Romance Reads: Home

Liese’s charming second Wilmot Sisters romance (after Two Wrongs Make a Right) offers a loose contemporary riff on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Photographer Katerina “Kate” Wilmot marches to a different drummer, a side effect of her ADHD. Orphan Christopher Petruchio was unofficially adopted by the Wilmot family, his neighbors, after his parents’ death and has loved Kate from a distance since they were both children, but covers it up with snark and hostility. Their fights are legendary among the Wilmots—but when a drunken Kate confesses to Christopher that her animosity is rooted in deep insecurity and a genuine belief that he hates her, Christopher is left determined to fix their relationship and prove his love. Liese brings this unexpected couple to vibrant life, making a case for how their differences can work together beautifully. Shakespeare fans will enjoy the clever nods to the classic throughout, but readers won’t need to be familiar with the original to be swept away by this enemies-to-lovers tale. With a real depth of feeling and plenty of swoon-worthy moments, this keeps the series going strong. Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly.

The giddy latest from bestseller Kinsella (Confessions of a Shopaholic) pairs two workaholics on vacation. Sasha has reached a breaking point in her tech startup job: her crowded email inbox makes her “chest spasm” and “left eye start twitching” and she finds no relief from her company’s “employee joyfulness program.” Instead, she heads to a British seaside resort hoping for some much-needed relaxation time. It’s the offseason, so she’s sharing the beach with only one other guest, Finn, who turns out to be just as cranky and burned-out as Sasha and, in her mind, not handling it half as well. The two are initially intent on avoiding each other, but they’re brought together by mysterious, anonymous messages written in the sand on the beach and addressed to them. As they investigate—and commiserate about their jobs—sparks fly and a relationship blossoms. The slow pace may frustrate some romance fans, but Kinsella peppers in plenty of humor as the protagonists share childhood memories and reach for happiness together. The banter is snappy, but what really sets this romance apart is its message of carving out time for life’s simple pleasures. Kinsella’s fans will not be disappointed. Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly.

Rebellious Lola León and conventional Santiago "Saint" Vega were unlikely high school sweethearts. After graduating from high school, they lost contact when Lola mysteriously disappeared without a word. Decades later, Lola, now a dedicated activist, is back in Chicago, working for the local community center. Saint, who lost his wife in a fatal accident, is now a single father working for his family construction business, helping to turn a building that used to be a shelter for LGBTQIA+ kids into expensive condos. He knows he's on the wrong side of the gentrification issue and quickly realizes he is on the opposite side of the struggle from Lola, but his sense of family duty overrides all else. Reunited under the worst of circumstances, their love still burns bright, but they'll need to forgive past mistakes and work through their seemingly insurmountable disagreements to find a happily ever after. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of contemporary romances with strong social justice and family themes. This second "Vega Family Love Stories" book (following A Proposal They Can't Refuse) works well as a stand-alone. Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

American Riley Rhodes is a curse breaker, a gift held by generations of women in her family that allows them to scent the magic of a curse. Riley is the first in her family to try to make a business out of this unique skill, and her biggest job yet is to break the curse on Arden Castle in the Scottish Highlands so its new owners can successfully make it a tourist destination. Beyond the curse, her biggest foe is the hot but infuriating British archaeologist Clark Edgeware, who believes she's a sham and should be fired. Their attraction only increases, though, as they battle to prove each other wrong, but ultimately, the two of them together may be the key to fulfilling the deal with a fae that the castle's last resident made centuries ago. Danan (The Intimacy Experiment) expertly deploys the enemies-to-lovers trope as Riley's confidence and Clark's arrogance are peeled away to reveal the wounded, kind people underneath who are made for each other. VERDICT A curse breaker and an archaeologist go from enemies to lovers as they vanquish a fae curse in this delightful, steamy romance.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

Living with her parents at almost 30 years old is not how Collins pictured her life. As a TV writer in Los Angeles, she's been working her way up in the industry—until she has a major meltdown that goes viral. Mortified, she flees to her parents' home in suburban Ohio, where she runs into Nate, her nemesis who was once her best friend in the world. He's now running for president of the neighborhood housing association, and Collins decides to run against him out of spite. Through their campaigning activities, Collins and Nate have plenty of opportunities to reconnect and figure out what happened in the past, allowing them to revisit their dormant childhood affection and find that it has transformed into full-fledged love. But now Hollywood is calling Collins back, and she has to decide whether to go back to LA for a chance at a successful career or stay in the sleepy suburbs with the love of her life. VERDICT Martin's (Better Than Fiction) sexy friends-to-lovers rom-com is full of endearing characters and emotional plotlines, set against a whimsical Midwestern backdrop. Will appeal to readers of feel-good contemporary romances.—
Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn't exactly conducive to modern dating-and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she's used to suspecting the worst. PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She's even analyzing the genre in her dissertation-if she can manage to finish writing it. It's hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn't had a relationship with for years. It doesn't help that she's low-key convinced her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he's clearly up to something). But it's not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier-a genuinely nice guy who can pierce through her armor to her vulnerable heart underneath"-- Provided by publisher.