💎 Duke Phineas has earned his reputation as the cruelest man of the ton—and when Iris’s manipulative father traps her in a scandal with his greatest enemy, she becomes a pawn in a deadly game between two ruthless men. But Iris is done playing by their rules. Arabella Wells delivers a Regency romance that subverts the typical wallflower-meets-duke formula by giving both protagonists genuine agency and darker motivations. This is the first in the Dangerous Dukes series, and the title doesn’t exaggerate—these are not your genteel, misunderstood aristocrats.

🔥 The forced marriage trope gets compelling treatment here because both characters enter it with clear-eyed pragmatism rather than romantic delusions. Phineas needs this marriage to achieve some unspecified goal (the blurb tantalizingly withholds details), and Iris needs to escape her father’s control. The “we have a deal, but don’t mistake this for anything more” dynamic creates delicious tension because we know exactly where this is heading—and watching these two stubborn, damaged people fight their growing feelings is half the fun. The enemies-to-lovers setup works because they genuinely start as adversaries, not just people who misunderstood each other at a ball.

💕 What elevates this beyond standard Regency fare is the promise of genuine character transformation. Phineas’s thoughts about his “vexing new bride” clouding his head suggests a man whose carefully maintained control is slipping. Iris’s decision to be “more than a pawn” signals a heroine who won’t simply submit to circumstance. Wells excels at creating historical romances where the power dynamics feel real and earned rather than glossed over with period prettiness.

Why I’m including this: For readers who love Lisa Kleypas’s tortured heroes or Sarah MacLean’s emotionally complex Regencies, this delivers that same addictive combination of historical detail, genuine stakes, and the slow burn of two people who absolutely shouldn’t work together but can’t resist each other. The Dangerous Dukes series promises more deliciously dark romances ahead, making this an excellent entry point for binge-readers.

☕ Karis Booth’s life is in upheaval—filing for divorce from her cheating husband while simultaneously trying to reconcile with her estranged sister Erin. When she finally works up the courage to visit Erin’s café, she’s relieved to be welcomed back with open arms. But during this fragile reconciliation, Karis experiences a devastating psychic vision: she sees two shadows following young Carmel, a bread delivery woman. One shadow belongs to Carmel. The other belongs to her murderer. April Fernsby launches her Psychic Cafe Mystery series with an emotionally resonant premise that grounds supernatural suspense in deeply human concerns about family, forgiveness, and second chances.

🔮 The hook here is irresistible: Karis has had psychic abilities her whole life, but this is the first time she’s using them to solve a murder. When Carmel is killed later that same day, exactly as Karis’s vision predicted, our protagonist faces both guilt and determination. Could she have prevented it? Can she now at least bring the killer to justice? The investigation becomes complicated when the lead detective turns out to be an ex-boyfriend who broke up with Karis specifically because he couldn’t cope with her psychic gifts. That personal history adds layers of tension beyond the mystery itself—Karis must prove herself to someone who once rejected the very abilities she’s now using to catch a killer.

👭 What makes this series starter particularly appealing is the emphasis on sisterhood and community. Karis isn’t a lone wolf detective; she’s building (or rebuilding) a support network with her sister and an old neighbor. The café setting provides a cozy, domestic backdrop that contrasts nicely with the darkness of murder, creating that perfect cozy mystery balance where terrible things happen in places that should feel safe. Fernsby writes psychic abilities not as all-knowing superpowers but as burdens that complicate relationships and come with real emotional costs.

Here’s what hooked me: The combination of psychic suspense with family reconciliation gives this depth beyond a typical whodunit. Readers who love paranormal cozies (think Juliet Blackwell’s Witchcraft Mysteries or Madelyn Alt’s Bewitching Mysteries) will appreciate how Fernsby treats psychic abilities as both gift and curse, while cozy mystery fans will enjoy the café setting and ensemble cast that promises to develop across the series.

⚡ Nova Ainsley has been illegally building weapons that can wield Neron—the galaxy’s purest energy source—on a planet that’s not supposed to have any. She’s got a plan: sell these weapons, get enough money to escape Korpillion with her father, and start over somewhere else in the Eon galaxy. But Dominion controls every planet with Neron deposits, and they just discovered hers. Keary Taylor, bestselling author known for her Fall of Angels series, crafts a space opera that blends political intrigue with forbidden romance and the tantalizing question: what if you discovered your destiny was bound to the most dangerous person in the universe?

💫 The worldbuilding immediately intrigues: the Nero are those rare individuals who can wield Neron to their will—reading minds, seeing the future, destroying worlds. But they’re dying out across the galaxy, and Dominion owns the last known Nero, using him as a weapon to conquer and control. When Nova encounters this last Nero, he shows her a vision of her future: it’s with him. That “You’re not nothing, Nova” moment in the blurb hints at a connection deeper than simple prophecy—these two outcasts recognize something fundamental in each other despite standing on opposite sides of an interstellar conflict.

🌌 The romance here promises to be genuinely complicated rather than simply swoony. He’s essentially Dominion’s slave, a weapon they wield to commit atrocities. She’s building weapons to fight against exactly that kind of oppression. Their attraction can’t be simple or easy—it has to overcome genuine moral complexity and the weight of a galaxy that’s hunting them both. Taylor excels at writing characters who must choose between duty and desire, between survival and sacrifice, and the push-pull dynamic between Nova and the Nero (whose name the blurb tantalizingly withholds) suggests that familiar Keary Taylor emotional intensity.

What draws me to this: The combination of space opera scope with intimate romance, political thriller with mystical destiny. Readers who loved Pierce Brown’s Red Rising or the psychic abilities in Marissa Meyer’s Renegades trilogy will find similar pleasures here—a vast galactic canvas where individual choices carry enormous weight, and where love might be the most dangerous force of all. The Neron Rising Saga promises epic stakes across multiple books.

👑 What starts as a casual Friday night bar hookup turns complicated when our American billionaire hero discovers his “ice princess” one-night stand is an actual British princess—complete with a wannabe fiancé and all the royal complications that entails. Ava Ryan launches her Fairy Tale Billionaires series with a premise that’s pure fantasy fuel: the collision between old money aristocracy and new money American confidence, between duty and desire, between who she’s supposed to marry and who makes her melt.

🔥 The dynamic here is deliciously antagonistic. She’s snooty and proper in public, scorching hot behind closed doors. He’s got money but “no prize” by his own admission (that line suggests interesting character complexity—what makes him feel unworthy?). Their one night together is “perfect in every way”—until she ghosts him. That ghosting becomes especially loaded once we learn about her royal obligations and the fiancé waiting in the wings. Ryan sets up a classic forbidden romance: he’s the wrong guy by every measure that matters in her world, but he’s the only one who truly sees and desires the real woman beneath the princess persona.

💎 The possessive streak here runs deep and territorial: “nobody melts this ice princess but me” isn’t just confidence, it’s a declaration of war against the forces trying to keep them apart. The push-pull between her duty to her royal family and position versus her genuine desire for this brash American creates natural conflict that goes beyond simple misunderstanding. He admits the other guy would be “better for her,” but he doesn’t care—he hasn’t had his fill yet. That raw honesty about his motivations (desire over nobility) makes for compellingly messy romance.

Why this works: For readers who devoured Meghan Markle’s real-life royal story or loved books like Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series, this delivers that same fantasy of disrupting staid royal expectations with authentic passion. The Fairy Tale Billionaires series promises modern twists on classic princess stories, and this opener establishes Ryan’s skill at balancing steamy romance with the genuine complications of dating across class and cultural divides.

🍁 Leah Greenstead fled to Vermont with a plan: teach fourth grade, hide from her grief, and absolutely do not fall in love again. Teaching at Maplehaven Elementary deep in the Vermont woods gives her the isolation she needs to protect what’s left of her heart after devastating loss in New York City. She’s learned the hard way that “some people get to have everything they’ve ever wanted. Some don’t.” Christine DePetrillo’s series opener explores that most difficult of second chances—learning to risk love again after loss has left you convinced you don’t deserve another shot at happiness.

💚 Enter Dakota Brenton, Maplehaven’s beloved adventure guide who definitely didn’t get the memo about leaving Leah alone. He deploys humor, his charming family, and—wait for it—”mathematical dirty talk” to break through her defenses. That last detail is both oddly specific and completely winning; there’s something endearing about a hero who woos with equations. But DePetrillo doesn’t let this be an easy conquest. Leah’s resistance isn’t just rom-com stubbornness; it’s genuine self-protection born from real trauma. Her calculation is heartbreakingly logical: “If she dates him, she might like him. If she likes him, she might love him. If she loves him… she might lose him.”

🌲 The Vermont setting does heavy lifting here, providing both literal and metaphorical sanctuary. Maplehaven sounds like the kind of small town where everyone knows your business but also has your back—the charming family Dakota uses as relationship ammunition likely includes half the town. The school setting grounds Leah’s new life in purpose beyond just hiding; she’s building something meaningful with her fourth graders even as she walls off her personal life. The question “Is one kind heart enough to change Leah’s mind about love?” suggests that Dakota’s persistence will be matched by genuine understanding—he’s not just trying to fix her or save her, but offering consistent kindness until she’s ready to believe in possibility again.

What makes this special: DePetrillo writes grief and healing with authentic weight rather than treating loss as backstory to overcome in a chapter. For readers who loved Susan Mallery’s emotional small-town romances or Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series, this offers that same combination of wounded characters finding healing through community and one good person who refuses to give up on them. The One Kind Deed Series promises more heartwarming stories of characters learning to love again.

Ann Bennett delivers a dual-timeline WWII story about sisters torn apart by Nazi kidnapping programs and a nurse who might hold the key to their reunion sixty years later. 👭 Poland, 1944. When twelve-year-old Marta and her little sister Joanna are snatched while shopping and pushed into a truck with a swastika on the door, they cling to each other as their world shatters. Arriving at their strange new destination, Marta is separated from Joanna—measured, her blonde hair and blue eyes exclaimed over, unaware she’s seeing her sister for the last time. Her only comfort is the memory of a kind German nurse who photographed the sisters together and promised to help find Joanna.

📺 Berlin, 2005. Seventy-year-old Marta freezes when the woman on television discussing lost children is someone she could never forget—Margarete Weiss, the nurse who took that precious photo with the secret message on the back. Having buried herself in work to avoid being haunted by her past, Marta feels hope take root for the first time in decades. Margarete couldn’t prevent the sisters’ separation during the war, but might she help Marta discover what happened to Joanna now?

Why this moves: Bennett explores the devastating legacy of Nazi Lebensborn programs through intimate personal stories, showing how stolen childhoods echo across generations. Perfect for fans of Heather Morris’s historical fiction based on true WWII events or readers drawn to stories about families separated by war who never stop searching for each other.

Mike Simpson launches an urban fantasy series where an NYU professor’s ordinary life is cover for an immortal dwarf cleric—the last guardian in a forgotten war that’s about to resume. 🗽 By day, Franklin Barbarossa is an eccentric professor teaching classes and grading papers. Behind the academic façade stands Fahlgrim Firebeard—battle-worn dwarf, last cleric of a forgotten god, and the final guardian against darkness that most believe is merely myth. For years, he’s maintained this dual existence in a world that no longer believes in the threats he once bled to stop. But when a relic of unspeakable power resurfaces in New York City, everything changes.

⚔️ The barrier between myth and reality begins cracking. Shadows stir in alleys, old enemies gather strength, and an ancient evil thought buried forever is awakening. To prevent catastrophe, Fahlgrim must face ghosts from his past, forge unlikely alliances with mortals who can barely comprehend the danger, and fight battles no ordinary human could endure. The stakes are nothing less than a world that’s forgotten its heroes and the evils they once defeated.

Why this thrills: Simpson crafts urban fantasy where ancient warrior traditions collide with modern New York, giving readers an immortal protagonist hiding in plain sight while fighting a secret war. Perfect for fans of Jim Butcher’s *Dresden Files* or readers who love stories about the last defenders standing between humanity and darkness no one remembers.

Nikola Scott delivers dual-timeline mystery where a daughter discovers her recently deceased mother’s life was built on lies—and one golden summer holds all the secrets. 🏛️ Hartland House has always been a faithful keeper of secrets. In 1958, young Liz is sent to beautiful Hartland to escape her mother’s illness, spending summer with the wealthy Shaw family who treat her as their own. But their influence proves dangerous in ways she doesn’t understand until it’s too late, and one night changes everything forever.

🔍 Now, Addie believes she knows everything about her mother Elizabeth and their difficult relationship—until a stranger appears claiming to be Addie’s sister. Stunned, she realizes her entire early life might be built on lies. With the one person who could explain now gone, Addie must return to that golden summer her mother never spoke of and uncover what happened during the night that altered a young girl’s life irrevocably.

Why this intrigues: Scott crafts family mystery exploring how secrets shape relationships across decades and how mothers’ hidden pasts become daughters’ present mysteries. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton’s atmospheric dual timelines or readers who love unraveling family histories where the truth has been carefully buried for generations.

D.K. Holmberg launches an epic fantasy series where a magic-breaking Blade discovers her destructive power is only the beginning—and the truth beneath it could unravel the kingdom. ⚔️ Ellie serves as King Dorian’s secret weapon, a Blade who shatters even the strongest magical fabrications. But when her brother vanishes with knowledge that could destroy the kingdom, she uncovers a truth her mentors never taught: her ability to break magic is merely the surface of something far deeper and more dangerous.

🔥 Hunted by a man who shares her forbidden gift and haunted by powers she was taught to fear, Ellie follows her brother’s trail to a ruined city pulsing with lost magic and buried lies. Among ancient fabrications and whispers of fae, she discovers that destroying magic isn’t her greatest threat—it’s what lies beneath. Torn between duty to the king and a legacy hidden even from her mentors, Ellie must decide what she’ll risk to save her brother and whether truth is worth its cost.

Why this captivates: Holmberg crafts fantasy where powers everyone fears as destructive might be the key to understanding a deeper magic system, giving readers a heroine who must question everything she’s been taught. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson’s magic systems with hidden layers or readers who love epic fantasy where breaking the rules reveals the truth.

Jenna Ness delivers heartbreaking WWII fiction where an orphanage caretaker must lead Jewish children to safety while leaving her beloved little sister with strangers—a decision that haunts her when everything goes wrong. 🌟 Paris, 1940. Margot has spent most of her life at St Agnes’ Orphanage with little sister Lucie, caring for all the children and comforting them under the stars. When Nazis reach Paris’s gates, she knows Jewish orphans face terrible danger and must help them escape. As they scramble into a truck bound for the countryside, Margot’s hands won’t stop shaking.

💔 Sister Helen finds a rich family to take Lucie in, but there’s no safety for the other children unless Margot leads them to the French coast for a ship to America. Looking from Lucie’s bright eyes to the patchwork teddy the children share, Margot realizes she must trust someone else with her only family. But when the wrought-iron gates slam shut, she knows she’s made a terrible mistake. Devastated at being abandoned, Lucie runs away—and now Margot must choose between the many children depending on her and the one sister she loves most.

Why this grips: Ness explores impossible wartime choices where saving many means risking one, giving readers a heroine torn between duty to orphans who need her and love for the sister she can’t bear to lose. Perfect for fans of Kristin Harmel’s WWII heroines facing moral dilemmas or readers who love stories about ordinary people making extraordinary sacrifices during history’s darkest hours.