An Unexpected Kiss by Alexa Aston (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Captivating Kisses series. Believing himself to be the illegitimate son of a seamstress, Julian is shocked to learn that he is the legitimate son and heir to the marquess. His life takes a very different turn when he inherits and takes on the title and wealth. He’s lucky to meet his neighbor, Lady Ariadne in their shared garden, who tasks her brother to assist Julian on his entry into society. Ariadne is the daughter of a duke making her debut this season and is a bit stifled by her parents’ expectations. She would much rather do some good in the world by caring for the less fortunate. She’s hoping to find a match that would support her goals. It seems that Julian and Ariadne are well-suited to each other and even share a scorching kiss one day, but he needs to get over his fear of being inferior to her. Quick read and a fun set-up for a whole cast of siblings and cousins that will be featured in this series.
Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.
Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey (2025)
Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Big Shots series. Hockey player Sig meets his dream girl Chloe when his car breaks down at a country club. After a steamy kiss, they make plans to meet up again after he has dinner with his father. And then it all goes downhill when he finds out that Chloe is meant to be his future stepsister. Somehow, he’s quickly entangled in her life as he helps her set up her own apartment away from her mother and they become the best of friends. It’s pretty much insta-love for these two, with every interaction between them filled with longing, but they’re both doing their best to keep things platonic since they’re soon-to-be=stepsiblings. This whole book is chaotic and messy and hilarious. And when we start getting steamy, it’s well worth the payoff. Chloe is the ultimate manic pixie dream girl character and so much fun to read.
Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison (2025)
Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Heartstrings series. Super cute and fluffy and had me laughing throughout the book. We have a Sleepless in Seattle retelling here with single mom Lucie finding that her pre-teen daughter has called into the radio station’s romance hotline to help her find a date. While the flailing radio show doesn’t have much of an audience, Lucie’s segment goes viral and somehow she’s roped into joining Aiden in the recording booth. Aiden is the ultimate grump who doesn’t believe in love (or rather, avoiding it altogether to prevent any heartbreak), but the chemistry between him and Lucie has got listeners tuning into the radio show in droves. They’re absolutely adorable together and the flirting is top-notch. I love Lucie’s whole support system who is rooting for her happiness. This book is the slowest of slow-burns, but the payoff is worth it. Loved it so much.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
The Devil’s Charm by Megan Frampton (2025)
Historical Romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Heirs & Spares series. Super cute and fairly lighthearted read here. Total opposites, Diantha and Lucien meet at a ball and have instant sparks. Too bad their parents hate each other. And then they both get thrown together to work on an issue of a co-owned factory, and they’ve got to spend more time with the person their crushing on, even though it’s ill-advised. This book gets points for having the fun-loving and reportedly rakish Lucien falling first and hard. He even impresses Diantha by acknowledging her intelligence and asking her thoughtful questions. I loved how supportive Diantha’s wacky family is of her, even though they’re a bit chaotic. Overall, a fun book to read.
Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood (2025)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. This book starts right away with an author’s note letting you know that there’s kink exploration here. Collegiate diver Scarlett has ongoing issues of perfectionism and a mental block at the diving board following a nearly career-ending injury over a year ago. She’s basically doing her best to juggle all her responsibilities and keep her head down. And then somehow, she gets entangled into her teammate Penelope’s drama with her boyfriend Lukas, a swimmer at the same university. Pen and Lukas have broken up over sexual incompatibility reasons, which somehow leads to Scarlett revealing her own preferences, which just coincidentally match Lukas’. It all starts as a Pen-endorsed fling, but clearly, Lukas has had stronger feelings for Scarlett for awhile (and is really good at the caretaking aspect of this relationship). The characters are realistically messy for having so many competing responsibilities and I enjoyed reading about Scarlett’s improved confidence throughout the book. Watch out for cameos from our beloved Olive and Adam from The Love Hypothesis. Also, the whole book is told from Scarlett’s POV, but the audiobook is a duet narration.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera (2025)
Historical romance. Victorian-era Paris. Book 3 of the Las Leonas series. Our grumpy stuffy doctor friend Aurora gets her romance here with Apollo, the half-brother of Evan from Book 1 of the series. The set-up here is mostly a no-strings attached affair, since Aurora is busy running her illegal women’s clinics and Apollo is trying to cement his place into the English aristocracy. Except they catch all sorts of feelings and are insanely protective of each other. We get all sorts of drama in the form of Aurora’s traumatic past and Apollo’s political ambitions, which is interesting to read about. The book is super steamy, and I especially loved Apollo’s caretaking of Aurora. Great conclusion to the Las Leonas series.
Advance ebook provided by Harper Collins via NetGalley.
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming (2025)
Fantasy romance. Book 1 of the Cosmic Chaos series. Super funny and spicy, as expected from Kimberly Lemming. Dory is a wildlife biologist who gets attacked by a lion, then abducted by aliens, and then dropped on an alien planet with the dudes are horned and tailed, and dinosaurs roam free. It’s a fun series of discoveries here as we slowly learn why Dory is on this planet at all. It’s an insta-lust type of romance between Dory and her two alien suitors, Sol and Lok. Plus everyone is running from a pink T. Rex. It’s super funny and fast-paced and you really just need to read it to believe what chaotic things happen here.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Secret Society of Governess Spies series. Frankie is the outspoken and socially awkward governess sent to spy on gambling hell owner Jasper, who has a 15 year old niece living with him after his brother passed away. Everyone here is pure chaos and delight. Frankie is a mathematician and a terrible spy, so she keeps getting into trouble with Jasper. And Jasper cannot help but be totally intrigued by his new governess. Throw in the mischievous teenager, and we’ve got a really fun book.
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio. Print book provided by Forever Books.
A Simple Scandal by Janna MacGregor (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Millionaires of Mayfair series. Second chance romance here between Dane and Grace, a duke and an earl’s daughter who were childhood friends and previously betrothed. We get flashbacks throughout this book to let us know what happened between these two nine years ago to break their engagement. And we finally see these two talk through those issues are try to figure out how to make things work in the present day. After getting both his sisters married off to his best friends (in book 1 and 2 of the series), Dane is feeling lonely and wants to rekindle his association with Grace. Except he hires her to find him a suitable bride and it’s not clear if it’s just a plot to get close enough to her so that she will end up marrying him. Grace is in all sorts of financial insecurity after the death of her father, so she’s stuck taking the job, even though she doesn’t want to. We get some external players here with Grace’s matchmaking job, but really, I was just reading to uncover how Dane and Grace work out their issues. Overall, a solid second chance romance book.
Advance ebook provided by Janna MacGregor.
You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon (2025)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. This one was a really good slow-burn missed connection story. Leigh and Will were in the same high school writing class and Will had given Leigh hypercritical feedback during class, basically derailing her crush on him. We fast forward ten years later and they’ve just started the same Masters of Fine Arts program together and it’s a pretty small cohort. Things are awkward between them, as expected, especially when we learn that they had seen each other once six years ago (also ending badly). It was interesting to see these two people continuing to skirt around their feelings for each other and not quite communicate directly. Everything is sort of hiding in their poetry and creative work and they’re both deeply insecure. It was fun seeing the dynamic with all their classmates and working through their career aspirations. Overall, the book kept me hooked, even if all the poetry went over my head.
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio via NetGalley.
Duke of Pryde by Mariah Stone (2025)
Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Loved this marriage of convenience story with a healthy dose of blackmail. Constantine is always looking over his shoulder and a total stickler for propriety because he’s the result of an affair between the duchess and a commoner. So the Duke of Pryde is ever-prideful and suspicious of anyone who could be the person blackmailing him with evidence of his illegitimacy. Somehow, he’s entangled with Modesty, a vicar’s daughter, who is the guardian of an infant that she believes to be Constantine’s natural child. It’s all a bit convoluted, but in order to protect his secrets, Constantine proposes to take custody of the child and a marriage of convenience to Modesty. I enjoyed Constantine’s instant attraction to Modesty, even though he’s always saying the wrong thing. I also enjoyed the blackmail plot of the story and seeing all the dukes band together to solve the case.
Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone via BookSprout.
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