For Butter or Worse is a contemporary romance following workplace rivals who fake a relationship for public relations reasons, only to find themselves actually enjoying the charade. Nina is a female chef in a fairly male-dominated industry, and the last thing she needs is her coworker throwing her under the bus on live TV. Nina…
Temporary Partner, the first book in a new series of romantic mysteries from Nicky James, features two rival detectives who team up to solve a missing persons case. It’s a thoroughly entertaining read and I raced through it in a couple of sittings; it’s fast-paced, tightly-plotted and the sexual tension between the two leads is…
What a fun, refreshing slow-burn of a romance! Chef’s Kiss understands what joy cooking can bring, and it brings it to life through a union between grumpy and sunshine, that universally appealing combo. TJ Alexander has some real writing skills, and they deploy them perfectly. Highly-strung Simone Larkspur is a busy pastry chef who lands…
Susannah Nix is a new-to-me author but I’ve heard good things about her writing so I decided to give her King Family series a try. I’m not a stickler for reading a series in order unless there are continuity/world building concerns, which usually isn’t the case in contemporary romances with multiple siblings/friends being the main…
Weather Girl, I can’t wait to see you – Russell to Ari Weather Girl is an incredibly charming romance. Warm and sweet, it’s also honest about what depression can do to a person and the rigors and difficulties of single parenthood, mean bosses and difficult parents. Ari Abrams is a cheery weather girl stuck with…
Two of my favourite authors teaming up to write a grumpy/sunshine “angsty rom-com” ? YES, PLEASE – sign me up! Total Creative Control is a captivating read and I blew through it two sittings. Featuring two complex, superbly characterised protagonists, and a small but equally well-written supporting cast, it’s full of humour, witty banter, delicious…
It’s hard to take on a workplace romance between a boss and an intern, but in Hot Copy, Ruby Barrett succeeds with something sexy that also manages to have a firm emotional grounding and clear consent. While the heroine is challenging to like, that’s not always a bad thing. On his first day at his…
Meg Tilly does such a good job of the world-building in her tales of romantic suspense that reading her books always tends to be a treat. The Runaway Heiress is a little more fun than her more slice-of-life Solace Island series – which I already liked (and to which this book is lightly tied) –…
The Ex Talk is a contemporary romance about a woman on the brink of thirty, trying to figure out how to fulfil her career aspirations without killing one of her unfairly hot coworkers or being way too dishonest. It’s an amazing rivals-to-lovers romance, with some serious depth and intense emotional range. I initially picked it…
Olivia Dade’s Marysburg series stars older teachers (all characters are forty-somethings) in workplace romances. This anthology contains three novellas: Sweetest in the Gale (in its first release), and reprints of Unraveled (originally from the anthology He’s Come Undone) and Cover Me (from the anthology Rogue Acts). All three stories are heartfelt and enjoyable, and if…