Weekly Reads: February 16 to 22, 2026 (contemporary romance)

It’s All in Your Head by Sabina Nordqvist (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Strangers from an online chronic illness message board meet and fake date. Skylar is just trying to be helpful and prevent Pike’s mom from calling the cops for a wellness check, and maybe sorta lies that she’s Pike’s girlfriend. It does not go over well. But they meet in person and establish some ground rules for their fake relationship. Basically, they’re both navigating life suffering from chronic pain and their respective medical conditions. And as they slowly start to trust each other, it’s amazing to see how supportive they can be. Lots of insecurity and self-doubt for each, but they’re the best advocates for each other. I loved seeing these two turn their fake relationship into a real relationship, and see all the support they get from their social circle. Seriously, one of the best books with chronic disability representation I’ve read.

Advance ebook provided by Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley.

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Still Into You by Erin Connor (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Journalist Sloane has an opportunity to write an article on her ex-boyfriend Dax’s band. And she’s trying to keep things totally professional, even though it’s clear that he’s making heart eyes at her. They pretty much had a whirlwind summer together three years ago before she broke it off to go back to college and pursue her own career. Now, they’ve reconnected and it’s a chance for Sloane to see if she can juggle it all. The whole book is told from Sloane’s POV (and audiobook narration is mostly done by Karissa Vacker), with excerpts from interview transcripts of all the band members (with a different narrator for each band mate). It’s interesting seeing Sloane try so hard to prioritize her career, when Dax is clearly ready to commit and be a supportive partner for her. Loved the levels of yearning here and that the original breakup wasn’t so messy that it makes the re-do impossible.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

Racing Hearts by Ann Adams (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Kath is hyper obsessed with routine and rowing and she’s had a terrible racing slump. Her coach basically kicks her out of the Olympic training center and she’s stuck back with her unreliable mother and a new coach with unusual methods. Adrian is mostly just being flexible to the rowers’ needs and trying to help with the athletes’ mental health as part of their training. Kath of course is totally resistant, until she realizes that she’s got everything to lose if she doesn’t actually try things his way. He’s amazing and awesome and super good at coaching both Kath and the high school boys, in a way that is so endearing. And then we get the romance bit where Adrian is also an amazing boyfriend, though Kath insists it’s temporary and she won’t catch feelings. Right. I loved this book so much, with Kath’s journey into being less rigid and more accepting of love.

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

Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Academic rivals Frances and Lewis have a meet cute on their flight to a conference, and then are assumed to be dating by the conference organizer. And then they keep up the ruse through the conference because Frances doesn’t accidentally want to be called a liar. It turns out Lewis is not a mean guy, but just a socially awkward one who made one academic mistake on the advice of his mentor, and Frances is totally obsessed with prioritizing her work over any other type of relationship. I enjoyed seeing them communicate and air out their disagreements and then also nerd out together over science. This was a couple that was really fun to read, especially when they were supporting each other instead of getting in each other’s way. Super cute, steamy, and emotional.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.