Winter Newsletter 2023 Romance

Sometimes I read a historical romance and it reminds me why I love the genre so. This charming story did just that and had me laughing and swooning the whole way. Amalie Howard deftly weaves Regency politics, more than a few nods to Emma, and a delightful cast of characters into something incredibly fun and sweet. Vesper and Aspen have a history that puts them at odds even as it drives them together. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Jane Austen, and Clueless and for anyone looking for something (or someone) to sweep you off your feet.  

—Jax

This fantastic fake-relationship rom-com is just as likely to make you laugh as it is to make you cry. James Petika needs a date to his sister’s wedding in Montana, where his family is unaware he is queer. To maintain his secret, he enlists the help of Daniel Bonafonte, better known as “Lala Traviata,” a beloved figure of Chicago’s drag scene. Everything collides to forge a perfect backdrop for the Birdcage-esque shenanigans.  

—Lindsay

Mixed-race queer Jews of color, childhood summer camps, enemies to lovers, and a great group of friends? Sign me up! Debut novelist Katz checks all the satisfying boxes when Liyah and Daniel are reunited by a work project and forced to confront their own life challenges with the unexpected support of each other (and their impromptu friend group, the Speakeasy Survival Club). There is so much to learn about, swoon over, and love here. I can’t wait to share it with others.  

—Melinda

In this follow-up to her 2022 breakout novel Icebreaker, Hannah Grace returns to Maple Hills. Hockey goalie Russ Callaghan (aka “Muffin“) plans to avoid his dysfunctional family by spending his summer as a camp counselor. As fate would have it, Aurora Roberts (aka “the gorgeous girl who disappeared on Russ after a one-night stand”) had the same idea. This hilarious and heartfelt novel is so much better than any college romance has the right to be.  

—Lindsay

Love Redesigned is the latest enemies-to-lovers romance from the author of the beloved Dreamland Billionaires series. Julian Lopez and Dahlia Muñoz have a complicated history. Family acquaintances. Childhood nemeses. They are perfectly content to ignore each other until they both die. Except Julian’s meddling mother triggers his savior complex, prompting him to help Dahlia. It had nothing to do with their unresolved sexual attraction…right?  

—Lindsay

The first in a promised trilogy, Salt Kiss sets the stage for a compelling, steamy romance series. Tristan is a veteran, adrift in the aftermath of war. When he’s offered a job as a personal bodyguard for the owner of an infamous sex club, he jumps at the chance to shake up his stagnating life. It’s a queer, kinky remix of an old medieval chivalric romance.  

—Ivy

In Andie Burke’s Fly with Me, a charming romance unfolds between Olive Murphy, a flight-phobic ER nurse, and Stella Soriano, a type A commercial pilot. This book honestly has everything you could want in a romance novel: a fake relationship, a magical first date at Disneyworld, some sizzling dirty talk, and a heartfelt exploration of trauma. It adroitly and respectfully deals with some heavy topics. Please read the warnings at the beginning of the book.

 —Lindsay

Calamity is a fast-paced, action-packed, high-stakes romance in space, with laser guns and doomsday cults and evil plots all atop a dormant volcano! Through it all, a small found family on a ramshackle spaceship fights to save the day, and the mysterious son of the man hiring them may turn out to be even more than an ally.  

—Zoe