Category Archives: Contemporary

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamt of coming for years―she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe―which makes it that… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Depression
  • Infertility & miscarriage
  • Death of a mother from cancer

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down. Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Infidelity mentioned (secondary character)
  • Death of a parent from illness mentioned (off-page)
  • Childhood poverty & food insecurity recounted
  • Mention of an animal death during animal testing

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity recounted*
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Emotional & verbal child abuse recounted
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Emesis mentioned

Lover Birds by Leanne Egan

When Isabel Williams moves to Liverpool, she criticises seemingly everything in Eloise Byrne’s life – her city, her accent, her trademark boldness – so if, when she catches Isabel staring, Eloise feels her pulse race, it must be because they hate each other. It surely couldn’t be for any other reason, could it? Eloise needs to get her ADHD under control in time for A-Levels, but when she meets Isabel, school becomes the least of her concerns. What begins as outright contempt turns into an oddly satisfactory rivalry, but for their rivalry to shift further into romance, their relationship must withstand Isabel’s classism, Eloise’s distrust, and whatever secrets their friends are hiding from them..

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Lesbophobia & slurs
  • Coming out themes
  • Alcohol consumption

Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer

The relationship is a lie but the sparks are real in this laugh-out-loud, sparkling rom-com where a no-nonsense lawyer fakes a relationship with her barista to avoid going solo to her ex-girlfriend’s wedding.  No-nonsense lawyer Tara Sloane Chadwick is perfectly fine with going to her ex’s wedding—the break-up was congenial, and Tara is nothing if not well-mannered. But after one too many reminders of her dismal dating track, Tara panics when asked if she’ll need a plus-one and declares she’s bringing her new girlfriend. One Tara is seriously single. Thankfully, Holly… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & lesbophobia
  • Alcohol consumption

Director’s Cut by Carlyn Greenwald

At twenty-nine, Valeria Sullivan is a celebrated, award-winning actress. But when her attempt to transition to directing is complicated by a bad interview on a late night show, Val decides she’s had enough of Hollywood. Intent on pursuing her other passion, she pours herself into a guest professorship at USC, hoping to transition to academia fulltime. Standing in her way is her co-professor, Maeve Arko, whose brilliance and beauty is matched only by her contempt for Val. As Val rises to the challenges that teaching throws at her, though, Maeve starts to soften, and soon sparks… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & biphobia
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption

You Had Me at Happy Hour by Timothy Janovsky

O’ little town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—it may be charming, but Julien Boire can’t wait to get out of there. Soon he’ll be leaving to take an advanced wine course that will put him on track to become a master sommelier. Meantime, his OCD demands he keep clear of distractions, especially the hot new hire at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant, Martin’s Place. Which should be easy, because Greg Harlow is as ill-suited to Julien as a bold cabernet is to a delicate salmon entrée. As charismatic and confident as Julien is tightly wound, Greg is a TikTok mixologist who could… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety & Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Alcohol consumption (theme)

Wanderlust by Elle Everhart

Feeling stuck at work and tired of London’s dreary weather, magazine writer Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings a radio station one day only to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world. The catch? Her travel partner must be a contact randomly selected on her phone. And of course this stressful game of contact roulette lands on a number listed only as Jack the Posho , an uptight, unbearably posh guy she met on a night out and accidentally ghosted. The two couldn’t be more different, and as the trip kicks off, Jack seems like he’d sooner fling himself into the sun than have a conversation with Dylan. But more is… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Doxing & cyberbullying

Fall for Him by Andie Burke

Dylan Gallagher’s hot neighbour loathed him from the second he moved in, and causing a flood, falling through the floor, and landing directly onto that same neighbour’s bed probably means that’s unlikely to change. The poorly timed “It’s Raining Men” joke didn’t help. Meanwhile, ER nurse Derek Chang’s life is a literal when-rains-it-pours nightmare. A man he hates dropped into his life along with an astronomically expensive problem originating from Derek’s own apartment’s plumbing. Also, the local HOA tyrant has been sniffing around trying to fine him for his extended, illicit banned breed dog-sitting. Since Dylan also wants… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Panic attacks

Hot Summer by Elle Everhart

Cas Morgan has spent years of her life watching Hot Summer, the hit reality dating show that pairs together a bunch of sexy singles in an exotic island location. Like the rest of the TV-watching UK public, she’s captivated by the hot contestants, outrageous fights, and hilarious banter. But she never quite thought she’d be a part of it, until her company secures a partnership with the production team behind the show, and Cas is handpicked as a contestant. She won’t get any extra help making it through the eight weeks in the hot Cypriot sun, but if she does well and makes it to the finals, her long-awaited promotion will be… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism & slut-shaming
  • Alcohol consumption