Weekly Reads: June 9 to 15, 2025

The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Widowed duchess Selena is at the ladies’ club on the prowl for Aiden Trewlove, the owner and bastard son of some unnamed lord. We get to see their flirty and seductive first meeting, before finding out Selena’s real reason for being there. She needs to get pregnant and quick, so she can pass the baby off as her late husband’s to keep her position and fortune. It’s dramatic and angsty and we get to catch up with the whole boisterous Trewlove family. So much steam and longing within these impossible circumstances and it was so much fun to read. Pulls at all the heartstrings just right. Loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Related to With Love, from Cold World. A defunct punk rock band is asked to join a teen drama revival cruise to perform their one-hit wonder that was played on the show’s big prom episode. And Micah is having all sorts of feelings about it because she’s the one who broke up the band all those years ago. Meanwhile, her childhood best friend and ex-bandmate John is also feeling apprehensive about the trip, because it’s super obvious to all of us that he was in love with her all those years ago buy stayed firmly in friendship territory. This book had so much emotional angst and longing. Watching the band reunite was so much fun because they all had to catch each other up on their time apart. The romance between Micah and John was both sweet and super steamy. And of course, the cruise ship comedy was also entertaining. Loved this book.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

An Innocent Kiss by Alexa Aston (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Captivating Kisses series. Perry is an earl who had gone to war and come back to take up his title after his father passes away. Drusilla is the daughter of an earl who is supposed to debut next season but uninterested in marriage or babies. But they happen to meet each other in the country in the off-season and fall in love. It’s a pretty predictable sort of tale, but I love these quiet easy romances, especially when the guy is the one to fall first. Love seeing all the men who join the extended family become friends and I also love that Drusilla gets to live nearby her sister and cousin in the country.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Books via NetGalley.

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Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. I would say the romance in this story takes a backburner to the main plot, where Kate is playing the public role in place of an anonymous author who has written a love story. She’s a recently divorced mother of a university student who really needs a job, so she tries to get in contact with her previous acting agent. The old agent, Jojo, has passed away, leaving his son Charlie to take the job. For the most part, Charlie is a totally professional and supportive colleague to Kate as she finds herself in crazy situations in her new “author” role. I feel like the romance comes out of nowhere a bit, but it still works ok for me. I was much more interested in Kate’s life with her family and friends and how she deals with her newfound fame.

Advance ebook provided by Dell Publishing via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Her Magnificent Mistake by Caroline Lee (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Surprised Heirs series. Lady Marcia is part of an investigative agency and their next case is to find proof that the latest Baron of a particular title is guilty of murdering about four of his predecessors. Problem is that the suspect is Hawk, her former flame and brother’s best friend. Obviously, he’s not guilty of the crime, and mostly just trying to survive and be a good guardian to his niece. But Marcia doesn’t know that and is all sorts of conflicted about her feelings, especially since she hasn’t seen the man for the past ten years. It’s chaos and a murder plot and seduction, rolled into one steamy and hilarious book.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.