"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?"
"Titus Shepherd once had it all. Born into a wealthy southern family, he ruled the high school football field, married the town sweetheart, and fathered a beloved son. His future as the next mayor seemed certain. But fate took a cruel turn, and now he's a reclusive widower raising his four-year-old son alone.
Pedro Torres was destined for academic success in Mexico until disaster forced him to abandon his dreams for the sake of his family. Determined to change his circumstances, he migrated to the United States as a landscaper, aspiring to gain citizenship and bring his mother to their new home.
Both men sacrificed happiness for their families, and neither believed in love at first sight. However, a chance meeting at the Shepherd country home in the summer of 1995 sparked a passionate affair, as fierce and fated as the humidity, stars, and fireflies on a hot southern night.
But will their love withstand the harsh preconceptions and deep-seated prejudices of small-town Spoon, Georgia?
Contains mature themes."
"Cat Sebastian’s long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series.
Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.
Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn’t get along with people—unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show’s first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit—and he finds he’s actually not having a terrible time.
The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he’s underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever’s starting between him and Charlie can’t really amount to anything... right?
Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Opposites Attract
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn"
"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"
"COP KILLER.
That's the accusation scrawled on the home of a dead man, found executed in his own bedroom. That's the tawdry headline thrown around every news channel, every social media feed, every conversation taking over Baltimore.
That's the name given to a man who may have been innocent, but never had the chance to prove it—and now Malcolm and Seong-Jae must solve his murder. A death that never should have happened; a death on their watch, when legal technicalities tied their hands.
But with the paternity test results hanging over his head, Malcolm grows increasingly erratic, threatening to take his mind from a critical case that could tear Baltimore and the BPD apart. With a dead cop, a dead suspect, and the question of what to do about Juliette and Chrysanthe, there are no easy answers.
Only with Seong-Jae can Malcolm keep himself together.
And only with Seong-Jae will he find the path he needs to tread.
Contains mature themes."
"A new homicide case raises a question with no clear answer:
Who is the victim?
When a charred body is recovered inside a burned-out car, before Malcolm and Seong-Jae can solve the case they must first trace the victim's identity. False plates. ID missing. Teeth pulled from the skull. The victim's killers knew exactly how to hide their tracks, but careful forensics work and two stubborn detectives mean the name of the dead won't remain buried for long.
A name for a name.
Will the dead speak, then, and cry out for the one who killed him?
Or whisper secrets that may take this case deeper—and uncover truths someone would kill to keep buried?
Contains mature themes."
"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."
"I was supposed to bring balance. That's what my name—Atlas—means. It feels more like being torn apart. Between good and evil, Nature and Chaos.
Always running after or from something. Including a certain coyote shifter who wants to rip me limb from limb. I'd rather he shred my kilt and do other things to me. But alas, shouldering fate keeps getting in the way.
Or maybe I've got it all wrong. Maybe he's the only path to balance, to the future. An end to the running. But we'd have to trust each other first. I'd rather tear myself apart than ever do that.
Atlas and the Traitor is a steamy, enemies-to-lovers M/M paranormal romance between a grumpy coyote shifter and an even grumpier warlock fated to run toward each other. It is book three of the Soul to Find series and is best enjoyed after the prior books in the series.
Contains mature themes."
"When a fierce rivalry between two professional wrestlers grows increasingly heated, neither man can fight the attraction burning between them, in this dazzling debut romance.
From dramatic character gimmicks to death-defying stunts, everything in the world of professional wrestling is an act. Asher Ross's hatred for Caleb Knight, however, is not. When Asher gets drafted to Global Elite Wrestling's main roster, playing the role of Caleb's worst enemy-the face to his heel-should be easy. Stripping him of his World Championship title should be even easier. But as the two men trade barbs and blows across arenas, they're each surprised to find their chemistry is so sizzling, it can't just be for the cameras.
Through training sessions, rehearsals, and injuries, Caleb's icy demeanor melts away, and Asher begins to see the real man behind the cruel persona GEW has molded Caleb into. An unlikely truce evolves into feelings neither want to deny, but the company won't let them be seen as anything other than bitter rivals, both in and out of the ring.
As Asher and Caleb grapple with what they truly want in an industry with a history of denying queerness, their forbidden romance comes crashing down on them, and both men are forced to decide if their relationship is real enough to last, and just how much they're willing to fight for it."
"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."
"Cinnamon 'Cinn' Saunders has learnt a lot since his arrival at the Aurelia Arcanum Institute of Esoteric Sciences.
He's learnt he's a shadowslipper, capable of moving between realms. He's learnt that he's expected to be the solution to the ever-growing waves of deadly umbraphage attacks. He's learnt that cocky French men with pretty, punchable faces can be fun to kiss.
After Cinn's explosive arrival into his world, Julien Montaigne has also learnt a lot.
His dead sister Béatrice was a member of the terrorist group, the Arcane Purifiers; Béatrice may or may not have returned to them as the world’s ugliest cat; English men with a fondness for beanie hats make him go weak at the knees.
Trouble is stirring, and Cinn, Julien, Darcy and Elliot are about to be caught in the cross-fire between the consortium and the Arcane Purifiers. As dangers circle like sharks, the four friends must unravel the threads of the mysteries they're wrapped up in and choose which side of the war they belong to before their enemies close in.
Contains mature themes."
"FLYNN: I've never taken relationships seriously because I’ve never met anyone worth being serious for. I don't love them and leave them, but no-strings-hookup might as well be my middle name. Getting dared to kiss a gorgeous stranger with eyes like the ocean and hair like a cloud sounds like a surefire way to add another name to the list of men I've taken to bed, but before the night is over, I'll be proven wrong for the first time in my life. Rose Baker isn't like any man I've ever met before and one kiss—one night—in a hotel with him isn't anywhere close to enough. I want him again and I'm ready to break all my rules to get him.
ROSE: My best friend swears the easiest way to get over my cheating ex is to get under the gorgeous, arrogant, and dominant man who held me up against the wall at Rapture and kissed me until I forgot my name. But Flynn doesn't do serious, and I'm too scared to put my heart out there for something that won't last. Our lives are different and there's no way around it, but Flynn is focused, he's dedicated, and he's not willing to walk away from the things he wants. And right now, he wants me. Flynn is ready to go all in with me, but am I strong enough to admit that I deserve his praise and attention or am I going to sabotage myself and lose his love for good?
Contains mature themes."
