Fun, Fresh, and Emotionally Satisfying!
The Sunkissed summer reader wants romance that feels fresh, fun, and emotionally satisfying! Whether they’re lounging by the pool, packing light for a beach getaway, or curling up with a chilled drink on a warm summer night, they want love stories that sweep them up and leave them breathless. These books should be their go-to for poolside reads or late-night unwinds and their reason to stay up way too late with “just one more chapter.”
A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE by Tia Williams
“Funny, sexy, and breathtakingly romantic. This is the kind of book you wish you could slip bodily into, live within its warm and magical world for as long as it would have you. Another rapturous knockout from Tia Williams.” — Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Happy Place
A New York Times Best Romance Book of 2024
A 2024 NPR Book We Love
A Library Journal Best Romance Book of 2024
A BookPage Best Romance Book of 2024
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2024
A 2024 Women’s National Book Association Great Group Read
Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.
When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.
One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.
Includes a Reading Group Guide.
AUGUST LANE by Regina Black
“August Lane is taut, voicy, emotional, and propulsive. In a word: spectacular. Regina Black is hands-down one of romance’s must-read authors.”— Christina Lauren, #1 New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners
An NPR 2025 Book We Love
A New York Times Notable Book of 2025
A Book Riot Best Book of 2025
A Publishers Weekly Best Romance Book of 2025
A Chicago Public Library 2025 Must-Read Romance
For fans of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, a Southern small-town romance about the visibility of Black women’s voices in country music, and “the best romance I’ve read all year.” (The New York Times).
Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again. Going back means facing a painful past of abuse and neglect. It also means facing JoJo’s daughter, August Lane—the woman who wrote the lyrics he’s always claimed as his own.
August also hates that song. But she hates Luke Randall even more. When he shows up ten years too late to apologize for his betrayal, she isn’t interested in making amends. Instead, she threatens to expose his lies unless he co-writes a new song with her and performs it at the concert, something she hopes will launch her out of her mother’s shadow and into a songwriting career of her own. Desperate to keep his secret, Luke agrees to put on the rogue performance, despite the risk of losing his shot at a new record deal.
When Luke’s guitar reunites with August’s soulful alto, neither can deny that the passionate bond they formed as teenagers is still there. As the concert nears, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.
FAN FAVORITE by Adrienne Gunn
“Equal parts charming and laugh-out-loud funny, Fan Favorite is the perfect modern romcom with a side of delicious pop culture satire.”— Laurie Devore, author of The Villain Edit
When decidedly unhappy Edie Pepper DMs her way onto a reality tv dating show, she’s going to realize love isn’t so easily won in this “perfect modern romcom” (Laurie Devore, author of The Villain Edit)–an instant USA Today bestseller!
Thirty-five year old Edie Pepper, a rosé loving, reality TV obsessed copywriter from Chicago, dreams of plucking her soulmate from the depths of Hinge (or Tinder or Bumble). Following yet another dumpster fire of a date, Edie is consoling herself with boxed wine and E! News when Ryan Seacrest drops a bomb: Edie’s high school sweetheart has been cast as the lead in America’s most beloved reality dating show, The Key, and wow, does he look different. Charlie Bennett, Edie’s chubby cheeked, cosplay loving high school boyfriend has had a serious glow up, and is now a world traveling, extreme sports hunk.
Desperate to reclaim her One True Love, Edie DMs the show’s conniving producers, who are more than happy to shove Edie headfirst into the competition. But Charlie isn’t quite who she remembers, and he’s as desperate to hide his past as Edie is to reveal it. Further complicating matters is Peter Kennedy, The Key‘s cranky showrunner, who, despite his best efforts, finds himself drawn to Edie’s everywoman charm.
Navigating increasingly absurd dates, Edie starts to rethink everything she thought she knew about love. Is the biggest risk she’s ever taken about to culminate in disaster? Or is Edie about to secure the Happily Ever After she’s always wanted?
Find out this season on The Key.
COVER STORY by Celia Laskey
“An endearingly funny and propulsive look at the ever-changing nature of celebrity, second chances, and what it takes to be our most authentic selves. (And if that’s not enough, there’s a dog that will steal your heart.)”— Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle
A THEM BEST LGBTQ+ BOOK OF 2025
From the author of Under the Rainbow, a hilarious, emotional love story about an anxious publicist who’s tasked with keeping an extremely gay starlet in the closet—but ends up falling for her instead.
It’s 2005, and Ali is a publicist for Hollywood’s biggest stars. Part of her job entails keeping gay celebrities in the closet—which is pretty ironic, since she’s a lesbian. When Ali is assigned a new gay client, Cara Bisset, who’s breaking onto the scene with a (hetero) romantic blockbuster, keeping Cara’s sexuality under wraps becomes Ali’s biggest challenge yet.
Cara is unruly and unpredictable, and hates that she has to hide her identity. After a series of increasingly close calls, Ali is sent on the worldwide promotional tour for the movie to help keep Cara in line. Instead, she finds herself drawn to Cara’s confidence and bravery. For the past year, Ali has been mired in grief after losing her partner in a freak accident. But with Cara, Ali’s fears about the world subside, and she begins to question the Hollywood closeting system she’s helped perpetuate.
As Cara’s fame continues to rise, both Ali and Cara have to decide which is more important: maintaining the status quo, or risking it all for another chance at love.
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