Silver follows up Crazy Spooky Love with another adorable outing for British medium Melanie Bittersweet. Melanie may head up the Ghostbusting Girls’ Agency, but she’s not exactly thrilled to have spirits “hassling the hell” out of her any time she ventures into an older building. When an American couple buys the haunted Maplemead Castle over the internet, Melanie and her team are called in to ghost-bust—but so is their biggest competitor, TV ghost hunter Leo Dark, who happens to be Melanie’s ex. Also poking around is skeptical local reporter Fletcher Gunn, who definitely has a thing for Melanie. She must juggle her relationships with both men while getting to know the resident ghosts, among them Britannia, a trapeze artist who died in the home a century ago; Britannia’s circus performing suitors Dino and Bohemia, who are still ready to fight to the death for her hand; and a lovely older couple, Lord Alistair Shilling and his bride, Eleanor, who are content to simply play cards and hang around their old home. Silver’s sparkling prose brings the leads to vivid life and the endearing spectral supporting cast adds to the charm. Coming just in time for Halloween, this cozy paranormal romp is sure to hit the spot. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Geissinger (Brutal Vows) mixes paranormal fantasy, contemporary horror, and sexual tension into an extremely dark romance. Maven Blackthorn returns to Solstice, Vt., with her daughter, Beatrix, for her grandmother’s funeral. However, the funeral home has lost her grandmother’s body, and, when the authorities investigating start exhuming Blackthorn graves in the cemetery, all of those bodies have gone missing as well. Local billionaire and Blackthorn enemy Ronan Croft, who abandoned Maven when she got pregnant at 17, offers to help solve this mystery, but only if he can meet Beatrix—and he’s willing to stalk, manipulate, and threaten his way into getting what he wants. The antagonistic back and forth between Maven and Ronan drags on, and, while Geissinger is clearly aiming to create a toxic, possessive, star-crossed dynamic between these two, Ronan’s actions often veer into the straightforwardly abusive. Meanwhile, the third act plays frustratingly coy over what’s real and what isn’t, leading to an epilogue that wants to have it both ways about the supernatural elements. The author’s fans may find something to enjoy in this graphic gothic romance but others can skip it. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Set in the London theater world, Green’s middling debut opens with the title character winning an Olivier Award for his lead performance as Achilles in the musical The Wooden Horse. Life should be grand for Jonah Penrose, but it’s not. His boyfriend, Edward, dumps him for someone else; his father has Alzheimer’s and his mother is drinking heavily; and Dexter Ellis, who originated the role of Achilles before the show’s West End debut, is rejoining the cast in a different part. Dexter is obnoxious to Jonah, pretending not to know him in a yoga class and giving him notes on his performance. When Dexter and Jonah’s onstage chemistry sparks fan speculation about their relationship, they are asked to fake date to goose the show’s box office numbers. Jonah feels “a weird sense of attraction” toward Dexter, but that doesn’t dispel the jealousy and mistrust between them—especially when Jonah fears Dexter is going to replace him as Achilles. Green’s detailed depiction of the theater world holds some interest, but it’s difficult to fully invest in the slow-moving, stop and start romance between the men. It’s a case of an appealing premise that falls flat in execution. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Albertson concludes her Love and Tacos series (after Kiss Me, Mi Amor) with this mild second-chance romance between college sweethearts that riffs on My Fair Lady. At 25, San Diego–based influencer Jaime Montez is tired of being in his older brothers’ shadow and eager to prove that he is more than just “the pretty boy.” While his brothers, the heroes of the previous two books, have taken over management of the family’s fast-food chain, Taco King, Jaime plans to strike out on his own with a liquor line. The problem: Jaime knows nothing about tequila—but he has an idea of who would be the perfect teacher: agave connoisseur and tequila bar owner Alma Garcia. Alma closed off her heart after Jaime dumped her three years earlier, but when the pair reunite at a Cinco de Mayo street festival, she agrees to teach Jaime about the tequila world, if he’ll help promote her bar on social media. Their attraction to each other is undeniable, but lingering insecurities from the past threaten their rekindled romance. Unfortunately, Jaime and Alma’s chemistry is only ever lukewarm. Still, it’s satisfying to see the Montez siblings come full circle with their individual happy endings, and Albertson offers a fascinating look into the world of Mexican tequila along the way. Series fans will be pleased. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Cate opens her Salacious Legacy series, a spin-off of her Salacious Players Club series, with this ultrasteamy romance introducing the next generation of the Parisian sex club’s owners and members. Among the new owners is widowed father Jack St. Claire, who has spent the two years since his wife Emmaline’s death throwing himself into his work. After bookseller Camille Aubert finds a love letter from Jack to Emmaline tucked inside a book in the used bookstore in Giverny where she works, she is moved by the depth of feeling it expresses and decides to return it to the sender. When she arrives at Jack’s doorstep, however, she’s mistaken as a nanny candidate for his five-year-old daughter, Bea, whom she quickly comes to adore after taking the job on a whim. On her first night off, she spies Jack heading into his sex club and, curiosity piqued, persuades him to teach her the basics of BDSM. Casual kinky sex soon transforms into a committed relationship—but when Jack learns the truth about why Camille sought him out, their love could be in jeopardy. Cate intercuts the red hot erotic plot with plenty of business drama among the new owners of the club. Returning fans and newcomers alike are sure to be titillated. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/29/2025 | Details & Permalink

Just as gleefully ghoulish as fans will expect, this series-launching black comedy from bestseller Weaver (Butcher and Blackbird) pairs two serial killers in a quirky coastal town. After running from a traumatic past, Harper Starling landed in Cape Carnage, where she was taken under the wing of aging serial murderer Arthur Lancaster, who trained her to “protect the town” by dispatching obnoxious tourists. Now Arthur’s memory is failing, meaning that most of the slaying and body disposal falls on Harper. Enter Nolan Rhodes, who has devoted his life to methodically hunting down the people who left him and his brother for dead in a hit and run—and Harper is the last name on his list. The pair meet cute before either realizes who the other is and their mutual attraction never fades even as they enter a deliciously dangerous game of cat and mouse. When a true crime documentarian starts poking around town, Harper blackmails Nolan into helping her cover Arthur’s tracks, taking the story in a somewhat more tedious direction as they set aside their animosity to spend each night exhuming decades-old bodies. Also frustrating is a central miscommunication between the characters that feels increasingly contrived as it drags on. Still, there’s plenty of humor, gore, and spice to hold readers’ interest. Weaver’s good at what she does. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Wolff (Crave) explores the fragile balance between private life and public persona in this emotional celebrity romance. Superstar singer-songwriter Sloane Walker is labeled the Black Widow by the tabloids after two of her boyfriends die, sparking suspicion and rumors that follow her everywhere. She defiantly embraces the moniker on stage even while privately reeling as she unpacks her trauma in the aftermath of domestic abuse and worries that someone may be stalking her. When she meets star quarterback Mateo “Sly” Sylvester and his abuela, who’s a big fan, backstage at a meet and greet, Sloane feels as though he immediately sees through her tough exterior to the real her. Their ensuing whirlwind romance reignites Sloane’s passion for writing new music, a fire she believed was long extinguished. Comparisons between the central romance and the relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce feel inevitable, but while Swifties will find plenty to enjoy, Wolff takes the story in some unexpected directions. The suspense elements keep the plot moving at a clip even as Wolff finds time to excavate Sloane’s trauma. This is sure to be a hit with Wolff’s fans. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

One can almost feel the heat of the sun, smell the vegetation in the vineyards, and taste the wine in Dumais’s lovely debut destination romance. New Yorker Alice is sent to French wine country by her boss, a wine importer. In order to learn more about the vintages she sells, she’ll be working as part of a volunteer crew during the three-week harvest. A bit closed off and cautious following the end of a long-term relationship, Alice is grateful to be warmly embraced by others in the multinational group. Enticingly described communal meals help her to open up, particularly with Henri, the vineyard owner’s nephew. On a break from his own wobbly relationship, Henri makes a habit of asking Alice pointed questions as they pick grapes all day long, conversations they jokingly refer to as “therapy” sessions that foster a quick closeness—and intense chemistry. The characters are just as vivid as the setting, and the intimate conversations between the leads feels real and grounded even as they delve deep into their personal histories and motivations. The result is an addictive contemporary that will delight hopeless romantics and armchair travelers alike. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

Rose (The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean) mixes spooky and sweet in this queer Halloween romance. Visiting The Dead of Night, a Halloween supply store, is a beloved autumnal tradition in small-town Clover Creek, but the store has a secret: it’s real magic that makes it appear and disappear each Halloween season and its proprietor is cursed to vanish along with it. Pepper has been the unlucky Keeper of the Store for the past five years, forced to live a half-life knowing that everyone in town will forget her the instant the store closes. She’s made her peace with this predicament—until she meets and falls for Christina, a new schoolteacher who’s overwhelmed with the task of operating the town’s famous haunted house. Literally ghosting her new love interest is the last thing Pepper wants, but can she find a way to break the curse before it’s too late? Despite the dark magic involved, Rose keeps things light and cozy. Pepper and Christina are well shaded and easy to root for, and the town comes to life via Rose’s bright and inviting prose. The magic itself sometimes feels a bit arbitrary, but it keeps the plot moving and adds real stakes to the budding romance. Fans of Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop should check this out. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink

This light paranormal romance from Tschida (Errands & Espionage) puts a tongue-in-cheek spin on the archetypal rom-com heroine by making her a vampire. Approximately 300-year-old singleton Tiffanie bought her current identity, that of Tiffany Amanda Blair, on the black market. When the real Tiffany’s aunt dies and leaves her niece a dilapidated B&B in the quaint town of Valentine, Vt., Tiffanie’s the one who receives the inheritance. So she heads east from L.A. with her neighbor, Heaven, whom she’s just accidentally transformed into a vampire. In Valentine, Tiffanie meets and starts crushing on local Christmas tree farmer Tyrone. It would all be straight out of a Hallmark movie if it weren’t for the vampiric element making familiar scenarios feel fresh. Both Tiffanie and Heaven chug coconut water to curb their appetites and safely mingle with humans, though Heaven’s bloodlust as a newborn vampire is much harder to control. Tschida milks this supernatural element for comedy that at times verges on the slapstick, as when Tiffanie, having accidentally ingested human food, vomits into a sack of toys at a children’s Santa photo op. The result is a playful but still heartfelt mash-up of beloved tropes. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 08/22/2025 | Details & Permalink