"When seventeen-year-old Patrick Roman is offered a scholarship to a top hockey preparatory school, he thinks maybe his notorious bad luck has finally ended. With a hearing for his legal emancipation on the horizon, he dreams of getting scouted and securing a place on a D1 college team. There's only one problem: Roman has serious beef with his new winger on the team, Damien Bordeaux. Roman, with his buzzcut and tattoos, has nothing in common with trust-fund-kid Damien.
When eighteen-year-old Damien Bordeaux starts his senior year, he tells himself he's going to focus on hockey and school. He needs to decide what his future will look like. Does he pursue his dream of becoming an author? Or stay in his lane and do what he's good at: hockey. Regardless, he's not going to let any pretty boys distract him. Except his new center, Roman, is possibly the most beautiful boy Damien has ever seen.
But their antagonistic beginning turns into an unlikely friendship and then turns into something much scarier for them both. Navigating relationships is hard enough for normal teenagers. It's a lot harder when contending with lawyers, NHL scouts, and past trauma. Roman and Damien have to decide: What do they really want? Are they willing to fight for each other—including fighting against their own pasts and prejudices—so they can have a happy ending?"
"From the author of Love at First Set, a hilariously sexy enemies-to-lovers, second-chance rom-com about a reclusive former child star turned florist whose quiet life is turned upside down when her annoyingly hot ex (and former costar) shows up in town, with plans to write a tell-all memoir.
Former child star Anderson “Andy” Ducharme is hiding—has been for a long time, if she’s honest with herself, which she isn’t.
When she suddenly cut off all ties and left LA six years earlier to work in a flower shop in coastal New England, she wasn’t just running away from toxic relationships, embezzling agents, and all the rest of her Hollywood life; she was running to something… sort of, if you squinted, and if you accepted that what she was running toward was little more than a vacation daydream she had made up with her (in)famous ex, and former costar, Nicole “Nikki” Price.
Then Nikki announces her plan to write a tell-all book about growing up in Hollywood and their tumultuous time on the Nik and Andy show, and Andy’s feelings of hurt and betrayal come rushing back. Emboldened by anger (and maybe one too many drinks), Andy does something very stupid: she texts her ex for the first time in years. No one’s more shocked than Andy when Nikki actually shows up to her small florist shop, looking for answers.
Andy is fully prepared to send Nikki away, but it seems Nikki has some unfinished business as well. Now that she finally knows where Andy’s been hiding, she’s not letting her go so easy. And with each passing encounter, Andy can’t deny the simmering physical attraction that threatens to boil over every time they get close.
But can the two of them really reunite without wrecking Andy’s carefully rebuilt life? Or is she setting herself up for a fresh heartbreak?
TROPES
second-chance
celebrity
small town
fwb
former exes"
"From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow comes a delightful and heartwarming novel about family, love, grief, and one precocious houseplant, that reminds us of the beauty of living a life in full Bloom.
Morris Warner is withering away. After the sudden death of his husband, Fred, he has shut himself off from the world. No more going to movies with friends, or swims in Lake Michigan, instead preferring the quiet loneliness of his history books and Jeopardy episodes with only the cat to hear his answers.
Morris's stepdaughter, Sloan, feels like she has nowhere to grow. She's about to get married to the man of her dreams, if only her mother will let her actually plan her own wedding and trust her to build her own life after her father's death.
Jade is drying out. Literally. As a plant in Morris's home, she and her plant housemates have been slowly wasting away, leaf by falling leaf, since Fred's death and Morris's lack of care. She needs to come up with a plan to make her new owner come back to life, no matter what it takes.
New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couch's Bloom is a wondrous novel where family, love, kindness, and yes, Mother Nature, triumph."
"Leothius Hollen arrives in Presque Isle, home of the dragon rulers, to investigate the murder of the mage ambassador. The last thing he expects is to run into the sexy-as-sin guy who stood him up months ago. Well, really the last thing he expects is the guy is actually King Gundhram. Wait, nope, the absolute last thing he expects is that Gundhram is his mate. What did he do to the universe that the guy who humiliated him, turns out to be the guy he has to spend the rest of his life with?
Gundhram never wanted to rule, but the death of the mage ambassador left his sister in a bad spot, and he returned to Presque Isle to help her deal with the mage inquisitor sent to investigate the murder. How much did karma hate him that the inquisitor turned out to be the guy he'd rejected months earlier, but couldn't get out of his thoughts? Finding out they were mates, however, was the ultimate payback. Before they settle into the whole mate thing, someone tries to murder Gund's sister, and Leo nearly dies trying to save her. They discover the attempted murder was just a diversion for the real threat. When they try to prevent that threat, they learn there is an even bigger one waiting in the wings. With all the threats emerging, spending the rest of their lives together might not even be long enough to have a proper date.
Contains mature themes."
"For years Link and Eagle have danced around their attraction for each other, and neither one is willing to cross the line from friendship to lovers.
Link doesn't want to lose what they have. Eagle lets things go, following Link's lead.
But ignoring their attraction isn’t working anymore, and one more spark ignites their mounting passion. Can they truly make the leap from best friends to lovers? They were brothers-in-arms through the military and are now coworkers—can becoming involved beyond that even work? Not to mention they are complete opposites . . . One man is laid back and easygoing and the other—not so much.
When one explosive encounter leaves Link pissed off and Eagle contrite, they'll have to do some hard work to repair their rocky bond.
Mix in a bomb, drug dealers, gangs, and illegal drugs with kids involved and Link and Eagle will have a lot to focus on as they try to fix things between them and tackle their building desire.
Contains mature themes."
"Jackson
Dreams collapse in the blink of an eye, I know that better than anyone after losing my career as an athlete. Now I spend my days giving people pleasure for pay and playing with stocks. Most of my friends have settled in Clay Springs, Florida. A sleepy little town that moves slower than molasses. Call it boredom or infatuation with the redhead who scowls at me every time I smile his way, but I think there's also something special for me in Clay Springs. If only Harper would let me show him.
Harper
If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that most people suck. Not in the fun way either. All my cousins are settling down with their boyfriends and I've got my service dog and a brain disorder. Cool. When Jackson shows interest in me, I figure it has to be a joke. But the big guy wants to be my friend. Then he wants to date me. And now . . . well now I'm in too deep and it's only a matter of time until he leaves. After all, I'm always too much or too little, never just enough.
Contains mature themes."
"I ain't afraid of no ghost . . . But tentacle monsters are another story.
For the last year, I've been living with an invisible monster who steals my snacks, turns off my electricity, and runs off all my dates. As annoying as that is, he's my only companion, and the only one I trust with my deepest, darkest secret.
I'm not human.
Then again, neither is my new roommate, and he and ESCU have history. Not the good kind either. But since he seems to think we're mates, his problems are now mine. I'm certainly not going to argue, especially since he's got a razor-sharp teeth and claws. But hey, I'm into that so it works out . . .
Until my estranged father leads ESCU right to my doorstep. Now, I have a choice: either hand over my pizza roll loving tentacle monster boyfriend, or turn myself in to save him.
I knew I shouldn't have gone to work today.
Contains mature themes."
"The best way to get over a cheating jerk is to get under someone new.
Dominic isn't looking for love or salvation at the Thirsty Cowboy. He needs a temporary escape, and the universe provides him with the sexiest distraction he's ever seen. Sven is a sucker for sad eyes, thick thighs, and a Royal Cosmopolitan. He scores the trifecta when a broody hunk buys him a drink. Sparks fly, passions flare, and a simple kiss becomes a four-alarm blaze until an untimely interruption douses the men with an icy reality, pitting loyalty against lust.
They shouldn't. They couldn't. Spoiler alert: they do!
It was supposed to be one and done but memories of their encounter won't let go. A single text triggers two years of conversations, healing, and an endearing friendship.
An unexpected invitation could provide the nudge their hearts need. Exploring their reignited passion for two weeks in Vail would be a heavenly hideaway if not for a hellish houseguest's resolve to cause trouble. Family rifts and uncomfortable confrontations abound, and embracing a future with Sven means Dom must face his past. Is their love strong enough to withstand the fire, or will they go down in flames?
Contains mature themes."
"Mage Jannick Pederson thought it was a simple assignment: help the gryphon leader find some missing human children and then go home. A noble cause, even if he didn't much like the abrasive jerk. So why didn't someone tell him he'd be working closely with the leader's son instead? That hot piece of perfection could make even happily-single Jannick give up his no-strings-attached ways.
Gryphon shifter Conall Arwan has simple goals for his life: get his PhD in pediatric shifter social work and stay off the radar of his disapproving father. When his father orders him to work with a hot but arrogant mage to find missing human kids, all Conall sees is how it pushes back his graduation date. Again. And even if the mage unexpectedly turns out to be not so bad—and maybe even a little sweet—there's still no future for them. Conall's dad has plans for him and they don't include getting involved with a sexy, infuriating mage.
But fate has other ideas.
Contains mature themes."
"It's time for the happily ever after Gray and Darius have fought so hard for . . . once they get out of this darn jungle in Belize.
'You have to understand, I thought I wasn't going to make it. I said goodbye to everyone in my head.'
Three years ago, Gray Nolan lost all hope of ever seeing his friends and family again. Now, everyone was gathering to watch him become Gray Quinn. At long last. But before his and Darius's big day, they had one more mission to undertake. Just a simple in-and-out stint. Nothing to worry about.
Certainly nothing as challenging as a two-day bachelor party featuring a pack of wild children, three best men in charge with an abundance of creativity, a hockey game between the younger whippersnappers and the more . . . seasoned grunts, and a very open bar.
Contains mature themes."
"“Big-hearted and inspired, George Falls Through Time gifts us the timeless reminder that love makes the best sword to slay our outsized problems. On top of that, it's great, page-turning fun.” —Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle and The Celebrants
A brilliant, genre-exploding love story about a man who, in a moment of extreme stress, time travels to the year 1300 . . . where his modern problems are replaced by medieval brutalities—blending the powerful lyricism of Madeline Miller with the sharp wit of Andrew Sean Greer, and perfect for fans of The Ministry of Time.
Newly laid off George’s internet bill is in his ex-boyfriend’s name. He’s got a spider-infested apartment, and two of the six dogs he’s walking in London have just escaped. It’s pure undiluted stress that sends him into a spiral—all the way to the year 1300.
When he comes to, George recognizes the same rolling hills of Greenwich Park. But the luxuries and phone service of modernity are nowhere. In their place are locals with a bizarre, slanted speech in awe of his foreign clothes, who swiftly toss him in a dungeon. Despite the barbarity of a medieval world, a servant named Simon helps George acclimate to a simpler, easier existence. But rumors of a dragon haunting the countryside and a summons from the King threaten to send his life up in flames—this time, literally.
A confessional queer romance, a swords-and-sorcery soap opera, a literary, paradox-embracing reimagining of the legend of St. George and the Dragon, George Falls Through Time is a profound meditation on the nature of desire that pits modern sensibilities against a raw and alien backdrop. It asks whether we can love each other without destroying one another, even when life feels like a pile of bills. "
