Adult Fiction

By: Kianna Alexander (Author), 2023, Paperback

Friends to lovers? There’s a lot to consider, a lot to hope for, and a lot at risk in a steamy and emotional romance by the bestselling author of Can’t Resist Her.

Peaches Monroe and Jamie Hunt are core members of their Texas friend squad and have so much in common. They’re successful at their careers in personal care. They take Austin’s “Keep It Weird” vibe to heart, each leaning into their own unique talents and sense of style. And they’re both ready to go on to even bigger things. Is pushing past the boundaries of friendship into something deeper one of them? The red-hot fantasy is there…but so is real life.

Jamie’s college dreams will take her far from her hometown. She’s already road-tripping to possibilities from San Antonio to Houston. And Peaches has obligations of her own. Not only is she planning to expand her business, but she’s taking care of her family after her mother’s passing, leaving her overwhelmed and under pressure.

No matter how perfect Jamie and Peaches are for each other, is this the right time for romance? Finding their true selves comes first. Only then can they hope to pursue a future of lasting love―together.

By: Kianna Alexander (Author), 2022, Paperback

Two very determined women―in love, at odds, and risking a lot on a second chance.

After years away from home, Summer Graves is back in Austin, Texas, to accept a new teaching position. Of all the changes to the old neighborhood, the most dispiriting one is the slated demolition of the high school her grandmother founded. There’s no way she can let developers destroy her memories and her family legacy. But the challenge stirs memories of another kind.

On the architectural team revitalizing the neighborhood, hometown girl Aiko Holt is all about progress. Then she sees Summer again. Some things never change.

Neither can forget the kiss they shared at their senior-year dance. Neither can back down from her unwavering beliefs about what’s right for the neighborhood.

For now, the only thing Summer and Aiko are willing to give in to is a heat that still burns. But can two women with so much passion―for what once was and what could be―agree to disagree long enough to fall in love?

By Meryl Wilsner, 2023, Paperback

* USA TODAY BESTSELLER *

A sapphic rivals to lovers rom com for fans of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup.

Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. 22-year-old Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t―a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become teammates with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival.

Phoebe Matthews is too focused on her first season as a professional soccer player to think about seducing her longtime idol. But when Grace ends up making the first move, they can’t keep their hands off of each other.

As the World Cup approaches and Grace works her way back from injury, a miscommunication leaves the women with hilariously different perspectives on their relationship. But they’re on the same page on the field, realizing they can play together instead of vying for the same position. With every tackle the tension between them grows, and both players soon have to decide what's more important―being together or making the roster.

The perfect blend of funny and steamy, Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute is about being brave enough to win on and off the field.

By: Alexandria Bellefleur (Author), 2022, Paperback

"Bellefleur has a droll, distinct voice, and her one-liners zing off the page, striking both the heart and funny bone... There's a sparkling quality here, one that mirrors the starry title. Bellefleur writes as if she's captured fairy lights in a mason jar, twinkly and lovely within something solid yet fragile." – Entertainment Weekly

Following Written in the Stars and Hang the Moon, Lambda Literary Award winner and national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur pens another steamy queer rom-com about former best friends who might be each other's second chance at love…

Margot Cooper doesn’t do relationships. She tried and it blew up in her face, so she’ll stick with casual hookups, thank you very much. But now her entire crew has found "the one" and she’s beginning tofeel like a fifth wheel. And then fate (the heartless bitch) intervenes. While touring a wedding venue with her engaged friends, Margot comes face-to-face with Olivia Grant—her childhood friend, her first love, her first… well, everything. It’s been ten years, but the moment they lock eyes, Margot’s cold, dead heart thumps in her chest.

Olivia must be hallucinating. In the decade since she last saw Margot, her life hasn’t gone exactly as planned. At almost thirty, she’s been married... and divorced. However, a wedding planner job in Seattle means a fresh start and a chance to follow her dreams. Never in a million years did she expect her important new client’s Best Woman would be the one that got away.

When a series of unfortunate events leaves Olivia without a place to stay, Margot offers up her spare room because she’s a Very Good Person. Obviously. It has nothing to do with the fact that Olivia is as beautiful as ever and the sparks between them still make Margot tingle. As they spend time in close quarters, Margot starts to question her no-strings stance. Olivia is everything she’s ever wanted, but Margot let her in once and it ended in disaster. Will history repeat itself or should she count her lucky stars that she gets a second chance with her first love?

By: Rachel Lacey (Author), 2024, Paperback

Rachel Lacey, author of Stars Collide, serves up a steamy tale of Hollywood fame and subterfuge about a glamorous actress and the sexy bodyguard posing as her girlfriend.

Natalie Keane is one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies, but she’s paid a steep price for her fame. After she was stalked eight years ago, the ensuing media frenzy almost broke her. So when a new threat arises, Natalie agrees to extra security, but she wants to keep it under wraps. The last thing she needs is another tabloid spectacle, especially during awards season.

Taylor Vaughn has made a career as a bodyguard to the stars, but an injury has kept her sidelined for the past three months, jeopardizing her future in the job she loves. When an opportunity arises to work for Natalie Keane, Taylor jumps at the chance―even before knowing the details of the assignment.

From the moment they meet, Natalie knows this could work: Taylor, the bodyguard, masquerading as her girlfriend. The perfect cover story. But as circumstances push the two women closer, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

By Nina Varela, 2020, Paperback

From debut author Nina Varela comes the first book in a richly imagined epic fantasy duology about an impossible love between two girls—one human, one Made—whose romance could be the beginning of a revolution.

Perfect for fans of Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Curse as well as Game of Thrones and Westworld.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death…by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier.

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

By: Chencia C. Higgins (Author), 2022, Paperback

A New York Times best romance pick
A Today Show best romance pick from New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory

D’Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding.
Their whole relationship is fake.

Instant I Do could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt, either.

D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy fake wedding is just the excuse she needs.

All they have to do is convince their friends and family they’re getting married in six weeks. If anyone guesses they’re not for real, they’re out. Selling their chemistry on camera is surprisingly easy, and it’s still there when no one else is watching, which is an unexpected bonus. Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake.

But each week of the competition brings new challenges, and soon the prize money’s not the only thing at stake. A reality show isn’t the best place to create a solid foundation, and their fake wedding might just derail their relationship before it even starts.

By:  Ashley Herring Blake, 2022, Paperback

Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her.
 
When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.
 
Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...

By: Erin Branch (Author), 2024, Paperback

June lives the glamorous lifestyle of a mid-level Dungeons and Dragons influencer: broke in her parents' basement. Although June's internet-famous avatar has her life together, June is a people-pleasing mess on the inside. When she needs a D&D group for a lucrative opportunity, her celebrity group disinvites her, and she has to lean on her old friends.

But Nova, June’s former BFF, gives her the cold shoulder while flirting with her character during their game sessions. June is determined to figure out why. Turns out getting closer to Nova is awakening new, confusing feelings in June, feelings she tried to ignore years ago and can't anymore.

Di-Curious is a contemporary sapphic romance (with a hint of cozy fantasy) and an ode to queer geek culture.

By: Emma R. Alban (Author), 2024, Paperback

Book 1 of 2: The Mischief & Matchmaking Series

A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.

“Let’s get them together,” she says.

It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.

“It’ll be easy” she says.

There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.

But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?

Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.

Beth’s not mature enough for this…

Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.

That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.

By: Saxon James (Author), 2023, Paperback, Book 4 of 5: Divorced Men's Club

Art

When it comes to regrets, I have none. My life is perfect. I own a bar, work hard, party harder, and smother my niblings in all the love they deserve. I don't need to settle down, as much as my sister might want me to.

But then Joey Manning walks into my office and leaves me all but begging to give him a job ... and wanting to give him so much more.

The self-professed straight man is in my head and while I know that I need to move on from him, my body isn't getting that message. It doesn't help that Joey is a grade A flirt who can banter with the best of them.

I've never had regrets. Not until Joey Manning.

Joey

The bills keep piling up and the pressure to get my sisters through college before we're evicted is always on the back of my mind. Whoever said life was for living, clearly forgot that living's expensive.

My default mode is stressed AF and working myself to the bone, and there's only one person who gives me a break from all that.

Art de Almeida.

My boss.

The one man I shouldn't flirt with, but I can't seem to stop. I want to get under his skin. To leave him panting for me. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing except that he thinks I'm straight, and I've never bothered to correct him.

I need this job.

But some days I worry that I need Art more.

Employing Patience is a low angst, small town, employer/employee romance. It has a ridiculous found family, prince charming costumes and the king of anti-commitment falling hard.

By: Arden Coutts (Author), 2024, Paperback

Book 2 of the Fall Trilogy

Kee and Marcus have been playing a game of emotional cat and mouse and have finally surrendered to their desires. After a passionate night together, they find themselves falling for each other. However, their newfound happiness is abruptly shattered when Marcus disappears without a word.

Confused and hurt, Kee wonders why Marcus would leave her without any explanation or information about his whereabouts. Little does she know, he has embarked on a dangerous mission.

As Marcus plunges into the treacherous world of vengeance, he faces numerous obstacles and life-threatening situations. He relies on his cunning, physical prowess, and unwavering determination to navigate the murky waters of retribution.

Meanwhile, Kee struggles with her conflicting emotions—torn between worrying for Marcus’s safety and feeling betrayed by his sudden departure. She embarks on her own journey of self-discovery as she seeks answers about Marcus’s motives and contemplates the nature of their relationship.

Will Marcus survive the perils he faces along his path of revenge? Will he find redemption and make it back to Kee? And can Kee find it in her heart to forgive him for leaving her in the dark?

By: Arden Coutts (Author), 2023, Paperback

Gyrating to the beat and downing shots isn’t Dr. Hannah Winter’s cup of tea. But when a good friend drags her out of the sanctuary of her sunroom for a rare night out at Club Midnight, a chance encounter with an enigmatic bouncer ignites an undeniable spark of passion she can’t resist.

Working at Club Midnight comes with a heavy price that Gray Alexander has grown weary of paying. But even as the treacherous underworld associated with her work threatens to destroy her, the love of a sweet-faced, ginger-haired doctor may be her saving grace.

As Hannah and Gray seize their unexpected chance at love, they quickly realize the very place that pulled them into each other’s orbit may inevitably tear them apart…

By: Sarah Waters (Author), 2002, Paperback

“Oliver Twist with a twist…Waters spins an absorbing tale that withholds as much as it discloses. A pulsating story.”—The New York Times Book Review  

The Handmaiden, a film adaptation of Fingersmith, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Kim Tae-Ri, is now available.

Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways...But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.