Romance

From the author of the Madison Kate series comes the dark and delicious interconnected Hades series, another biting "why choose" romance in Shadow Grove.

"I wouldn't fall. Because the second I did, someone would be there to slit my throat and toss me to the sharks.

After all, it's what I would do."

Five years ago, I masterminded the infamous massacre of the Tri-state Timberwolves.

The streets outside the Wolves HQ ran red with the blood of the old guard, and not one of the members loyal to my father was spared mercy. Not a single one.

I let the media twist and distort the story. My new recruits eagerly proved themselves by spreading false news, then covering our tracks. To the general public, the Tri-State Timberwolves were extinct.

But that couldn't have been further from the truth. We changed, we grew, we evolved, and we came out stronger than ever. Now, I live, eat, sleep and breathe Timberwolves. I'll do anything to keep my empire safe and thriving. To keep the people depending on me safe.

So, what do I do when it's my own weakness that places us all in danger? When I let desire cloud my judgment and my people pay the price?

Simple. Kill the distractions.

I'm called Hades for a reason, after all.

Seeking a fresh start after leaving her cheating fiancé, Abby McIntyre makes a series of spontaneous decisions: She quits her job. She books a one-way flight to the UK. She even gets bangs!

Newly arrived in Liverpool, she lands a job with the Mersey Football Club and meets Lachlan Ramsay, the recently recruited Scottish star midfielder. Both lonely in a new city, the pair bond quickly, and Abby finds it nearly impossible to deny their chemistry--despite the nagging guilt she feels about Lachlan's mysterious wife who didn't relocate with her husband.

When Abby's housing falls through, Lachlan insists she move into his massive penthouse. As they spend almost every waking moment together, Abby wonders if it's possible that the world-famous footballer could be falling for her, too. But with her job and his marriage dependent on them staying firmly in the friend zone, can Abby risk being caught offside?

Crackling with witty banter and palpable sexual tension, Abby Offsides is at once a smoldering, slow-burn romance and a nuanced exploration of one woman's journey to reclaim her own dreams and desires after years of living life on autopilot.

As office manager of the city's leading luxury boudoir and pinup photography studio, lovable grump Samantha Sawyer has everything under control. With an eventful summer season on the horizon, Sam is balancing a hectic workload while preparing the Buxom Boudoir "Photobus," a vintage coach bus converted into a mobile photobooth and meeting space, to make the rounds at Chicago's bustling summer street festival roster. Sam's busy schedule makes avoiding the difficult parts of her life much easier, but there's one person who can see right through her to-do lists and icy façade, really see her.

A lot has changed in the last year for Russell Montgomery. Years of odd jobs and couch surfing around the country had left him scrambling, but after reconnecting with his brother, Reid (and coming as close to settling down as he's ever been), Russ now works at a hot local restaurant. Russ has been welcomed into his newly engaged brother's circle of friends--all except a close friend and coworker of Reid's fiancée, an intriguingly stormy woman named Sam.

Luckily, Sam is certain that the chaos of her calendar will ensure their distance, and she won't have to deal with Russ or his irritating, handsome smile. But when Russ is charged with the launch of a restaurant food truck for the festival circuit, the sizzling Chicago heat is no match for the fire between them....

A rollicking, unforgettable enemies to lovers romance about two strangers finding love despite their best efforts as they embark on a sweeping matchmaking tour through Việt Nam, perfect for readers of Carley Fortune and Abby Jimenez.

What's a few weeks to a lifetime of promise?

Evie Lang's life is in shambles. On the heels of losing her beloved aunt, she's unceremoniously fired from her poetry professorship by her secret boyfriend. Lacking income and inspiration, she's stuck in Ohio with no idea how to move forward--until hope for a second chance arrives in a surprising letter.

Auntie Hảo left Evie the deed to her San Francisco row house, a place full of Evie's happiest memories. The catch? To inherit, she must go on a pre-arranged matchmaking tour in Việt Nam. The last thing Evie wants is to spend time with a group of strangers looking for love. But she can't resist the chance to finally visit her family's native home.

A world away, Adam Quyền has a chip on his shoulder. He's working around the clock as the wealthy CMO for his sister's elite matchmaking business, a job complicated by her insistence that he knows nothing about love. He's desperate to prove himself, so when she challenges him to join the inaugural tour, he reluctantly agrees.

Adam thinks Evie is chaotic and unpredictable. Evie thinks Adam is grumpy and uptight. But from the bustling streets of Hồ Chí Minh City to the soaring waterfalls in Đà Lạt, they keep getting thrown together, their animosity charged with attraction...and they discover that true love may be out there, if they are willing to take a leap.

Two stubborn hearts, one whirlwind adventure, Adam & Evie's Matchmaking Tour is a story of how loving (and living) bravely can lead you to the most unexpected places--and the most imperfectly perfect loves.

Naked, knowing little more than her name, Amber Fallbrook does not recognize the stone tower she's awoken in, or the vast, glittering ocean beyond its window. Turning, she finds a very a different view: a beautiful, nearly nude man stirring in her bed. He is a stranger, as is the man who barges into the room seconds later, clearly expecting to find Amber alone.

Who are they? Who is she? Why can't she remember?

Shocked to discover that she's in her dormitory room at the Alchemary--the realm's prestigious university dedicated to the study of alchemy--Amber has no recollection of having been one of the school's top students for the past two years. The two men--brothers--are her childhood friends, even if "friends" is not exactly the energy in the room.

One brother claims he wants to protect her, and the other to help her recover her memory. But nothing is at it seems at the Alchemary. Not the intentions of her classmates and faculty, not the stunning, labyrinthine campus, not the two brothers she's increasingly attracted to--maybe not even Amber herself.

Despite her memory loss, Amber rejoins her classes and prepares for the deadly Alchemary Trials alongside the other Mastery-level students. But as invigorating as the flowing language and symbology of alchemy is, she can't help but notice that for an institution shining light on the quest for human perfection there are a lot of dark shadows in its winding corridors.

"Infused with beauty, humor, and pain, The Alchemy of Noise is a modern American love story that asks if love can bridge the distance between two Americas."
--Laura Nicole Diamond, author of Shelter Us and Deliver Me

In a world so full of lonely people and broken hearts, Chris Hawkins, a black sound engineer from Chicago's south side, and Sidonie Frame--white, suburban-raised, the head manager of one of the city's most elite venues--meet by work-related happenstance and fall quickly in love, convinced that by that act alone they can inspire peace, joy, and happiness in the world around them. The world, however, has other ideas.

Their meeting is serendipitous. Chris, who owns and runs his company, largely spends his time surrounded by members of his own community; Sidonie, conversely, is rarely outside the environs of work and its predominantly white staff and clientele. But when the club's sound manager goes AWOL on the night of a big event and Chris is hired to come in as a last-minute replacement, their destinies collide.

Immediately drawn to each other, they fall quickly into an unexpected and thrilling relationship, inspiring myriad reactions amongst family and friends on both sides of the racial divide. But even as their love story evolves, day-to-day tensions, police disruptions, and the microaggressions Chris constantly encounters as a black man in the gritty environs of Chicago become a cultural flashpoint, challenging Sidonie's privileged worldview and Chris's ability to translate the unfolding events. After a random and gut-wrenching series of police encounters shakes their resilience, it's the shattering circumstance of a violent arrest--one in which Chris is identified as a serial vandal and potential rapist--that sends their world into free fall.

He claims his innocence; she believes him. But the forces pushing against them are many and oppressive. With a looming trial, the dissipating loyalties of key allies, and unforeseen twists triggering doubt and suspicion, Sidonie and Chris are driven to question what they really know of each other and just whom to trust, leading to a powerful and emotional conclusion.

Lorraine Devon Wilke's third novel, The Alchemy of Noise, ventures beyond the humor and pathos of family drama explored so cleverly in her first two novels to dig deep into the politics of contemporary culture. At its heart a love story, it explores the complexity of race in a suspenseful drama driven by issues of privilege, prejudice, police profiling and legal entanglements, and the disparities in how those provocative themes impact the various and diverse characters involved.

Two best friends ignite a long-buried attraction in this cozy winter romance. He's loved her forever, and she's the last to know.

Sophie Lindell is at a personal and professional crossroads: interviewing for PhD programs that will either keep her in Boston with her tight-knit group of friends or send her to California on her own. Already preparing for big changes, Sophie has her world turned on its head when a break up with her long-time boyfriend leaves her without a place to live. Fortunately, her best friend Andy Walsh has a spare bedroom-and a secret soft heart under his icy exterior.

The two make an unlikely pair: Sophie is ebullient, disorganized, and optimistic, with big dreams for her future. Andy is a creature of habit, with everything in his life rigidly under control-everything except the way Sophie makes him feel.

As roommates, their near-decade of carefully drawn boundaries finally starts to crumble. But with big changes ahead in Sophie's career, is now really the time to be thinking about romance, and with her best friend of all people? And for Andy, is confessing how he's always felt worth the risk of potentially losing the person who matters most?

Instant USA Today bestseller.

He's a villain looking for a hero rebrand. She's the marketing genius who can make it happen in this fantastical romantic comedy by the author of the Beasts of Gatamora series.

Over two decades ago, forty-eight young, gifted superheroes fell to Earth and were eventually marketed as opposing brands: heroes and villains. Now, one exceptionally gruff bad guy is looking to hop teams. Hello, PR director Vanessa Theriot.

His real name is Roland Casteel a.k.a. the Pyro. First, swap that with the less incinerating the Wyvern. Next, put him in spandex to highlight that near-godlike body. Finally, give that hero in training a heroine--if Vanessa will play the part in a pretend romance guaranteed to make the city swoon. She's game. As shy as Vanessa is, it's her job to be Roland's very own Lois Lane. Who knew that fake dating would change their worlds?

But falling head over heels for real makes for a dangerous shift in the narrative. A monstrous supervillain is bringing out Roland's bad side again. This time, it's to save a woman who, against all the odds, is becoming the human love of his superhero life.