The Wallflower Win by Valerie Bowman (2023)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Whitmorelands series. Eliza is totally uninterested in marriage, so she basically tricks Christopher into a wager during a chess match, where he will pretend to court her next season if she wins. Which she does of course, but she severely underestimated how much time they would need to spend together during their fake courtship. She really just thought they’d dance a few times at a ball and then she’d be free to read all day. And then it turns out that she actually likes the man. And he likes her too. Total mess, really. They just need to figure out that they should actually get married for real.
Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt (2026)
Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Spunes series. Super angsty and emotional, definitely dealing with grief here. It’s mostly Bea’s story with a side of Silas and his yearning for her. Bea has recently lost her best friend, Merritt, to cancer and has been bequeathed her eggs. And of course Bea decides to go through with carrying and having her best friend’s baby, much to the dismay of her mother. Add in some on-again off-again drama with Silas, who is pretty much the one who got away, mostly because Merritt had a long-time crush on him. Bea and Silas end up roommates and he’s basically the most supportive guy ever in Bea’s journey. He has his own stuff to work though after having survived a wildfire as a firefighter, but that plot felt a bit undercooked compared to Bea’s story. I liked reading the flashback chapters and all the missed opportunities for Bea and Silas to get together, and I really do think they work well together.
Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio.
I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy by Kimberly Lemming (2026)
Paranormal romance. Book 2 of the Cosmic Chaos series. Human woman Blair gets abducted to an alien planet, saves an alien king’s life, and then tries and fails to run away from him. Osid has decided to keep Blair as his queen, but then he’s paranoid that she’s part of an enemy’s trap, and so then he imprisons her. This book would be a little confusing without the help of the previous book, but basically, some birdlike alien has created a new planet here and have a breeding project to match the alien men with human women. They’ve decided that Blair and Osid and a highly statistically matched pair, and don’t love that she hates him. The couples therapy from the title is actually a series of challenges that force them to work together. This book was funny and chaotic, but I’m not sure if I believe that these two highly combative people really fall in love.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
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.
Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly (2026)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Loved this one. Influencer Poppy teams up with chef Jack to reopen his late mentor’s restaurant in small town Florida. This is after some public humiliation for both of them at her father’s fancy restaurant in New York City. The grumpy chef and sunshiney influencer are constantly bickering, but definitely grow closer along the way. And it was nice watching them learn more about each other and find a new purpose in life. This book reminded me a lot of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, in a good way, because I love that grumpy-sunshine pair working on a team project.
Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by HarperCollins Audio.
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