Contemporary Books

Quinn Collins is ready for her Off-Broadway debut. With her modeling days behind her and a contract secured for her one-woman show at the prestigious Horizon Theater, she’s eager for a fresh start.

Alex Anders was born into the world of theater. Her father owns one of Manhattan’s most distinguished theater companies, and Alex has spent her life performing. Now the managing director for Horizon, Alex is content to be around the stage, even if she’s not on it.

As Quinn prepares for her opening night and Alex works to clinch Horizon’s coveted executive director position, ghosts from Alex’s past may jeopardize both their goals.

Neither of them can afford a romantic distraction, but the pull of their attraction is hard to resist. Their love story may be the encore performance of Alex’s worst fears or the one act that could change their lives forever.

Kelly Lattimore dreams of using her legal skills to help those in need, but practicalities force her into the soul-crushing world of Big Law. Despite the shock of a one-night stand being her new boss, she’s determined to excel…and maybe even make her family proud of her for once.

As cutthroat as she is beautiful, the last thing high-powered attorney Jillian Briggs is looking for is an office romance. Still smarting from her divorce, she distracts herself with work and casual sex. She never planned to mix the two, but when Kelly turns out to be her new associate after their night of passion, Jillian’s carefully partitioned life is turned on its head.

Try as they might, Kelly and Jillian can’t resist their attraction. They’re determined to keep their connection purely physical, but the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to ignore their hearts.

London Granger gave up her modeling career for investigative journalism only to discover no one would hire her to write anything important. The only way out of her dead-end job? Investigate something the internet will actually read. That’s how her next assignment becomes “What’s it Really Like to Date a Billionaire?” Her boss hooks her up on a glitzy getaway to St. Kitts as the companion of obscenely wealthy Miranda Northbrooke. Miranda’s only request: when they inevitably run into the ex who dumped her, London must play the role of Miranda’s adoring new girlfriend.

Tennyson Securities protects the rich and famous, and Kayla Tennyson built it from the ground up. She has more money than she can spend, but when you move in the circles she does, sorting through the fakes and finding someone honest and genuine is tough. She’d tried with Miranda Northbrooke, and it ended in disaster.

London isn’t sure what she expected of Miranda’s ex, but it certainly wasn’t icy beauty. And while Kayla would like to write London off as Miranda’s new plaything, she can’t get past how smart and funny she is. London and Kayla are perfect for one another, but if London reveals the ruse, she risks not only the opportunity of her career, but Kayla’s trust as well.

Montessori teacher Sky Roberts doesn’t think twice about entering a charity raffle for a free vacation. She can hardly believe it when the winning ticket turns out to be hers, but the trip conflicts with the summer school program she’s scheduled to teach. She can’t give up on her students.

Drew Mitchell excels in her job as a travel agent, and her success makes up for never quite measuring up to her family’s gender expectations and her disappointingly single status. That’s why she’s determined to win her company’s latest competition for best travel package and be named the top regional agent.

Drew can’t believe Sky is turning down a free vacation. She <i>has</i> to take this trip. In a desperate attempt to get Sky to change her mind and ask another teacher to step in for her, Drew suggests they go on the vacation together. What better way to relax than with your very own travel guide? Plus, she can win the competition by keeping tabs on her travel plan as it unfolds.

As Sky and Drew travel beautiful Fiji together, they’re about to discover that the trip of a lifetime may just lead to the kind of love they've been searching for.

For some, first love is never forgotten—even when left behind. A story of queer love that never ends, new beginnings, and the town that steals two hearts from award-winning author Ana Hartnett.

Tanya Brees enjoyed an idyllic childhood in the small coastal tourist town of Coral Bay, skimboarding, racing ATVs through sandy trails, and getting into mischief with her small band of friends. Things are clear: stick with the locals and hope the high-rises don’t take over their small fishing community.

When Tanya is thirteen, Juliette Peralta walks into the restaurant at the Coral Bay Inn with her parents and catches the eye of all the teens in town, especially Tanya. Every summer Juliette spends in Coral Bay brings them closer until first love blooms. But Juliette always leaves, her parents keep acquiring property to develop in town, and Tanya can’t take it anymore. No matter how much she loves Juliette, their family values are too different, and they lose touch as adults. That is, until a hurricane forces Juliette to return to Coral Bay indefinitely.

What’s worse than still being attracted to your first crush? Realizing the storm that tore you apart has gotten a lot more complicated.

The dahlia represents love, devotion, dignity, and beauty in Victorian floriography. Piper’s new boss, Dahlia? One out of four—Dal is beautiful and that’s where the similarities end.

When Piper Fernley, Pipes the unPlugged when writing her popular blog, is knocked down by a frightened dog on her morning run, she doesn’t expect the dog’s owner to land on top of her. Or the attraction she feels for the rude woman who isn’t her type. But that’s nothing compared to the shock of finding out the woman is her new boss. Fortunately, the gig at the job is temporary, but how is she supposed to survive six weeks with a guarded, uptight woman who doesn’t even like her?

Veterinarian Dahlia Noble prefers animals to most people—they aren’t duplicitous. After a difficult childhood and the divorce from hell, Dal’s focus is her daughter and her work. The unpretentious office temp is growing on Dal, but her past, the boss/employee rulebook, and a divorce agreement mean there is no place in her life for Piper.

Sometimes when you stop looking, your heart finds exactly what it needs.

Sydney meets Reagan in an Italian café when Reagan helps her order. Instant best friends, they spend an idyllic fall sightseeing until Sydney’s semester abroad comes to an end and she returns to the States. Reagan’s a young Army second lieutenant living under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and must stay behind and complete her assignment. But their final night together—complete with a first kiss—lives on in Sydney’s mind.

Over the next fifteen years, Reagan and Sydney ricochet in and out of each other’s lives, with each parting leaving deeper longings and scars than the last. When DADT is repealed and they both end up in Washington, DC, it’s a chance for Reagan to finally win the heart of the woman she has always loved, if only the Army didn’t threaten to send them to opposite sides of the world once again.

An epic love story that traverses the complexities of duty, loyalty, and sacrifice across the decades, Sydney and Reagan know what their hearts want, but love keeps slipping through their fingers.

Julia Martin is a thriving physical therapist and gym owner with a steady relationship and even a dog. Her life is uncomplicated, simple, and fun, even if she sometimes feels like she’s missed out by never leaving the Midwest town she grew up in. That is until a heartbreak from her past comes crashing back into her world, and everything starts to spin into motion and out of control.

Raegan Holcolm thought all they wanted was a proud military career, and that’s what they had. But a sudden injury sends them back to their hometown with a wealth of pain, both physical and emotional, insecurities, and the reality that the career they’d chosen above all else has rejected them.

The first time they fell in love, Rae left Jules behind. For love to have a second chance, they’ll need to realize all along that home might have been a person just as much as a place.

It’s Emerson Fields’s last summer before she starts her dream internship at the prestigious Bardot Design Studio architectural firm in Paris. The only problem? Her application hasn’t been accepted yet. Without a backup plan in place, Emerson heads to North Carolina to stay with her aunt and uncle and resume her seasonal job waitressing at the beach…and her no strings fling with town local Peyton Reilly.

In desperate need of a Bardot distraction, Emerson asks her coworker Alice Scott to teach her how to surf. What she doesn’t expect is to fall so quickly for the Aussie surfer. While her casual relationship with Peyton is in full swing, her feelings for Alice deepen, and her future with Bardot hangs in the balance. Emerson is standing at a crossroads. The question is, which path will she take?

Seventeen-year-old Diana hasn’t left her home in at least a month, but she has the whole online world at her fingertips. Waking up each day at sunset, she logs into the vast world of Garlandía, an online massive multiplayer role-playing game. Offline, she’s labeled as autistic and treated like a freak. Online, she’s Lune, an up-and-coming video game streamer with a small but steady fanbase. As Lune, Diana can access adventure, admiration, and a future career as a pro-gamer. All she needs is to hit the milestone of one thousand subscribers on StreamLine, and she’ll be well on her way.

When Lune crosses paths with the legendary girl gamer Nocht, she may have found the key that will boost her to the upper echelon of streamers. But as Nocht begins to unravel all Lune thought she knew about gaming, friendship, and love, Diana must find the courage to risk building her dreams offline, too.

When business turns to pleasure, romance ignites. 

In New York is Losing Hope by Nan Campbell: With thirty-five on the horizon and still single, Hope Mason is abandoning her beloved New York City to try her luck in bright, shiny Los Angeles. One problem. This New Yorker is terrified of driving, an essential skill for Californians. She hires instructor Val Caceres to teach her how to drive off into the sunset, but Val could be the one thing she doesn’t want to leave behind.

In Two Women, Two Weddings by Alaina Erdell: Aarti Singh’s brilliance in cardiology hasn’t diminished her longing to be an event planner, even if familial expectations demand a career in medicine. Meanwhile, Jo Samuels’s love life has taken a back seat to her demanding chef career and her desire to keep her life simple. When Aarti hires Jo to cater a wedding, their attraction is undeniable, but how can they fall in love when they’re struggling to be true to themselves?

In For Love or Money by Jesse J. Thoma: Short-seller Frances “Frankie” Sender has always been good at picking winners, but her skills might make her the ultimate loser when a company she is researching frames her for a crime. Her only chance at staying alive is Dakota “Oz” Osborne, a woman with a million-dollar reason to toss her in jail. They’ll have to trust each other and avoid the easy cash out if they want the stock to rise on a chance at love.

Park ranger Maxine Ward has a duty to protect the colony of people who live on the Georgia state park in-holding. They call themselves Tree City and treat Max as one of their own. The conservation work they do is important, and Max is more than happy to run interference between Tree City and the city of Blue Falls, Georgia.

Her commitment to protect Tree City is put to the test when social worker Skylar Austen takes a special interest in the commune. Her style of care isn’t exactly endearing herself to the community. Skylar, like Max, is a Blue Falls local and her reputation precedes her. Just not in the way she would like. Max remembers Skylar’s famed exploits from high school and is reluctant to have her anywhere near Tree City. It may have a little something to do with Max’s unresolved feelings for Skylar, but she’s never going to admit it.

As their feelings for each other deepen and outside pressures arise to threaten Tree City, Max and Skylar must put their differences aside to protect the people they care for, including each other.

Have you ever had a crush on your babysitter? Taryn Ross sure did. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte was sophisticated, thoughtful, gorgeous, and fun. Taryn counted the minutes until they’d hang out. But Charlotte and her family moved away. 

Now a transfer student at Hillspoint University, Taryn is ready to officially come out when she runs into a familiar face at a party. Charlie, now a grad student, insists on walking a drunk Taryn home. To the detriment of Taryn’s heart (and libido), Charlie has only grown kinder (and hotter) with time.

Charlie Adler has a five-year plan: finish her MFA without any hiccups, figure out a timeline for her engagement, and become an acclaimed fiction writer. Easy, right? That is until Taryn shows up at Hillspoint and shakes up her world like a snow globe. This Taryn is different: soulful, brooding, and all grown up. Charlie’s never been attracted to a woman before, and isn’t dating your one-time charge against the rules? If only their toe-curling, mind-dulling, body-aching chemistry would calm the hell down.

Morgan Allen arrives at her first national trade show expecting to make a splash and a ton of sales. She didn’t expect her biggest rival, Shelby Howard, to be there, stealing her thunder and all her clients. Why couldn’t Shelby just stay home and let Morgan have this one? After all, Shelby doesn’t believe in her product, not like Morgan does. She’s just successful because she’s charming and magnetic with a killer smile and legs for days.

Still, Morgan has a heart. When a major snowstorm cancels both their flights home and Morgan snags the last rental car, she offers Shelby a ride. That kindness turns into a nightmare when bad cell reception and a missed exit leaves them stranded in a secluded hunting cabin with a wrecked car and no way to call for help.

The longer they’re stuck together, the more their feelings grow. Could Morgan really be falling for the woman who might just cost her everything? And that’s nothing compared to the question that plagues them both once they’re finally rescued. Do they really have feelings for each other, or was it just cabin fever?

A fake bridesmaid, a socially anxious bride, and an unexpected love—what could go wrong?

It’s the strangest job that actress Meli has ever been offered—posing as a bridesmaid for an apparently friendless woman at her upcoming Caribbean wedding. Then she meets the shy bride-to-be, Hannah, and feels an instant connection that makes her put her doubts aside. She’s not only doing this because Hannah is gorgeous, even though she really is. Too bad she’s straight.

Hannah is ten steps beyond shy. Even connecting with her fiancé is difficult, despite how badly her religious parents want her to marry. But something about Meli makes her feel safe. A close encounter with Meli at the bachelorette party leaves Hannah shivery and warm, and wondering if she’s making a mistake by getting married.

To chase her real happily-ever-after, Hannah has to not only defy expectations she’s conformed to all her life, but also risk her heart getting broken and find the words—and the courage—to be her true self.

Elena Murphy tried to escape the ghosts by moving as far away from Owen Station as she could get. It didn’t work. So when her dad asks her to manage the front-of-the-house at Murphy’s Mortuary Funeral Services, which her cold-as-ice brothers are burying, she packs up her art studio and comes home. This time, though, she’s not the town weirdo but an up-and-coming photographer who has embraced her sixth sense—and learned how to use it.

Allison Jones is the charismatic new assistant fire chief—and maybe the only person not happy Elena’s back. Not only is Al the first woman to hold this post in Owen Station, but she is up to her eyeballs in swirling conspiracy theories that are thwarting efforts to prevent wildfires during a record-breaking Southwest summer. The last thing she needs is somebody with Elena’s profile telling ghost stories.

Elena’s not too wild about the chief, either. No one can be that upbeat all the time and not be hiding something, right? But when Elena needs Al’s help to solve a 70-year-old mystery and finally give her tortured family peace, sparks fly. Will it be enough to melt the ice between them and let love ignite?

What happens when your carefree spring fling shows up to work as your newest summer intern?

When Gwen Strickland and Etta Monroe agree to a steamy anonymous fling, they make three promises: No names. No details. No feelings.

Gwen’s a prominent Atlanta attorney who wants nothing more than to be the next justice on the Georgia State Supreme Court. Etta is fully focused on getting out of law school unscathed. A relationship is not on the agenda, but somehow, they can’t help totally falling for each other.

Then Gwen discovers Etta has accepted a summer internship at her law firm. Logic and ethics say they should end their relationship. But logic and ethics are no match for their unstoppable attraction. Sneaking about, clandestine dating isn’t a long-term solution, but the promise of a future with Etta means Gwen must risk her biggest goal for a younger woman whose life—and plans—could change.

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.