Weekly Reads: August 10 to 16, 2026 (contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance)

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (2022)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Nora usually writes cheesy rom-coms for a cable movie channel, but has more recently written a script that recaps the breakup of her own marriage. And the movie studio wants to film a few scenes right there on her property. Leading man Leo is a bit of a mess, but seems to like his time out in the woods away from the hustle and bustle of his life. Seeking a break for his life, he crashes at Nora’s for a week, and then longer. The romance here was a super slow build, but felt really natural. I liked seeing Leo interact with Nora’s kids and learn how to be a normal guy in a small town. Conflict is ahead, of course, but I liked seeing how Nora continued to work on herself and her writing along the way.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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A Possessive Kiss by Alexa Aston (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 9 of the Captivating Kisses series. Justina isn’t really interested in marriage and prefers working on her paintings, until she meets the new shopkeeper David, and suddenly she’s very interested in him. David is the younger son of an earl, former spy, and now trying to make his own way. After staying with his friends for awhile, he finds an opportunity to buy a general store in a local village. He transforms the space and adds a bookshop and lending library too. After making the acquaintance of Justina, he forms an instant bond, but knows that he doesn’t have the means to offer for him. But we’re just waiting for the opportunity for these two to get together.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

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World’s Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon by Olivia Dade (2026)

Paranormal romance. Book 2 of the Supernatural Entanglements series. This book reads mostly ok as a standalone, but makes a lot more sense if you read Book 1. Gwen has been involved with a small team of folks fighting zombies, and this book has her recruiting a high-level government official Hugh to help the team’s investigation on the zombie breach. It’s another action-packed book with adventure and hijinks around every corner. Gwen’s a pregnant oracle with subpar powers, until she has more recently predicted a total apocalypse, and Hugh is a demon with an unexplainable connection to Gwen. The romance is mostly sweet, steamy, and generally low-conflict, since they’re really busy just trying to save the world. I thought this book was funny and I especially enjoyed listening to it on audio.

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

The Debutante Dilemma by Valerie Bowman (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Whitmorelands series. Lady Jessica is in her debut season with her sights set on Aiden, the Duke of Thornbury, the Uncatchable Catch. Until he insults her terribly at a ball and she slaps him. Instead of ruining her reputation, Jessica is even more popular for taking Aiden down a notch. But he’s trying and failing to get her to accept her apology and move on. They start here as somewhat enemies, but then they get to know each other for real, and there are definite sparks. Despite the fact that Aiden isn’t the ideal husband candidate. He just needs to clean up his act and actually court the girl.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.