This post is sponsored by Dana Hawkins in honor of the August release of Forced Proximity, a bi M/F Romance coming August 27th!
She’s hired to protect. Not to fall in love.
Buy it: Amazon
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Grind by K.M. Neuhold (July 3rd)
This is the third book in the Gymbos series
Hockey star Diego Ferguson says he knows about the grind, but he’s about to learn that his new personal trainer, Callan, gives the word a whole new meaning.
Everyone in Chicago has been following the news about Diego’s injury and the last season spent on the bench. It doesn’t hurt that he’s got a major sexy brood going on in every picture I see of him these days.
The last place I expected him to show up was Sweat. But he’s looking for a personal trainer to help him get fully back in shape before the season, and I’m just the guy for the job.
It figures that he’s straight, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the view while I help get his fine backside ready to get back out on the ice.
He’s definitely as surly as his pictures, and twice as arrogant. Turns out he’s also desperate for some bro time in between workouts, and I’m more than qualified to be the guy for that job too.
Maybe he’s not as straight as he claims. Maybe he just needs a little fun to get his confidence back up after last season. Maybe I’ll let myself indulge in a harmless fling with a cocky, bi-curious hockey player as a little treat. I work hard after all, and I deserve a little fun too.
We both know it can’t last, but puck it, a summer fling is always a good time.
Buy it: Amazon
Queerly Beloved by Farhad J. Dadyburjor (July 15th)
Mumbai-based industrialist Ved Mehra has found the love of his life in Carlos Silva, an American working in the city. After three years of living together, they are now ready to take the next step—a big fat Indian wedding. But as he begins to share the good news with his family and start the preparations, Ved finds himself stretched in all directions: his divorced mother is blissfully smitten with a younger man who is pulling out all the stops; a long-buried secret from his father’s past catches up to him; and if things weren’t complicated enough, his ex-boyfriend Akshay is back and wants to be a part of his life. Will things finally work out for Ved?
Buy it: Amazon
The Case of Elmwood Ranch by Deanna Grey (July 15th)
Elmwood Ranch was Octavia Daniel’s dream. A safe place to land after years on the road. But once the paperwork’s signed and keys are handed over, the nightmare begins. Shadows that move on their own, injured ranch hands who refuse to work a second longer, and strange weather phenomena claim every ounce of security and sanity.
Octavia doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she can’t deny something’s wrong with the land she’s sunk her entire savings into.
Rae Jones is in the business of ending nightmares. She comes from a long line of paranormal investigators. One of four, she’s set herself apart from the Jones sisters by making their legacy into a commercial success.
After years of enjoying said success, she’s hit a wall. Whether it’s burnout or a full-blown existential crisis, she doesn’t know. One guaranteed way to avoid a downward spiral? Take every interesting job she can get. And that includes one from a very stand-offish, non-believing rancher who thinks she’s a scam artist.
Buy it: The New Romantics | Amazon
In Your Court by Kit Haley (July 16th)
Australian Matteo Russo is the first and only openly gay tennis pro. Once a brilliant junior, he was slated for a bright future – until a freak accident derailed his career. Now, he’s fed up, he’s struggling to qualify for tournaments, and he’s not sure he can afford dinner tonight.
After losing to his old rival—the rich, arrogant, American superstar Miles Callahan—Mat throws the man’s privilege in his face and sets him a challenge – one he’s sure Miles would never accept. But he does. Determined to prove he’s earned his success, Miles travels to Wimbledon on a tight budget – no support team, no coach, no fancy hotel. And now the American needs a hitting partner, and someone to explain laundromats, and what started as a dare soon becomes a searing off-court fling.
Mat should be focussing on his career, not falling for a glamorous star, but Miles believes in his game in a way Mat hasn’t for a long time, and is fast becoming everything he’s ever wanted. Only… love and tennis just don’t mix, because one day soon they’ll have to face each other on the court.
And in tennis, someone always has to lose.
Home Court Advantage by Kimani Mae (July 21st)
A long standing rivalry is forced to come to an end, but might also start a new beginning.
Nola Young has worked hard to step outside of her superstar parents’ spotlight. Yes, she may be genetically inclined to be a basketball star, but she’s made sure to prove her talent. She’d enjoy her time at the top more if it weren’t for her rival from college- Brittney Lee. Hot headed and constantly on Nola’s heels, the two can’t help but perpetuate the on court rivalry the media loves to play up.
Brittney Lee is having her best year yet. With her first championship ring on her finger and finally out the closet, and guilt free, she’s ready to change up her life. When she’s a free agent traded to the newly expanded Miami Waves, listening to her gut hasn’t backfired yet. But… why is Nola Young here too?
After unexpected career changes, Nola and Brittney find themselves, once rivals, now teammates. Back in close proximity, their college days and interconnected lives bubble to the surface with a chemistry they’re both in denial over. But are they honest enough to put their animosity to the side for their new team, especially when their feelings threaten to complicate things more?
Buy it: Amazon | The Ripped Bodice | Steamy Lit
FIRE on Fire by Lukas Gaines (July 21st)
Ash is trying to retire early.
Kael’s just trying to pay rent.
Ash Pierce lives by FIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early. He has a spreadsheet for his money, his workouts, and the freedom date when all his deprivation is supposed to become a life.
Kael Wright has paint on his jeans, overdue bills, and a billionaire patron whose generosity feels more like a leash. Worse, that patron is Alistair Blackwood, founder of tech giant Query, where Ash’s recent demotion has knocked years off his carefully plotted future.
When Ash trips over Kael at a mountain retreat, sparks fly before either of them knows better. Ash sees a walking financial emergency. Kael sees a spreadsheet in tech bro form. By the time a wildfire strands them in the Northern California backcountry, they’re both certain the other is a complication they don’t need.
Too bad the mountain keeps forcing them to trust each other, through smoke-choked trails, desperate shelter, and every mile between them and safety.
All that friction was bound to slow-burn into something neither of them planned.
But holding on to each other means facing everything waiting off the mountain, including the billionaire with far too much control over both their lives.
Buy it: Amazon
Ctrl + Alt + Orc by M.A. Wardell (July 21st)
Your computer has stopped responding.
An orc will now reboot your heart.
Greg
IT is supposed to be about systems, servers, and keeping chaos at bay. But then Sean Rivers walked in—human, grumpy, and a disaster with technology. Suddenly, patching servers comes with heated glances, playful banter, and some very hands-on troubleshooting. He’s got my world of logic and code crashing spectacularly… and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sean
I didn’t sign up to be anyone’s project—least of all a hulking, ridiculously cheerful orc who could lift me like a sack of flour. Yet here I am, navigating magical office chaos, endless forms, and Greg’s relentless charm. Between the flirty teasing, stolen touches, and squirting candies, a chemistry bubbles I can’t ignore. Maybe some problems can’t be solved on my own… but I never expected help from a nerdy orc with thick black glasses and shoulders that won’t quit.
Buy it: Amazon
Awkwardly Ever After by Lindsay Maple (July 28th)
You know what they say about hex appeal…
Aubrey is cursed. Literally. One spell gone awry in high school landed her with the most embarrassing love life ever, and now any time Aubrey is in a romantic situation everything ends up being terribly awkward. Sometimes the dates go so badly her would-be partners end up in the emergency room with… intimate injuries.
Aubrey had accepted her lonely lot in life until she meets skeptical data analyst Lex. The unlikely friends team up on a series of data-collecting dates to figure out what makes the curse tick, and what they can do to stop it… but what if that means facing the most awkward situation possible?
To break the curse, Aubrey is forced into her toughest decision yet: date the safe, data-proven perfect candidate, or follow her heart into the unknown with the growing feelings she has for the one person she never imagined being with.
Will she ever get a shot at true love, or is she cursed beyond curing?
Second First Dates by Gabriella Gamez (July 28th)
(Both MCs are on the ace spectrum.)
One bad date, shame on you. Two bad dates, shame on me …
After four years of a self-imposed dating hiatus, Leti Maldonado is finally ready to get back on the apps. Dating wasn’t really that bad … right? When she matches with Julian Gutierrez, his profile pic rings the faintest bell. But it isn’t until their first date implodes that she remembers why: She’s been on this exact date with him before—and it’s just as awful the second time.
To make matters worse, she discovers that Julian not only lives in her apartment building … he’s her brother’s new roommate. Suddenly, he’s everywhere: In the mailroom. In the stairwell. And witness to another one of Leti’s terrible first dates.
After one epically bad night, Julian offers to take over her dating accounts. And honestly? He can’t do any worse than she has. But as Julian’s dating app takeover draws them closer, they might just realize that true love has been right in front of them all along.
Ghosts That We Knew by Amity Malcolm (August 3rd)
While still running from the ghosts of his past, a trans man reluctantly returns to his hometown and runs straight into the arms of a ghost who is about to change his future.
Hayes Hastings never expected to go back to Broomstick Bluff. Yet with a faltering family business and parents unwilling to step up, he returns to help his beloved grandmother with the ghost tour company that put his family on the map.
He’s determined to hate the small town suspended in an eternal autumn just as much as he’s dead set to leave on the first day of winter with as little contact with the town’s residents as possible.
But before he can even start his first day of work, his carefully planned world is knocked off its axis in the form of a beautiful employee dressed as a witch with wildfire hair, a familiar cinnamon scent he can’t place, and a carefree attitude unlike anything he could ever dream of possessing
What starts as the pair being pushed together as co-workers quickly escalates to spooky late nights and steamy afternoon apple orchard make-out sessions. Yet as they grow closer, both letting down unsuspecting walls, one secret stands to tear them apart forever.
And it just might be big enough to send Hayes Hastings packing for good.
Buy it: Scribbles Bookshop | Amazon
International Relations by Zac Hammett (August 4th)
Max has never had time for a relationship working in the high-stakes world of international diplomacy. But when a high-profile ambassadorial position opens up in Athens, Max is discreetly advised that his single status isn’t helping his chances. In this line of work, appearances matter, and Max’s rival Quentin has an advantage in the form of his charming and accomplished girlfriend.
Determined not to lose out, Max hires Hunter, a charismatic actor, to play the perfect boyfriend. Hunter dazzles on the diplomatic circuit, but soon the charade takes on a life of its own. When visa complications force Max and Hunter to make their relationship official, they find themselves trapped in a marriage of convenience that is anything but convenient. There’s only one thing that could make all this even more complicated—if Max and Hunter’s feelings for each other start becoming real . . .
Devour Me by Emily Rath (August 4th)
The haunt is over. This is the hunt. I will have them for my own.
Dáinn the Devourer has spent the last two hundred years of his undead life reluctantly bonded to a dark witch, doing her dirtiest work. Devouring corrupt souls may not be satisfying for a wraith, but it keeps him fed. Sent on a job to Burr Island, Dáinn is forced to devour the soul of a rival witch.
But Jasper Prescott is no corrupt magical misfit. He’s powerful and beautiful, with a soul worth savoring. Dáinn is eagerly devouring the witch when he’s abruptly stopped. By a human no less. With one word, Birdie Rhodes does what no being has ever done: she takes his breath away. Now the witch, the wraith, and the human are set on a path that could lead to their destiny…or their ruin.
Desperate for his freedom, Dáinn makes a deal with Jasper: kill my mistress, and I’ll let you keep living. But Jasper wants more than just to live. He has a coven to protect. Their secrets are being threatened by magical forces on and off the island. Bound together in this strange new deal, Jasper fights his growing attraction to the wraith, who is far more human than he appears. And Dáinn fights the urge to devour the delectable witch whole.
The only one who can save them is Birdie Rhodes, hapless historian and sometimes shop girl. Birdie only came to Burr Island for summer work. She has no idea magic is even real. She certainly has no idea she’s now the only thing standing between her witch boss and the hungry wraith aching to devour them both.
As magical forces of darkness loom at Burr Island’s shores, Jasper and Dáinn are both determined to keep Birdie close in Devour Me, book one in a dark, spicy paranormal romance trilogy.
In What World by Bridget Morrissey (August 11th)
Two high school rivals begrudgingly reunite as adults to investigate the disappearance of their beloved former teacher, only to wind up traveling through a series of alternate realities together.
Total opposites, Marlowe Jenkins and Priscilla Covington-French hated each other in high school. Now in their thirties, Marlowe is barely scraping by while Priscilla is wildly successful. Their rivalry should be long dead, yet both women remain connected through their mutual mentor, drama teacher Dallas Winthrop. Their unending tension has nothing to do with the fact that they’ve kissed. More than once.
When Dallas goes missing, each woman believes she can figure out where he is. Except this is no ordinary disappearance. Dallas has found a way to explore alternate versions of reality. While trying to follow him, Marlowe and Priscilla find other versions of themselves instead, surprised to learn not all Marlowes and Priscillas are fueled by hate. In fact, some Marlowes and Priscillas have very different strong feelings for one another. . .
The more Marlowe and Priscilla are forced to rely on each other, the harder it becomes to ignore their simmering attraction. But with every alternate reality they search, they only get further from their real life and responsibilities. Do they play it safe and hide behind their rivalry, or take a chance on each other that could permanently change the world as they know it?
Ship Happens by Mason Deaver (August 18th)
A year ago, Owen Henson had a close-knit group of friends who felt like family and a boyfriend who made his heart race just by walking into the room. But now? Everything’s unraveling. His friends seem to be moving forward without him, and his happily-ever-after shattered when his boyfriend Jacob packed up and left for the United Kingdom to join a research team.
The last thing Owen needs is for Jacob to waltz back into the city like nothing happened, showing up at their friends’ annual Christmas party looking just as annoyingly handsome as the day he left. Or for their friends to spring a surprise six-day, seven-night cruise up the West Coast to Alaska as a bonding trip for the group. How is Owen supposed to keep it together around the man who broke his heart, all while pretending he’s fine? Totally fine. But then Jacob tells Owen that he’d like to be something even more complicated than exes. He wants to be friends. Skeptical, Owen agrees to the plan but as they spend time together among the gorgeous Alaskan backdrop and cruise-mandated activities, Owen feels his walls coming down and he might just discover that he can’t help but fall in love again.
Saving the Rain by Elliott Rose (August 25th)
All it takes is eight seconds for your world to come crashing to a halt. What happens when you’re injured, stuck with the one man who makes your blood heat in a way you’ve never experienced before?
I’ve been on a path to redemption. Kayce Wilder, former screw-up. The bareback bronc rider with big dreams. I had it all figured out.
Only, I didn’t count on a ride gone wrong to leave me with no other option than to ask for his help. Zeke Rainer. Raine. The gruff cowboy covered in tattoos, surrounded by mysteries. We’ve been at odds forever. Rivals in the arena. Two rodeo riders in pursuit of the same buckle . . . before he left me behind, without warning.
My stepbrother.
When urgent help is needed to run the ranch, he’s the last person I want to be relying on for a favor. As the fall nights lengthen, tension and angst thicken the more time we spend alone together.
I shouldn’t be noticing so many small details—especially not how strong his hands look while working with the horses—and I certainly shouldn’t be wondering if he thinks about me as much as I think about him.
I’ve never been attracted to a man before. It would be unthinkable to be drawn to him. Wouldn’t it?
I Kissed Her First by Betty Cayouette (August 25th)
An aspiring chef and world-famous popstar cook up what starts to sound like a love song in this sapphic new adult debut from Betty Cayouette.
This is Riley’s last summer as a chef. At least, this is what she’s promised her dads, who run a Cape Cod lobster shack and don’t want their daughter to follow in their stress-ridden footsteps. So Riley decides to go big and audition as a private chef for a singer’s European tour. When she finds out she got the gig, she’s thrilled. But when she learns that the singer she’ll be cooking for is Luna Leya, she and her sister’s favorite popstar? She almost can’t believe it.
Soon enough, Riley and Luna strike up an unexpected friendship, much to Luna’s manager’s disapproval. Luna should be focused on getting her Grammy, which means pulling off this tour without a hitch and continuing to date the notorious singer/heart throb/beloved bad boy Hudson, who’s rocketed her to a new level of fame with their hit single. Luna should definitely not be sneaking off to the Eiffel Tower and private Andalucian dinners to spend time with Riley. As the two get closer, Riley thinks she might be losing her mind. Is it possible the Luna Leya is flirting with her? And is there a world where Riley could keep her dream of being a chef alive? Soon, things will reach a tipping point and both Riley and Luna will be left wondering: could their story be a love song after all?
The Marriage Rebound by Meka James (August 25th)
Atlanta Cannons star Courtney Bradford should be soaring after a winning season. However, off the court, things are falling short. Courtney loves her gorgeous fiery wife, but the passion that brought them together is no longer enough and feelings of a lack of appreciation are taking a toll.
Sasha Adams-Bradford gave up her life as an exotic dancer to become a doting housewife. But she hadn’t expected the woman she loves would be on the road more than she’s home. Sasha’s loneliness turns into retail therapy, adding strain to their already tenuous marriage.
When an injury forces Courtney to sit out the European League, Sasha finally has the one thing she’s longed for. But is it a case of “be careful what you wish for”?
If they can learn to listen to each other and work as a team, the time together could be the rebound they need.
After all, they’re playing for the greatest prize there is…
King of the Crease by A.J. Truman (August 25th)
The team’s new goalie is a secret prince. Red, white, and royal WTF?!
As the Prince of Ardenia, I don’t want for anything – except freedom.
Freedom from bodyguards and media scrutiny. Freedom to love who I want without bringing shame to the throne.
So when I get a chance to live incognito while on a trip to America, I take it. It’ll be my royal rumspringa. I can be Nick, not Prince Nicholas.
Then I meet a plumber named Hank.
I’m instantly attracted – my kink for big-gutted American guys who drink beer fully activated. I join his local hockey team as their backup goalie…and secretly hope Hank and I can get freaky off the ice, too.
Yet in between one-on-one practices, wild bar crawls, and lazy afternoons texting about Christmas movies, our easy camaraderie deepens into crackling chemistry. The only thing standing in our way is the tiny matter of my true identity.
I’m due back in Ardenia on Christmas Eve, but the thought of getting on the palace jet without Hank makes me royally blue.
I’m not sure if the king — or the entire world — will get on board with the prince and the plumber. Can I get the crown and the guy?
I’m hoping for a Christmas miracle here.
Buy it: Amazon
Love Me Like a Rock Song by Shelly Jay Shore (August 25th)
Delilah is a lyricist looking for a muse. Emmett is a golem ready to be unmade.
From the bestselling author of Rules for Ghosting comes a soul-stirring, romantic novel about a jilted singer-songwriter, her unexpected hitchhiker, and the road trip of a lifetime.
When Delilah Cohen’s much more famous fiancée leaves her at the altar right before Delilah is supposed to start recording her first solo album, she finds herself with a notebook full of love songs that no longer make sense. Picking up a hitchhiker two hours into the road trip that was supposed to be her honeymoon seems as good a way as any to get her groove back. The last thing she expects is to start falling for her mysterious new passenger, but what’s more inspiring than a rebound with a built-in expiration date?
But there’s more to Emmett than meets the eye. Emmett is a golem, a human-ish being of Jewish mythology who was created from clay to serve a now-deceased master. No longer needed, their final task is to make their way back to the California cave where they were made in order to undo the magic that brought them to life in the first place. But the longer Emmett spends with Delilah—who has plenty of secrets and insecurities of her own—as they cross the country to visit historical queer locales from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the more their ending feels like something to fight, rather than something set in stone.
As the California coast brings Delilah’s writing deadline—and Emmett’s fate—closer with every passing mile, Delilah has to decide just what song it is she wants to write…and whether writing the album of a lifetime is worth losing a love she never expected to find.
Forced Proximity by Dana Hawkins (August 26th)
She’s hired to protect. Not to fall in love.
Lexi Morgan is one of the best personal security guards in the business: an elite fighter, focused and loyal. What she’s not? A glorified babysitter. Especially for an irritatingly handsome A-list actor like Justin Greenwood – who doesn’t think he needs her help. At all.
But when a dangerous stalker sets their sights on Justin, Lexi begrudgingly accepts the job. As the stalker’s disturbing messages accelerate, so does the unexpected electricity between them. Forced to spend every waking minute together, will sparks fly? Or can she keep things strictly professional?
Buy it: Amazon
Deck the Hauls by Elizabeth Luly (September 7th)
Emily Rossi’s acting career came to a grinding halt after a night she’d rather forget. When the opportunity to film a HolLove holiday movie at Red Tractor Farm arises, she jumps at the chance. Sure, some say HolLove is where careers go to die, but Emily loves Christmas—and her career couldn’t get much worse, right? But a reporter won’t stop chasing her for answers, and the hot lesbian farmer who lives on the farm is a distraction she doesn’t need right now. Staying in the closet feels safer—at least until her career gets back on track.
Still reeling from a messy breakup, Dana Hoffman has sworn off dating and Christmas. She’s happiest alone, in her cabin nestled in the quiet pine forest at Red Tractor Farm, or at least that’s what she tells herself. Dana is unimpressed when she’s forced to show a gorgeous actress around and even less thrilled when a film crew disrupts her peace. But when Emily makes it her mission to make Dana love Christmas again, Dana’s heart begins to thaw.
As the holidays draw near, Emily and Dana must decide if they’re willing to risk their hearts and their comfortable lives for their once-in-a-lifetime connection.
Buy it: Amazon
With All My Haunted Heart by Isabel Sterling (September 8th)
Steadily losing clients to the new DIY-magic shop on the other side of town, Pippa Ainsley is getting desperate. Instead of hiring the witch to correct their magical maladies, local mundanes have been taking their chances with the cheaper—and unpredictable—crystals and herb blends. So when Pippa’s best friend hires her to inspect his newly acquired bed-and-breakfast for ghosts, she doesn’t think twice about it.
That is, until she learns that his unfairly attractive co-owner, Elle Thompson, doesn’t want Pippa to rid their business of spirits. She wants Pippa to give them an edge over the competition by haunting their B&B.
It’s the perfect challenge for Pippa’s experimental magic, but just because she could figure it out, doesn’t mean it’s a smart or safe idea. But Elle is persistent, and the financial boost could save her own business if Pippa succeeds. Soon, Pippa finds herself testing the limits of her magic… and her ability to stop the growing attraction she feels toward Elle, a woman with a painful secret of her own.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | Penguin Random House
So It Grows by Andie Burke (September 22nd)
Felicity Gallagher thought inheriting her aunt’s plant shop would be the fresh start she needed. She never expected that the trendy, mac and cheese themed restaurant next door–and its inconveniently hot chef–might be her downfall.
Nicolas Holm-Bozic is arrogant and presumptuous and just flat-out gets under her skin. Felicity has made ignoring him an art form―until the exploding popularity of his restaurant leads to renewed interest in Felicity’s quirky corner of Kansas. Now, a greedy developer is threatening both their businesses with a towering parking garage that could steal the sunlight from her plants. With her shop’s future in jeopardy, Felicity must join forces with her least favorite neighbor.
As the pair fight back, Nic and Felicity’s formerly contentious relationship blooms into something new, but hidden battle scars, old secrets, and a devastating storm threaten everything they’ve built. Will they choose to cut and run, or are they finally ready to put down permanent roots?
Isn’t He Romantic? by Adib Khorram (September 22nd)
Arya’s always been a “one-and-done” man when it comes to romance—but with his friends all pairing up and the big 4-0 creeping ever closer, he’s starting to question his life choices. Especially when he discovers his latest hookup is the new committee chair for the charity ball Arya’s company is planning.
Ben’s plan to start over in Kansas City isn’t going so great. And having to spend lots of time with the one-night stand who ghosted him isn’t helping. Worse yet, when his ex-boyfriend shows up looking for a reunion, a panicked Ben claims he’s already moved on—with Arya.
Torn between staying professional and helping the man he can’t forget, Arya agrees to give Ben a hand, in exchange for Ben’s help landing a big client. But when the lines start to blur, they’ll have to decide if it’s time to change their tunes about love.
Damned if I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur (September 22nd)
(This is a Bi4Bi Romance.)
The devil’s right-hand woman must convince her long-lost husband to renounce their vows so she can wed a prince from Hell.
Effie MacLeod is no stranger to making desperate decisions, but making a deal with Lucifer himself—sacrificing her soul to save a loved one—has got to be her most monumental. Several hundred years into her tenure as a demon, Effie’s found herself engaged to Belphegor, a handsome, seductive, and successful Prince of Hell. It’s not a love match, but it’ll do. There’s just one teensy-tiny little problem: She’s still bound to her sixteenth-century Scottish husband. While Effie has completely cast her human life aside, Finn has been reincarnated through several lifetimes.
Effie must convince Finn to renounce their age-old vows in order get the Office of Infernal Internal Affairs off her back. The kicker? When she finds him in this lifetime, Finn doesn’t remember anything, but he refuses her request for a divorce.
Annoyed to be stuck with him in small-town Georgia until she can persuade Finn to abandon their marriage, Effie must convince him that yes, she does want to get on with her devilish shenanigans despite the physical pull she feels toward him. As they get closer in hopes of recovering his lost memories, Effie can’t help but notice murmurings of her deeply buried feelings resurfacing. But while all’s fair in love and war, that’s not the case in Hell—and Lucifer may have his own reasons for wanting to keep Finn and Effie apart for the rest of eternity.
From Beijing, With Love by Bei Lin (September 29th)
Daniel Wu’s life in Amsterdam is far from spontaneous. When his boyfriend dumps him on the same day a work mishap lands him on leave, he breaks all his rules by impulsively escaping to Beijing to visit his best friend Poppy.
There’s just one hitch—Poppy isn’t there.
Alone in the foreign city his late father grew up in, Daniel wants nothing more than to fly home early. After all, running away is what he does best. But then Poppy signs him up for a tour of the Great Wall.
Enter Yang Li, the PhD student moonlighting as a tour guide. A transplant to Beijing, Yang has never felt at home in the bustling capital—or with himself. Cynical and disciplined, he isn’t the least impressed when Daniel shows up to their tour hours late. The tour is painful in more ways than one, but at least it’s a one-time ordeal.
Then life pushes them together again and again, until time spent together over stunning sights and mind-blowing eats feels less like vacation and more like finally finding home.
From Beijing, to Xi’an, to Tokyo, will they confront their own ghosts—past and present—to find their happily-ever-after?
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | PRH
The Invisible Roommate by Timothy Janovsky (September 29th)
Gerard Wells loves music but hates fame ―not ideal when he’s the youngest member of the chart-topping band of brothers, We the Wells. Cracking under the spotlight, Gerard runs away to a small, remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. There, he goes by “James” and takes up residence in a crumbling Victorian house on the island’s shrinking shoreline. Little does he know, he’s not the studio apartment’s only inhabitant…
Mysterious and moody Emory Griffin never planned to be a test subject for his own groundbreaking invisibility research. He also never planned on sharing a room with a world-famous pop star, but needs must when you’re an unemployed graduate school drop-out who’s wanted by the local police.
With nowhere else to turn, the unlikely pair agree to be temporary roommates. Their forced proximity and vulnerability lead to an unexpected romantic spark. As Halloween approaches, their secrets and feelings grow harder to keep hidden, testing the strength of their newfound bond. Could this be a love that neither of them saw coming or an experiment set to go horribly wrong?
Happily Ever Afterlife by Emma R. Alban (September 29th)
Frannie’s awful boss, celebrated literary novelist Henry L. Olsen, just told her that her latest manuscript is a dud—again. Frustrated and lonely, Frannie stomps around the ninth floor of the famously haunted Dakota Building in Manhattan, desperate for something to change. And then, something does.
Bridgette, the ghost of a little girl from 1889, appears out of nowhere and asks Frannie to play catch. Shocked and wildly curious, Frannie says yes to the ghostly invitation and soon meets Bridgette’s ghost brother, Michael . . . and the children’s exceedingly attractive and aloof 1960s ghost mom, Elsa.
Fascinated, and more than a little flustered, Frannie starts secretly writing a book about Elsa (a.k.a. Hot Ghost Mom). And while her boss is on book tour, through a mutual affection for musicals, banter, and the ghost children, Frannie and Elsa slowly become friends, until Frannie finds herself tumbling head over heels in love with a ghost tied to a building she couldn’t afford to live in over four lifetimes.
Now Frannie has to either give up her ambitions of becoming a novelist to remain Henry’s assistant in the Dakota forever or somehow free her ghost family from their immortal home. With her career, future, and heart on the line, can Frannie find a way to write them all a happily ever after . . . life?
Take a Chance, Sasha Sinclair by Ashley Herring Blake (September 29th)
Sasha Sinclair is used to being alone. Her parents, successful documentary filmmakers, died in a car accident three years ago, leaving her with a legacy she’s been unable to live up to. Instead, she spends her time with casual hookups and odd jobs as she travels around the country. But she can’t stop thinking about her parents’ dream project and is determined to make it a reality: the story of Alice Bishop in Clare Mountain, North Carolina.
Margot Bishop is not a witch, contrary to the town’s century-long suspicion about her family. When her ancestor Alice Bishop showed up to Clare Mountain in 1901 and opened Thornrose Apothecary, the town was flummoxed by this strange enigma of a woman, calling her the Rose Witch. Now, the Bishops also run Ghostlight, an occult-themed amusement park that fully leans into the rumors.
Despite the draw of the Rose Witch and the haunted Thornrose Woods where Alice had lived, however, the Bishops’ businesses aren’t doing well. When Margot’s mother comes up with a solution—a documentary film about their family—Margot can’t get on board, not when her family’s legacy is at stake. Even worse, she’s deemed the point person for Sasha, the charming, peppy wannabe-filmmaker. But as they spend more time together, diving deeper into the true story of Alice Bishop, the ice slowly melts and their relationship turns into a heart-fluttering rollercoaster ride, one they aren’t sure they want to get off.
Vengefully Matched by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff (October 6th)
Priscilla Hart does not do regret—except maybe for the small matter of fleeing her own wedding in a cloud of magical fireworks. Now the town’s most infamous runaway witch, she’s determined to rebuild her reputation on the Witchery Council and prove she’s more than a scandal in heels.
Agatha Vanderbilt Voisin, the newly elected council president, is everything Priscilla can’t stand: composed, proper, and infuriatingly perfect. But when a string of dangerous magical explosions points to Priscilla as the culprit, Agatha makes an impulsive move—announcing that they’re dating—to save her from exile.
Faking a relationship in public should be simple…until late-night arguments turn into slow-burn attraction, and the two discover that something wicked is brewing in Hallowcross. To survive the magic—and their feelings—they’ll have to stop pretending and risk falling for real.
A Christmas Inn, Maine by Aaron Kyte (October 13th)
Freshly dumped and jobless, Adam Wheatley has a list of personal failures as long as his arm. Forced to move back to his sleepy Maine hometown, he feels completely without purpose… until he learns that his aunt Rose has been keeping a secret: her beloved inn is failing, and she’s just weeks away from losing her home and her livelihood.
Adam has a brilliant idea to save the business: he’ll take charge of renovating the inn, and organize a grand re-opening on Christmas Eve. Then, victorious, he’ll move back to the city to rebuild his life and his career in publishing.
But when the renovation proves more “flop” than “flip,” Adam realizes it will take a Christmas miracle to turn things around. Enter Graham—the maddeningly competent, ridiculously attractive contractor who offers to help… in exchange for a place to stay. He’s talented, patient, kind, and far too easy to like, which is inconvenient, because Adam has sworn off romance. Permanently.
As the inn’s future becomes even more uncertain, and his feelings for Graham grow more confusing, Adam finds himself rewriting more than just his to-do lists. Because the future he thought he wanted—and the one he’s starting to build with Graham—might not be the same story at all.
And this time, there’s no easy edit.
A Very Merry Detour by Court Behr (October 13th)
Sometimes the route to love is the one you never planned.
It’s the holidays, and Alaina has just been dumped. Determined to have the romantic Christmas she’s always wanted, she sets out on a cross-country road trip to surprise her ex-boyfriend and convince him she’s the one. But her grand plans are derailed when she drives straight into a snowbank in the middle of nowhere, Utah. She’s rescued by Priscilla, a terse, unsmiling bookstore owner with zero interest in holiday cheer. Stranded in the ski town of Brooks with her car out of commission, Alaina makes a bucket list of festive adventures to prove she’s fun and adventurous enough to love—and to her surprise, Priscilla offers to join her.
Between tree-cutting misadventures, ice-skating lessons, and a night beneath the stars, Alaina’s plan goes off without a hitch—except that the longer she spends with Priscilla, the less she’s sure of what, or who, she really wants. All throughout Brooks, the two run into locals who adore Priscilla—from the mechanic to the owner of the diner—and soon, it’s clear that Priscilla’s hard exterior masks a tender heart, one that’s just as afraid as Alaina that she’s not worth loving. It may just take a Christmas miracle to show them that true love might be closer than you think.
Breaking the Pattern by Kate Gavin (October 20th)
Samantha Tomlinson is content. She got a recent promotion and can easily find someone to warm her bed for a night, or maybe two if they’re worthwhile. Love and relationships aren’t on her radar, especially when she knows from experience that those things never work out.
For Ash Walker, love isn’t in the cards either, but for entirely different reasons. They have a super-demanding boss, who just so happens to be Sam’s best friend. They also refuse to give their heart to just anyone. And they don’t do flings. Ever.
When a chance run-in at a bar ends in a bet for a date, Sam and Ash have differing expectations. Sam hopes the date will end with some fun in bed while Ash hopes this could be their chance for something more with the person they’ve had a crush on for years. Instead, the night ends with an agreement to be friends. But friendship and obvious attraction to each other don’t usually mix well. Will it lead to an inevitable night of passion, only for Sam to cut and run? Or can Sam find a way to trust Ash and herself to break the pattern and build something lasting?
The Fall Fix-Up by Karmen Lee (October 27th)
(This is a bi4bi romance.)
Welcome to Peach Blossom, an irresistibly charming small town where falling in love never goes quite as planned . . .
Aiden Flowers can fix anything. Cars, kitchens, houses—if something was broken, it could be rebuilt. Unless that something was his messy family. Especially his dad, who ruined Aiden’s credit. Or his sister, who Aiden hadn’t spoken to in years.
Janae Gunner is crafty, not handy. Give her a blank canvas, and she can make art. But she needed everything to be constructed before she could make it shine. That’s why she pretends her first marriage didn’t happen—pretty on the outside, with no foundation.
When an apartment fire leaves Aiden homeless and Janae living in a half-finished house, they agree to a practical fix up: Aiden will help Janae with repairs in exchange for a place to stay.
But neither of them planned on falling in love, especially not with their secrets threatening to surface. When the past catches up to them in the present, Aiden and Janae must weather the storm—or risk letting their spark burn out forever.
Where the Red Poppies Bloom by Fiona Zedde (November 6th)
Can a woman who once fell from the greatest of heights dare attempt to fly again…?
Because of a foolish mistake, Stella lost it all—her job, her relationship, and all her friends. Now, she has absolutely nothing. She works nights at the local gas station in her hometown and spends her mornings online with Beatriz, a woman on the other side of the world.
It mostly sucks, and she’s desperate for things to change.
When Beatriz suddenly shows up like a bolt of lightning to revive her flatlining life, Stella is more than ready. For the first time in years, she feels desire again. And hope. But the changes this alluring Spanish woman brings – the uprooting of her life and moving to another country – come with more challenges than Stella bargained for. In Alta Flores, a place of new beginnings, can she truly start fresh, or will her disastrous past come back to haunt her?
Buy it: Amazon
Two Can Play That Game by Zakiya N. Jamal (November 17th)
Chelsea has never cared about sports. But when she’s invited to sit courtside at a New York Rebels game, she welcomes the break from her usual routine. What she doesn’t expect is a basketball nearly colliding with her face—or the six-foot-four hottie who jogs over, flashing a heart-stopping grin, to retrieve it.
Adrienne “AD” Daniels is a player on and off the court, notorious for their inability to stay in a relationship. Still, something about Chelsea sticks with them—even though their instant connection can’t bring AD to offer more than one night.
But AD’s agent makes a pitch: Chelsea should pretend to be AD’s girlfriend. It’s a strategic move. AD, hoping to retire after this season, needs to lock down some brand deals—but their identity as a Black, nonbinary lesbian with a messy dating history makes sponsors wary. Chelsea, a sex-positive influencer, is ready to take her platform to a new level, and this feels like the perfect next step. With Chelsea’s network and AD’s star power, they could both strengthen their public images. Once the season ends, they’ll go their separate ways.
As the ruse starts to work and their connection deepens, Chelsea finds herself on unsteady ground. Falling for AD wasn’t part of the plan, and if she follows through, she just might lose her heart and the future she’s finally starting to build.
Bloom Town: Genesis by Ally North (November 24th)
This is the trad pub rerelease.
June 1852. When Abby Proctor is kidnapped from a train in the middle of the desert halfway to her new life in California, she makes a promise to herself—she will escape. Abby is leaving Iowa and all its oppressions behind for a reason, and she refuses to be someone’s prisoner again. Especially when that someone is the infamous female outlaw Joey “JT London” Taylor—Abby’s brash, brooding, and inconveniently beautiful captor.
As Abby plots her escape, she stumbles upon a larger conspiracy behind her kidnapping—a complicated revelation considering her growing feelings for Joey, who might not be the ruthless criminal everyone believes her to be. Suddenly Abby doesn’t want to go back to the confines of her religious father or her suffocating husband.
Then Abby realizes it’s all connected—her kidnapping, the secrets she left behind in Iowa, even her plans in California—and she must decide between returning to a life of obedience and unhappiness or trusting an enigmatic outlaw bound for the gallows.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | PRH
For the Love of K-Dramas by Lyla Lee (November 24th)
(This is a bi4bi romance.)
You Had Me at Hola meets The Hating Game in this spicy enemies-to-lovers romance about two movie stars who are forced to work together after a viral celebrity beef debacle.
Clara Kim is full of spite. Spite is what fueled her to become a Hollywood actress when no one in her immigrant family believed in her. And it’s what drove her to become one of the first Asian American women to win a Golden Globe. But when a heated exchange between Clara and a popular K-drama actor goes viral, it leads to the two being paired up on the movie of her dreams. Even spite may not be enough to get her through this role.
Shin Min-joon is the man Clara loves to hate, but the success of the movie requires them to make out and make nice. Despite the animosity between them, Min-joon’s good looks certainly make Clara’s job a bit more tolerable. But as things get steamier both on and off-screen, will Clara and Min-joon be able to separate fiction from real life?
Horny by Lucy Lehane (December 1st)
Rachel’s death is going about as well as her life. Welcoming a poltergeist to share her body had its challenges, but she’s mostly figured those out: she’s got good friends, a room in a gorgeous apartment, and she’s well on her way to regaining the career her death derailed. What she doesn’t need is a strange, inhumanly beautiful new roommate – a unicorn – with a million odd questions about the human world – especially one who can peer into Rachel’s soul and see each of her dark, dirty secrets.
Isolde has been tempted by the human world for longer than she can remember. The land of the unicorns was beautiful, pristine…and as boring as watching moss grow. But taking on human form comes with more complications than she expected. Like a roommate who’s possessed, opinionated, argumentative… and distractingly alluring.
Getting into a magical grudge match with your roommate is a bad idea. Hooking up with your roommate when they’re a virgin from another dimension is an even worse one. But since when did the voluntarily haunted make good choices?
Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence by Casey McQuiston (December 1st)
A brand-new novella told through notes and letters, continuing the unforgettable love story which captured hearts around the world!
After the email leak that made Alex and Henry front page news worldwide they vowed never to use email again for their personal communication. Still, they do love to write each other, so they borrowed a trick from their predecessors: handwritten love letters.
Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence delves into the intimate archives of Alex and Henry, spanning over twenty years since the fateful day Alex and Henry joined together on the world’s stage. This epistolary novella includes their personal letters, post cards, journal entries, and more, sharing everything from sarcastic bon mots to sexy fantasies to emotional discussions about starting a family, giving readers compelling insight into the long term futures of Alex and Henry as well as beloved supporting characters.
Triple Threat by Katie Chandler (December 8th)
Octavia Ricci has spent her entire life proving she doesn’t need anyone—especially not her father, the controlling coach who built her career and broke her spirit. But after a public meltdown at the Australian Open, the icy Grand Slam champion isn’t sure if she ever wants to play again. She agrees to take it one tournament at a time, now under a new coach, determined to find her footing and love of the game again.
Ariel de Cordova was once the next big thing in tennis until a devastating injury ended his career. Now, with his confidence shot, he’s not sure he can handle another player’s comeback story—especially not a player as volatile as Octavia. But as they practice, they both tentatively open up about their experiences and begin to heal their deepest wounds.
The only stable, grounding presence in Octavia’s life is her soulmate and partner, Leo Mantovani. But he has two soulmarks on his wrist, and when Leo shakes hands with Octavia’s new coach for the first time, Ariel turns out to be Leo’s other soulmate. Knowing the optics of a player and coach relationship aren’t ideal, they decide to keep their relationship secret and surface-level.
While Octavia, Ariel, and Leo fight to keep their relationship private, the tennis world is watching their every move. But when the spotlight turns harsh and old wounds resurface, they’ll have to decide if love is worth risking their careers, their reputations, and their hearts.
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | S&S
Vengeful Destruction by Sav R. Miller (December 8th)
The deeper the roots, the richer the ruin…
All Quincy Anderson wants is to enjoy a life of quiet, academic solitude hidden away from the world and the people she’s never been able to understand. But it isn’t long before the dark sins of her past―and her complicated family legacy―find her.
Enter Eden Ivers: charming, magnetic, and the only woman to ever capture Quincy’s heart. As students, it was Eden who began unraveling the mysterious deaths and blood-soaked societies linked to their exclusive university, putting them both at the center of a dangerous game with no way to win.
Now years later, the two women are thrust back into one another’s lives―and that deadly game neither fully escaped. But ignoring the spark between them isn’t as easy as it used to be…and the grisly legacy Eden once so carelessly challenged still lays in wait, ready to claim them both.
If These Walls Could Talk by Alexandria Bellefleur (December 8th)
College sophomore Ryan Miller was born for the stage. But he’s living his father’s dream now, pursuing a teaching degree and sensible future. Everything’s on track until his new roommate walks in―and Ryan finds himself face-to-face with his old high school crush.
Colton Everett is talented, magnetic, and impossible to read. Their icy reunion eventually melts into late-night talks and whispered confidences, but their surprising friends-with-benefits arrangement feels far from casual. They make rules. Break them. And tiptoe around their feelings.
A visit from Colton’s sister, who thinks they’re just friends, brings their secret simmer to a boil. It’s hard to keep pretending―especially when forced to share a bed. And as Ryan struggles to balance family expectations with his own desires, a miscommunication threatens to destroy the only relationship that feels real. But just as he’s about to give up, a spark from an unexpected source offers one last chance to follow his heart.
Lightning & Thunder by Sara Raasch (December 29th)
As a Zeus descendant, Pollux “Lux” Keraunos never intended to be a villain. But if the cyber-crime hat fits, he’ll wear it to destroy the tyrant Hero Council led by his brother.
Then his brother vanishes (not Lux’s fault). Zeus’s line must continue, and the Hero Council turns to Lux as the heir—with the caveat that he trains under Erik Thorson, his brother’s Viking-wannabe BFF. Lux’ll use this to bring down the Council, and he isn’t falling for Erik’s smoking hot with a heart of gold persona—
Even if Erik didn’t know Lux’s brother was corrupt.
Even if Erik actually helps people—and believes Lux can, too.
As Lux tries the good guy role, the truth behind his brother’s disappearance surfaces, and he’ll have to decide if he still wants to destroy the Council . . . or if he wants someone else more.
Hero? Villain? Or a secret third option: disaster bisexual with a savior kink?
Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
