Contemporary Books

When reporter Addison Miller scores an invitation to Decadence, she hopes for an exclusive interview with Elizabeth Hathaway, the mysterious socialite behind the event. But as Addison soon discovers, there’s more to the story, and her gorgeous host, than she ever imagined.

Exclusive Content was originallly published in Decadence: Erotic Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2023)

Nora Palmer’s goal of becoming a photojournalist is almost within her grasp, but her father won’t pay for her tuition unless she completes Firecamp, a demanding summer work program involving fire mitigation in the rugged Colorado national forest. Fallon Monroe spent her precarious youth wishing and waiting. Firecamp is her chance at stability and a meaningful life. Despite getting off to a bumpy start, Nora and Fallon’s relationship deepens, even as they are honest about their incompatible plans for the future. But when it’s Nora’s photography that creates a rift between them, their split is abrupt and painful.

Ten years later, Nora has achieved her dream. So why does that summer still intrude into her memories? When an alert goes out for a major forest fire in the area, Nora covers the Women’s Plus team working in advance of the flames. Fallon is now the unit leader and can’t be distracted by Nora’s unexpected arrival if she’s going to keep her crew safe and help save the forest. But what can she do about the heat between them that has never cooled?

Emory Bennet is overworked and overstressed. In Vegas to relax and meet Cadence, an incredibly sexy woman she’s been talking to online, Emory agrees when Cadence all but begs her to attend Decadence. With one secret condition: Emory is the one who’s in control.

Passionate Pursuance was originally published in Decadence: Erotic Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2023)

Max Woodbury regrets how her relationship ended. One terrible misunderstanding and Dee Talson refused to take her calls or respond to texts. Unable to let Dee walk away, Max enlists help to pull off the surprise of a lifetime at Decadence and win back Dee’s heart.

Redemption was originally published in Decadence: Erotic Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2023)

Whisk Me Away is must-see TV. When the famous host arranges a retreat for up-and-coming pastry chefs, Regan Callahan applies. Everything she’s been working for is served up hot and delicious right under her nose: recognition of her self-taught skills, learning from a master, there’s even been a secret prize hinted at that just might give her the means to buy her boss’s bakery when he retires. It’s not supposed to be a competition, but if it is, she’ll do anything to win. 

Ava Prescott has no intention of allowing that to happen. Not that she’s worried. Regan doesn’t have what it takes. Just like she couldn’t excel with Ava as her boss when they worked together at the high-end restaurant in New York City. Their rivalry sharp as a lemon tart, Ava’s going to win, then she’ll ditch the high-pressure kitchen and open a small restaurant where she’ll have the creative freedom to follow her instincts, and her unique desserts will blossom.  

Their styles are different. Their personalities are miles apart. Regan’s a gorgeous flake. Ava, a beautiful untouchable ice queen. Let the competition, and the ovens, heat up. Everyone knows the best recipes come straight from the heart.

Sam O’Brian might be blasting her way up the pro computer-gaming charts, but her dislike of the spotlight and her baggy clothes, undercut hair, and queer vibe make her a hard sell as a poster girl.

Enter polished marketing executive Lauren Johanssen—ambitious, driven, and a people pleaser. Her new company wants to recruit Sam for its local eSports gaming team to fix their boys’ club image. They also want Lauren to pretty up Sam’s look to appeal to the masses.

While Lauren’s up for a challenge, the more she’s pushed to change Sam, the more she likes her just as she is. She’s sworn never to date a professional gamer again, but she might be falling for the guarded, sweet gamer who still lives with her dad.

An opposites attract lesbian romance about defying expectations and being true to yourself.

Content advisory: sexism, homophobia, and racism

What happens when falling in love means loving parts of ourselves that we do not believe are worthy?

Jane Gray arrives in Milwaukee with a lot to prove and low expectations for success after her former collegiate coach persuades her to sign a WNBA training camp contract. She doesn’t usually throw caution to the wind, but that’s exactly what happens her first night in town, and she lands in bed with a beautiful stranger.

Jane is shocked to discover she slept with Kinzie Lancaster, brand consultant for Jane’s new team—the Milwaukee Pitbulls. And she’s even more stunned when her career begins to heat up after an ACL injury stalled her bright future and years of bouncing around the league destroyed her confidence. When passion and pleasure turn to promises of forever, the love and success she has always dreamed of is suddenly within reach and she must put everything on the line to discover she deserves love.

For Peyton Reilly no strings means no heartache. She hasn’t had a relationship since Hanna Choi, her high school girlfriend, broke her heart almost a decade ago. But everything’s great. She has a job she loves, a loyal group of friends, and plenty of time for surfing. At least until Hanna unexpectedly accepts a job at the aquarium where Peyton works.

Their reunion is anything but joyous. Despite Hanna’s cold shoulder, Peyton can’t stop old and familiar feelings from pouring back. When Hanna slowly begins to open up, painful memories Peyton’s worked hard to forget remind her that getting too close could lead to another broken heart.

Peyton quickly learns that sometimes all your heart needs is a second chance, but are the scars of the past too deep to heal?

Hannah knows how to grow her family’s jewelry design company into one of the most successful on the West Coast. But share her emotions? Not so much. She needs to break up with her girlfriend, Bren, but tragedy strikes before she gathers the courage.

It’s been years, but Vanessa hasn’t recovered from her ex, Bren, dumping her. She’s owned her flower shop for over twenty-five years and should be confidently anticipating her fiftieth birthday, but she still battles her mother’s criticism.

When Vanessa mysteriously shows up at Bren’s funeral, questions, and a few eyebrows, are raised. Was Bren who Hannah and Vanessa thought she was? Did they really know her at all? As the secrets and lies mount, the shocking truth reveals why their relationships failed. But will learning from the past give them the skills to build a future with one another?

The glitz and glam of Hollywood are just an illusion, and everyone knows celebrities and paparazzi mix as well as oil and water.

Rylee Callison is one of the best paparazzi in Hollywood. A-List actress McKenzie Gomann hates the press after a series of photos create unwelcome trouble for her. When they meet, the attraction is undeniable, but Rylee is keeping a big secret to protect and provide for her family. When McKenzie finds out that Rylee is not only a member of the paparazzi, but the paparazzo who took the scandalous photographs of her, the heat between them turns ice cold.

Can the magic of Hollywood set the stage that brings them back together, or are happy endings only for the movies?

As a doctor, Mick McVey knows what a mental health crisis looks like. Her own still takes her by surprise. When she inherits a house from the grandfather she’s never met, she puts herself on sabbatical and travels to the small hometown of the mother who abandoned her. It’s a temporary solution.

Mick might not be grieving her grandfather, but to her new neighbor Katy, his death is one blow too many. Mick’s arrival feels like Katy’s chance to forget her ex and her struggling cinema and reinvent herself. She’ll finally get her hot rebound and make this year her year.

When the COVID-19 lockdown traps both women in situations they’d convinced themselves were temporary, they’re forced to face what they really want from their lives, and who they want to share them with.

When a young woman shows up on her doorstep in the middle of a rainstorm, Felicienne de Montagne feels compelled to help her despite her better judgment. Comfortably living alone and working in her greenhouses, Felicienne soon realizes that adventurer and blogger Puck Aston is made from a different cloth. Traveling the US and Canada in her campervan with her dog, Puck is a rolling stone to Felicienne’s boulder.

Puck’s campervan has broken down and needs major repairs. When she learns that Felicienne needs a photographer to document her hybrid flowers for a book, she offers her services for room and board. As Felicienne and Puck slowly get to know each other, their mutual attraction grows even as both accept that the day Puck goes back on the road, their bond will be broken.

Hannah works for one of the biggest liquor brands in the Northwest and is eager to prove herself and get the promotion she has been owed for so long. There’s just one annoyingly gorgeous obstacle in her way—the beloved local distiller, Alexandra Lang.

Alexandra isn’t afraid of a little competition. Okay, a lot of competition. Everyone knows her distillery is an homage to her late father, and she has the unwavering support of the whole community and tight-knit bar scene. Hannah’s charming sales pitch, endless legs, and big city influence don’t stand a chance. Right?

Ambition and passion go head-to-head as they duel for bar placements, local awards, and overall support for their products. But as sparks of friction and attraction fly, Hannah begins to suspect there might be more to small town life, and to Alexandra, than she thought.

Looks like the liquor will be the least of the hard stuff.

Would you trade the life you have for a chance at a life you’ll love?

Devri Cahn is poised on the knife edge of getting everything she’s always wanted: an enviable rental empire in Brooklyn, guaranteed top-tier income, and elevated social status in the cutthroat world of the NYC lesbian elite. It’s finally all at her fingertips, so why does she want to leave it all behind?

Siobhan Byrne has returned to her tiny rural fishing village on the southern coast of Ireland with one goal: to buy the rundown cottages by the sea and turn them into slick, modern holiday rentals. After university in Dublin and some real-world experience, she’s determined to reach her goal of marketing Ireland’s undeniable pull to rich American tourists. It’s about time Ireland stepped into the twenty-first century, and she’s the woman for the job, especially if she gets filthy rich doing it.

Devri and Shiv never expected their feelings for each other to linger, but sometimes the search for what you’ve always wanted leads home, to the one you've always needed.

Explore the angst and excitement of forbidden love few would dare in this heart-stopping novella collection.

In Her Boss's Wife by Gun Brooke, January Wild needs a letter of recommendation to finally move to her dream job. Only she’s caught in the crosshairs of her bosses’ messy divorce and has a dangerous crush on her boss’s wife. Will they risk everything for a chance at forever?

In Her Therapist's Daughter by J.J. Hale, with the help of her therapist, Freya embarks on a journey of self-discovery that leads to a serendipitous meeting and an unexpected connection. Unbeknownst to them, Freya’s therapist is the same woman advising her daughter to follow her heart, straight into Freya’s arms.

In Her Brother’s Girlfriend by Aurora Rey, Hadley Devine always knew she’d find her way back to the family restaurant and take over as head chef. She didn’t count on working alongside Brianna Kerns, her brother’s girlfriend, and the woman she’s been in love with since high school.

The last thing rock star Harper Cushing needs right now is this attraction to her grandmother’s helper, Frankie, even if she is sneaky-good on the guitar. Returning to her favorite childhood spot, Gram’s nostalgic general store, Harper confronts life-altering decisions: Gram’s future welfare, selling the store, and reassessing her own fast-paced “high life.” If only she could pull it all off without breaking everyone’s heart—including her own.

Having made her own life-altering decision three years ago, Frankie Cosgrove is guardedly single and set to harvest her first cranberry crop. She’s devoted to her elderly storekeeper friend, so when the famous Harper arrives, hell-bent on making changes, Frankie’s defenses rise.

At least they admit to mutual concerns for Gram and the store, and even each other’s heartfelt intentions. But the unexpected musical accord they strike sounds a whole lot like falling in love. Has harmony finally found them?

When Lucinda “Lucky” Chance lands the client of a lifetime, she promises to give it her all. Little does Lucky know that the woman she’s been flirting with from her window all summer long is the client, Brianna Jameson. Not only does Lucky have to prove she can do the job, but she’s desperate to impress the gorgeous woman who has occupied her thoughts.

Brianna Jameson is bored with her stagnant life. Her friends are busy raising kids and walking away from promising careers. Not Bri. She’s worked too hard to throw it away on something as fleeting as love. But work and romance collide as Lucky stirs up feelings Bri would rather avoid. When Lucky gets fired for all the wrong reasons, Bri reaches out to support her for all the right ones.

Love at first sight is for dreamers, but the more time they spend together, the more they realize the chemistry of a gaze can make anything possible.

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.