Contemporary Books

Brooks Boseman, born into privilege in an old New Orleans plantation home, could have opted for an easy life just like her siblings, but after a broken heart, she escapes to New York where no one knows her name.

A call from the family matriarch changes everything. Her brother Curtis is getting married, and Brooks needs to be at the engagement party. Only she can’t possibly go, not with Curtis set to marry the secret love of her youth, Fallon Goodwin. Unable to find a way to refuse, Brooks returns to discover the family business is in jeopardy. In the face of her father’s struggles with Alzheimer’s and her brother’s well-intentioned blunders, she’s forced to step in to save the family fortune.

As far as Brooks and Fallon are concerned, romance is for storybooks, but as hard as they try to resist, neither can deny their feelings still linger. Family ties have never been more binding as they fight for the business, and maybe even for each other.

Lace Reynolds has a three-month rule for a reason. Long-term romantic relationships get complicated. And Lace doesn’t do complicated. She’s had enough of that in her life. Besides, she’s too busy running Frisky Business, just voted Best Sex Toy Shop in Arizona, and she’s got big expansion plans in the works. If she’s helping others find pleasure and connection, she’s happy. Right? 

Tessa Williams has moved from California to Arizona wine country to escape a cheating ex and launch her own vineyard. When she’s not battling wine snobs and fighting water wars, she’s wrangling a sulky teenage daughter and an Australian Shepard named Bleu. She doesn’t have time to go looking for love. Not that she could hold on to it, even if love found her. 

Lace and Tessa have been friends almost from the moment they met. But when Tessa opens a tasting room right next to Frisky Business, it gets harder to ignore the heat between them. The last thing they need is romance messing up a good thing. Maybe with a little help from their friends and the town’s friskiest ghost, they’ll be able to discover if love is a risk worth taking.

Nicki Russell has never been smooth. More like a bumbling, awkward mess always falling short of her dreams. Good college? She never had the money. Post-grad? She’ll get around to it someday. Happy ever after with the perfect woman? One major heartbreak is enough to have her swearing off love forever. Current life plan? Avoid all unnecessary human contact. That goes double for Carter, the hot new butch in town.

Unfortunately, Carter works at the town’s pick-your-own pumpkin patch and Nicki's niece is obsessed with Halloween. So obsessed she ropes her favorite aunt into organizing the school Halloween festival, hosted by Carter Farms. Volunteer weekends are scary enough, but Carter seems to be everywhere Nicki goes, and it’s just a matter of time before she discovers Nicki's more likely to trip over a chair than successfully flirt.

But Carter can’t seem to get enough of her company, and as their accidental encounters slowly simmer into romance, Nicki begins to believe she’s not a complete disaster after all. The date of the festival is fast approaching, and this pumpkin spice season is turning out sweeter than expected.

Burned-out chef Sy Travino never expected to wind up on a goat farm in rural Vermont, but that’s exactly where she lands after leaving the restaurant world to become a cheese maker. It’s a great place to flex her muscles and make a name for herself, though. Too bad the house she bought is practically unlivable.

Maddie Barrow can’t believe anyone would be dumb enough to buy a house sight unseen, but she’s not about to turn down the job of renovating it, especially since her best friend just hired Sy to turn Grumpy Old Goat into the chèvre everyone is talking about. When the estimate on the house exceeds Sy’s budget, Maddie puts her to work. 

It doesn’t take long for Sy and Maddie to admit their chemistry is off the charts, but having fun doesn’t always lead to forever. Could it be a foundation for love or nothing but a teardown?

Praise from Publishers Weekly: Rey stresses the importance of building something to last in this torrid home renovation romance....Rey makes the chemistry between Maddie and Sy obvious and immediate, leading naturally to plenty of creative and exciting sex scenes, but tempers the hot-and-heavy goings-on with emotional intelligence that makes the relationship feel as sturdy as a load-bearing wall. Readers will never doubt that a happy ending is on its way, but they’ll love watching it come together.

When the marketing agency Regina Avery worked for declares bankruptcy, she’s forced to take a temporary position at a women’s fashion brand. She’s never worn anything more fashionable than a polyester suit, but beggars cannot be choosers. She definitely didn’t choose to work with her ex-girlfriend Margot. Margot never got over the whole forgot-her-parents'-names incident more than a decade ago, because she assigns Regina to a marketing campaign within the lingerie department. Not that there’s anything wrong with lingerie exactly, but Regina’s blushing modesty makes her less than ideal for the position.

When Regina meets model Grace Holland—the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen—between rows of fancy knickers, she doesn’t have a clue how to flirt, date, or hold on to a relationship. In fact, she can barely maintain eye contact with Grace, who seems to be going out of her way to bump into Regina.

Never feeling more like a fish out of water, Regina must take the plunge with Grace and hope she manages to swim before Margot or her own shyness sinks her chance at love.

Wealthy nightclub owner Erica turns undercover bartender on a mission to catch a thief. The ridiculous idea seemed comical when her brother proposed it. After all, Erica has never worked a day in her life. But when her pushy mother plays matchmaker with yet another woman Erica isn’t interested in, she escapes on a train to London, to a club she hasn’t set foot in since inheriting it. There she meets no strings, no commitments Charlie, who couldn’t be further from Erica’s type. Erica has never met anyone who gets under her skin so much, and that’s surely a bad thing, right?

Charlie lives for the thrill of the chase. She loves women a little too much to imagine herself settling down. The very thought of a relationship is a terrifying prospect. It doesn’t matter anyway because she’s never met anyone who has held her interest for anything longer than a quick fling. All that changes when she meets the mysterious new bartender at her local club. Getting to know the obnoxious yet beautiful woman is a challenge she can’t resist. She just hadn’t bargained on her heart getting involved.

When Sabine Rowan moves home to New Orleans after a family tragedy, she escapes into her favorite romance novels as she cares for her mother, a pampered former actress with a flair for the dramatic. Thoughts of finding love start to fade until her favorite aunt passes away and leaves Sabine with the equivalent of a ticking time bomb and a nearly impossible choice: to gain her inheritance she must leave home and find her own place in the world. 

Everyone in the tiny village of Nairn, in the Highlands of Scotland, turns to Alden Wallace when they need expert help restoring their historic homes. Still reeling from her latest romantic disaster, Alden barely notices the most recent American tourist to swan into their village. Until she buys an abandoned lighthouse and Alden is the only one who can save the crumbling disaster from disappearing into the sea.

Can the windswept shores of Scotland weave enough magic to bring them together?

Small-town waitress Maisie Davis resolves the mystery of her sexuality after an unexpected encounter with a handsome stranger seated in the corner booth of Moe’s Fine Diner. Aiden Crane opens Maisie’s mind and body to exciting new possibilities—but can she find the courage to follow her heart?

An Epiphany in Flannel was originally published in Opposites Attract: Butch/Femme Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2021).

A romance for everyone who has made difficult decisions on the road to their chosen family.

Rebecca Miller’s life is exactly how she wants it. She loves her polyamorous chosen family and her rewarding job as a carer for adults with learning disabilities. Then the Jennings sisters arrive and test her boundaries, turning her carefully balanced life upside down.

Alex Jennings’s move to the middle of nowhere is temporary. Her sister Phoebe has been placed in a care home instead of living independently like she’d prefer, but Alex is determined she’ll be allowed to live life on her own terms.

Alex and Rebecca should be on the same page but keep clashing over what is best for Phoebe. Their attraction won’t stop smoldering, despite their reluctance to act on it and incompatible poly relationship styles. They can barely trust each other enough to do the right thing as far as Phoebe is concerned, so figuring out a way forward together is out of the question.

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "Meredith debuts with a polyamorous sapphic romance as sensitive as it is spicy...Meredith’s characters feel whole and real, with lives that are enhanced by their romance rather than railroaded by it, and their thoughtful exploration of the balance between independence and healthy relationships is nourishing but never preachy."

Josie Lockner scores big when she’s awarded a summer artist-in-residence in the small beach town of Goda, Massachusetts. The Wellingtons are the perfect host family and Revere Estates the best backdrop. She’s more than ready to capture the beauty of nature with her pencils and brushes. Falling for the Wellingtons’ quiet neighbor, Olivia Monteclair isn’t in the picture, but just because it won’t last forever doesn’t mean she can’t have some fun. 

Olivia’s peaceful days are interrupted when Josie, with her infectious grin and sunny disposition, crowds her space. Was Olivia ever that young or that hungry about life? She isn’t in the market, not after her devastating heartbreak, but there’s something about Josie that brings out a lightness she’s missing from her life. 

Both cherish the time spent together, but when the summer ends and their temporary romance melts into the real deal, reality gets complicated.

Venture capitalist Jude Benoit is named Majesty of Artemis, New Orleans’s premier lesbian Mardi Gras parade and ball, and enlists the expertise of private dance instructor Gabriella Viard to save her from making a fool of herself. Jude can follow the steps, but what happens when Gabby challenges her to lead with her heart?

Follow Her Lead was originally published in Opposites Attract: Butch/Femme Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2021).

Dylan Fleming is a confident and capable woman in every way except the stereotypical ways her ex-girlfriend thought she should be. When her insecurities get the better of her and she fumbles on a date with beautiful auto mechanic Carrie Grice, Dylan has to let go of the past. Can she accept that she is loved just as she is?

Just as You Are was originally published in Opposites Attract: Butch/Femme Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2021).

Sweet Spot—the place on the face of a wave where a surfer can catch the greatest speed.

Standing up on the wave is hard enough, but finding the sweet spot is almost impossible when you’re battling riptides. Shia Turning has been battling riptides her entire life and she knows she’s close to finding the sweet spot. Having spent most of her life in the foster system, she’s worked hard to make something of herself in the pro-surfing world. And living at Oceana has given her the community and support she needs to take her there. But when the mother she never expected to hear from again shows up, everything she’s worked for is threatened.

As the property manager for Oceana, her grandfather’s mobile home park, Rose Monroe is anxious to make him proud even at the expense of her own dreams. When Shia and Rose meet, their attraction threatens to distract them from their goals—something neither of them is willing to risk. What they don’t seem to know is that riptides often create the perfect waves. Will they be willing to take a chance of a lifetime to find the sweet spot that can take them to a happily ever after?

A private resort on a tropical island, a feisty old chief, and a kleptomaniac pet pig bring Suzanne and Allie together for unexpected love.

Heiress Suzanne Bennett was making the wrong kind of name for herself as her hard-and-fast lifestyle played out in the tabloids. But one fateful night upends everything, and she trades the glitz and glamour of LA for an unassuming life on her private Bahama Island. She changes her name, builds a small resort, and hopes her new identity will keep the paparazzi, and the lure of her old life, at bay.

Allie Aukai was born on the other side of the tracks and never had many opportunities or luxuries. When her father’s dying wish sends her to the Bahamas to fulfill an unconventional request, Allie’s life takes a surprising turn. The mystery Allie uncovers leads to misguided betrayal and reminds Suzanne and Allie of the unexpected power of love.

Josie Sanchez is the head winemaker at Cadieux Vineyards, and all her dreams ride on the upcoming crush. If she can produce a gold medal pinot noir, the owner will give Josie her own wine label. Finally. She’s worked years for this opportunity, and nothing will stand in her way. Not even Mac, the owner’s annoyingly beautiful niece who doesn’t know anything about wine, but whom Josie’s forced to hire as her only harvest intern. Josie can’t imagine a more ill-suited partner for the most important harvest of her life.

After a lackluster start in her marketing career, Mackenzie Layton is eager to jump headfirst into the illustrious Willamette Valley wine industry. Thanks to her uncle, her first harvest job is with one of the most prestigious wineries in town. But when she meets Josie, it’s clear her presence is a nuisance, even if she does occasionally catch Josie’s gaze lingering on her. Mac has a proclivity for misadventure, and she is unable to resist the one person who is off limits.

This crush will be a messy one, indeed.

As a kid, Adley Purcell dreamed of owning Get the Scoop ice cream shop, and now that she does, she’s worried it could go under. She’s trying to focus on her love of ice cream, but she’s edgy and stressed. And how the hell she’ll survive national dessert chain Sweet Heaven opening a store less than two blocks away, she has no idea. Life is a rocky road right now, and there’s only one cherry on top: the sexy business suit-clad blonde at happy hour.

Sabrina James doesn’t stay still. Sweet Heaven takes her all over the country, opening new stores, then moving on to the next city. Smooth and simple. Until the gorgeous woman she meets at a bar who leaves her craving more turns out to own the small-town ice cream shop barely two blocks from the new Sweet Heaven location. Could life get any more complicated?

Have Adley and Sabrina bitten off more than they can chew, or will they swirl the salty with the sweet? In love and ice cream there’s only one rule: When life gives you heavenly hash, eat dessert first.

Crab fishing is in Remy Miller’s blood. Millers have been fishing off the coast of Oregon for three generations, so she’s heartbroken when her dad refuses to give her the chance to prove she can captain her own boat.

When Julia Clayman, the beautiful daughter of a rival crabbing family, offers Remy a chance to run her own boat for the Claymans, she knows the decision could deepen the long-standing rift between their families.

All Remy wants is the chance to live her dream, and the more time she spends with Julia the more her dreams include the chance for a happily ever after. But blood is thicker than the waters lapping the Oregon coastline, and old rivalries may mean Remy loses her career and her heart.

Will love overcome the odds for this modern-day Romeo and Juliet?

Lily Andrews is only eleven years old when she boards a small aircraft with her mother, destined for the beautiful gulf coast of Texas. Tragedy strikes midflight when the plane goes down deep in the wild Ozarks, and Lily must survive in the unforgiving forest. With the help of a gruff mountain man and his dog, along with Lily’s intense grit and determination, she thrives in her private oasis. When a simple mistake forces her to make a life-altering decision, she is ripped from her mountain paradise and thrust into civilization once more.

Jessica Velasquez has never recovered from the death of her father. The only way she can get closure is to find out what really happened when his plane went down. When a stranger races out of the wilderness with her father’s belongings eight years after his plane went down, Jessica hopes the woman will have the answers she’s looking for.

Between Lily’s sheltered life and Jessica’s reservations about letting anyone close, both are ill-equipped for a relationship, but can they deny their true feelings?