Bred by the Orc by Veronika Kane (2024)

Historical fantasy romance. Medieval Scotland. Super short steamy novella. Drakolt is an orc who’s out to find his mate, so he goes to kidnap some laird’s daughter, Sorcha, with the help of his clanmates. Sorcha is indignant and resistant at first, but she feels the pull of attraction towards Drakolt and he seems to be treating her well through their horseback journey back to his village. And he definitely seems to be prioritizing her wellbeing and pleasure, unlike the human men she’s familiar with. Light, easy, steamy read.

Advance ebook provided by Veronika Kane.

Running from the Orc by Veronika Kane (2024)

Historical fantasy romance. Medieval Scotland. Book 2 of the Stolen Harlots series. Human woman Roxanna gets escorted to an orc village by Varkaan, the brother of the chief who has kidnapped Roxanna’s sister. While Roxanna struggles to run away, Varkaan gives chase. He tries his best to be gentlemanly and careful with Roxanna, but he’s pretty quick to be overcome with lust. Luckily for him, Roxanna is totally on board. Quick and steamy, low-angst novella.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee

Wagered to the Orc by Veronika Kane (2024)

Historical fantasy romance. Medieval Scotland. Book 3 of the Stolen Harlots series. Another quick and steamy novella in this series. Effie’s cousin is said to be the mate of the orc chief, so a band of orcs come to kidnap her, and end up with Effie as a bonus. She ends up being escorted by Korvak, the chief’s brother, who is generally insecure about his own appearance since he’s heavily scarred and not as handsome as his twin brother. We spend most of this book alone at Korvak’s cottage where Effie tries very hard to earn her keep, even though Korvak is super sweet and does not want to take advantage of her. Super quick easy snack of a read.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.

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The Finest Print by Erin Langston (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novel. We get the next generation of Sinclairs here, with Belle, the daughter of Gavin and Emilia (from Some Winter’s Evening). Belle is a writer of a gory novels and has become somewhat of a spinster after breaking her engagement to a Scotland Yard inspector several years ago. She has a chance meeting with Ethan, newly from America, who has inherited his uncle’s indebted print shop. It’s a perfect fit because she has stories and he has the equipment to print it. They start a weekly printing of Belle’s writing, hoping to recoup the money to pay off Ethan’s uncle’s debts. I loved the fated meeting of these two, how perfectly they suit each other’s needs, and the respect that Ethan has for Belle’s work. The romance here was soft and sensible and soothing in all the best ways. It’s clear these two have an equal partnership and make a great team. Belle’s family is strong and supportive, just as we would expect them to be, and I also enjoyed the found family of the print shop crew. Loved it.

Advance ebook provided by Erin Langston.

Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Rachel’s mother was all sorts of annoying, until I realized this was a Pride and Prejudice retelling and her mother is supposed to be the quintessential Mrs. Bennett. Rachel is an almost-thirty year old single woman living her best life ever with her best friends, a job she hates, and no relationship prospects in sight. Her meddling mother tries very hard to set her up with the new billionaire neighbor, Christopher, but she hates him immediately because of his tech job, his money, and the glowing recommendation from her mother. He’s basically the Darcy character here being all stern and serious and aloof. We spend most of the book with Rachel either thriving or flailing at life with misadventures in dating and various embarrassing encounters with Christopher. It’s light on the actual romance between Rachel and Christopher, since they rarely get any page time together. It leans more towards women’s fiction to me, with Rachel needing to find her footing in the world on her own, before realizing that maybe her mom was right about Christopher being perfect for her.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio via NetGalley.

His Regency Goddess by Steffy Smith (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Part of the Curves and Cravats series. Quick steamy novella. Widow Sophie is ready to rejoin society and look for an affair. She’s staying with her best friend and her husband for the season, and the husband’s best friend Sin is also back in town after an extended stay away. It’s lust at first sight for Sophie and Sin, even though her friend is trying to warn her away because of Sin’s rakish reputation. But he’s totally serious about her since he’s the heir to a marquess and needs to start settling down. This whole book is fun and quick and steamy and perfect for when you just need a couple of hours of fluff.

Advance ebook provided by Steffy Smith.

Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super funny and charming book! Hallie is a web series producer without a series after her ex-boyfriend kicks her off his project and she is looking for the next big web star. She stumbles on Hayden, who hosts a podcast about conspiracy theories and ghost hunting. They team up to turn his podcast material into video material and the show is absolute delight to all their fans, especially with the quippy banter between Hallie and Hayden. As they get closer together, it’s clear that they’re trying to balance keeping things professional and pursuing their feelings. Hallie’s especially skittish since she just got out of a toxic relationship with a guy she still works with. The humor and banter here was so fun and Hayden’s emotional intelligence ranks up there with his conspiracy theory intelligence (which is a lot).

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Rule of the Aurora King by Nisha J. Tuli (2023)

Fantasy romance. Book 2 of the Artefacts of Ouranos series. This book continues where we left off at the end of Book 1, where Lor is back in The Aurora, under the watch of Nadir, the Aurora Prince. They’re basically completely untrusting of each other, even though they have a mysterious magical connection to each other (possibly a fated mates situation?). They’ve basically teamed up to look for Lor’s crown so they can unlock Lor’s magic and take down Nadir’s father. We also get inserted chapters from Lor’s grandmother’s point of view centuries ago, which is really fun and adds to the backstory and hidden history of Lor’s legacy. Really interesting progression of the story and looking forward to reading what comes next.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

No One Does It Like You by Katie Shepard (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Second chance romance with lots of comedy. Tom and Rose have been divorced for about ten years, and he leaves her a voicemail before heroically rescuing a man from a flood during a hurricane. She does not receive that voicemail until about three months after that hurricane and decides she’ll take him up on the offer to make things up to her when she needs help fixing up her aunt’s inn on Martha’s Vineyard. He thinks she wants to get back together; she really just wanted help fixing the inn. It’s a slew of miscommunication and mixed signals, and then Tom’s famous co-star comes to help and brings with him a bunch of fans and groupies. Somehow this wacky group of people come together and are surprisingly very productive. But Tom and Rose still have terrible communication skills, with Rose not being clear with what she wants, and Tom being generally oblivious to her feelings. It’s kind of a mess and I’m not sure their core issues are resolved, but the friends and fans are fun to read and make for funny moments.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

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Season of Love by Helena Greer (2022)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Carrigan’s Christmasland series. Miriam and Noelle are both respectively messes with a huge amount of baggage and trauma, but they find their way together at their beloved Christmas tree farm. When Miriam’s great-aunt Cass dies, she leave the running of the farm and Christmasland to her four fave protegees: Miriam, her cousin Hannah, absentee friend Levi, and new addition Noelle. Everyone is somewhat resentful of Miriam who has not been around for the past decade (dealing with her own family issues), especially Noelle, who is especially sensitive to people leaving. And we also find out that the farm is in poor financial shape and needs to be saved. The story here is messy and emotional and endearing all at once and I’m definitely excited to read more about this ensemble of characters.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

For Never & Always by Helena Greer (2023)

Contemporary romance. Book 2 of the Carrigan’s Christmasland series. Emotional and angsty second chance romance between childhood friends Hannah and Levi. Basically Hannah had a childhood where her parents dragged her around the world, so she’s panic-clinging to Carrigan’s Christmas tree farm where she runs the inn. Meanwhile Levi is the son of the cook and handyman of the farm, grew up in the tiny town, and absolutely hated it and wanted to leave and travel the world. Clearly, these two have opposing life goals and I guess they were not good at communicating them out loud. When Levi gets an opportunity to be a cruise ship chef, he leaves and Hannah tells him to never come back. Until now, when he needs to come back because he’s been made part owner of the farm. He rightfully has tons of hangups about being back on the farm, but he’s still very much in love with Hannah and wants to win her back. It was interesting reading how Levi re-integrates himself into the lives of the people he’s been away from for so many years and learns to communicate better with Hannah.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Carrigan’s Christmasland series. Tara is the stuffy proper lawyer ex-fiancee of Miriam (from Book 1 of the series) invited to attend Miriam’s wedding to Noelle (a tree farmer at Carrigan’s). She lies and tells her friend Hannah that she has a new girlfriend who she will be bringing to the wedding, even though she does not actually have a girlfriend. Somehow, Holly, the waitress that Tara has a smidge of a crush on (and who also wants under Tara’s skirts) gets involved and they decide to pretend to be girlfriends and go to the wedding together. It’s road trip and Christmasland shenanigans for most of the book, while dealing with Tara and Holly’s respective hang-ups about relationships, friendships, and family. Everyone’s a mess and we revisit the chaotic found family of Carrigan’s. I enjoyed reading the series in order so I could remember the huge cast of characters and how they’re related to each other. Don’t let the cute cover fool you; this one is angsty and emotional.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

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I Will Steal You the Stars by Alivia Fleur (2024)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Part of the Scandalous Daughters of Duke Street series. Quick novella with two former childhood friends who met at an orphanage. Enzo is the local crime boss in the slums who is visited by old friend Mina who needs help stealing her wages from the fancy house where she was dismissed. In the course of teaming up together, they reconnect and rekindle their affection for each other. Enzo is generally conflicted about rising above his current station, but also tries to encourage Mina to reach beyond her life working as a maid. It’s a quick low-angst sort of romance here and it was nice to see working class main characters.

Advance ebook provided by Alivia Fleur via BookSirens.

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli (2023)

Fantasy romance. Book 1 of the Artefacts of Ouranos series. The story mostly follows Lor, a human female prisoner in the most desolate prison in the Aurora territory. She is somehow tossed into the Sun Trials to compete against nine other women to win the hand of the Sun King. Lor is skeptical of the process and wonders why she was entered in this deadly competition in the first place. She’s at extreme disadvantage since she’s a mere human and not fae plus she has not had all the ladylike training that the other competitors have. She seems to have earned the favor of the king, and enjoys his attentions, but she’s unsure if she can trust him. We also get glimpses of the story from Nadir’s point of view, the Aurora prince who is investigating the mysterious disappearance of one of the prisoners of the territory. Lots of plot, not much romance, and the underlying question of why Lor is so special. This is Book 1 of a four-book series, so plenty more plot to come.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The One With the Duke’s Curvy Bride by Eliana Piers (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Part of the Curves and Cravats series. Super quick little tiny novella with childhood friends Philomena and Henry. They’re all at a house party that Henry’s mother is throwing to find him a wife, and Philomena is not one of the selections. When Philomena and Henry are stuck in the library together, he starts to see her in a new and attractive light, but she doesn’t believe that he returns her longstanding feelings. It all wraps up fairly quickly when he declares his intentions for her. Bonus, they get stuck in a cottage together during a rainstorm.

Advance ebook provided by Eliana Piers.

The Virgin Who Humbled Lord Haslemere by Anna Bradley (2021)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Swooning Virgins Society series. In the previous book, we’ve seen hints of some animosity between Georgiana and Lord Haslemere and we get to find out why in this one. Basically, Georgiana catches two girls from the school out at night involved in some footraces with Lord Haslemere, Benedict, and she instantly has a poor impression of him. Several months later, Benedict’s sister comes to the Clifford School to investigate the disappearance of her friend Clara, who’s been gone for six years, but has recently been sighted. We get a tangled knot of rumors when Georgiana shows up at a masquerade to investigate and Benedict eavesdrops on her conversations. He’s concerned about the rumors about his sister having an affair and basically inserts himself into Georgiana’s business. Everything is way more convoluted than we expect, and we get to see Georgiana and Benedict grow closer along the way. Super interesting and engaging plot.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

Clean Point by Meg Jones (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super interesting set-up here with tennis player Scottie being banned from the sport after confirmed use of performance enhancing drugs. Her father/coach/mentor was the one who drugged her without her consent, and when she finds out, she turns herself in and quits tennis altogether. Two years later, a former coach wants her back in the game and paired with her father’s former rival, Nico. He has his own issues with a slow recovery after knee surgery and it seems like playing as mixed doubles partners with shake things up. We start with being misunderstood arrogant enemies and slowly work up towards friendship, partnership, and more. It’s steamy and emotional all in one, especially as Scottie opens up about what happened with her father. Loved it. Would definitely read more from this author.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Three Sins and a Scoundrel by Tracy Sumner (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Duchess Society series. We finally get the backstory for the suspiciously proper Jasper Noble. We first met Jasper in an earlier book in the series, where it seemed like he was a low-born rookery thug, but has suspicious slips of etiquette, suggesting that he may have a higher class upbringing. We find out here that he is actually Crispin Sinclair, the son of a lowly baron who had his heart broken when his childhood friend and neighbor, Cece, marries a decrepit old earl. Crispin re-invents himself when he’s working as a spy for the crown and becomes Jasper in the process, leaving his old life completely behind. It’s almost twenty years later now, Cece is widowed, and she’s coming to London to get her man back. Except she’s fumbling all over the place and even I’m not sure what it is that she wants. Jasper’s doing his best to protect his heart and feelings and Cece is saying she’s asking for an affair, but she might also be amenable to more. I enjoyed seeing the bickering and flirting and steam between these two, plus all the advice Jasper’s friends are trying to give him. Excellent conclusion to the series.

Advance ebook provided by Tracy Sumner.

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First Down by Grace Reilly (2022)

Contemporary sports romance. Book 1 of the Beyond the Play series. College senior and football star James transfers to a new university after some drama at his previous school. Luckily, he gets to go to school and live with his brothers (who feature in later books in this series). Unluckily, he has to take a writing class that he’s very bad at and needs a tutor in. Bex is also a college senior stuck taking the same writing class and dealing with an ex-boyfriend who won’t leave her alone. Somehow James and Bex exchange tutoring for fake dating, which pretty quickly turns into real dating. High on the steam and also lots of family drama for both James and Bex (but especially Bex). This was a fun and easy book to read and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Breakaway by Grace Reilly (2022)

Contemporary sports romance. Book 2 of the Beyond the Play series. Cooper is the second son of a famous football player who is often overshadowed by his famous football player brother, but is a talented college hockey player. He’s well-known for his skills with women, but he’s hit a bit of a dry spell and feeling frustrated because of it. Somehow, he gets assigned to assist with skating lessons for little kids and meets Penny there, who he does not realize is his coach’s daughter. Penny is a former figure skater who seems to have had a traumatic sexual encounter (though we don’t find out what it is until much later); she’s wary of guys and has a list of things she’d like to try, but doesn’t want a boyfriend to do it. Ultimately, Penny and Cooper comes to a friends with benefits agreement where he helps with her list and she helps with his frustrations. But being actual friends with each other leads to a lot more emotional connection than each person was expecting. This book was high on the steam, and humor, and caring. Cooper is basically the best not-boyfriend ever.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Stealing Home by Grace Reilly (2023)

Contemporary sports romance. Book 3 of the Beyond the Play series. We get to see hints of a Sebastian-Mia relationship developing in the previous book of the series, since Sebastian’s brother and Mia’s best friend are a couple and the social spheres have overlapped. Except that Mia is basically running away from any type of serious relationship and Sebastian is heartbroken when Mia stands him up for a date. We start the main story here during Summer semester when college baseball is still going for Sebastian, and also a Summer lab internship for Mia. When her dorm floods, Sebastian offers her a room at his house that he normally shares with his siblings (who are all conveniently out of town for the Summer). These two are clearly still pining for each other and quickly restart their physical relationship, even though they’re not anticipating anything more serious. They’ve each got their own career struggles, with Mia being a scientist and dealing with her family’s disapproval, and Sebastian trying to live up to his late father’s baseball reputation. There’s a lot of individual growth that both people need to deal with, in addition to their relationship issues. This book has a lot of fun spicy scenes, along with the interesting plotlines. And I loved Sebastian’s show of support for Mia in this big grand gesture at the end.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly (2024)

Contemporary sports romance. Book 4 of the Beyond the Play series. We get to catch up with little sister Izzy and her summer fling with her brother’s rival Nikolai. He somehow gets expelled from his own school and transfers to Izzy’s. Nik’s got his own tragic backstory with an abusive father, overbearing grandfather, and an emotionally detached mother, but he’s a very charming flirt who is very good at pleasing our girl Izzy. While they rekindle their relationship, they’ve got to keep it a secret from Izzy’s brother (and now Nik’s teammate), Cooper. And really, they’re just friends with benefits anyway. (Sure, they are.) Izzy has her own feelings of inadequacy of being the youngest sibling in a group of pro athletes, but she’s working through it. I liked the writing style of this book and how Nik and Izzy each independently deal with their own insecurities. High on the steam!

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Spotify Audiobooks via NetGalley.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

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Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.