Contemporary Books

Jess Black has life all figured out. She has a job that she loves, and her boyfriend is handsome and successful. That’s why it comes as a shock when she meets a woman on the train who makes her pulse race. Maybe it would’ve been possible to put the surprise attraction behind her, but that becomes impossible when the woman she’s been trying so hard to forget moves into her spare room.

Sydney Fletcher has hit the reset button on her life after a devastating breakup necessitates a move. Her sister’s place is barely big enough for her sister and her nephew, so when Sydney spots a room to rent, she jumps at it. Imagine her surprise when her new housemate just happens to be the same woman who has been on her mind for weeks. But everything quickly turns sour and confusing when Jess gives her the cold shoulder. Maybe Sydney had read the signals all wrong that day?

Jess fights to keep her feelings at bay and Sydney tries to keep her heart from getting involved. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to ignore how perfect they are for one another.

All of Aubrey McFadden’s college friends are tying the knot, and she’s been invited to five weddings. Five. In one year. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate so much love and romance?

Aubrey, that’s who.

She’s going anyway, of course. It’s not her friends’ fault her college boyfriend left Aubrey on the day of their wedding. Lies, selfishness, unhappy surprises…no, thank you. And you know who’s responsible for her permanently single status?

Monica, that’s who.

Their friends all say Monica Wallace had a thing for Aubrey back then—not that Aubrey cares one little bit why that still makes her heart race. Monica convinced her best friend Cody that marrying Aubrey, settling down, and locking himself into a 9-to-5 at the expense of his dreams would be a huge mistake. Cody called off the wedding, and Aubrey has never forgiven them.

Aubrey McFadden is never getting married, but she does have five weddings to attend, and she’ll be avoiding Monica at every single one.

A new friendship evolves into something unexpected and extraordinary in Rainbow Overalls, a heartfelt college romance by debut author Maggie Fortuna.

All Ginny Holland wants is to skip over her dramatic coming out story and live a being out story. Arriving for her first year at an artsy, incredibly queer college in middle-of-nowhere Vermont, she’s ready to be her true bisexual self. But being out and welcomed doesn’t mean self-acceptance is so simple.

Natalie Becker knows exactly who she is, and she’s right where she wants to be—so why isn’t she happy? She shouldn’t be preoccupied by what awaits her after college: working at her mother’s Jewish deli and giving up on her dream of being an artist. With anxiety about the future always in the back of her mind, Nat is determined to live in the moment at all costs.

Nat and her friends welcome Ginny into their group, but there’s an undercurrent of something more between them. A friendship is safe—not too intimidating for Ginny, and not too serious for Nat—as long as they can keep it that way.

The residents of Ruth Miller’s small rural village took it upon themselves to guide her after her parents died. But she’s an adult now and determined to find her own path, starting with learning more about the parents she lost too soon. Maybe if she understands who they were and how they shaped her, she’ll be able to share her life with someone special without the cold fingers of anxiety locking her into the comfort of familiar surroundings.

Olivia Bell’s chaotic childhood has left her lonely. Her independence has served her well in everything except relationships, and she’s desperately searching for connection. She never had a happy home and left the minute she was old enough. The only person she can rely on is her little sister Grace, but Grace needs her help caring for their father—the last thing Olivia wants to do. 

When Ruth and Olivia meet, they become the one bright spot in each other’s days. But Ruth wishes more than anything for the family she lost, and Olivia would do almost anything to escape hers.  Could home ever be more than a four-letter word?

What do you get when you combine a sweet cinnamon twist and robust Italian wine? Bestselling author Melissa Brayden’s You Had Me at Merlot, the perfect blend of sugar and spice.

Bordeauxnuts is New York City magic, and it all belongs to Jamie Tolliver. A charming coffee and doughnut spot by day, Bordeauxnuts transforms with a sprinkle of powdered sugar into a cozy sophisticated wine bar each evening. Jamie’s enjoying a blueberry latte with her quirky band of regulars when a stunning and enigmatic stranger saunters in, flips her laptop open, and Jamie’s world upside down. Each time Jamie speaks to Leighton Morrow, her crush multiplies. She’s drawn to Leighton's captivating presence, her kindness, and the faint lip print she leaves on her cup that winds a tingle up Jamie’s spine.

But sexy spine tingles can be deceiving.

Leighton Morrow didn’t set out to ruin anyone’s life, but she has a job to do. As a development coordinator for Carrington’s Department Store, Leighton’s part of the team that plans to take over the city block for the new location, including demolishing her new favorite café, Bordeauxnuts. A shame, but that’s life. She’ll miss the apple fritters and the cute owner. But work is a No Feelings Zone and she definitely cannot give in to the ones she has percolating for Jamie. Leighton and Jamie have all the ingredients to turn their attraction into love, but it’s a recipe for disaster.

Leighton Vaughn’s prestigious fine art atelier—and her life—appear to be settling down after a messy divorce. She prioritizes her daughter, art, and, teaching—that is until gifted Casey Norford joins the close-knit New York academy.

Casey didn’t receive the artistic education she expected from her degree, but a spot at Atelier Vaughn will remedy that. Even more than the opportunity to study with the famed Leighton Vaughn, Casey wants to give her son a stable childhood that won’t resemble her own. She’s not sure of the true extent of her artistic talent, but she’s keenly aware of her attraction to her instructor, and that attraction appears mutual.

Their sticky teacher-student relationship puts the future of the atelier in jeopardy, and Leighton’s obsessive ex tracks her down. Will they sacrifice everything to be together?

Content advisory: This book contains instances of domestic violence. 

The Dream: rich and famous screenwriter of hilarious sapphic rom coms.

The Reality: pushing out trashy celebrity gossip for cash.

The Grand Plan: advance career by engineering a celebrity takedown. 

Fran Underhill’s adoration for the entertainment industry is in flames, transformed into a loathing of celebrity culture and all those who benefit from it. When a personal assistant gig for one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses falls into her lap, Fran is determined to use the experience to her advantage with a series of tell-all articles. Just enough clickbait to get her next screenplay sold. Now if only she can ignore that ferocious and inconvenient attraction to her new employer.

Chelsea Cartwright—actress, mother, and ex-wife to Hollywood royalty—is struggling. A competent new assistant will do much to ease her burdens, but who could predict the intense and long-buried feelings Fran would awaken. And what will the fallout be when she finds out Fran is a member of the gossip media—with Chelsea’s public destruction in her sights.

Cori Stratton’s a small-town girl. She loves making candles, and her little gift shop is her pride and joy. But when the shop’s building goes up for sale, she might lose her home and everything that makes her happy. The worst timing of all? Her landlord’s daughter Elizabeth Brennan—popular, smart, and oblivious to Cori’s existence in high school—has breezed back into town.

Life has not gone according to plan for Elizabeth. Laid off from her job in the city, she’s forced back home to help her mom run the family’s B and B during a week-long wedding celebration…for Liz’s ex. Not wanting the groom to know the shambles her life is, she grabs the nearest person—Cori—and tells him how happy they are together.

A chance to live out her high school fantasy of Liz as her girlfriend is unexpected, but it keeps Cori playing along. And helping her one-time crush survive this wedding? Just for the week? She can do that. Besides, there’s no way this fake relationship will turn into the real deal.

Returning home after years of living as far from her wealthy family as she can, Lucy wants her great American road trip before she settles down. The vintage VW bus her arrogant older brother Jordan is selling off seems like the perfect vehicle for it.

But the bus in question is fiercely beloved by its real owner, Emma, Jordan’s wife. She’s not ready to let the bus go, but she is ready to get out of her marriage—and isn’t above hijacking her own bus to make that happen.

When Lucy’s vacation to find herself becomes Emma’s chance to remember herself, they realize that everything they’re looking for might already be sitting right next to them—if they’re willing to reach for it.

Cassie Burke never believed in second chances. If something didn’t work out, then it was never really meant for her. In the years following two heart-wrenching breakups, she kept her life simple. She’d dated when the opportunity arose but focused her energy on her career and best friends of over thirty years, Jenn and Maggie. Tight since their high school days in the 80s, they’ve weathered many storms. The most tempestuous being Deana, who had briefly joined their “pantheon” and stirred things up as only a beautiful lost soul can, testing their friendship and the strength of Cassie’s heart.

Now as Cassie, Jenn, and Maggie plan a celebration for their fiftieth birthdays, none of them are prepared for the whiplash changes their half-century mark year has in store. Least of all Cassie, who discovers a second chance with Deana might be just what her heart needs.

Reader advisory: References to homophobic violence/sexual assault.

When her celebrity chef boss is taken down in a sexual harassment scandal, Chelsea Boudreaux’s dream of getting her own cooking show comes true. Her hometown of Duchesne, Louisiana, provides the perfect backdrop for her modern takes on traditional Cajun fare. Vindicating herself to the mother who never believed in her is icing on the cake.

Bryce Cormier never left Duchesne and has no regrets, except that falling in love as a trans guy in a tiny town is easier said than done. When Chelsea comes home after more than a decade away, Bryce thinks he may have found the perfect woman. At least until Chelsea’s burgeoning celebrity spills over and turns his world upside down.

It turns out love is like a good gumbo—what seems simple is complex, and the best results require a bit of courage. And like all the recipes say… First, you make a roux.

Juliette Jennings lives her life like a tightly laced corset—not that she’d ever wear one. As a business owner of a stationery store, structure is her favorite. But when her best friend and her ex fall head over heels for each other, everything unravels and leaves her exposed. Even worse, a scandalous lingerie shop has moved in next door, and its tantalizing window displays will drive away her conservative customers. If only the owner would turn off the charm, Juliette is sure she could stop imagining her in nothing but the shop’s lacy best sellers.

Peyton Lane loves a clean slate. In fact, she desperately needs one after a series of bad choices. She also likes sexy things, and uptight Juliette next door would be a fun bow to untie. But when Peyton’s feelings enter new territory, she realizes the world might be scarier than she’d planned. Juliette has Peyton longing for forever on one hand and lacing up her running shoes with the other.

What’re a structured stationery store owner and a sexy lingerie peddler to do?

Dani Raye has finally got her life back on track. After a messy divorce, Dani and her ex-wife, Catriona, have found a way to co-parent successfully. Most of the time. While Catriona has moved on, Dani is in no rush to find love again. She has her work and son, Jonah, and that’s all she needs to be happy.

Lucy Matthews is anything but happy. Her relationship is falling apart, and her son is taking out his frustrations on a boy in school. When Dani and Lucy are thrust together to sort out their children’s squabble, their priorities are clear—family first—despite the attraction neither expected.

Al Jefferson has people: wife, kids, father, siblings, friends. When Lucas shows up at a local polyamory party, Al knows he is ready for more. Sudden illnesses, date interruptions, and an unexpected visit prove that mixing Lucas into his already busy life isn’t going to be easy.

Lucas Laverty has people too: wife, daughter, parents. And though he and Al are both looking for a boyfriend, Lucas learns they mean different things by “boyfriend.” They don’t see things the same way when it comes to their other relationships, either. And before Lucas can sort out his relationship with Al, he’ll have to track down the father he missed out on.

If being a coach’s son has taught Al anything, it’s that winning the game might mean changing the play. But Lucas isn’t exactly flexible, and people don’t fall into neat categories. As Al and Lucas navigate the ups and downs of life, only one thing is certain: romance has never been so crowded.

Reader advisory: This book contains the use of a homophobic slur.

Life changes like the ocean tides, and Mikayla Pierce is discovering that the hard way. Recently divorced and learning more about her bisexuality, she struggles to find her way on her own. Living in a borrowed home in Oceana Mobile Home Park, Mikayla knows one thing for sure. She’s done trying to be the person other people think she should be.

Gem Helmstaad, the property manager of Oceana, has resigned herself to the life she’s lived since she was a kid, helping her dad take care of his business. She thought she’d broken free of her family obligations, but with her father’s poor health and her siblings having lives of their own, she’s back in Oceana and it’s up to her to keep the business going.

Falling in love is the last thing on either of their minds, but when Mikayla and Gem meet, sparks of possibility begin to shine, revealing a new path that just might lead them to a future neither expected.

Once the first female quarterback of her high school team, Sutton McCoy has since landed her dream job as the offensive coordinator for the new NFL team the Connecticut Cheetahs. When the team recruits established quarterback Grayson Moats to lead them, Sutton’s heart is crushed. Grayson isn’t the problem. Sutton’s fifteen-year crush on his wife, Parker O’Neal, is.

Parker is living a life full of regrets dating all the way back to high school when her parents made her end her relationship with Sutton because there were too many rumors about her, not all of them good. When Grayson accepts the new quarterback position with the Cheetahs, he consults Parker first, knowing the three of them have history. But it’s not like she can tell him the truth, that Sutton still occupies so much of Parker’s head and heart.

Interfering in the personal life of the star quarterback and convincing Parker to walk away from her family were never in Sutton’s game plan. But standing on the sidelines when a second chance at true love comes their way proves all but impossible.