Weekly Reads: January 5 to 11, 2026 (contemporary romance, historical romance, sports romance)

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren (2024)

Contemporary romance. Part of the Improbable Meet Cutes series. Super cute short story, where two strangers have been emailing each other on Valentine’s Day every year. No identifying information, but they’ve definitely grown close over the years and might be making plans to meet. I gave a twenty second try to listen to this on audiobook, and then realized they had to read out their email addresses and time and date stamps, so switched to ebook real quick. So stinking cute and totally worth the read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Remember That Day by Mary Balogh (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Ravenswood series. I love the slow and quiet romance of Mary Balogh’s books. Two people who are total opposites end up falling in love here, even when they’re supposedly courting other people. Winnie was an orphan who was adopted at the age of nine and now visiting London with her famous painter father. Her aunt, who happens to be a duchess, throws her a debut ball and pretty much pushes her into society a bit. She’s not quite courting Owen, who is a friend of her step uncle and waffles between being hopeful of a true courtship and just being happy being friends with him. The real romance here is between Winnie and Owen’s older brother Nicholas though. They’ve got a 13 year age gap and totally unsuited for each other. Except Nicholas can’t stop thinking of Winnie either. It all gets even more muddled when everyone is invited to Nicholas’ country estate for a few weeks in the Summer. Agh, I loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 5 of the Big Shots series. A few flashback chapters in this one, since Eve and Madden have known each other for years. They’ve always had a bit of chemistry together, but Eve’s best friend has had a crush on Madden for years, so she’s always stayed away. Plus Eve is the local pariah since her father owned the local strip club. Madden does not care about any of that and only cares about Eve. When he’s got the chance to make his move, he proposes and marriage of convenience. She’s definitely the one setting boundaries, but it’s really only a matter of time before she gives in. Loved this super steamy read.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

The Odds of You by Kate Dramis (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Fairly predictable contemporary romance set up here. Writer Sage meets actor Theo on an airplane, does not know who he is, gets photographed by the paparazzi and now kind of amidst a clout-seeking scandal. Oh, and she has massive writer’s block and her family is not at all supportive of her creative career path. But Theo is actually pretty sweet and funny and they get along great. Except for the whole being famous thing. They part ways pretty quickly, only to run into each other again a few weeks later in Scotland. Almost like fate. Single POV story from Sage’s perspective, so we don’t know any of Theo’s motivations, other than simply being attracted to Sage. They’re sweet and funny together, but of course their lives are in two totally different places, so the Scotland bubble will have to burst eventually.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio.

Behind the Net by Stephanie Archer (2023)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Vancouver Storm series. Grumpy Jamie is back in his hometown to care for his mother who suffers from depression and anxiety. He definitely does not have time to date, and ends up hiring a personal assistant to take care of his dog. When his high school crush Pippa shows up at his door, he doesn’t tell her he recognizes her right away. She’s down on her luck after her boyfriend dumped her and basically slashed her dreams of being a musician. Luckily, Jamie is the ultimate supportive boss, friend, and eventual boyfriend. They spend a lot of time trying to resist each other, but it’s super steamy when they stop fighting it. Fun intro to the series and looking forward to reading more.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.