Contemporary Romance
Work Me Up
Imagine four men, each hotter than barbecue in August, who all find love in a gritty Michigan small town—welcome to Julie Kriss’s Riggs Brothers series. I’m reading them all. I…
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Take Me Down
I enjoyed the first Riggs Brothers book, Drive Me Wild. This one? Not so much. Jace—25, tall, muscled, and allegedly deep—just finished a 20-month sentence for grand theft auto. (The…
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Drive Me Wild
Westlake, Michigan is the kind of town where, in ways mostly bad, everyone knows your name and they never forget your sins. It’s a place young people leave as soon…
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How To End a Love Story
How to End a Love Story is billed a romance shaped by grief and healing. It delivers a shallow, joyless hash instead. I’ve read it–you probably shouldn’t. This is a…
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Nothing But Trouble
I loathe football and you couldn’t pay me to watch a hockey game and yet two of my favorite romance series feature each: Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Chicago Stars (football) and…
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Untouched
There’s a certain satisfaction in finding a romance novel that’s fully aware of its contradictions. Maisey Yates’ Untouched is one of those books that pulls you in, even as you…
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Protecting What’s His
This was Tessa Bailey’s debut, published in 2013–and, back in the day, I loved it. I recently re-read it and, again, it made me laugh. It has an extremely alpha…
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It’s In His Kiss
Jill Shalvis’ It’s in His Kiss returns us to Lucky Harbor—a place that, by this point in the long-running series, is as much a character as the people who populate…
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Sugar Creek
Destiny, Ohio, isn’t exactly where Rachel Farris imagined herself returning, but when her grandmother needs help with the family apple orchard, she finds herself back in the small town she…
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The Invitation
Ah, romance novels. When they’re brilliant, they offer a sublime respite from the world. When they’re predictable, they’re… fine. The Invitation is fine. It’s the sort of romance where hot…
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Nothing Less Than Magic
Just one year ago, Chelsea Knight was living the life she’d always wanted. Marriage to the perfect guy, a thriving career, and a gorgeous condo overlooking San Francisco Bay. Then…
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The Summer We Fell
In this dual timeline contemporary romance, we follow the lives of Luke, the world’s hottest surfer, and Juliet, a beautiful woman ostensibly characterized as a musician. This label feels tenuous…
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