Romance

Daphne Brink doesn't follow baseball, but watching "America's Snoozefest" certainly beats sitting at home in the days after she signs her divorce papers. After one too many ballpark beers, she heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler, who quickly proves there might actually be a little crying in baseball. Horrified, Daphne reaches out to Chris on social media to apologize . . . but forgets to identify herself as his heckler in her message.

Chris doesn't usually respond to random fans on social media, but he's grieving and fragile after an emotionally turbulent few months. When a DM from "Duckie" catches his eye, he impulsively messages back. Duckie is sweet, funny, and seems to understand him in a way no one else does.

Daphne isn't sure how much longer she can keep lying to Chris, especially as she starts working with the team in real life and their feelings for each other deepen. When he finds out the truth, will it be three strikes, she's out?

Publishers Weekly Best Romance Book of 2023 - Chicago Public Library Best Romance of 2023 - A "Sarah's BookShelves" Best Debut of 2023 - Go On Girl Book Club pick

"Love would be so much easier if it were perfect..."

On the night of her husband Matt's fortieth birthday, Rachel Abbott receives a sexy, explicit text from her husband that she quickly realizes was meant for another woman. Divorce is inevitable, and Rachel is determined not to leave her thirteen-year marriage empty handed. Meanwhile, Matt, a rising star mayor with his eye on the White House, can't afford a messy split in the middle of his reelection campaign. They strike a deal: Rachel gets one million dollars and their lavish house in the wealthy DC suburb of Oasis Springs, as long as she keeps playing the ideal Black trophy wife until the election.

Then Rachel meets Nathan Vasquez, a very handsome, very lost twenty-six-year-old artist, and their connection makes Rachel forget about being the perfect politician's wife. As Rachel reawakens Nathan's long-dormant artistic aspirations, their attraction becomes impossible to resist. But secrets are hard to keep in a town like Oasis Springs, and Nathan has a few of his own. With the risk of scandal looming and their hearts on the line, they'll have to decide whether the possibility of losing everything is worth taking a chance on love.

The Art of Scandal is a sizzling, conversation-starting debut about rekindling passion, the transformative power of art, and finding love in unexpected places.

Includes a Reading Group Guide.

A Library Journal Romance Pick of the Month

Bestselling author Olivia Dade welcomes you to Harlot's Bay in this delightfully sexy rom-com about a woman who buys the town's famous Spite House, only to realize the infuriating man she can't stand lives right next door--and their unwilling proximity might spark something neither can ignore.

When Athena Greydon's fiancé ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. Which is a problem, for several reasons: The house, originally built as a brick middle finger to the neighbors, is only ten feet wide. Her ex's home is literally attached to hers. And Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third--AKA the uptight, judgy jerk who convinced his younger brother to leave her--is living on her other side, only a four-foot alley away.

If she has to see Matthew every time she looks out her windows, she might as well have some fun with the situation. By, say, playing erotic audiobooks at top volume with those windows open. A woman living in a Spite House is basically obligated to get petty payback however she can, right?

Unfortunately, loathing Matthew proves more difficult than anticipated. He helps her move. He listens. And he's kind of...hot? Dammit.

Matthew may not regret ending his brother's engagement, but he does regret what the breakup has done to Athena. He'll help her however he can. If that means finding her work, fine. If that means enduring nightly steamy story hours, so be it. And if that means watching Athena through their windows a bit too often and caring about her a bit too much...well, nothing can come of it. She'll never forgive him. Even if she did, how could he ever tell his beloved younger brother the truth--that Matthew wants the very same woman he encouraged Johnny to leave?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey returns with an all-new sports rom-com about a burly, surly, single dad who falls head-over-hockey-stick for his quirky live-in nanny...

Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She's also twenty-six and broke. So when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood. This workplace romance takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself living with not just his cool but introverted tween, Lissa, but the grumpy athlete himself.

Her tween charge isn't the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to...well, everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how. But as boundaries are slowly crossed in this nanny romance and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his insane chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the "right" thing--breaks her own heart and walks away.

Though Burgess knows it's for the best--he's too jaded, with too much baggage--a chance meeting, and a new push from his daughter, forces him to put everything on the line. He has to fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah.

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. It's not just the role of a lifetime, but it's also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it's her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess's way--well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don't quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry--and Tess's career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen's era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches...well, Tess won't be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

Lindsey Clark is a single mom doing her best to stay afloat. Between nursing shifts and legal bills, she barely has time to breathe--let alone date. One night, after too much wine and social media scrolling, she stumbles on the anonymous account of @DomInTheWoods. His voice? Commanding. His faceless profile? Hot. And Lindsey? Intrigued enough to email him.

Dane Woods is a professional Dom who keeps his identity private and his boundaries firm. He offers structure, discipline, and control--but nothing physical, nothing emotional. No exceptions ... even for his tantalizing new sub, Lindsey, who he can't stop thinking about.

But when Dane steps in to run a kids' camp as a favor to a friend, the last person he expects to see is Lindsey. Now that their worlds have collided, the lines between professional and personal start to blur.

Maybe some boundaries are meant to be axed.

Sharing isn't caring when it comes to your big day.

Judith Nachman loves working as a project manager at the Mitzvah Alliance charity, and after five years, it's finally her turn to have the bat mitzvah of her dreams. Judith is enjoying every single moment of the process-until she learns she has to share her day with the annoying hockey player who derailed her sister's career.

Retired hockey player Ash Mendel is determined to start an organization to support Jewish athletes, and the first step is to have his bar mitzvah. He's not sure what he wants his day to look like, but he knows he definitely wants forgiveness from Judith, the woman he's sharing the date with.

But Judith's nephew needs to interview an athlete, and Ash needs professional advice for his foundation, so they exchange favors. Except as they get to know each other and their worlds start to mingle, Ash and Judith will have to decide whether sharing their lives as well as their B'Nai Mitzvah is the best decision they could make, or the biggest mistake of their lives.