Contemporary Books

Some loves never truly fade. They just wait for the right moment.

In college, Parker Thompson poured her heart into an anonymous love letter to Hannah Wells—only to be met with silence. Heartbroken, music became her emotional refuge and she buried herself in building a career as a respected music editor. Now in her forties, Parker is certain those old feelings are long gone. But when a union strike forces her into an unexpected sabbatical, she returns to her alma mater for homecoming… and comes face-to-face with Hannah.

Hannah Wells never expected to see Parker again, let alone feel drawn to her. A dedicated music teacher, Hannah has spent decades helping others find their voice while suppressing her own. Freshly divorced, the last thing she wants is another intense relationship. Parker might not be the lovesick kid she once knew, but Hannah has had more than her share of being overwhelmed by other people’s emotions.

Parker is intriguing, magnetic, impossible to ignore—and completely wrong for Hannah. But sometimes love's melody refuses to end.

Hayes Martin shares everything with her BFF Claire Wheeler. Well, almost everything. Hayes has kept a secret from Claire for years, and she can’t take it anymore. Tonight is the night she comes clean and risks it all to gain everything she’s ever wanted.

I Met Someone was previously published in My Secret Valentine: Three Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2022).

Police officer Jo Forsythe thinks she could find the love and family she’s been longing for with Kayla McCall. Kayla’s focused on running her business, and if she was looking for love, it wouldn’t be with Jo. Can Jo win the hearts of both Kayla and the small town that’s so protective of her?

Taking a Risk was previously published in My Secret Valentine: Three Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2022).

Verity has no intention of mixing business and pleasure, but she’s on the verge of being fired and her feelings for her boss may save her career.

Aspiring writer Verity Holden is secretly in love with her boss, literary agent Rowan Cross, a passion she channels into a fictionalized journal to help her cope with her less-than-stellar job performance. Rowan, driven by ambition to elevate her agency, demands perfection from her staff, and Verity's mistakes and distracting gaze are a liability.

But when Rowan receives an anonymous manuscript that deeply resonates with her, Verity realizes she has accidentally sent her own manuscript, complete with her very real feelings for her boss! To save her job she pretends she is the only link to the true author and faces a precarious balancing act: maintaining her job, liaising with the "author," and preventing Rowan from discovering the journal's true nature. As the risk of exposure mounts, she continues to pour her heart into its pages, and the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

When almost-strangers take a road trip through America’s national parks, love may be the final destination.

Maggie Matthews is desperate. What self-respecting accomplished suspense author has a two-year creative slump? Her, apparently.

Following the only seed of inspiration she has, she’s set to embark on a van-life road trip. Only she’s never so much as driven out of state. Out of her comfort zone and hopelessly unprepared, she needs her agent's sister and seasoned adventurer Laike Cardinal as a guide.

Laike regrets giving in and letting Maggie join her latest journey. Maggie has no concept of personal space and occupies way too much of her thoughts. If only she could drop Maggie off at the nearest airport and send her home. She’d even pay for the ticket if Maggie would go—mostly because she doesn’t want to think about how much she wants Maggie to stay.

How many chances do you get at a love that lasts forever?

In the summer of 2010, Niamh is pouring drinks at a Greek bar, trying to savor her last taste of freedom before college. Harriet is enduring a family holiday from hell. Their worlds collide one magical night sparking a whirlwind summer romance of discovery, only to be torn apart by family and circumstance.

Years later, in the heart of London, their paths cross again. They’re older and wiser but neither has forgotten what could have been, and their connection is undeniable. But life has moved on, things are complicated, and the timing still isn’t right. Or is it?

A warmhearted romance of missed chances, undeniable chemistry, and a stubborn love that maybe, just maybe, can find its way back.

When Lena Preiss unexpectedly loses her job, her father convinces her to travel to Leavenworth, Washington, and help in her aunt’s new restaurant. The charming Christmas village in the Cascade Mountains is a gorgeous place for Lena to relax while between jobs, if not for the minor difficulty of feeding hundreds of tourists every night. Luckily, chocolatier Devin Meyer is on hand to take care of dessert.

Devin knows chocolate and enjoys nothing more than mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate entirely by hand. She has returned home to help her father with one last holiday season before he retires and sells their family business. She is determined to spend the season planning for her future, but the beautiful and overwhelmed Lena proves to be more of a distraction than she expected.

Against a snowy backdrop glittering with Christmas lights, Lena and Devin learn how to shed the expectations of others and forge their own path—maybe one that they’ll share together.

As head of the infamous Sharkey family crime syndicate, Nikki Sharkey trusts no one with her secrets. Sometimes she’s had to bend the law, and sometimes she’s had to break it. But there’s one secret not even her closest family knows, and Nikki would do anything to keep it safe.

Logan has always had to fight, from surviving living in care, to winning gold at the Olympics. Just when she’s about to win it all, she gives up her shot at greatness to look after her grandfather. Then she discovers her closest friend is in danger and has a child, Isla, Logan didn’t know about. Logan promises to protect Isla no matter what. The only problem? Isla’s adoptive mum is the leader of Scotland’s biggest crime family—the Sharkeys.

When Logan’s friend is found dead, Logan is determined to keep her promise. Logan knows Isla is the secret of Nikki Sharkey’s heart, but as she gets closer to the truth of what happened to Isla’s birth mother, the passion burns between Nikki and Logan, and secrets threaten not only their future together, but their lives.

Opposites attract, and Riley Shaw stands no chance of resisting Hannah Kramer’s magnetic pull. But opposites know just how to drive each other crazy...

How it starts: Her best friend Kyle suggests Riley take a job at Poptacular, his grandmother's gourmet popcorn shop. Spending the summer mixing caramel and cheddar sounds like fun, right?

Spoiler alert: It’s not fun.

Enter Kyle’s little sister Hannah and her stubborn refusal to try any ideas that aren’t her own. Their working styles are completely different. In short, she is infuriating. And hot. Why does she have to be hot?

How it’s going: Years have passed, and Riley’s no longer a victim of her teenage hormones. She’s a high-powered consultant who travels from city to city, helping struggling businesses. Distance weakens a magnetic field, and Riley doesn’t think about Hannah Kramer. Not ever.

So, when Kyle calls to say Poptacular is in trouble and on the brink of closing its doors, her first thought definitely isn’t of Hannah. No, heading back to her hometown is not on her bingo card. But for Poptacular’s co-owner, popcorn is Hannah’s whole life, and Riley can’t stand to see her dream fail.

How it ends: With the Great (hot and buttery) Popcorn Romance, of course.

Kendall Jackson has supported her family her whole life, but when her girlfriend unceremoniously dumps her and takes all their clients with her, she’s floundering to find a new income stream and nurse her broken heart. Then her ex bids on the same outdoor renovation project that Kendall desperately needs, and she just loses her mind. That’s the only explanation she has for attempting to make her ex regret her decision by letting her think she’s dating beautiful park ranger Ivy Patterson.

Ivy is a romantic. She wants a real relationship, not a fake one. But her mother won’t stop matchmaking and constant blind dates are more tiring than fun. When Kendall is in trouble, surprisingly, Ivy jumps to her rescue by announcing they’re dating. Ivy doesn’t see the harm, especially if it keeps her mom satisfied. But there’s nothing fake about how attracted she is to Kendall. What happens when their feelings become all too real?

Stock transporter Tobie Mason is driving a trio of valuable thoroughbred racing mares from Kentucky to a California farm when her rig becomes involved in a multiple vehicle pileup, and the most valuable of the three escapes to join a herd of wild horses. When she seeks help to recover her horse, everyone in the small town nearby gives the same answer: Go see Wild Maggie.

Maggie Wilkes has been tracking and keeping records on the area’s wild horse herds since she was old enough to ride. She has no problem with working horses that are treated well, but the racing industry is near the top of her blacklist. That’s why she has no intention of helping Tobie Mason recover her escaped mare even though the heat growing between them comes from more than their differing points of view. They can’t agree on anything. There’s no way they’re going to fall in love, right?

Hollywood is full of scandals…what’s one more?

When Amelia’s identical twin sister, Zoey, asks her to step in for her at a conference for supernatural TV shows while she auditions for a blockbuster movie, Amelia reluctantly agrees. She could use the money to keep her mini highland cow rescue, Mizzou Moos, afloat. She can pretend to be famous for twenty-four hours. What could possibly go wrong?

Lindsay Brooks hates playing babysitter to the stars, but that’s part of her job as assistant producer for the breakout show Thirteen Witches. Things get confusing when sparks fly between her and one of the main leads at the con, and all hell breaks loose when evidence surfaces of the actress and her identical twin switching places. Everyone’s in an uproar about getting duped, but Lindsay’s more concerned about finding out which twin she made out with.

That kiss made her melt and no one else has ever made her feel like swooning, but tracking Amelia down and getting to the truth might change the course of her career. She’s prepared to lose her job, but losing her heart would be scandalous.

In the game of love, there can only be two winners.

Architect Jolly Andolini has built her career on both award-winning structures and meaningful connections—but has no talent for it when it comes to her love life. Margot "Mimi" Mulle’s star is rising in the art world, and she’s finally getting her big break with her first major gallery show. Thrilled, she invites Jolly as her date.

But when gallery owner Bianca Griffin sets her sights on Jolly, she’s determined to win her affection, even if it means upsetting Mimi. Sparks fly, loyalties are tested, and hearts collide as they navigate the unpredictable nature of their hearts.

In the art of love, will destiny decide who belongs together?

Content advisory: infidelity

Singer-songwriter Kenzie McCall thrives on freedom—writing what she wants, when she wants, for whoever she wants, with no strings attached. Deadlines? Not her thing. Commitment? Even less so. But when a movie studio offers her best friend, pop sensation Braxton, a starring role if Kenzie writes the theme song, she reluctantly agrees. There’s just one catch: the song has to be about love, and Kenzie has never truly fallen for anyone.

Rachel has life mapped out: white picket fence, two kids, a dog, and a marriage filled with spark—and is determined to find someone who wants the same future. When Rachel hears Kenzie sing for the first time, the connection is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore. But how can she plan a future with someone whose life is anything but stable? Kenzie is constantly jetting off to meet with celebrities, and Rachel’s cozy suburban dream feels like Kenzie’s worst nightmare.

Will they be able to write their love story together, or are they destined for different endings?

What would you change if you won the lottery?

Lucy Crowne and Tanner Laszlo have low expectations when they stumble upon a lottery ticket and agree to split any winnings, but life quickly turns upside down when the fantasy of riches becomes reality.

Lucy used to be an eternal optimist, but she’s been stuck. Stuck in a dead-end job with a misogynistic boss. Stuck with an ex dragging their feet in a divorce. She’s desperate for a change, but how does she make it happen?

Tanner doesn’t want to change. She enjoys her construction superintendent job, traveling from city to city every few years for the next development project. With no plans to ever settle down, Tanner doesn’t even realize something might be missing.

Lucy and Tanner turn to each other while navigating the highs and lows of winning a life-changing jackpot, but what happens when, despite suddenly having enough money to buy almost anything, they start to discover that maybe all they need is each other?

After years of hard work, Hudson Greene is keen to launch her tenure-track career at the illustrious Coteau College. But her first day takes an unexpected turn when she walks into new faculty orientation and discovers that Callie Shaw—her unforgettable one-night stand from the local Pride festival—is also the dean of advising.

Callie loves guiding students through the chaos of academia, even if it means dealing with clueless professors. She goes with the flow, and her covert Shit Professors Say social media account provides an outlet for chronicling faculty missteps. Dating one, though? Definitely not on her syllabus.

Mutual attraction proves hard to resist, and technically there’s no rule against faculty-staff relationships. But between campus politics and Callie’s secret, policy might be the least of their problems. Can Hudson and Callie navigate office hours and off-the-clock romance, or will their shot at love turn into an epic fail?

Annika Silberberg hates weddings, despite being a wedding dress designer with her own bridal salon. She doesn’t believe in lasting romantic love, cutting off dates when any of her girlfriends try to get too close. But when her sister Maia asks her to be co-maid of honor with Maia’s adorable best friend Gabi, Annika can’t refuse.

Gabi Mendon doesn’t know how to date. After ending her eight-year relationship with Matt, her no-stress college boyfriend, she is out on her own for the first time in her adult life and finally ready to embrace her true sexuality as a lesbian. Only, she has no idea where to start. What’s an overthinker to do?

Enter Annika, renowned serial dater. What starts as a simple arrangement—Annika giving Gabi tips on queer dating and introducing her to the sapphic scene—quickly turns into hot secret hookups and nights spent getting to know each other better.

Over the course of Maia’s wedding year, from engagement party to dress fittings, to bachelorette and bridal shower, Annika and Gabi must decide if what they have is worth keeping, or if they need to rip out the stitches of their relationship at the seams.

All Karen Petersen has ever wanted is to be someone’s number one. She’s lived in the shadow of her older brother, never getting any attention from parents, who value financial success that she could never achieve as a third-grade teacher in small town Bucks Mill, Virginia. All her girlfriends turn into friends or acquaintances. Even her best friend doesn’t have room for her at the top of her priority list.

So, of course, the intoxicatingly beautiful new art teacher Bianca Harper has an equally perfect butch wife already on her arm. Then again, Bianca seems just as eager as Karen for the limited time together their packed teaching schedules allow. Bianca definitely isn’t a cheater, but things aren’t exactly as they seem. Has Karen finally found the one who truly wants her to be their person?