Weekly Reads: May 4 to 10, 2026 (historical romance, contemporary romance)

Captured by Beverly Jenkins (2009)

Historical romance. Book 3 of the Le Veq series. Typical plot-filled adventure here with Ms. Bev. Dominic is a privateer who attacks an English vessel and takes Clare with him. She’s super feisty and doesn’t want to leave her mistress at first, but Dominic is trying to set her free. But she has reasons for wanting to go back to her home in Savannah. There’s definitely a mix of fighting and flirting here, and the general dangers of being a pirate at sea. And then we get to Dominic’s idyllic island and Clare gets a taste of true freedom there. There are villains around every corner and things always get worse when they team up unexpectedly. So much going on, this book will keep you hooked all the way through.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Libro.fm

The Daisy Chain Flower Shop by Laurie Gilmore (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 6 of the Dream Harbor series. Daisy runs the local flower shop and is skittish about love after having been ditched by her fiance last year. It doesn’t help that the town thinks that she and the flower shop are cursed, meaning that she’s losing business. And when her ex-fiance comes to her shop with his new fiance, she quickly grabs Elliot and pretends they’re in a relationship. He’s also slighting dinged from love after his wife left him, but he’s got a huge crush on Daisy, so he quickly plays along. And then we start a full-blown fake relationship in hopes that the town will think Daisy isn’t cursed anymore and actually start buying flowers from her shop. Cute and a little messy, plus we get a fun little mystery of a great aunt who looks just like Daisy.

Advance ebook provided by Harper 360 via NetGalley.