Fake-dating has never been so hot. Celebrity news anchor Olivia’s live-streamed marriage proposal ends in public humiliation—her almost-fiancé Rex says no on camera. Desperate to escape, Liv flees to Hawaii for stunning sunsets and ocean views to plan her next move. Only to find Rex there too, with his new girlfriend! And when Liv locks herself out of her rental wearing nothing but red lacy underwear, she knows things can definitely go from bad to worse. 📺
Until she’s rescued by gorgeous, mysterious surfer Dom, who looks like he walked straight out of the ocean and into Liv’s fantasies! Their not-so-meet-cute turns out to be the perfect solution to get back at Rex—a fake date. The plan is foolproof: Dom needs a distraction, Liv needs revenge. What could possibly go wrong when you’re fake-dating a surfer god while wearing stolen hotel robes and dodging your ex? 🏄
Lily Parker delivers spicy rom-com with hilariously escalating disasters. The live-streamed proposal rejection is brutal enough; finding Rex in Hawaii with new girlfriend is salt in the wound; getting locked out in red underwear is comedic rock bottom—the perfect setup for rescue by hot surfer. The fake-dating trope gets extra juice from the revenge motivation and exotic location. 💕
The “Off-Limits” series title suggests forbidden attraction complications beyond the fake-dating premise. Dom needing his own “distraction” implies his backstory will complicate their arrangement. The red lacy underwear meet-cute is absurd enough to be memorable while the Hawaii setting provides romantic backdrop. For readers who want their rom-coms with heat, humor, and public humiliation that leads to paradise. 🌺
What makes this special: Spicy rom-com where a news anchor whose live-streamed proposal went viral flees to Hawaii—only to fake-date a hot surfer for revenge after her ex shows up. 🔥
He’s a man eager to see the world, and a new job offer in Utah opens up—so why not? He’s got nothing left to lose and everything to gain. A beautiful new state with breathtaking views, but he can only see one thing in the place he now calls home: Candice. She’s spent her entire life in Utah and she’s stuck in a rut, a bad one. The only thing that keeps her getting out of bed in the morning is her little girl—being a single mother has to be beyond tough, but her daughter Sarah makes it easy. 🏔️
Something about Candice makes his heart swell. No, not something—everything. She might have grown up in the cold icy winter of the northwest, but he wants so badly to show her the beauty of what’s right in front of her face: a chance at a love affair like she couldn’t imagine or read about. Why? Because she stole his heart on his long road back to love. ❤️
Vivian Porter delivers sweet contemporary romance with Utah setting and single mom heroine. The newcomer/lifelong resident dynamic creates natural conflict—he sees the place with fresh eyes while she’s too stuck in survival mode to notice beauty around her. His eagerness for adventure contrasts with her responsibility-bound existence. The daughter Sarah provides both obstacle (single mom can’t just follow her heart) and motivation (he loves her as package deal). 💕
The “long road back to love” suggests he’s also recovering from past hurt, making them both wounded people finding healing together. The title “Knee Deep in Love” implies getting in over their heads, commitment beyond what either expected. All Roads Lead to Love series promises multiple romances in interconnected world. For readers who want heartwarming romance with parenting elements and characters rediscovering hope. 🌄
What makes this essential: Heartwarming Utah romance where a newcomer eager to see the world falls for a stuck-in-a-rut single mom—and shows her the beauty right in front of her face. ✨
When your cousin is dying, you’ll do anything to save him—even trust a werewolf. Someone stole the magical skins that let Honor’s family shift into wolves, and now she has seven days to reclaim her cousin’s pelt before he dies. The trail leads to a mansion where Honor is surprised to find she’s not the only shifter present. Luke is a werewolf born with his beast inside, no pelt required. Her people call his kind thieves, yet he’s offering an alliance she desperately needs. 🐺
As bodies drop and time runs out, Honor races to find the killer hiding in plain sight. But her twin sister’s trust is shattering, her cousin is fading fast, and the werewolf watching her back is making her rethink everything she’s ever been taught. The seven-day countdown creates relentless ticking-clock tension while the mounting body count suggests the thief is willing to kill to keep the pelts. ⏰
Aimee Easterling creates unique shifter mythology: skin-shifters who need magical pelts versus werewolves with innate transformation ability. This distinction drives the central conflict—Honor’s people view Luke’s kind as thieves (maybe they stole transformation ability?), creating prejudice she must overcome to save her cousin. The mansion setting concentrates suspects and danger while Luke’s offer of alliance despite cultural animosity suggests he’s got his own stake in stopping the thief. 🌙
Honor’s twin sister’s “shattering trust” adds family drama alongside the mystery—does her sister suspect Honor of working with the enemy? The killer “hiding in plain sight” means someone at the mansion, someone close. As Honor and Luke work together, she’s forced to question everything she’s been taught about werewolves. Classic enemies-to-lovers with murder mystery and race-against-time urgency. ✨
Why I’m including this: Unique shifter romance where a woman has seven days to recover her cousin’s stolen magical pelt—and must trust a werewolf her people call thieves to find the killer. 🔮
Second Act Romance (The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances)
When food poisoning takes out the lead in their Valentine’s Day production of *Oklahoma!*, TV sensation Colby J. Turner swoops in to save the show. But for leading lady Bex Hardgrave, this last-minute casting is more drama than she bargained for. Eight years ago, their onstage chemistry sparked real-life fireworks—until a misunderstanding brought down the curtain on their budding romance. Now they’re sharing the spotlight again, and their old connection is threatening to steal the show. 🎭
As showtime approaches, Bex and Colby will have to decide if their second-chance romance deserves its own standing ovation. #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Soto packs a surprising amount of plot into a short story: musical theater setting, TV star swooping in, eight-year-old misunderstanding, Valentine’s Day performance deadline, and rekindled chemistry. The theatrical metaphors throughout (“brought down the curtain,” “steal the show,” “standing ovation”) perfectly suit the setting. 💕
The food poisoning catalyst is both comedic and practical—it forces Bex and Colby together when neither chose this reunion. The eight-year gap suggests their romance ended just as their careers were beginning, making their reunion now (with Colby a TV sensation, Bex the established lead) a meeting of equals rather than the power imbalance they might have had as younger performers. The *Oklahoma!* choice is fitting for Valentine’s—it’s romantic without being explicitly about Valentine’s Day. 🌹
Soto delivers complete satisfaction in condensed format—a hallmark of successful romance short stories. The banter-filled description promises witty dialogue alongside emotional stakes, while the “sizzling” tag suggests heat despite the brevity. Perfect for readers who love theatrical settings, second chances, and forced proximity but don’t have time for a full novel. The “Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances” series suggests more short romance stories with similar structure. ✨
What makes this special: Sizzling short story from a #1 NYT bestseller—musical theater costars reunite eight years after a misunderstanding, with one Valentine’s show to decide if they deserve a standing ovation. 🎤
All she wanted was five minutes with Oliver Cumberland to explain that proposing to her sister—again—is a bad idea. Instead, she’s now trapped in his car on an unexpected cross-country road trip, attempting to talk the grumpy billionaire out of something much worse than an arranged marriage for business purposes. She doesn’t care if Mr. Square Jaw McMoneyPants wants to give away his entire fortune and disappear to work a popcorn counter in Podunk, USA. 💰
But she does care that dozens of non-profits will lose their funding without Oliver in charge of his family’s empire—including the one she works for. She has to convince him to go home before he destroys the charitable infrastructure his fortune supports. The setup is deliciously absurd: forced proximity road trip with her sister’s billionaire ex-fiancé who’s having an existential crisis about his wealth and privilege. 🚗
Pippa Grant delivers exactly what the title promises: grumpy billionaire rom-com with road trip forced proximity. The nickname “Mr. Square Jaw McMoneyPants” captures the heroine’s exasperation perfectly—she’s not impressed by his looks or wealth, she’s annoyed by his reckless plans. Oliver wanting to abandon his empire for normal life (popcorn counter!) is fish-out-of-water comedy waiting to happen, while her practical concerns about non-profit funding ground the absurdity. 😂
The arranged marriage opening (“proposing to my sister—again”) suggests complicated history, while the road trip format guarantees close quarters conflict and eventual chemistry. Grant excels at humor-forward romance with genuine heart beneath the laughs. The Small Town Sisterhood series placement means community and family dynamics alongside the central romance. For readers who want their billionaire romance with self-awareness, humor, and actual personality. 💕
Why I’m including this: Hilarious road trip rom-com where a woman must convince her sister’s grumpy billionaire ex not to give away his fortune and become a popcorn counter worker—while trapped in his car. 🍿
He doesn’t believe in fate—he believes in land, legacy, and protecting what’s his. He’s a billionaire rancher with dirt on his boots, a sharp tongue, and no patience for men who think power gives them ownership. She’s brilliant, unyielding, all polished control—until you look close enough to see what she’s been carrying on her own. Her future is being negotiated behind closed doors and he doesn’t like the terms. 🤠
She needs an exit plan, so he makes her one: a marriage of convenience. Easy, temporary, clean. It’s enough to save her from being traded like an asset. Except pretending she’s his starts to feel dangerously right. Shared space turns into wicked nights, and the woman who never asked to be saved becomes the only thing he won’t walk away from. He never planned on being anyone’s husband, but if claiming her is the only way to give her a future she actually wants… 💍
Ali Parker delivers the marriage of convenience trope with Western billionaire twist. The rancher hero brings refreshing change from typical city billionaires—he’s got dirt on his boots and values land/legacy over corporate empire. His protective instinct toward a woman being “negotiated” and “traded like an asset” suggests she’s facing arranged marriage or business deal, making his fake marriage offer genuinely rescuing rather than self-serving. 🌾
The “brilliant, unyielding, all polished control” heroine hiding vulnerability creates interesting contrast with the rough-edged rancher. The progression from clean/temporary arrangement to “dangerously right” and “wicked nights” follows classic marriage of convenience arc but the Western setting and his specific motivations (protecting what’s his, sharp tongue, no patience for power games) add personality. Book 5 in a series means established world and likely connected characters. 💕
What makes this essential: Western billionaire rancher offers marriage of convenience to save a brilliant woman from being traded in backdoor deals—then discovers pretending she’s his is dangerously addictive. 🔥