Weekly Reads: June 1 to 7, 2026 (historical romance, contemporary romance)

Because of You by Cathy Maxwell (2006)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Vicar’s daughter Samantha gets entangled with a rogue of a duke’s son Yale when he turns up in her village and gets ill. She nurses him back to health, they’re caught in a compromising situation by her idiotic townsfolk, and then they’re forced to marry. Except he’s in town under a fake name. Oops. Messy and dramatic and still pretty darn emotional. I loved this one a lot.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

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I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Love on the Vine series. Start steamy here with a one night stand between Farzan and David. We’ve got a small mix-up when David thinks that Farzan is a food critic at the bar where he works, but they clear that up pretty soon. What follows is a friends with benefits situation because David only does casual and he’s planning to leave town in a few months anyway. Farzan is dealing with his own feelings of family inadequacy and learning how to take over the family restaurant. His friend group is amazingly supportive though and the main characters for the rest of the series. Loved seeing David and Farzan flirt (and more) and fall in love.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 4 of the Vancouver Storm series. Georgia and Alexei have been angry flirting almost all series, so it’s their turn for a marriage of convenience story. Alexei needs citizenship and Georgia needs her inheritance, so the scheme is born. But man, they totally hate each other because they willfully misunderstand and make assumptions about each other. Kind of irritating at first how immature they behave towards each other. Their relationship is much better when they get to know each other for real though. Alexei is just the right amount of generous and protective. And Georgia, well, she still likes to mess with Alexei.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Snuck this one into my reading list for the week because 1. It was on Amazon’s best romance of the month list, 2. I saw someone review it on IG, and 3. It was available on Libby as Skip the Line. Totally worth it. Emotional and endearing and wow these two people from very different life circumstances are totally perfect for each other. Dolly grew up in the beach town of Whitfield with a social climbing mother who idolized that wealthy Whitfield family. A chance encounter and a tabloid photo with Stewart Whitfield sets up a fake dating scheme so Stewart can advance his chances at being the next family business CEO. She only goes along with it because she really needs the money to fix her family home. But you know, as they spend more time together, it’s clear the attraction and affection is real. Dolly’s just waiting for the fairytale to end though. Ugh, this book was so good, I don’t even have words. Just read it.

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

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A Promising Kiss by Alexa Aston (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 8 of the Captivating Kisses series. I love books by this author because they are such an easy comfortable read. I know exactly what I’m going to get out of this series. Someone has a tragic backstory, usually the main character who’s not part of the overarching family of the series, they meet their new partner, and it’s pretty much love at first sight. In this case, Matthew becomes a duke at age 12, rescues his mother from an asylum, and then spends his adulthood rescuing other women from the same fate. He meets Verina when she’s visiting her cousin, who’s married to his best friend. Pretty straightforward situation here, made better by the fact that he’s totally impressed by her competence and compassion. I like knowing exactly what I’m getting here with this book and it did not disappoint.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.