After the longest winter in existence the light at the end of the tunnel is definitely all of the incredible romances being served up this summer. With work taking up a lot of my time I didn’t get to my second quarter recommendation list during the spring so as an apology I’m here serving up a behemoth of a romance recommendation list for you all today. Here are eighteen of my latest romance favorites and the ones I think should be in your hands this summer. From the “yes, chef” to romancing a modern day Hades in a small New Jersey town, the romances are wide ranging and all encompassing. These are the kind of stories you can take to the beach, read on public transit, or enjoy on your porch (if you are so lucky to have one). My philosophy: romance is for every occasion. So whether you are a seasoned reader or new to the genre, there is something here for anyone and anything.
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The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa
Vanessa’s lucrative college business got her far in that time of life. Dubbed the “Starter Ex” by her clients the gig was simple: be the girlfriend that convinces him to take a chance on the other girl, by being everything he hates. An inopportune sisterly brunch sparks a rekindled flame when Vanessa’s sister Lisa enlists her services. Lured out of retirement by the opportunity of getting back in her good graces, Vanessa commences operation starter ex redux. The man in question? Jason Torres, brother to Lisa’s best friend, and Vanessa’s complete polar opposite. With all that the gig should be easy, but Vanessa’s chaos meets Jason’s quiet heart and sparks a flame, one she isn’t sure she can resist, not even for the Starter Ex payoff. The Starter Ex continues Mia Sosa’s trend of hilarious and deeply emotional romances, retelling iconic rom coms within the contemporary romance space. It’s How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, but something undeniably Mia Sosa, all chaos and heart contained in one romantic package. We’ve got weddings, baseball games, mud wrestling, and of course the big family antics that wrap you up in warmth and levity. The Starter Ex is a romance that cannot be contained, attributed to main character Vanessa Cordero who is chaos incarnate. A romance heroine to live by, she doesn’t diminish her light for anyone and the compatibility she eventually finds with Jason is forged in the heat of the pranks and mayhem. The Starter Ex is another sensational novel from Sosa. Endlessly grateful that her calling is romance and that we get to experience all of the tenderness, the raw vulnerability, the aching passion in every line.
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Dearly Departed by Chip Pons
A retired Hades runs a funeral home in a small New Jersey town where he falls in love with a florist who makes the sunflowers bloom? Chip Pons how dare you. His godhood long since past, Hayden Harlow—formerly of Hades fame—now operates a funeral home, Harlow and Sons, dreaming of a day he can cast off his mortal purgatory. All the days appear the same until he meets Levi Wilder, a local florist who could change his perspective on his fall from godhood and his dreams to return. Worse, he could make him feel things again, if he can dare to let those feelings bloom where they’re planted. Listen if your man cleans house at death related trivia all while nonchalantly eating a burger you lock him DOWN and then force him to participate in more group activities. And if that man is also Hades you do it expeditiously. Oh Dearly Departed how I love you. My first foray into Chip Pons and unequivocally not the last because this made me feel a true torrent of emotions as all the best romance novels should. The moody former god of the dead meeting a sunshine incarnate florist could not be a more perfect pairing for a story about the weight of our lives, the light and the darkness that meet in balance. Chip Pons forges into a paranormal small town, Stonevale, whose heart and soul is found in Hayden and Levi both. Dearly Departed is not just a gripping queer paranormal romance, but an emotional uncovering of the weight of our charges and the fear we must surmount to choose something for ourselves. Chip Pons asks what are we beyond our mantles and the answer is found in a riotous bloom of sunflowers and finally doing the selfish thing.
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The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. Neilson
Two exes, one restaurant, and the still beating heart of the history between them. For Olivia and Carmello, first love was directly tied to a place: Celia’s Place, a restaurant and a home that was very much the epicenter for their great love story. Ten years after their breakup drove them to lead separate lives they are drawn back to one another when from beyond the grave, Celia bequeaths them stake in her business. Now co-owners they navigate having to run a business neither wants to give up, and they will have to acknowledge that maybe they don’t want to give up on each other either. The Bridge Back to You serves up an electric second chance love story and a glimpse into the ups and downs of restauranteering in splendid Providence Rhode Island. Writer Riss M. Neilson crafts tension and angst at their most poignant, bringing weight to a romance all about the reality of forgiveness and the taking of second chances. Through the second chance her characters face the past and the hidden desires they have long denied themselves. For one, a home they never had—or allowed themselves— and another that they might not want to go it alone anymore. In The Bridge Back to You, setting is just as much a part of the second chance as its two main characters. Navigating Providence alongside Olivia and Carmello was a step into true community and a home coming all at once. The sights, the people, and the food (emphasis on the food) each a striking surrounding for the central romance. The Bridge Back to You dials the emotions on high through its focus on grief and reconciliation, uncovering just how sometimes you have to run away to learn your true home.
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In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson
Ending a horrendously bad date by waking up in Ireland where you meet a mechanic who adores you, lets you borrow his sweaters, fixes broken things, and has an extensive Silvia Moreno-Garcia book collection. A fantasy only Alicia Thompson could construct, and thank god it isn’t just. In Every Possible Way marks a notable shift for an established voice within the romance genre, giving contemporary romance a slightly fantastical twist. In Every Possible Way is Alicia Thompson’s masterpiece, a serendipitous romp through Ireland—its history and culture, and a startling look at the pursuit of human connection. A run down secretary and a stoic mechanic meet unexpectedly and spend an entire weekend exploring Ireland, facing connection and possibility amid their wanderings. In Every Possible Way has got intense scenes in the rain, romantically charged dances at the club, pub crawls, numerous car rides, and of course the love confession of love confessions. Trust Alicia Thompson to give us a man willing to risk it all for love. Even better a heroine willing to chance a home away from where she is rooted. That’s peak romance. Alicia Thompson ventures a new narrative for the modern romance, one for the lovers of early 2000s rom coms sparkling with magic and settings that sweep you away. In Every Possible Way is for the romance lovers, at its core a resounding call to love no matter the distance. Fall in love with Jess and Eamonn, with Ireland, and the possibility that threads throughout our daily lives. With luck and a bit of serendipity on its side, few romances are as marvelous as this one.
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The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by Lindz McLeod
Caroline Bingley learning her charge in life is to be the mean lesbian and to love Georgiana is everything Jane Austen wished for her (it’s true). Falling in love with a Darcy is no rare thing, but for Caroline Bingley it may as well be. All it takes is one conversation with Fitzwilliam to send her spiraling to Georgiana Darcy where she enlists the spirited sibling to help her mend her ways. A great transformation to undertake, Caroline and Georgiana’s real endeavour is just beginning— choosing each other over and over again. Lindz McLeod’s The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley continues her Austentatious series, posing an essential question: what if every woman in Pride and Prejudice was queer and yearning their way to a happily ever after. This time a misunderstood icon, Caroline Bingley, and the character most deserving of being a heroine in a romance novel, Georgiana Darcy. Lindz McLeod has previously proven what a firm hold she had on Austen’s world and her characters. The romances she brings to life are an extension of a story far from over, something only a person writing in Austen’s echo could accomplish with such veracity. The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley is a treat for lovers of Jane Austen and complex women far and wide. Paying homage to the Pride and Prejudice (1995) lake scene, excellent boiled potatoes, and a love confession Wentworth would be proud of. This novel is romantic in all things, the stolen glances and sapphic longing, and the fight it takes to build an authentic life with the one you love. Georgiana finding someone who would stay, and Caroline a person who would appreciate her is a long awaited ending for two of Austen’s finest. Just as these characters find a home together, being seen and loved for who they are, there is belonging to be found in every single page.
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Unfinished Business by Clare Osongco
What is “mom’s ghost trapped in slack server” if not love persevering??? Grief and the things we leave unfinished perseveres most literally in Clare Osongco’s adult romance debut, Unfinished Business, a story involving mothers and daughters and the weight of carrying around our ghosts (of the literal and metaphorical variety). Not everyone wants to be haunted by the ghost of their recently departed mother on the company Slack server and Ruby Ocampo will do anything to resolve her mother’s unfinished business. Even going so far as to put her life into upheaval to satisfy the desires of the newly not-so departed. Life and legacy are complex things and Clare Osongco’s, Unfinished Business grapples with both while serving up an office romance triangle and corporate chaos. As her protagonist sifts through a complicated parental relationship, Osongco builds out an inventive love triangle. Will it be the new junior exec with a passing resemblance to Jacob Elordi or a second chance romance with a friend from childhood? Osongco lets the romance emerge where you’d never expect: Slack check-ins, trivia confessions, and food cooked in secret. Unfinished Business’s romance is perfection but so is its essential framing. Slack haunting as the vehicle for examining how parental expectations and control manifest how we view ourselves and what we are allowed to reach for is not only ingenious, but makes for a deeply moving character study. Unfinished Business is witty, romantic, and emotional and Osongco’s humor cuts through intense moments of grief and hardship with startling complexity. Osongco balances it all with such skill, crafting a multifaceted romance that mirrors life in all its minutiae. Ghosts included.
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Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly
Sometimes “yes chef” is the most romantic thing someone could say (inside and outside of the kitchen). When they have a public outburst at the same restaurant, social media icon Poppy Winfield and chef Jack Hartman run off to commiserate. Neither of them expects to chance partnering over a restaurant in South Florida together. With her keen eye for design and his attention to all the right flavors, Jack and Poppy—opposites they may be, still have a chance of serving up something extraordinary. They just have to be brave enough to reach for the right ingredients. In Yes, Chef, author Grace Reilly turns up the heat and makes it a romance flambe. It’s hot, and not just because of the Florida heat. Yes, Chef delivers an intriguing premise: accomplished chef meets influencer savant mixed together with a restaurant renovation plot. For Poppy and Jack the romance is all in the learning as they attempt to bring a rundown restaurant back to life. Fighting over color schemes, revising the menu, and learning how to properly dice an onion—without crying no less? This romance surmounts the impossible and builds out from two people trying to better themselves. Grace Reilly knows how far a “yes chef” will take her, and the inherent sexual tension in such a statement. Yes, Chef is sexy as hell, and that’s largely because of how much these two are working to create something side by side, finding understanding between the failed recipe attempts and daring rescues from cockroach infestations. Yes, Chef defines home as a restaurant, one feral cat, two polar opposites, and a love that fans the flames. Coupled with decadent descriptions of food which leap off of the page (and sadly not onto my plate), this is one romance I wanted to sink my teeth into. And sink I did. Get ready to step into the kitchen and have every craving fulfilled all thanks to romance chef Grace Reilly.
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Second First Dates by Gabriela Gamez
A date so bad you wiped the offending party out of your memory….until you wound up on another first date with them four years later. That is the crux of Gabriela Gamez’s latest, Second First Dates. Leti and Julian went on a terrible date in college, so terrible it put one of them off dating for years and the other chasing the spark they could never get over. Four years later, a second first date gives both of them a do over, if they can just move past their animosity to uncover the connection simmering beneath. Gabriela Gamez is an underrated talent in modern romance and I am so thrilled with the continuation of her Librarians in Love series. Fellow lovers of chaotic romance duos rejoice in characters Leti, and Julian. Leti is an unapologetic and opinionated librarian who knows her mind (my favorite) and Julian, a sunshiny school teacher just trying his best while also being down bad™. One thing I love is a fictional man with a passion, who endears himself through a project. I mean how could you not adore this man when he showed up out of the blue having printed out Leti’s dating profile matches for them to go over. Gamez’s pursuit of queerness, especially in writing characters on the Ace spectrum exploring their identities and boundaries, is unmatched in this genre. Both Leti and Julian are on the ace spectrum and it kept the romance so fresh. Starting out, they’re navigating if they even really like each other as people and that deepens into the kind of feelings that make them go: oh so I’m YEARNING. Each move in this romance is deliberate, as they test moves and comfort with each other. The forehead touch moment alone had me hyperventilating and that entire scene on the couch is a masterclass in tension and vulnerability. Gabriela Gamez is a writer that knows the possibility at the center of queerness, in representing voices that have remained on the margins. Second First Dates is for the queer bibliophiles who all deserve a love story that honors identity and the core parts of themselves. That and so much more.
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Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
This summer it’s all about the smuggling and mutual scheming and I’ve never been more grateful for it. Alexandra Vasti takes a step into her new Flirty Rotten Scoundrels series with a descent into the long con. Tired of failing her father and London society, heiress Ruby Ballimore decides to simply give up (#mood) and flee to the estate of a soon to be visiting princess. As the princess is notably absent this shouldn’t be a problem, if not for the smugglers who have taken up residence and are masquerading as her staff. Her next challenge: outconning the conman while ignoring the growing passion between them. Scandal for the Summer is quintessential Alexandra Vasti down to the minutia. There are bearded rakish scoundrels, academically minded debutantes, and an infestation of adorable puppies only growing in number. Also an estate that comes to life alongside the developing romance. When I think of Vasti’s historicals, they just exude sparkling, witty romp energy. Scandal for the Summer illustrates this to the extreme with an academic going head to head with a smuggler on an estate in Cornwall neither of them have claim to. Scandal for the Summer is a promising start to a brand new series from Vasti—a whole new trio of delightfully fierce heroines breaking free from what confines them to find affirming love and build well rounded lives. Now we all love a rake, but make it a rakish pirate/smuggler/con artist and I am so there. Ruby and Malcolm have a lot going on personally, but put it together and the resulting synthesis is pure magic. These two are magnificently chaotic, and I expected nothing less from them after a truly smashing start. Dastardly schemes and plots are nothing for two people determined to create a new path outside what life has afforded them. Plot they must and together they shall!
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Mutual Discord by Liana De la Rosa
Mutual discord this, mutual discord that, how about they’re sexy and can do what they want. I am no longer surprised when it comes to the brilliance that is Liana De la Rosa. From her historical romances, to this—her contemporary romance debut, she has long proven her capabilities in writing grounded, heated romance set right in the thick of the action. After being fired for speaking out about her work being stolen by a colleague, Sofia Mendoza takes to social media to express her rage. Her impulsive video on women across history who have had their work stolen and influence erased goes viral, prompting a longer series on the subject and an online friendship with a mysterious “A”. When her out of town best friend introduces her to their partner Alex, none other than “A” himself, Sofia knows she’s in for a world of trouble. For her chemistry with Alex is electric both online and off, and could threaten her steadfast commitment to being a girl’s girl. Mutual Discord is a romance heavy on the mess, family bonds, delectable food, and forbidden love, and in typical Liana De la Rosa fashion it is a multifaceted and fierce narrative. Her heroines have always taken a life of their own far beyond their pages and that is so clear with Mutual Discord’s Sofia Mendoza, a down on her luck former corporate employee, conflicted in her life path. De la Rosa connects her romance to a journey of discovery through Sofia and Alex’s shared Puerto Rican culture, uncredited women across history, and a way forward through the mutual discord that plagues them. Liana’s focus on women throughout history who were erased from the narrative could not be more timely, and taking things for ourselves in a world that tries to take credit and erase is certainly a cathartic choice. No need to worry about the discord, it is mutual after all.
Preorder a Copy — Out 18th August
The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest
So he buys her books, listens to her yap about them, provides an endless supply of sweet treats, makes her tea, AND parallel parks the car so she doesn’t have to? That’s a forever boyfriend. Kristina Forest is here to well and deliver your next beach read and the romance of the summer with her latest novel, The Summer Girlfriend. Noelle, a bookseller wishing to pursue her career as a librarian, is granted an unexpected avenue to the tuition fees she needs to return to college: summer girlfriend for hire. Jeremiah Smith is tired of keeping his family at length. His mother wants him to bring his girlfriend to their beach house for the weekend, unfortunately no such person exists. When Noelle and Jeremiah agree to a mutually beneficial arrangement, neither expects the sparks to fly, or that the lie will spiral into a summer long venture. Taking the summer romance out of summer will require revealing the truth, to the lie and the feelings growing between them. There is something about Kristina Forest’s writing that lives in a realm of its own. Her romances contain that heart and tenacity I so often long for, coupled with settings one cannot help but get lost in. The Summer Girlfriend brings us to Heart Beach: a Black founded beach community on the New Jersey Shore where characters Noelle and Jeremiah find connection and wonder over a period of weekend visits. From parasailing, to boat rides, and galas, their friendship transitions into an undeniable summer romance. Alongside her fake-dating plot, Kristina Forest paints an emotional backdrop of the Smith family, whose dynamics feel real, boisterous, and complex. Navigating grief and legacy alongside this couple and family was a special honor to experience. Kristina Forest delivers another unforgettable Black romance with The Summer Girlfriend. You’ll want cookies and a beach vacation to go with this one.
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Wild Goose Chase by Sarah Adler
Honk honk (affectionate) (with the intention of chasing after a stolen taxidermied goose with you). When I long to be taken on a journey of profound peculiarity, of bizarre escapades framed within the modern romance, Sarah Adler is unquestionably the writer for the job. Few can interweave the unusual, the strange, the wonderfully chaotic into a romance narrative with such sincerity and keen intellect. Wild Goose Chase chronicles a formerly lost, now purloined taxidermied goose that if discovered by other parties could risk one antique dealer their trade. A chase to uncover its whereabouts is on, and it will take two reluctant colleagues to track it down and uncover its history. Adler’s fourth novel once again displays her appreciation for obscure history and facts. This time it’s The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (which for the uneducated forbids the killing, capturing, possession, sale, and trade of certain bird species). In Wild Goose Chase, Adler doesn’t just weave a romance between an antique dealer and his blackmailer slash new colleague but she tracks the wild journey of how one taxidermied goose ended up lost in an attic for decades. A romance within the romance sparks between an ornithologist and a journalist, and like all of her former novels it’s a narrative that underpins our present and deepens the love story taking place at its center. Wild Goose Chase asks what if the real goose discovered was not taxidermied at all and was in fact the silly gooses we were along the way? Whether that be eating meatball subs on a counter while singing show tunes, or poorly timed games of truth or dare, Sarah Adler is here to say: we deserve to be appreciated for all of it. Sarah Adler writes with an originality and matter of factness that always leads to a wild good time. Wild Goose Chase is a hell of a ride. For all the silly gooses out there who just want to be loved.
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The Roommate Rule by Georgia Stone
And they were roommates (traveling in Wales edition). A last minute holiday becomes a full time expedition in Georgia Stone’s expansive summer romance, The Roommate Rule. Handed an extra spot on a trip with her coworker’s brother who travel influences, former barista and upcoming accountant Dylan takes the trip of a lifetime. Six weeks exploring the beauty of Wales with a man she definitely cannot get caught up with, Dylan will face a summer romance and the possibilities she has cut off in living a life so confined. After the absolute smash hit that was The Friendship Fling (which went triple platinum in my house thank you), Georgia Stone is back with a sophomore romance involving change of pace and how one setting can inspire you to take the leap into the unknown. Daring adventures, windswept locales, this romance takes step with a six week holiday in Wales. Alongside travel moments and wanderings, Georgia Stone had me falling in love with Wales and all of its magnificent scenery. It felt as if I too took a leap off of a cliff, explored old ruins, and took a bracing canoe ride. This romance was a breath of fresh air—literally. Georgia Stone doesn’t just build out her main couple and their travels, but an extended group of (mostly influencers) partaking in the holiday. You’ll fall in love not just with Dylan and Max, but brilliant, snarky Jude and the buttoned up naturalist Toby. Georgia’s skill for character dynamics are once again on full display with Dylan and Max, who were peak annoyance to lovers trope. Dylan holds her own against Max’s flirtations and frankness, but soon even they become an inevitability. What starts off giving summer fling deepens into forever around discussions of illness, caretaking, and choosing the unwalked path. As always, no happy ending is worth anything without characters faltering and Max and Dylan have to pick themselves up before they can turn toward a new chapter. But is anything more human, more romantic than that? I think not.
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Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt
So you want to cry endlessly while having your belief in love restored? In the passing of her best friend, Bea never expected her to hand over a life changing gift and a lifeline that could grant her the ability to be a parent, something she’s always wanted. Returning to her hometown of Spunes, Oregon, Bea rushes headfirst into the past as she navigates her grief and plans her future. Enter firefighter Silas Byrd, a friend from childhood recovering from an accident facing his own battles. Both are uncertain of the future, but know neither of them can run from the past any longer. Tarah DeWitt concludes her Spunes Oregon trilogy with Lost and Found, half romance half emotional torment (said with deepest affection). Lost and Found is a magnificent second chance romance, a meeting and retreat between two people who weren’t ready in the past and now face the feelings they ran from years prior. Silas and Bea: oh do they yearn, but they are also stuck trying to disentangle the complexity of the present which makes for that nail biting tension and intense emotion Tarah is best at. Lost and Found is about the things we leave behind but hope against all hope to recover—a return to something you walked away from believing it would some day return to you. There is no one more capable than Tarah Dewitt when it comes to bringing a storm of emotions washing over you. I felt caught up in the wreckage of her storm and restored in its midst. Love, grief, and heartbreak all coalesce in a moving portrait of the lives we build after loss and the bravery needed to keep moving forward. This romance will lead you into that beautiful, overwhelming tomorrow and you’ll emerge hopeful and ready to tackle all romances Tarah Dewitt.
Preorder a Copy — Out 4th August
Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances
Not enough men know that you can yearn…while you (storm) chase. Storm centered romances are a niche of the summer and boy am I seated ready behind the wheel. For anyone who watched the latest Twisters movie and found themselves asking: “but why didn’t they kiss?” Heather Frances’s debut is here to heal that wound. Chase Me If You Can sees two rival storm chasers team up to cover the upcoming storm season, fighting feelings and chaotic weather all at once. With an entire season ahead and a photography contest to win, those feelings could get damn near confusing—twisted even. Chase Me If You Can covers the often controversial hobby of storm chasing, a passion which drives numerous people onto the road on the hunt for freak weather events. Heather Frances lays bare the reality of this hobby, the dedication of those who partake in it safely and the women breaking barriers in storm chasing and meteorology. Reading this is an education and a romance all at once. Because nothing is hotter than competency in a niche area of study, in putting hypotheses into action. Sharing time on the road, breaking for food and gas, and basking in the overwhelming majesty of the storms they chase, characters Sloane and Wes uncover the romance lingering beneath. Frances really gives a feel of these two and their dynamic. You know they like each other not just because of shared passion, but because they probably spent a collective 70 hours trapped in the car together (what would be a horror movie to most). Sloane and Wes don’t just connect over their shared love of storm chasing, but the art of photography, and their adverse upbringings. Chase Me If You Can is a tumultuous journey into the world of storm chasing, but oddly fitting for all of humanity’s pursuits to understand the unknown. Dare I say the heart of romance itself?
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All the Days Before Tomorrow by Rebecca Brodkey
There is an indescribable magic in finding a romance that was meant for you, in the exact moment you need it. Rebecca Brodkey has written that book with her tour de force of a romance, All the Days Before Tomorrow. When Ruby, a young Chicagoan, faces the life after her life altering experience with breast cancer, she takes over wedding planning duties for a friend. Floral arrangements and cakes are nothing compared to the sunshine nuisance that is the best man determined to aid her. What ensues are camping trips, mix tapes, and one get back to life plan begging to go wrong. Brodkey turns her pen toward incandescent, modern romance with All the Days Before Tomorrow. Part wedding romance, part stark look at breast cancer and the way illness rewrites our lives, this is a love story without comparison, one grounded in a realism that felt as fresh as it was invigorating. Everything life can be is encapsulated within these pages, the frustration, isolation, the hope, and the joy. Just as Ruby experiences a myriad of emotions, so too does this novel honor all the glimmering facets that make up the fabric of our contemporary existence, giving them all voice and a necessary weight. This is a novel about community and the power in finding it, reveling in it. Rebecca is here to show us that even if the future remains uncertain the one certainty we have is in how, and with whom, we face it. Your future includes buying this incredible romance (and thanking me later).
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The Last Page by Katie Holt
Katie Holt’s latest romance novel sets itself within the bounds of a failing New York City bookstore, as a dedicated bookseller and the new owner come to blows and attempt to stave off inevitable ruin. An all around smashing hate to lovers romance, The Last Page is a triumphant nod to independent bookstores and the booksellers who have dedicated their lives to serving books and readers alike. Complete with shelf talker epigraphs and an extensive band of booksellers to get acquainted with, this novel looms larger than its pages. It’s for the booksellers plain and simple. Never have I experienced a romance so endearing as I have with this one. The Last Page is like if a bookstore was a sitcom but also a hate to lovers romance that is so riveting it pulled my heart out. That blend of humor and tension is all Katie Holt for how else can one have me agonizing one moment and dying with laughter the next. In a novel all about the detailed aspects of this industry, the romance is unsurprisingly in the little things. Because nothing is sexier than discussing bookstore finances and arguing over who should be in charge (and if the break room should continue to have free coffee). Not to mention the Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. The Last Page is one of those romances that envelops you within the setting, the comfort of a bookstore and the day in day out running of things. I challenge any bookseller to read this and not be seen on one level or another, and for any reader to not come out having a deeper appreciation for the daily work that goes into bookselling. The Last Page is quite literally, one for the books. If Katie Holt is holding the pen, I’m already there (and so should you be).
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Just For The Season by Rachel Griffiths
A summer countryside romp for a scandal mired Lady and the rake dragged headlong into her marriage hunt mark the start of this unmissable historical romance. Rachel Griffiths’s Just for the Season is out to prove that all the best historical romances are second chance and include plenty of tension filled carriage rides and incessant quarrels. Two former correspondents, now mostly strangers, avoid the past at a house retreat where one of them is the coveted potential bride, and the other a reluctant grumbling duke refusing to admit he still cares. Returning with grace, wit, headstrong women, and a constantly frustrated man, Just for the Season sees Griffiths cement a signature style, one that impresses the importance of angst and the tried and true only one carriage trope. Charlotte and Wolfgang are perfectly suited, both in temperament and their tendency to avoid the proverbial elephant in the room: feelings (derogatory). But meddlesome family, highwaymen, and of all things embroidery soon make them impossible to ignore. Just for the Season had me earnestly hanging onto every interaction and failed suitor hoping these two would dig up their shared past and confess to wanting every season after. Griffiths’s second novel is a real triumph, not just a love letter to the best trope around, but to creative pursuits and the driven, passionate women willing to succeed by any means necessary.
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Literaryrobin 