Archives de catégorie : Contemporary Romance

WEST SIDE HONEY de Claire Christian

A sexy and empowering rom-com from the beloved author of It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake.

WEST SIDE HONEY
by Claire Christian
Text Publishing, April 2023

Cleo has a few things going on. Two beautiful kids and a less beautiful ex-husband, a share house arrangement with her long-term bestie Jude (complete with a third child, also beautiful) and an underperforming florist business. Actually, the shop could be beautiful too, it’s just that Cleo hasn’t got time to think about it.
Her new week-on week-off custody schedule is about to change all that. She can put her own needs first for once—take a dance class, fix up the shop, even think about dating. Not that she’s looking for anything serious, but she’s open to exploring what she wants.
Which, it turns out, is a lot. Maybe too much?
But how can you work out what you really, really want unless you try a bit of everything?

Claire Christian tells stories. She is a writer, theatre-maker and facilitator based in Meanjin/Brisbane in Australia. She has had four plays published by Playlab, including Lysa and the Freeborn Dames, which debuted at La Boite in 2018. She had the great joy of directing Michelle Law’s smash-hit comedy Single Asian Female. Claire’s debut novel, Beautiful Mess, won the Text Prize in 2016. Her second novel, It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake, was released in 2020.

I LOVED YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE de David Arnold

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite comes a sweeping tale of love and loss, and a coming-of-age story like no other.

I LOVED YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE
by David Arnold
Viking 2023, Fall 2023
(via Writers House)

Meet Evan and Shosh, two teens whose lives are coming apart at the seams. They don’t know it yet, but they’re about to hear music no one else can hear, songs that will lead them to the same park on the same night. They don’t know it yet, but this music is about to change their lives forever. Just like it always does.
From an escaped murderer in 19th century Paris, to a Norwegian kosmonaut in low-earth orbit, a mysterious bird is bringing strangers together in fortuitous ways. Through art, poetry, and original songs (written and recorded by the author), the book explores the history of love, and how some souls are meant for each other—yesterday, today, forever.

“I Loved You in Another Life will have your soul soaring! With unmatched lyricism, David Arnold has written a timeless love saga for the ages about two teens whose love outlasts even death itself. I love this book so much.” —Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End

David Arnold is the New York Times bestselling author of The Electric Kingdom, Mosquitoland, Kids of Appetite, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik, which has been optioned for film by Paramount. He has won the Southern Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award, and was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for his debut. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife and son.

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF de Lana Wood Johnson

Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy. Girl gets friend to help win boy. Friend ends up with crush on boy….

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
by Lana Wood Johnson
‎ Scholastic, June 2021
(via JABberwocky)

Skylar’s got ambitious #goals. And if she wants them to come true, she has to get to work now. (At least she thinks so…) Step one in her epic plan is showing everyone that her latest app is brilliant. To do that, she’s going to use it to win State at the Scholastic Exposition, the nerdiest academic competition around. First, she’ll need a team, and Skylar’s not always so good with people. But she’ll do whatever it takes to put one together … even if it means playing Cupid for her teammates Joey and Zane, at Joey’s request. When things get off to an awkward start for them, Skylar finds herself stepping in to help Joey. Anything to keep her on the team. Only, Skylar seems to be making everything more complicated. Especially when she realizes she might be falling for Zane, which was not a #goal. Can Skylar figure out her feelings, prove her app’s potential to the world, and win State without losing her friends – or is her path to greatness over before it begins?

Lana Wood Johnson is the author of Technically, You Started It. She was born and raised in Iowa in the time before the internet but has spent the rest of her life making up for that. After years working in wireless communication for companies of all sizes, she now works doing the same for a local youth shelter. Lana lives in Minnesota with her husband and their English bulldog.

JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS de Maria E. Andreu

A fresh, high concept romcom from Maria Andreu with You’ve Got Mail vibes, about a girl determined to figure out which of the boys in her real world orbit is the anonymous commenter on the online poetry she is posting for her writing seminar.

JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS
by Maria E. Andreu
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, May 2023

You’ve Got Mail meets a YA Beach Read in this story about an Argentinian American girl whose life takes an unexpected turn when a boy with a mysterious identity starts adding on to the online romance she’s writing. It’s an intriguing hook that will keep readers engrossed.
Romeo and Juliet retellings are a perennial favorite in the YA market, from Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott to Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, and many more. Maria puts a fun, fresh twist on the famous tale by giving us three potential Romeo’s to sort through making it all her own.
Maria’s novel Love in English was named an Indie Next Pick, is a BFYA nominee, and received excellent reviews, including a starred review from SLJ , for its authenticity and nuanced portrayal of the joys and challenges of finding your footing in a new culture and language.

Maria E. Andreu is an Argentinian American author whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Newsweek, the Washington Post, and the Newark Star-Ledger. Her debut young adult novel, The Secret Side of Empty, was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a National Indie Excellence Book Award winner.

THE BACK UP MAN de Phoebe Luckhurst

A hilariously romantic tale of mishaps and matrimony, love and long shots, foibles and friendship, that may make you text that old school boyfriend of yours . . .

THE BACK UP MAN
by Phoebe Luckhurst
‎ Michael Joseph, January 2023
(via Northbank Talent Management)

They made a pact to marry at thirty. The problem? Euan’s nowhere to be found. Can Anya track down her back up man . . . ?
Twenty-nine, single, jobless and in a house share with her cousin who can barely look at her, things could be going better for Anya Mackie. When she stumbles across the pact she made with high school crush, Euan Carrick – to marry at thirty if they’re still single – a silly teenage idea suddenly seems like a lifeline. However, Euan hasn’t been seen for a decade. Reluctantly enlisting the help of Euan’s emotionally unavailable best mate Jamie Kildare, who has his own mysterious reasons for tracking Euan down, Anya sets off across the country to find her Back Up Man. Will Euan even remember her, or their pact? And why is Anya betting her future on her past?

Phoebe Luckhurst was born in London and brought up in Glasgow. She is a Senior Commissioning Editor at The Sunday Times Magazine, and has written features and interviews for the Guardian, Sunday Times Style, Elle, ES Magazine, Grazia, the Telegraph and Vogue. Phoebe has had the theme tune to The OC stuck in her head since 2003 and once almost spent her student loan on a micro-pig. She no longer shops online when drunk. The Lock In was her debut novel.