Contemporary Books

When an office attraction threatens her career, Hollis Reed’s carefully laid plans demand revision.

After a painful breakup, Hollis is determined to climb the corporate ladder by charting a meticulous three-year plan. Just as she vows to keep love at arm’s length, her new boss threatens to disrupt everything. Ainsley Jones is a force to be reckoned with—brilliant, sophisticated, and irrefutably attractive.

As Hollis navigates her new role, she can’t deny the magnetic pull between them. But workplace policies against fraternization, Hollis’s doubts about mixing business with pleasure, and Ainsley’s micromanaging style prevent their budding romance from blooming. With the unwavering support of her best friend, Harrison, Hollis must risk everything she thought she wanted to have the love she can’t live without.

Conner Cody is poised to have it all. Whether on the big screen or a concert stage, she commands adoration, lust, and more money than she can count from millions of fans across the world. Behind the scenes, she keeps people at arm’s length, having learned her lessons from her famous parents—better to hurt them first before they can hurt her.

Her love life is as dramatic as the roles she plays, so Conner fills the void with meaningless hookups, and her infamous parties provide a facade of friendship. But when a few people begin to slip past her defenses and her estranged sister returns, happiness finally appears within reach.

But letting people in is risky and her insecurities take center stage, pushing away everyone she cares about. On the verge of destroying everything she holds dear, Conner must choose: will she stay behind her walls, safe yet alone, or will she risk it all to finally learn what it means to love?

Theo and Stella will never work out as more than just friends. Then why can’t they stop fighting and making out—up!—making up.

Stella James is back in town after ditching her friends for her (now) ex, whose career took her to London, and she’s bound to make a big entrance at her best friend’s wedding. What Stella fears more than an awkward reunion, though? Theo and their messy more than friendship but never quite love.

Theo Kingsley is an activist and a human rights lawyer in the making, oh, and she thinks monogamy is so last century. Stella couldn’t be any less socially conscious if she tried, unlike the women Theo dates. It’s not as if Stella really believes forever exists, but she’ll never understand how Theo can seem so into her and be dating other people at the same time.

When things between them quickly get complicated again, their push and pull threatens to ruin the friendship in all the worst ways and break their whole friend group apart.

College freshman Kelly “Razor” Mitchell boldly asked out senior star pitcher Ashton Sharpe and was crushed when Ashton turned her down. Seven years later, Ashton is one of the team’s coaches and shows up on Razor’s doorstep asking her to don her gear once more. Razor is cautious. She hung up her cleats early for a reason. But Ashton is very persuasive and as beautiful as ever, and Razor can’t help but hope the longing in her gaze has nothing to do with softball.

Ashton has few regrets, but one is turning down Razor’s request for a date back in college. Ashton can’t think about what-ifs now, or how great Razor looks, or her dormant feelings stirring. A crisis has left the university softball team without a catcher, and their best solution is the one person Ashton never expected to see again.

Ashton and Razor’s coach-player dynamic gets tricky as the sparks fly faster than a line drive. As they struggle with old feelings and new discoveries, the season seems endless. Plus, Razor is sure Ashton won’t want to explore romantic possibilities once she discovers the real reason Razor abruptly departed the team all those years ago.

Hannah knows how to grow her family’s jewelry design company into one of the most successful on the West Coast. But share her emotions? Not so much. She needs to break up with her girlfriend, Bren, but tragedy strikes before she gathers the courage.

It’s been years, but Vanessa hasn’t recovered from her ex, Bren, dumping her. She’s owned her flower shop for over twenty-five years and should be confidently anticipating her fiftieth birthday, but she still battles her mother’s criticism.

When Vanessa mysteriously shows up at Bren’s funeral, questions, and a few eyebrows, are raised. Was Bren who Hannah and Vanessa thought she was? Did they really know her at all? As the secrets and lies mount, the shocking truth reveals why their relationships failed. But will learning from the past give them the skills to build a future with one another?

The glitz and glam of Hollywood are just an illusion, and everyone knows celebrities and paparazzi mix as well as oil and water.

Rylee Callison is one of the best paparazzi in Hollywood. A-List actress McKenzie Gomann hates the press after a series of photos create unwelcome trouble for her. When they meet, the attraction is undeniable, but Rylee is keeping a big secret to protect and provide for her family. When McKenzie finds out that Rylee is not only a member of the paparazzi, but the paparazzo who took the scandalous photographs of her, the heat between them turns ice cold.

Can the magic of Hollywood set the stage that brings them back together, or are happy endings only for the movies?

As a doctor, Mick McVey knows what a mental health crisis looks like. Her own still takes her by surprise. When she inherits a house from the grandfather she’s never met, she puts herself on sabbatical and travels to the small hometown of the mother who abandoned her. It’s a temporary solution.

Mick might not be grieving her grandfather, but to her new neighbor Katy, his death is one blow too many. Mick’s arrival feels like Katy’s chance to forget her ex and her struggling cinema and reinvent herself. She’ll finally get her hot rebound and make this year her year.

When the COVID-19 lockdown traps both women in situations they’d convinced themselves were temporary, they’re forced to face what they really want from their lives, and who they want to share them with.

When a young woman shows up on her doorstep in the middle of a rainstorm, Felicienne de Montagne feels compelled to help her despite her better judgment. Comfortably living alone and working in her greenhouses, Felicienne soon realizes that adventurer and blogger Puck Aston is made from a different cloth. Traveling the US and Canada in her campervan with her dog, Puck is a rolling stone to Felicienne’s boulder.

Puck’s campervan has broken down and needs major repairs. When she learns that Felicienne needs a photographer to document her hybrid flowers for a book, she offers her services for room and board. As Felicienne and Puck slowly get to know each other, their mutual attraction grows even as both accept that the day Puck goes back on the road, their bond will be broken.

Hannah works for one of the biggest liquor brands in the Northwest and is eager to prove herself and get the promotion she has been owed for so long. There’s just one annoyingly gorgeous obstacle in her way—the beloved local distiller, Alexandra Lang.

Alexandra isn’t afraid of a little competition. Okay, a lot of competition. Everyone knows her distillery is an homage to her late father, and she has the unwavering support of the whole community and tight-knit bar scene. Hannah’s charming sales pitch, endless legs, and big city influence don’t stand a chance. Right?

Ambition and passion go head-to-head as they duel for bar placements, local awards, and overall support for their products. But as sparks of friction and attraction fly, Hannah begins to suspect there might be more to small town life, and to Alexandra, than she thought.

Looks like the liquor will be the least of the hard stuff.

Would you trade the life you have for a chance at a life you’ll love?

Devri Cahn is poised on the knife edge of getting everything she’s always wanted: an enviable rental empire in Brooklyn, guaranteed top-tier income, and elevated social status in the cutthroat world of the NYC lesbian elite. It’s finally all at her fingertips, so why does she want to leave it all behind?

Fallon Brynn has returned to her tiny rural fishing village on the southern coast of Ireland with one goal: to buy the rundown cottages by the sea and turn them into slick, modern holiday rentals. After university in Dublin and some real-world experience, she’s determined to reach her goal of marketing Ireland’s undeniable pull to rich American tourists. It’s about time Ireland stepped into the twenty-first century, and she’s the woman for the job, especially if she gets filthy rich doing it.

Devri and Fallon never expect their feelings for each other to linger, but sometimes the search for what you’ve always wanted leads home, to the one you've always needed.

Explore the angst and excitement of forbidden love few would dare in this heart-stopping novella collection.

In Her Boss's Wife by Gun Brooke, January Wild needs a letter of recommendation to finally move to her dream job. Only she’s caught in the crosshairs of her bosses’ messy divorce and has a dangerous crush on her boss’s wife. Will they risk everything for a chance at forever?

In Her Therapist's Daughter by J.J. Hale, with the help of her therapist, Freya embarks on a journey of self-discovery that leads to a serendipitous meeting and an unexpected connection. Unbeknownst to them, Freya’s therapist is the same woman advising her daughter to follow her heart, straight into Freya’s arms.

In Her Brother’s Girlfriend by Aurora Rey, Hadley Crane always knew she’d find her way back to the family restaurant and take over as head chef. She didn’t count on working alongside Brianna Kerns, her brother’s girlfriend, and the woman she’s been in love with since high school.

The last thing rock star Harper Cushing needs right now is this attraction to her grandmother’s helper, Frankie, even if she is sneaky-good on the guitar. Returning to her favorite childhood spot, Gram’s nostalgic general store, Harper confronts life-altering decisions: Gram’s future welfare, selling the store, and reassessing her own fast-paced “high life.” If only she could pull it all off without breaking everyone’s heart—including her own.

Having made her own life-altering decision three years ago, Frankie Cosgrove is guardedly single and set to harvest her first cranberry crop. She’s devoted to her elderly storekeeper friend, so when the famous Harper arrives, hell-bent on making changes, Frankie’s defenses rise.

At least they admit to mutual concerns for Gram and the store, and even each other’s heartfelt intentions. But the unexpected musical accord they strike sounds a whole lot like falling in love. Has harmony finally found <i>them</i>?

When Lucinda “Lucky” Chance lands the client of a lifetime, she promises to give it her all. Little does Lucky know that the woman she’s been flirting with from her window all summer long is the client, Brianna Jameson. Not only does Lucky have to prove she can do the job, but she’s desperate to impress the gorgeous woman who has occupied her thoughts.

Brianna Jameson is bored with her stagnant life. Her friends are busy raising kids and walking away from promising careers. Not Bri. She’s worked too hard to throw it away on something as fleeting as love. But work and romance collide as Lucky stirs up feelings Bri would rather avoid. When Lucky gets fired for all the wrong reasons, Bri reaches out to support her for all the right ones.

Love at first sight is for dreamers, but the more time they spend together, the more they realize the chemistry of a gaze can make anything possible.

Jess Black has life all figured out. She has a job that she loves, and her boyfriend is handsome and successful. That’s why it comes as a shock when she meets a woman on the train who makes her pulse race. Maybe it would’ve been possible to put the surprise attraction behind her, but that becomes impossible when the woman she’s been trying so hard to forget moves into her spare room.

Sydney Fletcher has hit the reset button on her life after a devastating breakup necessitates a move. Her sister’s place is barely big enough for her sister and her nephew, so when Sydney spots a room to rent, she jumps at it. Imagine her surprise when her new housemate just happens to be the same woman who has been on her mind for weeks. But everything quickly turns sour and confusing when Jess gives her the cold shoulder. Maybe Sydney had read the signals all wrong that day?

Jess fights to keep her feelings at bay and Sydney tries to keep her heart from getting involved. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to ignore how perfect they are for one another.

Eli Thomas is going home for Christmas just like she does every year—only this time it’s different. Her grandmother has died, and she’s forced to reckon with her past, her broken relationships with her remaining family, and Aracely Hernandez, the girl who got away.

A seemingly purposeful error in Grandma’s will keeps Eli in town for longer than she planned and brings all the conversations she’s been avoiding for twenty years to a culmination. While her attraction to Aracely has never faded, Eli remains apprehensive to follow her heart and risk having it broken again.

Now she has to decide if avoiding her hometown forever is worth losing the people who used to mean the most to her.

What if you had to choose between facing your past and finding your future?

Loch Battersby is the kind of famous that everyone in Manhattan wants to be. The first woman in the fashion industry to work exclusively as a men’s fashion model, she’d become internationally ranked and instantly recognizable by the age of twenty-six. Then, in the span of a single day, her life spins out of control, and she winds up in Innis Harbor on the rocky coast of Maine, where she’d spent idyllic summers as a child. As the city smog finally clears, she realizes that not everything in her life was as it seemed.

Amir Farzaneh built her Innis Harbor construction company from the ground up, despite the challenges of being a woman of color in a field dominated by men and ever-present opinions of her conservative Persian community. When she meets and falls in love with Loch, a dark secret lurking in her past reappears, threatening the life she’d managed to build and the happiness she’d just started to believe could be hers. Reprint. 

CEO Eleanor Clairice Beauchamp’s rules for business:
#1: Business always comes first
#2: Succeed
#3: Don’t fail
#4: Never fall in love

Clairice “Claire” Beauchamp has spent her adult life escaping poverty and reaching the top of her industry by adhering to her rules. But staying there may prove to be the most difficult challenge yet. Lotus Enterprises’ next big project requires owning an entire city block, and one last property owner refuses to sell. So, Claire goes undercover to scope out the café owner. She expects to discover the source of her resistance and negotiate a deal. She doesn’t expect to be so drawn to her.

Abby Pita is finally her own boss after achieving her dream of owning Sunshine and Sweets Café. She has no interest in the buyout offers, especially not as her attraction to her newest customer, Claire, is growing. Claire seems to feel their connection too, and Abby has hope that there could be a future for them.

When the truth is revealed, will Claire break all her rules, or both their hearts?

Nic Gallagher has it all: a great job, supportive family and friends, and a sweet dog. Everything changes after an unexpected reorganization at work makes Lee Stone her supervisor.

Lee is beautiful, outstanding at her job, and has quickly catapulted to head of sales. According to the rumor mill, she’s also a bit of an ice queen who’s left a line of broken men in her rise to the top.

Nic and Lee got on well in new hire training and haven’t been able to stand each other since. Nic seethes silently as Lee gets promoted while she’s stuck at manager. That is, until she’s downsized in a strategic layoff, and her simmering anger finally burns openly.

They have good reasons for keeping their distance. So why does their growing attraction seem more like a love-hate relationship?