Contemporary Romance (3/3/25)

THE RIPPLE EFFECT by Maggie North
9781250910134 | 6/17/25

Burned-out former ER doc Stellar J Byrd can solve any crisis except her own life. But with her financial prospects dwindling, she’d do anything to stay in her beloved, pricey wilderness town—even take a job as a camp physician at The Love Boat, an unspeakably touchy-feely relationship therapy startup. If there are sing-alongs, she’s calling in sick.

What’s worse? Her boss is Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, the sunshiny psychologist she’s masterfully avoided since their disastrous hookup last year. Hardheaded relationship scorekeeper Stellar plans to dodge his pathological generosity from now until September, but after a scathing article puts McHuge’s romantic credibility into question, a fake engagement is the only way to salvage the camp’s crumbling public image.

It’s strictly business . . . but the more closely they work together, the more Stellar realizes her feelings for McHuge are anything but professional. With competitors hard on their heels and trade secrets at stake, they must find a way to marry his softness with her steel to build a business—and a love—that will last past summer’s end . . .

THE SUMMER YOU WERE MINE by Jill Francis
9781250322296 | 7/1/25

Ellie Beltrami and Cristiano Conte have known each other their entire lives. Both families hail from Chiavari, a small city on Italy’s northwestern coast. Their parents are friends. Their grandparents are friends. They were friends. And for one brief moment, fourteen summers ago, they were more than that. After years apart, Ellie and Cris are headed back to Chiavari, as generations of Beltramis and Contes gather to celebrate the unlikely second marriage between her grandmother and his grandfather.

Ellie arrives in Italy mere hours after her career as the host of a multimedia sports talk show implodes thanks to a hot mic incident. With no work to distract her, she spends her free time re-examining her early years and all her perceived flaws in light of her recent autism diagnosis. Cris, a newly retired Olympic swimmer, also arrives adrift in the wake of accusations of a doping scandal and is searching for something that gives him real meaning.

Reunited in a place where summer dreams come true, Cris and Ellie make a deal: an exclusive interview with Cris will fix Ellie’s career, and an appearance on her show will clear his name, letting him retire in peace. Soon they’re picking up where their teen romance left off, but if this second chance can last, they’ll need to finally confront what drove them apart all those summers ago.

GIVE ME A REASON by Jayci Lee
9781250907783 | 7/29/25

For ten years, Anne Lee told herself that Frederick Nam was her past. To save her father from bankruptcy, she dropped out of UC San Diego to pursue an acting career in Korea. Anne had to stop Frederick from following her and ruining his future. Breaking up with him was the best way she could love him.

After Anne left him, Frederick spent years loving her, missing her, and hating her until he decided to live his life for himself. He followed his dream and became a firefighter in Culver City. He didn’t need romance. He had his work and his friends.

When she returns to Los Angeles, Anne and Frederick find themselves in the same wedding—she as her cousin’s bridesmaid and he as his friend’s groomsman. Even though he is cold and distant with her, Anne can no longer deny that she never got over him. Not even close. As for Frederick, needing to take care of Anne is a habit he can’t seem to kick, but that doesn’t mean he has to forgive her.