joint search for the arsonist responsible leads to a tentative courtship, even as Alasdair’s mother schemes to keep them apart. Roux steeps this arresting romance in references to art and artists, and uses her passionate and plucky heroine to highlight the unique position of female artists in Regency society. Fans will not be disappointed. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

La Rosa (The Backtrack) again leverages time travel to bring two people together in this endearing Groundhog Day–style rom-com. Carly Hart heads to Julian, Calif., for her somewhat estranged father’s funeral only for the entire town to wind up trapped in a one-day time loop, doomed to endlessly relive April 22, the day of the memorial service. The only person Carly knows in the small, quirky town is funeral director Adam, who’s also having a bad day repeatedly. On the first day of the loop, his wife revealed that she cheated on him with his best friend, and now, no matter what he does, they’re forced to start each day together. As the town devolves into humorous hedonistic anarchy, Adam busies himself with studying the solar eclipse that happens every afternoon, hoping to determine whether it might be the cause of the time loop, and Carly offers to help. Together, they test escape theories, growing closer all the while, especially as they bond about what they want out of life after the loop ends. La Rosa hand-waves the mechanics behind the time loop, instead focusing on the wacky antics of the supporting cast and the significant chemistry between her leads. Readers who like their romances to come with a bit of magic will be pleased. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Matthews’s exciting second Crinoline Academy Victorian romance (after Rules for Ruin) brings together a prim schoolteacher and a newspaper editor desperate for a big story. Penelope “Nell” Trewlove of Miss Corvus’s Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies heads to London to meet with Miles Quincey, editor of the London Courant, who has been asking persistent questions about the school, which prefers to keep secret its ultra-progressive curriculum for young women. When an innocent mishap caused by Miles’s scene-stealing rescue cat leads him and Nell to be caught in an apparently compromising position, Miles gallantly proposes marriage to save both their reputations. Meanwhile, a prospective Miss Corvus student has disappeared on her way to the school, as has one of Miles’s employees, the paper’s gossip columnist. When the two incidents turn out to be connected, the reluctant newlyweds join forces to investigate, taking them to the seediest parts of London and a high-stakes party at a country estate. Love blossoms along the way, as Miles learns to respect his wife’s fierce independent spirit and refusal to back down from a challenge. The result is an appealing Victorian romance that will please Matthews’s fans, cat lovers, and anyone who appreciates intelligent, resourceful heroines. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, an all-star lineup of nine romance authors charmingly reimagine the stories of some of the author’s best loved supporting characters. Four contributors riff on Pride and Prejudice: Dukess’s “What Georgiana Wants” finds Georgiana Darcy letting go of the past; Diana Quincy’s “Lydia’s Story” follows a widowed Lydia Wickham as she falls in love with a local vicar; Adriana Trigiani’s “The Bennets of Jane Street” transports the story to present-day New York City and turns the focus on Mary Bennet; and Nikki Payne recasts Caroline Bingley as a free woman of color traveling the American West in “Lace and Larceny.” Miss Bates from Emma takes the spotlight in both Elinor Lipman’s “Miss Bates Bobs Her Hair,” which explores the Jewish community in Regency England, and Sarah MacLean’s “The Triumph of Hetty Bates,” which reunites lost loves. Elsewhere, Bellezza and Harding join forces to imagine both a backstory and a future for Sense and Sensibility’s Eliza Brandon in “The Elizas,” while Eloisa James turns the spotlight onto the Dashwoods’ youngest sister, Margaret, in “Sense, Sensibility, and Snapdragons.” The narratives are expertly crafted, with the authors’ deep understanding of the original texts on clear display even as they take Austen’s work in new directions. Austenites will be thrilled. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

This cute contemporary from McAlister (Here for the Right Reasons) follows Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher, who have been academic rivals for 15 years. Multiple attempts to reach a truce have failed, despite Jonah’s one-sided crush. After graduating with their PhDs in literature, both struggle to find stable employment. So their latest “ceasefire” goes out the window when a professorship opens up that seems perfect for both of them. It would enable Sadie to use her academic specialty in popular fiction, and Jonah to be closer to his sister, who recently became a single mom. After a hard-fought battle, Sadie gets the job. She’s proud, but she also feels bad for Jonah. Then she notices a partner-hire clause in her contract that offers any employee’s “suitably qualified” partner a position at the same university. So the pair hatch a plan to get married. Though this scheme puts strain on Sadie’s relationship with her lawyer sister, Chess, who has always hated the fake dating trope in fiction, the couple tie the knot and move across the country to start their new positions. Living and working in close proximity reignites Jonah’s crush and has Sadie wondering if she has deeper feelings for her rival. Though the romance is slow to develop, the couple’s chemistry is well worth the wait. Readers will be pleased. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Long returns to the pickleball court (after 2024’s Pickleballers) for a delightful second-chance romance with heart. After high school teacher and single mother Lulu Gardner accidentally sends a recording of herself cursing to all of her students via malfunctioning educational software, she’s suspended from work indefinitely, freeing her up to accompany her Aunt Laverne and Uncle Rooster on their “Costa Rican pickleball vacation,” with her three-year-old daughter, Zoe, in tow. Their last-minute addition to the trip hits a snag when the resort doesn’t have rooms for them. The concierge recommends that Lulu take the open slot in a pickleball adventure cohort traveling throughout the country. This brings her face-to-face with her teenage love turned pickleball champ, Tyler Demming, whom she hasn’t seen since he broke her heart 15 years earlier. As the pair travel and compete together, old feelings reignite, but can Lulu forgive and forget? Long makes her characters easy to root for, and adorable Zoe steals every scene she’s in. The Costa Rican backdrop and fast-paced action on the pickleball court add to the fun. This charms. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

The flimsy fourth and final outing in Wardell’s Teachers in Love series revisits Olan Stone and Marvin Block, the heroes of the first installment, Teacher of the Year, who, two years later, are planning their wedding. Though the novel opens with the loved-up couple on a sex-filled, romantic Mexican getaway, the two quickly find that the path to marriage will not run smooth. Olan must leave their idyllic life in Maine to support his family in Chicago, where his younger brother is in rehab. He says goodbye to his seven-year-old daughter, Illona, and Marvin for an unknown length of time. Can their relationship survive the strain of long distance and familial pressure? Themes of community care and unconditional love are heartfelt, but the men’s over-the-top romantic dialogue and internal monologues edge into the saccharine; Olan calls Marvin “adorable” with improbable frequency, and while Marvin thinks “hearing it from his beautiful lips never loses its magic,” readers may wish for a bit more depth to their connection. The characters also feel one-note: Olan is nerdy, Marvin is anxious, and Illona is precocious to a degree that feels uncanny. Die-hard series fans will appreciate the happy ending but others can skip this. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink