Contemporary Books

A delightful modern-day romance inspired by one of Jane Austen’s most beloved novels.

Twenty-five-year-old Emma Wilson, tall, blond, and rich, has an enviable life, but her father’s dementia makes it difficult to leave him and their home on Highbury Lane. With her future on hold, Emma turns to her neighbor and confidante, thirty-eight-year-old Dr. Georgia Kostigiris, for advice and comfort and to keep their little world tightly ordered.

All that changes when Georgia's seventeen-year-old niece Cora comes to stay for the summer, invading Highbury Lane with her teen angst, big mouth, and knack for seeing things that Emma wished she wouldn’t. Like the way Emma and Georgia lean on each other. And the way Emma’s eyes track the sway of Georgia’s curving hips. Cora makes it impossible for Emma to ignore her feelings for Georgia, but it’s too complicated, and besides, she’s certain Georgia doesn’t feel the same. That’s how she ends up on a date with easy-breezy Bridget, mired in mixed signals.  

Emma and Georgia are perfect for each other, but can they build a future when Emma is avoiding the life and love she truly desires?

Kelly's world collapsed when her father died. They had been very close and now she's lost. How is she supposed to rebuild her relationship with her mother without someone to facilitate their conversation? But her grief takes a back seat when the unexpected happens the day of her father's funeral.

When Teresa got the assignment to write up the obituary for Mr. Matheson, it brought back so many memories of when she had dated Kelly in high school. They had ended awkwardly, and ready to apologize for how she had acted back then, she goes to the funeral to see her again.

The spark is still there, but Kelly and Teresa aren't convinced their reconnection will lead to a forever romance. With so much time apart, all the ways they've changed since high school, and the challenges of a long-distance relationship, their second chance at love may end just as disastrously as the first.

Vancouver’s hit competitive cooking show Recipe for Success has begun filming its second season and two talented young chefs are desperate for more than a winning dish.

Grace Donahue is trying to get out from under her wealthy family’s control, and winning would give her everything she needs to be free. What she didn’t count on was falling for her rival, a sexy-as-hell butch and bad-ass chef who knows exactly how to dish it out and satisfy Grace’s other appetites.

Yaz Sano is as striking as her tiger tattoo and she can’t let herself be distracted by anything or anyone, especially not her spoiled and gorgeous opponent. Winning the competition is her only goal, but as she and Grace duke it out in the kitchen, she soon realizes that she is hungry for much more.

Can they stay focused enough to showcase British Columbia’s bounty and produce winning dishes? Or will their attraction for each other be the one ingredient their considerable skills cannot master?

Theo and Stella will never work out as more than just friends. Then why can’t they stop fighting and making out—up!—making up.

Stella James is back in town after ditching her friends for her (now) ex, whose career took her to London, and she’s bound to make a big entrance at her best friend’s wedding. What Stella fears more than an awkward reunion, though? Theo and their messy more than friendship but never quite love.

Theo Kingsley is an activist and a human rights lawyer in the making, oh, and she thinks monogamy is so last century. Stella couldn’t be any less socially conscious if she tried, unlike the women Theo dates. It’s not as if Stella really believes forever exists, but she’ll never understand how Theo can seem so into her and be dating other people at the same time.

When things between them quickly get complicated again, their push and pull threatens to ruin the friendship in all the worst ways and break their whole friend group apart.

College freshman Kelly “Razor” Mitchell boldly asked out senior star pitcher Ashton Sharpe and was crushed when Ashton turned her down. Seven years later, Ashton is one of the team’s coaches and shows up on Razor’s doorstep asking her to don her gear once more. Razor is cautious. She hung up her cleats early for a reason. But Ashton is very persuasive and as beautiful as ever, and Razor can’t help but hope the longing in her gaze has nothing to do with softball.

Ashton has few regrets, but one is turning down Razor’s request for a date back in college. Ashton can’t think about what-ifs now, or how great Razor looks, or her dormant feelings stirring. A crisis has left the university softball team without a catcher, and their best solution is the one person Ashton never expected to see again.

Ashton and Razor’s coach-player dynamic gets tricky as the sparks fly faster than a line drive. As they struggle with old feelings and new discoveries, the season seems endless. Plus, Razor is sure Ashton won’t want to explore romantic possibilities once she discovers the real reason Razor abruptly departed the team all those years ago.

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.