Romance books are red-hot right now — both in terms of sales and subject matter. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, here are four new romance novels for some steamy reading this month.
Kristin Cast’s second book in the Towerfall series, “The Lovers” (Bloom Books, $18.99), follows the travails of heroine Gemma Summers. She’s down on her luck and on the verge of moving back in with her parents when she encounters her charming but toxic ex, Alder Hawke. The sexual tension smolders between them when a magic tarot card sends the pair tumbling into the steampunk fantasy realm of Towerfall, where Gemma has to depend on Alder for her safety. To complicate matters, Gemma captures the attention of a former king who has designs on her.
Caught up in the crazy, upside-down world of the Kingdom of Cups and torn between two men, Gemma is forced to figure out what’s best for her in this spicy, fish-out-of-water tale.
In what promises to be a fun Galentine’s Day event for romantasy fans, New York Times bestselling author Cast will be in conversation with Kate Dramis, author of “The Curse of Saints,” Wednesday at Books-a-Million in Roswell. Tickets include a limited edition, deluxe copy of the book. For details, go to booksamillion.com.
A slow-burn love story filled with yearning between witches, “Quiet Spells” (Pan Macmillan, $30) is the second book in Isa Agajanian’s Spells for Life and Death duology. Aurelia and Teddy start out as rivals at Cambridge University, but become lovers when they join forces in “Modern Divination” (2025) to help protect a coven from a witch hunter who is draining their powers. In “Quiet Spells,” the lovers reunite and draw on their abilities to communicate with the dead to finish the job.
In a market saturated in fantasy, Sarah T. Dubb’s sophomore novel “Honey Bee Mine” (Gallery Books, $19) stands out as a traditional contemporary romance set in the small town of Sullivan’s Glen. When her expansion plans for the family farm fall apart, beekeeper Penny Becker works frantically to pay back a bank loan or risk losing the land that’s been in her family for generations. Her plan for boosting honey sales is to make a big splash at the town’s annual Honey Festival.
Enter Zander Bouras, a local troublemaker in his youth who was raised by his grandfather. He left town after high school and never looked back, but he reluctantly returns when his grandfather dies and his ex-wife decides to spend the summer in Sullivan’s Glen with their son. No longer a problem child, he’s now a successful restaurateur.
When his son becomes fascinated by Penny’s beehives, Zander volunteers to help her prepare for the festival. Despite her resistance to assistance, she acquiesces, and they bond over their shared experience growing up without fathers. When romance blossoms, the question arises: Is it just a summer fling or is it something more?
“Yellowstone” fans may take delight in “Untamed Heart” by Gemma Morr (Pan MacMillan, $18.99), a spicy, slow-burn romance set on a ranch in Wyoming. When Lottie Wright is fired from her job at a London law firm and discovers her no-good banker boyfriend has been unfaithful, she hightails it back to Diamond Back, her family’s ranch in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains, to lick her wounds.
Lottie’s visit gets off to a messy start when she has an impromptu romantic interlude with a cowboy she meets at a bar in Jackson Hole, only to discover later he works at Diamond Back. And he’s not her only love interest on the ranch. He has a rival in Beau, a shirtless bull rider, who also captures Lottie’s attention. Who Lottie picks as she navigates a new, unexpected path in life is anyone’s guess.
Suzanne Van Atten is a columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
