I think all romance writers have their favourite trope, and second chances has the strongest hold on me. I’m a person who makes mistakes, so I love to see equally fallible humans getting their second chance at a happy ever after too. People with a history always lend depth to a story too. At any point, you can pluck a moment from their past to show an element of their relationship. And angst. I love a good dose of angst. With second chances, it's likely been a rocky road. Then the clincher for me, that sense of fate and destiny of people who’ve gone separate ways but find themselves drawn back together.
Equally, pick a sapphic romance trope, and Georgia Beers will likely have written one of my favourites.
She has a wonderful balance of cosy with enough tension and angst to keep you flying through the pages. She has written many, and I so admire that she’s still producing her best work. Her recent Camp Lost and Found is one of my favourites yet.
For second chances, I’ve gone with Flavor of the Month. This one has so many wonderful ingredients. Small-town setting, food focus, chemistry, angst. A romance to snuggle up with.
Charlie Stetko had a life to envy. A penthouse in Manhattan, a beautiful girlfriend, and a high-octane marketing career. Or so she thought. When her girlfriend sends her packing, Charlie ends up unemployed. Without a place to live or money of her own, she’s forced to do the one thing she vowed she never would: go back to Shaker Falls, Vermont. Back to her parents and back to the small town life―and the people―she left behind. Back to a part-time job in the new bakery in town.
Emma Grier thought Charlie was the love of her life until that uppity…
My illiterate grandparents taught me to love learning. A librarian who shared books and food with a ragged, hungry kid cemented my love of books. My fifth-grade teacher in a ghetto school took unpaid time to encourage my writing. My mother taught me to never give up my dreams. Dogs taught me the meaning of unconditional affection and loyalty. And nowadays, when I lose faith in myself, it is my wife’s love and belief in me that keeps me going. Love, in its many forms, has shaped my life.
Could I love someone with a permanent, life-altering disability? This question was presented early on as Greer Landon, a well-known and highly regarded art gallery owner, meets Hayden Rowe, an autistic young woman and extremely talented artist. Told in first person from Greer’s perspective, the subject was handled with sensitivity and insight, drawing me further into the story. An early confrontation with Hayden’s mother painted a stark picture of emotional abuse, and I wanted to throttle the mother for her callous disregard for Hayden. This was especially true after I “met” Hayden’s grandmother and brother.
As the relationship between Greer and Hayden developed, Greer made seemingly straightforward decisions that had unforeseen consequences and changed the milieu surrounding both Hayden and herself. I could relate to that particular situation and was immersed in the dance of conflict and discovery that permeated this novel. The characters were drawn with honest strokes of…
Greer Landon is a successful art gallery owner. She has created an empire by discovering and developing new artists. When she agrees to visit an art school in Boston, she encounters a woman, Hayden Rowe, whose paintings take her breath away. Greer realizes Hayden is not a student, but lives in a remote wing of the school and the maddeningly frustrating headmaster is her mother.
Mesmerized by Hayden and her art, Greer learns the young woman has Asperger syndrome. Hayden awakens something in Greer she didn’t know she was capable of. Having suffered from a profound loneliness for most of…
I was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburbs. After a career at the University of Illinois, 150 miles downstate, I moved back to my hometown to recapture the urban vibe that I love. A historian, I love the stories that architecture tells me and wandering the streets of the city never stales. Having romance in my life is important and writing about how relationships can develop in the city is part of that. Everywhere I go in Chicago, I think of how my characters might interact with each other and the setting. Romance can be found in grand restaurants and in odd corners and Chicago has it all.
This book combines romance and suspense, humor, and action, all in one package. Shane, a P. I., and Gabriel, a security expert, are separately investigating a person of interest. They eventually cooperate to catch their villain. This is a slow-burn romance with a stiff-upper-lip Brit, working for Cipher Systems in Chicago and an amputee who takes no prisoners. Their explosive mix makes for an exciting ride with a great love story.
I loved that both Gabriel and Shane live in The Manor, which is the former British consulate. I’d live there myself if I could afford it. Having characters situated in neighborhoods that I know makes the reading experience more authentic. I also loved how Shane handles being an amputee. Her scenes with her prosthetics designer are hilarious.
** 2021 RWA Vivian Award Finalist – Romantic Suspense **
** Finalist in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards **
“The slow-burn romance between Gabriel and Shane becomes delicious torture. This is a winner.” – Publishers WeeklyStarred Review
There are three things you need to know about Shane P.I. 1) P.I. is not her last name, it’s her job title, 2) Her specialty is catching cheaters, and 3) She’s a superhuman – kind of.
Gabriel is a security expert for Cipher Security, and a former UN Peacekeeper with a fierce protective streak that finds its focus on the beautiful…
Leila Monahan is creating her dream family, but when her fiancé gets cold feet, she sends him packing. A sperm bank would be easier but first, she’ll take a DNA test. She doesn’t care about finding her birth parents, but her future children might. The surprising results are nothing to the shock of seeing her first true love back in town, with an eight-year-old daughter.
Sawyer Lafferty loved Leila, but her desire to get married—at nineteen!—sent him running. Before settling down, he wanted an education and opportunities. But those, and any future with Leila, vanished with the unexpected arrival of…
Leila Monahan is creating her dream family, but when her fiancé gets cold feet, she sends him packing. A sperm bank would be easier but first, she’ll take a DNA test. She doesn’t care about finding her birth parents, but her future children might. The surprising results are nothing to the shock of seeing her first true love back in town, with an eight-year-old daughter.
Sawyer Lafferty loved Leila, but her desire to get married—at nineteen!—sent him running. Before settling down, he wanted an education and opportunities. But those, and any future with Leila, vanished with the unexpected arrival of…
I have been writing fantasy professionally for more than twenty-five years, and have published novels of epic fantasy, contemporary urban fantasy, supernatural thriller, and (as D.B. Jackson) historical fantasy. I have devoted my professional life to the genre because I love writing about magic and the people who wield it. I believe fantasy novels should thrill and intrigue, but also touch our emotions, and carry us through narratives with beautiful writing. That is what I try to do with my books, and that is what draws me to the novels I have listed here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
I am a huge fan of urban fantasy, and have written several myself, including my newest project.
Of all the UFs I have read, C.E. Murphy’s Negotiator series is my favorite.Heart of Stone, the first book in the sequence, introduces us to a magically reimagined New York City that is populated by dragons, vampires, and gargoyles that come to life at night and slumber in their stone form by day.
It also introduces us to Magrit Knight, a smart, powerful, fearless hero who will capture your heart and have you cheering (when you’re not breathlessly rushing to see what happens to her next)!
Okay, so jogging through Central Park after midnight wasn't a bright idea. But Margrit Knight never thought she'd encounter a dark new world filled with magical beings―not to mention a dying woman and a mysterious stranger with blood on his hands. Her logical, lawyer instincts told her it couldn't all be real― but she could hardly deny what she'd seen…and touched.
The mystery man, Alban, was a gargoyle. One of the fabled Old Races who had hidden their existence for centuries. Now he was a murder suspect, and he needed Margrit's help to take…
I write what I know. My life has given me so much to write about that people seem to connect with. I started this journey as a writer to share my personal story but instead, what I authored was a novel about my life, but as a fictional story. A lot of situations that my characters find themselves in are things that I have endured or seen personally in my life and in my travels. My passion is broken people I guess, because I have been surrounded by so many of them, in my life.
I absolutely love this book. The message within about finding yourself, despite all that is going on around you, or your current circumstances really resonates with me. Where you start doesn’t have to be where you finish. It’s a book that I could read repeatedly.
This novel is like my novel in the fact that her characters also overcome many obstacles to find their way in life. They had to learn to be strong in the face of adversity. If you are someone who likes a book that shows you women finding their way amid chaos it’s a must read.
Chante Chambers is a self-proclaimed princess. She has it all: looks, a body women would pay for, a great career, all the material items a girl could want plus some…all of this maintained by her ex, Jason. Whatever mama wants, Jason makes sure mama gets. The one task he failed at was being faithful. With a toss of a Gucci pump Jason was history. Or so she thought.
In a pursuit for love, happiness, and monogamy sometimes mistaken for sex, Chante encounters an array of men, whom if you took the best traits from them all and combined them, it…
Prior to writing my own works of fiction, I actually worked for several years as a romance ghostwriter. I’ve worked for many clients under various pseudonyms, and many of these titles have gone on to the Amazon Top 100 list (I just can’t tell you which one because I signed an NDA). I think that romance as a genre can be a wonderfully cathartic and escapist experience, allowing us the opportunity to swoon, pine, and giddily indulge in the joy of what it’s like to fall in love over and over again.
I believe in second chances. That’s why Forget Me Not is one of my favorite romance reads of the year!
Ama Torres is a wedding planner who (ironically) doesn’t believe in marriage. This may or may not be the reason why handsome and brooding florist Elliot Bloom seems so distant and broken-hearted. They were an item—until something went terribly wrong!
This is a swoon-worthy read with snappy banter and plenty of spice. Watching these two fall in love all over again is sweet enough to give me cavities.
A wedding planner and her grumpy ex must work together to plan a celebrity event in this deliciously spicy and funny novel from Ali Hazelwood's "favorite writer."
Ama Torres is an optimistic wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage. But weddings? They’re amazing. Elliot Bloom is a brooding florist who hates owning a flower shop…until a certain bright-eyed, donut-loving workaholic shows up at his door.
Once upon a time, they collaborated on events by day, and by night, Ama traced the intricate flower tattoos etched along his body. Then Ama shattered his heart and never spoke to Elliot again.
I've been fascinated by cultures shrouded in secrets and mystery since childhood, a fascination that intensified when efforts to unravel the mystery and expose the truth were stonewalled, leading to frustrating dead-ends. I spent decades trying to uncover the truth history obscures through research that included travel to the lands of secrets, mystery, and sometimes outright lies. As a writer, I draw from experience, education, and imagination because I know it's sometimes necessary to wrap truth in fiction to protect it. The books I've selected speak to that reality.
Proving these are the best years of your life a fallacy, this book is a riveting story demonstrating how events of adolescence not only shape us but drive us to find peace and shows that just because time tries to make amends, it is ultimately up to us whether or not we accept recompense for devastating loss.
Determined to forget the only woman he has ever loved, Morgan Tallchief vows to protect the returned, but still troubled, Kathleen Ryder, who fears that her enemies will prevent her from staying with Morgan. Reissue.
I’ve been a Pratchett fan since I first read The Colour of Magic in 1986. I was nine and suddenly obsessed. When he died, I cried; when I found out he left me – us – one last gift, I cried again. The best satire doesn’t just make you laugh through the tears and cry with laughter; it makes you think. Over the decades, Pratchett perfected this art. Nobody can replace him, although many authors, including myself, try to follow. Searching for them between the rock and the trying-too-hard place, sometimes I find diamonds. May they shine as brightly in your eyes as they do in mine.
When Gadriel, an ex-guardian-currently-fallen angel bets against Barachiel, definitely-not-the-angel-of-gamblers, the latter wins – to nobody’s (including Gadriel’s) surprise. To pay the debt Gabriel must tempt the terminally sin-free Holly Harker to be a bit less of an Agnes (or an early Mildred) and more of a Perdita (or a late Mildred). Unfortunately, Holly has no experience at being nice to herself, even in perfectly wholesome ways. Neither Lady Gadriel, Sir Gadriel, Adorkable Fluffy Kitten Gadriel, nor chocolate will tempt her! The villains include an evil secondary school history teacher, a teen band leader whose mother is definitely not called Karen, and grief.
Small Miracles is hilarious, wonderfully queer, sweet, thoughtful, and occasionally heartbreaking. I never thought a cosy YA urban fantasy would become my favourite book of 2022.
A “charming tale of little temptations” (Jacquelyn Benson), this feel-good comedy by fantasy author Olivia Atwater mixes angels, demons, romance, and chocolate into a perfectly petty and wickedly entertaining novel.
A little bit of sin is good for the soul.
Gadriel, the fallen angel of petty temptations, has a bit of a gambling debt. Fortunately, her angelic bookie is happy to let her pay off her debts by doing what she does best: All Gadriel has to do is tempt miserably sinless mortal Holly Harker to do a few nice things for herself.
I love the idea of taking a familiar story and making it fresh for a modern audience, which is probably why I’ve written two YA retellings. My first book (Match Me If You Can) is a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and my sophomore novel (How To Speak Boy) is an adaptation of You’ve Got Mail. When I’m reading, I give bonus points to any adaptation that includes a love story, because I am all about the happily ever afters. So, if you’re like me and you enjoy the comforting familiarity of classics but want to be able to put yourself in the story, this list is for you.
I love a good Taming of the Shrew retelling. Ten Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite movies, and this book elicits all the same feelings. Watching an unlikeable main character redeem herself is so satisfying, and of course, the lead guy is a loveable nerd, which I always appreciate. I loved how the main character Cameron learns that it’s ok to be different and that maybe it’s better to be yourself than a queen bee everyone respects but doesn’t like. The snarky dialogue kept me turning pages and I couldn’t wait to see how this book ended.
To win him over, Cameron resolves to "tame" herself, like Shakespeare's shrew, Katherine. If she can make amends to those she's wronged, Andrew will have to take notice. Cameron's apology tour begins with Brendan, the guy whose social life she single-handedly destroyed. At first, Brendan isn't so quick to forgive, but slowly he warms to her when they connect over a computer game he's developing. To Cameron's amazement, she enjoys hanging out with Brendan, who views her honesty as an asset, and she wonders: maybe you don't have to compromise who you are for the kind of love you deserve.
Give me all the supernatural and fantasy intrigue with love on the side. Sometimes this world of ours is too much to deal with and it’s nice to visit other worlds. To read and write about the justice, love, and magic of other things that may be lacking in your life can be cathartic and gives us something to look forward to and strive for. While some of the more supernatural aspects might be out of reach, the beauty of unbreakable bonds forged in love and trust, people willing to sacrifice for what they believe in, and seeing justice prevail also gives me the hope that it's not unreachable if you believe it.
The first and my favorite of this series that sets up a world beyond our own with interesting and multiple interesting and tortured characters all trapped in their own personal hell and I was here for it. This book focuses on one particular members of this poor group and how one person can come in change absolutely everything with love and faith. There is a setup for the multiple books in the series that do not take away from the main story or characters and will have you wanting to know more. Heavy on not just the romance but the action and violence had me flying through the pages to feed my need for more. Entertaining, fun, tense, and never giving a dull moment, I recommend this for a fun night or nights of reading.
Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive—and unimaginably powerful… Don't miss a single book in this stunning paranormal series from New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter!
All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member—a man trapped in a hell of his own.
Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments…and ignites an irresistible…
