Author: Tamsin Bracknell
FREE
Contemporary Romance

A seaside town in Cornwall. A healing heart. A fresh start.

After Hailey loses everything, she lands her dream job as a rose gardener at a manor house in Cornwall. The locals are frosty, but she quickly befriends The Second Chance Book Club, a group of like-minded women with kind hearts and quick wits.

The views are beautiful, the weather is scorching and she’s got the fresh start she needed.

The only problem? World-weary Head Gardener, René, is against her at every turn.

With an important charity event looming, Hailey and René are stranded together on the hunt for a rare rose, and the frost starts to melt…

, !

What you can expect from this series:

• Small seaside town setting
• Sweet and cosy romance stories
• Happy endings
• Interlinked stories that can be read in any order

Tamsin Bracknell writes cozy contemporary romances set in Cornwall that emphasize community, second chances, and the healing power of finding your place. Her Love in Porthglen series has attracted readers who want their romance gentle, their settings atmospheric, and their supporting casts full of quirky locals and found family. The inclusion of The Second Chance Book Club as recurring characters signals that this is a series where friendship matters as much as romance.

What makes this special: The enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Hailey and René gets the gardening twist—she’s the enthusiastic newcomer with dreams of transforming the manor’s roses, he’s the world-weary head gardener who’s seen too many bright young things come and go. The forced proximity of hunting for a rare rose together (very Romancing the Stone but with horticulture) provides the perfect pressure cooker for melting René’s frosty exterior. Cornwall provides the quintessential British countryside escape—dramatic coastlines, historic manor houses, and small-town communities where everyone has opinions about everyone else. The Second Chance Book Club is exactly the kind of found family that makes cozy romance work, giving Hailey allies and comic relief while she navigates both her new job and her complicated feelings for her grumpy boss. If you’ve loved Kate Forster’s Australian small-town romances, Phillipa Ashley’s Cornwall-set novels, or anything by Jenny Colgan, this delivers similar comfort-read energy. And it’s free, making it a risk-free way to discover whether Porthglen becomes your next cozy romance destination.

✨ Author: Kyle West
FREE
Space Opera Science Fiction

A mage’s fate is worse than death…

Lucian dreams of a new life outside the cesspool of Earth. Unfortunately, his wish comes true when the government identifies him as a mage.

No one knows why the mages are being born. No one knows why their powers lead to madness and death in a terrifying disease known as “the fraying”. The only solution is to quarantine the mages in academies.

When Lucian is exiled from Earth, he must travel to the distant world of Volsung to receive training. During the long passage, he meets a mysterious mage. She prophesies Lucian is marked by the Manifold, the reality that is the source of all magic. It is a destiny that requires Lucian to master abilities he never imagined he possessed.

But that’s the last thing Lucian wants. He faces a terrible choice. To accept his new reality as a mage. Or, to try and outrun destiny…

Kyle West writes space opera that blends traditional science fiction settings with fantasy elements, creating universes where advanced technology and magic coexist in uneasy balance. His Starsea Cycle combines the space academy tropes readers love from Ender’s Game with the magical coming-of-age journey of books like The Name of the Wind. West has built a following among readers who want their space opera to include genuine wonder rather than just military hardware.

Here’s what you’re getting: The premise brilliantly inverts the usual “chosen one discovers their powers” narrative—Lucian’s magical abilities aren’t a gift, they’re a death sentence. The “fraying” (magic leading to madness and death) creates urgency that most magical academy stories lack; this isn’t just about learning to control your powers, it’s about surviving them. Exiling mages to distant worlds for training creates the perfect isolated pressure-cooker setting, while the prophecy that Lucian is “marked by the Manifold” suggests he’s connected to the source of magic itself in ways that could either save or destroy him. The philosophical question at the heart—do you accept a destiny you never wanted, or spend your life running from it?—gives this depth beyond space battles and magical duels. If you’ve loved Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series, Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward, or the magical academies of Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy transported to a science fiction setting, West offers that same combination of coming-of-age story and high-stakes adventure. And starting the series free means you can discover whether the Starsea Cycle becomes your next binge-read without any financial risk.

Author: Jennifer Gracen
FREE
Holiday Fiction

Cassandra Baines almost has it all: a flourishing career as one of the youngest English Lit assistant professors at NYU, an apartment in a city she adores, and a close circle of lifelong girlfriends that are like sisters. The only thing she doesn’t have is someone special to share it with. She’s been married to her work since Sean McKinnon broke her heart seven years ago.

Musician and bar owner Sean McKinnon keeps busy – too busy for a love life. He blew it with Cassie all those years ago, and no one has held a candle to her since.

But then one fateful night, of all the people in New York City, Cassandra walks into his bar, and he’s drawn to her as strongly as ever. She wants nothing to do with him, but he’s not going to give up so easily.

Can a bit of New York Christmas magic help two people take a second chance on true love?

Jennifer Gracen writes contemporary romance that captures New York City’s unique energy, particularly during the holidays when the city transforms into something magical despite its hard edges. Her second-chance romances emphasize both characters having grown and changed in the years apart, making their reunion about two adults choosing each other rather than just rekindling what they had before.

Why I’m including this: Second-chance romance works best when you understand both why they broke up and why they might work now, and Gracen delivers on both fronts. Cassie has built an impressive academic career but walled off her heart after Sean broke it seven years ago. Sean owns a bar and makes music but has never found anyone who measures up to what he lost. The “of all the gin joints in all the towns” setup—walking into his bar in a city of millions—feels like fate demanding they deal with their unfinished business. New York City at Christmas provides the perfect backdrop: twinkling lights, holiday crowds, that particular brand of loneliness that comes from being surrounded by people celebrating while you’re alone. The musician hero adds romantic appeal (there will definitely be a scene where he plays for her), and the tight circle of supportive girlfriends gives Cassie people to talk her through whether giving Sean another chance is brave or foolish. If you’ve loved Christina Lauren’s holiday romances, Emily Henry’s second-chance love stories, or Josie Silver’s One Day in December, this offers similar magic-of-the-season energy with the grittier authenticity of actual New York rather than a Hallmark version. And it’s free, making it the perfect holiday treat to get you in the seasonal spirit.

Author: Linda Seed
FREE
Humorous Contemporary Romance

She’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble …

Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a bakery specializing in wedding cakes. The problem is, the Airstream trailer where she lives has a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, and her job as housekeeper for a vacation rental agency doesn’t pay enough for her to find other arrangements.

When the renters at one of the houses in her care cancel their stay, leaving the house empty and its top-of-the-line kitchen unused, who could blame her for seeing it as an opportunity? But Cassie’s unsavory plan starts to look like a mistake when the owner’s son shows up unannounced, catching her with her pants down—literally.

If Cassie can sweet-talk her way out of trouble, setting up her business might be a piece of cake. If not, it’s going to be a bitter setback …

The Icing on the Cake is a stand-alone novel in Linda Seed’s Otter Bluff small-town romance series.

Linda Seed writes contemporary romances that balance humor with genuine stakes, creating heroines who are resourceful, flawed, and easy to root for. Her Otter Bluff series features interconnected stories set in a quirky small town where everyone knows your business, making both romance and comedy inevitable. Seed’s strength lies in creating meet-cutes that are genuinely funny while also establishing real obstacles the couple must overcome.

What makes this special: The setup is rom-com perfection—Cassie’s trying to illegally use a vacation rental’s kitchen to build her bakery business (morally gray but totally understandable given her circumstances), and she gets caught literally with her pants down by the owner’s son. That’s the kind of humiliating first meeting that rom-com readers live for. The baking element adds sensory appeal (you can practically smell the wedding cakes), while Cassie’s Airstream-living, housekeeper-working situation establishes real economic stakes beyond just “will they or won’t they.” The mention that his mother “starts stirring up trouble” promises the interference and complications that keep rom-coms moving. Seed’s decision to make this a standalone within a series means you get the cozy small-town atmosphere without needing to read books in order. If you’ve enjoyed Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series, Jill Shalvis’s Heartbreaker Bay novels, or Kristan Higgins’s small-town romances, this delivers similar humor and heart. And it’s free, making it an easy way to test whether Otter Bluff becomes your next comfort-read location.

Author: Rhonda Lee Carver
FREE
Western & Frontier Romance

Second chances come in their own time for a cowboy. For Mindy and Creed the flame remains.

Newly divorced and empty nester, Mindy Sage, decided that her hometown might be the perfect place to reinvent herself, or at least find the wild and carefree girl she used to be before she moved away. She’s craving small town comfort, but the problem is, in Cooper’s Hawk, everyone knows everyone. Secrets can feel as tall and wide as the Montana mountains that backdrop the friendly, picturesque town where she’d left her heart in the hands of a handsome cowboy nineteen years ago.

Search and Rescue team member, Creed Hawke, understood more than anyone what saving a life meant, but who would save him from the one woman he’d never gotten over? He’d moved on—or at least he thought he had until those old emotions come tumbling back with the vengeance of a forest fire. He’s reminded of how much he’d loved Mindy, wanted her, swore to marry her. Why couldn’t he forget her? Resist her? Deny her his heart? Because he’d fallen for her at ten and never came back up for air.

How can he forgive her for stealing his daughter from him?

Is love stronger than the mistakes they’ve made? Or are they doomed before they find forever?

Rhonda Lee Carver writes Western romances that combine small-town Montana settings with emotionally complex second-chance love stories. Her Cooper’s Hawke Landing series features interconnected stories about the Hawke family and their search and rescue work, giving her romances built-in heroism and life-or-death stakes that elevate them beyond typical small-town fare. Carver doesn’t shy away from serious issues—secret children, long-held resentments, the cost of choices made decades ago—making her romances deeper than many in the Western subgenre.

Here’s what you’re getting: This isn’t just “former lovers reunite”—Mindy kept Creed’s daughter from him for nineteen years, which is the kind of secret that could poison any relationship permanently. That revelation (“How can he forgive her for stealing his daughter from him?”) transforms this from sweet reunion into something with real stakes: can love survive genuine betrayal? The fact that Creed has been in love with Mindy since he was ten adds both sweetness and tragedy—he’s been carrying this torch for decades while she built a life that included their child but excluded him. Mindy returning as a newly divorced empty nester looking to rediscover who she was before she left creates interesting parallels—she’s literally trying to go back to who she was at eighteen, but you can’t actually go back, only forward. Montana’s landscape and the small-town setting where everyone remembers what happened nineteen years ago creates pressure-cooker intensity. If you’ve loved Linda Lael Miller’s Montana Creeds series, Joann Ross’s small-town Western romances, or Diana Palmer’s cowboy heroes, Carver delivers similar rugged landscape and alpha heroes while tackling heavier emotional territory. And it’s free, making it risk-free to discover whether the Cooper’s Hawke Landing series becomes your next Western romance obsession.

Author: Heather G. Harris, Ella Stone
FREE
Urban Fantasy

PI by day, reluctant witch by necessity—Beatrix has a case to crack and a legacy to reclaim.

I walked away from my magic, my past, and the home I was born to protect. For the last decade, I’ve been scraping by as a PI in the non-magical world, solving human problems and ignoring the legacy that should have been mine. My magic is barely worth mentioning—unless you count my menial ability to sense emotions, which is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

But then my oldest friend breaks into my flat with a desperate plea and I’m suddenly heading back to Witchlight Cove—a hidden magical town on the British coast I swore I’d never see again.

The Eternal Flame, an enigmatic magic that protects the town, has vanished. A ruthless property developer is circling my family home like a vulture. And a poisoning at the village fête proves there’s something far worse lurking in the shadows. If I don’t figure out what’s going on, I’ll lose everything—not just my inheritance, but the only people I’ve ever called family.

With my fiercely loyal retriever by my side, a murder to solve, and a smug, insufferably attractive rival getting under my skin, Witchlight Cove is about to test me in ways I never imagined.

Some legacies can’t be escaped. Some flames refuse to die.

Perfect for fans of strong heroines, lovable animal sidekicks, and heart-racing urban fantasy, Secrets of the Forgotten Heir delivers action, charm, and supernatural surprises.

Heather G. Harris and Ella Stone collaborate on urban fantasy mysteries that combine magical world-building with legitimate detective work. Their Witchlight Magical Mysteries series has attracted readers who want their urban fantasy heroines competent, their magical systems intriguing, and their mysteries genuinely puzzling rather than just excuses for supernatural action scenes. The British coastal setting distinguishes their work from the predominantly American urban fantasy landscape.

Why I’m including this: Beatrix is exactly the kind of reluctant heroine readers love—she walked away from her magical inheritance a decade ago and has been successfully ignoring it until circumstances force her home. The “barely worth mentioning” magic (sensing emotions) is a nice subversion of the overpowered urban fantasy protagonist; Beatrix will have to solve problems with detective skills and determination rather than magical firepower. The Eternal Flame vanishing, a property developer threatening her family home, and a poisoning at a village fête create multiple mysteries that promise to interconnect in satisfying ways. The “smug, insufferably attractive rival” signals romantic tension that will complicate everything, while the fiercely loyal retriever provides both companionship and the kind of animal sidekick that urban fantasy readers adore. British coastal magical towns hit differently than American urban fantasy settings—there’s history, tradition, and the sense that magic has been here far longer than any contemporary threat. If you’ve loved Ilona Andrews’s Kate Daniels series, Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson novels, or Kim Harrison’s Hollows series, this offers similar tough heroines and magical mysteries with a distinctly British flavor. And it’s free, making it an easy way to discover whether Witchlight Cove becomes your next magical obsession.

Author: Jesikah Sundin
Regularly $4.99, Today $2.49
Gaslamp Fantasy

A mortal seer enslaved by a traveling faerie market.
A Raven shifter selected in a lottery to save his Caravan tribe.
And a future not even the cards could predict . . .

Some children dream of running away to join the Night Market. I did so to escape a nightmare.

Still, being forced into an overheated tent to read fortunes until sunrise has its trials—naturally. But when he visits me, I suffer for entirely different reasons.

Stars above, Rhylen Lonan is the most beautiful faerie I’ve ever known. A Raven shifter with long black hair, dark purple eyes, and magic that stirs my own. Each Night Market, in exchange for a generous slice of cake and a delicious morsel of gossip, I read him three cards. And before the gates open, he breaks my heart with the same question.

“Does my mate love me back?”

Every time, I’m taunted with visions of Rhylen in love . . . with her. His mate. Until tonight’s reading, that is, when Fate takes a sudden dark turn. I see a devastating fire. He will be chosen to marry to save his tribe or face banishment. She will be hunted by other fae in a wedding game.

I do not see her face. I never have. Nor do I know her name.

But as Rhylen’s destiny continues to grip my Sight, I start to suspect it’s me. That I have always been his forbidden future. And I don’t know what terrifies me most—that I might be his downfall or that he might be mine.

Jesikah Sundin writes gaslamp fantasy—a subgenre blending Victorian-era aesthetics with magic, fae politics, and romantic tension. Her Bound by Ravens series has attracted readers who love the atmospheric world-building of traveling magical markets, complex fae hierarchies, and the kind of slow-burn romance where characters pine for each other across social divides that seem impossible to cross. Sundin’s strength lies in creating magical worlds that feel both wondrous and dangerous, where bargains have consequences and seeing the future doesn’t mean you can change it.

What makes this special: The premise is romance catnip for fantasy readers—a mortal fortune-teller who reads cards for a beautiful Raven shifter, watching him fall in love with someone else, until she starts to suspect the mysterious mate he keeps asking about might actually be her. The power imbalance is deliciously complicated: she’s enslaved to the Night Market, he’s fae nobility, and their connection is forbidden by the very rules that govern both their worlds. The wedding game and the fire she foresees add urgency to what could otherwise be endless pining, forcing both characters toward a reckoning they’ve been avoiding. Sundin’s gaslamp setting—somewhere between Victorian romance and dark fairy tale—creates the perfect atmosphere for a story about fate, forbidden love, and whether you can change a future you’ve already seen. If you’ve loved Kerri Maniscalco’s Kingdom of the Wicked, Stephanie Garber’s Caraval series, or Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood, this offers similar dark fairy tale vibes with the added appeal of a fortune-teller heroine who sees everyone’s future except her own. At $2.49, it’s an affordable entry into a fantasy world where markets travel between worlds and love might be the most dangerous magic of all.

Author: Gill Thompson
Regularly $4.99, Today $1.99
World War II Historical Fiction

1939.
A girl with auburn hair looks anxiously out of the train window, watching the mountains of Europe pass by. War is on the horizon at home, and Kirsty finds herself heading to neutral Hungary to help in a school for Jewish children. Little does she know that in leaving everything behind, she is about to find the most precious gift of all – a true friend in school pupil Anna.

1943.
When the Nazis invade Budapest, Kirsty and Anna are on their own, and Kirsty worries desperately for her Jewish friend. What lengths must they go to in order to survive, and, when they are separated, can the guiding light of friendship bring them back to each other?

Your favourite historical authors LOVE this moving and heart-wrenching novel:

‘A powerful, poignant story of survival’ KATE HEWITT

‘A different aspect of the Second World War to any I’ve read before . . . both heartbreaking and compelling, yet ultimately uplifting. I loved it’ DEBORAH CARR

‘This is a story of amazing courage . . . an extraordinary novel that has stayed with me long after I turned the final page’ CAROL McGRATH

‘Beautiful and evocative . . . an intelligent, thrilling novel which will stay with me for a long time’ LOUISE MORRISH

Gill Thompson writes World War II historical fiction that shines light on lesser-known aspects of the Holocaust, moving beyond the familiar narratives to explore the war’s impact in places like Hungary that often receive less attention in English-language fiction. Her novels are characterized by deep research, emotional authenticity, and a focus on female friendship as a force of resistance and survival. Thompson’s ability to balance heartbreak with hope has earned praise from established historical fiction authors who recognize her contribution to expanding how we understand this period.

Here’s what you’re getting: Hungary’s experience during World War II is criminally underrepresented in historical fiction, making Thompson’s novel both important and fresh territory for readers who’ve exhausted more familiar settings. The friendship between Kirsty, a gentile teacher, and Anna, her Jewish student, becomes the emotional anchor as Hungary’s brief period of neutrality collapses and the Nazi occupation brings all the horrors the rest of Europe has already suffered. The 1939-to-1943 timeline lets readers experience both the false security of the early war years and the desperate fight for survival once the Nazis arrive. Thompson doesn’t shy away from depicting the impossible choices people faced: how do you protect someone when helping them could mean your own death? How do you maintain hope when separated from everyone you love? The train imagery—Kirsty arriving by train at the beginning, the sinister implications of trains by 1943—adds symbolic weight to a story about journeys that lead both away from safety and, hopefully, back to each other. If you’ve loved The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, or The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, this delivers similar emotional impact while illuminating a corner of Holocaust history that deserves wider recognition. At $1.99, it’s an exceptional value for a novel that fellow historical fiction authors describe as both heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting.

Regularly $2.99, Today $1.49
Horror Comedy

Crime Action & Adventure

Seriously funny contemporary urban fantasy fiction.

Luck. If only you could bottle it…

Matt Danmor’s brush with death uncovers a fantastical truth, plunging him into a world of intrigue and chaos.

With his ex, Silvy, back at his side and Kylah from The Dept. of Fimmigration ever watchful, he stumbles into a plot to undermine civilisation across several worlds. Matt is faced with a simple choice. Believe that everything he sees is a figment of his traumatised imagination, or accept that it is all terrifyingly real.

In which case, he’s got a hell of a lot of catching up to do. Plus a whole hive of demonic zealots to fight.

The multiverse is holding on for a hero.

Trouble is, Matt never got the memo…

Fiends In High Places is the debut Fantasy Crime Thriller in the Hipposync Archives series.

Perfect for fans of Tom Holt, Jim Butcher, and Ben Aaronovitch.

‘Master of occult intrigue and wit, DC Farmer delivers supreme urban fantasy crime stories. Expect addictive, hilarious adventures…and not much sleep.’ 5★ AMZ.

‘looking for something different to fill the gaps between Tom Holt, Jim Butcher, and the late lamented Sir Terry? DC Farmer hits the ground running…’ 5★ AMZ

‘What a gem of a book. Interesting, engaging, daftly funny and captivating. A very welcome addition to the ranks of humorous fantasy. Well written with a lovely plot and I think Rimsplitter the vulture is one of the best comedic inventions…’ AMZ review

DC Farmer writes urban fantasy that refuses to take itself too seriously, combining supernatural threats with British humor and protagonists who are decidedly unheroic. The Hipposync Archives series has attracted readers looking to fill the gap left by Terry Pratchett while also scratching the itch for Jim Butcher-style supernatural investigations. Farmer’s strength lies in balancing genuine stakes with comic absurdity—the multiverse really is in danger, but our hero is so thoroughly unprepared that watching him survive becomes both hilarious and surprisingly tense.

What makes this special: Matt Danmor is the antithesis of the chosen one—he’s an ordinary guy who stumbles into saving the multiverse despite having no qualifications whatsoever. The “Dept. of Fimmigration” (presumably managing immigration between fantasy realms) is exactly the kind of bureaucratic supernatural absurdity that makes this type of humor work. Add in an ex-girlfriend who’s somehow still in his life, a character named Rimsplitter the vulture (which reviewers cite as comedic genius), and demonic zealots trying to undermine civilization across multiple worlds, and you have the recipe for madcap supernatural adventure. The comparison to Tom Holt, Jim Butcher, and Ben Aaronovitch is telling—this occupies the sweet spot between Holt’s absurdist fantasy, Butcher’s hardboiled supernatural noir, and Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London blend of police procedural and British magical weirdness. For readers still mourning Terry Pratchett and looking for that same combination of humor, heart, and genuine world-building, Farmer offers a fresh voice in humorous urban fantasy. At $1.49, it’s an incredibly low-risk way to discover whether the Hipposync Archives becomes your next obsession—and with the series already established, you’ll have plenty more adventures waiting if Matt Danmor’s reluctant heroism wins you over.

Author: Janet Dailey
Regularly $8.99, Today $1.99
Women’s Historical Fiction

From the New York Times–bestselling author, this vintage romantic thriller set on a Napa Valley winery “all but begs to be made into a TV miniseries” (Publishers Weekly).

A tough-as-nails reporter at NBC, Kelly Douglas is on her way to the top. Her latest story—a profile of the famed Rutledge Estate winery in Napa Valley—could make her career, but the dream assignment turns into a nightmare when it puts her face-to-face with the one man she hoped to never see again: her abusive father, Len Dougherty.

Len won a portion of the winery in a settlement with the family years ago. And he’s been a thorn in their side ever since. Kelly can only hope he doesn’t foul up her story—or her budding romance with the charming winery manager, Sam Rutledge. But when Kelly’s reporting uncovers a murder at the vineyard, Len threatens to ruin her life once and for all.

With over 300 million copies of her novels in print, New York Times–bestselling author Janet Dailey is a legend of romantic suspense. In this page-turning tale, she brings her “mastery of sweeping romance, divided loyalties, and searing passion” to Northern California wine country (Lanier County News).

Janet Dailey was a titan of romantic fiction who published over 90 novels and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide before her death in 2013. She pioneered the approach of setting romances in specific American locations, essentially creating the template for regional romance that countless authors have followed. Tangled Vines represents her at the height of her powers—combining family saga, romantic suspense, and the kind of glamorous setting (Napa Valley wineries) that makes for irresistible escapist reading.

Here’s what you’re getting: Dailey takes the dream assignment—profiling a prestigious winery—and turns it into a nightmare by making Kelly’s abusive father part-owner of the very place she’s covering. The setup is brilliant because Kelly can’t just avoid him; professional obligation forces her into proximity with the man who terrorized her childhood. Add a romance with Sam Rutledge (the winery manager) and a murder that Kelly’s reporting uncovers, and you have all the elements of a page-turning thriller wrapped in the seductive world of Napa Valley wine country. The “TV miniseries” comparison from Publishers Weekly is apt—this has the scope, the setting, and the intergenerational family drama that makes for addictive viewing. Dailey excels at creating strong heroines navigating both professional ambition and personal demons while also delivering the romantic payoff readers crave. If you’ve loved Nora Roberts’s family saga romances, Danielle Steel’s glamorous settings and complex family dynamics, or Susan Wiggs’s Sonoma-set novels, Dailey delivers similar pleasures with perhaps harder edges and higher stakes. At $1.99 (down from $8.99), you’re getting exceptional value for a novel from a romance legend whose work defined the genre for generations of readers.