Romance
Fix Her Up: A Novel
Tessa Bailey
OverDrive Audiobook
Fiction, Romance
Georgette Castle's family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven't taken her seriously since. Frankly, she's over it. Georgie loves planning children's birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She's determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means. Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?) Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.) Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!) Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn't been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody's asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that's for sure. Maybe if people think she's having a steamy love affair, they'll acknowledge she's not just the "little sister" who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite. Travis Ford was major league baseball's hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he's flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can't even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his... bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend's sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What's the harm? It's not like it's real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there's nothing fake about how much he wants her...
Last night at the Telegraph Club
Malinda Lo
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Lo Malinda
Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+
"Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day"--
A lovely coming of age story about finding oneself and understanding that you contain multitudes. If you ever felt pulled in different directions or on a quest to find where you fit in, you'll recognize thoughts and feelings in this book. Well researched, beautifully written, and a joy to read. -Anne M
Where have all the boys gone? : a novel
Jenny Colgan
FICTION Colgan Jenny
Fiction, Romance, Humor
With more women than men in London, Katie's dating prospects are at an all-time low. She decides to head for the hills-- the Scottish Highlands to be exact. Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere, but the tiny town does have one major draw: men. LOTS of them! Theres plenty of local eye-candy, including gorgeous newshound Iain. But he is at loggerheads with Katie's new boss, Harry, and she can't afford to get on Harry's bad side any more than she already has. -- adapted from back cover
I will read pretty much anything Jenny Colgan writes. She crafts relatable characters and places them in remote settings that let their minds be free to experience themselves anew. This book is no different. I'm not finished yet, but I love the pickle the protagonist is in--forced to do a PR job for a grumpy forester who just wants to save the trees in the Highlands of Scotland. My favorite way to eat up a Jenny Colgan story is through audiobooks, and we have this one on hoopla. https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12586888 The accents the narrator performs instantly transport the listener to the Highlands. Take me away, Calgon! -Melody
Seven Days in June
Tia Williams
FICTION/Williams, Tia
Romance
Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since. Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered. . . With its keen observations of Black life and the condition of modern motherhood, as well as the consequences of motherless-ness, Seven Days in June is by turns humorous, warm and deeply sensual
I love this book because it provides plenty of FUN and SUBSTANCE. These two things should come together more often in fiction, but usually don't. -Heidi K
Lizzie & Dante : a novel
Mary Bly
FICTION Bly Mary
Romance, Fiction
"On the heels of a difficult break-up and a devastating diagnosis, Shakespearian scholar Lizzie Delford decides to take one last lavish vacation on Elba, the sun-kissed island off the Italian coast, with her best friend and his movie-star boyfriend. Once settled into a luxurious seaside resort, Lizzie has to make big decisions about her future, and she needs the one thing she may be running out of: time. She leaves the yacht-owners and celebrities behind and sneaks off to the public beach, where she meets a sardonic chef named Dante, his battered dog Lily, and his wry daughter Etta, a twelve-year-old desperate for a mother. While Dante shows Lizzie the island's secrets, and Etta dazzles with her irreverent humor, Lizzie is confronted with a dilemma. Is it right to fall in love if time is short? Is it better to find a mother briefly, or to have no mother at all? And the most difficult question of all: What if falling in love inevitably leads to broken hearts?"--
To wrap up my summer reading, I wanted an easy, breezy, escapist read. "Lizzie and Dante" seemed like a good candidate. The setting: Elba. The plot: vacation romance. The author: Mary Bly (bestselling romance writer with the nom de plume Eloisa James). But this book surprised me. This is a serious read about serious topics. Yes, there is love. Yes, there is a beach. But there is also heartache, fear, and uncertainty. This book is about finding happiness when you are given a time-limit on life. If you are looking for a deeply moving and complex contemporary romance, I recommend "Lizzie and Dante." Just be warned: you will need tissues. -Anne M
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens agenda
Becky Albertalli
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Albertalli, Becky
LGBTQ+, Humor, Romance, Young Adult
"Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity--and that of his pen pal--will be revealed"--
An authentic and utterly heart-warming story. Simon is adorable; you will instantly like him and this is a wonderful "love is love" tale! -Victoria
A princess in theory
Alyssa Cole
FICTION Cole Alyssa
Romance
Prince Thabiso is the sole heir to the throne of Thesolo, shouldering the hopes of his parents and his people. At the top of their list? His marriage. Ever dutiful, he tracks down his missing betrothed. When Naledi mistakes the prince for a pauper, Thabiso can't resist the chance to experience life--and love--without the burden of his crown.
Added by Beth
Make up break up
Lily Menon
FICTION Menon Lily
Romance
"The sparkling and heartfelt romantic comedy debut from Lily Menon, Make Up Break Up.... Love, romance, second chances, fairy-tale endings...these are the things Annika Dev believes in. Her app, Make Up, has been called the 'Google Translate for failing relationships.' High efficiency break-ups, flashy start-ups, penthouses, fast cars...these are the things Hudson Craft believes in. His app, Break Up, is known as the 'Uber for break-ups.' It's wildly successful--and anathema to Annika's life philosophy. Which wouldn't be a problem if they'd gone their separate ways after that summer fling in Las Vegas, never to see each other again. Unfortunately for Annika, Hudson's moving not just into her office building, but into the office right next to hers. And he'll be competing at the prestigious EPIC investment pitch contest: a contest Annika needs to win if she wants to keep Make Up afloat. As if it's not bad enough seeing his irritatingly perfect face on magazine covers when her own business is failing. As if knowing he stole her idea and twisted it into something vile--and monumentally more successful--didn't already make her stomach churn. As the two rival app developers clash again and again--and again--Annika finds herself drawn into Hudson Craft's fast-paced, high velocity, utterly shallow world. Only, from up close, he doesn't seem all that shallow. Could it be that everything she thought about Hudson is completely wrong? Could the creator of Break Up teach her what true love's really about?"--
Added by Beth
The right swipe : a novel
Alisha Rai
FICTION Rai Alisha
Romance
"Two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom. Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career-and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules: - Nude pics are by invitation only - If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice - Protect your heart Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears. Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful-and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that's too high a risk..."--Publisher.
Added by Beth
The bromance book club
Lyssa Kay Adams
FICTION Adams Lyssa
Romance
"Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He's recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it's the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he's let his pride and fear get the better of him. Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife."--Provided by publisher.
Added by Beth
Occasionally I'll go on a contemporary romance audiobook binge. "Fix Her Up" is the first novel of the three-part Hot & Hammered series. might recognize Bailey's name from her newest bestsellers--The Bellinger Sisters series--and I can vouch that both series are fun reads. The characters are easy to empathize with, and the themes aren't too heavy if you want a lighthearted read. And as a series, these books are indeed binge-able. Head over to hoopla if you need rom-com stat. -Melody