2025 TBR

Deep End

Ali Hazelwood · 2025

A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.<br/><br/>Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.<br/><br/>Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.<br/><br/>So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...

Seven Days in June

Tia Williams · 2021

Two writers get a second chance at love in this romantic, sexy-as-hell New York Times bestselling novel. Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer. Shane Hall is a reclusive, award-winning novelist. When the two meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that when they were teenager, Eva and Shane spent one crazy week madly in love. They can pretend they've never met, but they can’t deny their chemistry—or the fact that they’ve been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious starcrossed romance. A Best Book of the Year: NPR • Kirkus • Marie Claire • PopSugar • New York Public Library • Bustle • Reader’s Digest • Literary Hub A Best Book of the Summer: Harper’s Bazaar • Oprah Daily • Shondaland • The Los Angeles Times • CBS News • PureWow • Good Housekeeping • BuzzFeed • theSkimmA Best Romance of 2021: The Washington Post • USA Today • Vulture • Goodreads • BookPage • BuzzFeed • Happy Mag

Done and Dusted: A Rebel Blue Ranch Novel

Lyla Sage · 2023

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • She’s off-limits, but he’s never been good at following the rules.<br/><br/>Discover the sizzling, small-town brother’s best friend romance that went viral on TikTok—now a special edition with an exclusive sneak peek at the next book in the series and a Q&A with the author!<br/><br/>“A sweet slow burn . . . sunshine in written form.”—USA Today bestselling author Lana Ferguson<br/><br/>For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy” Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.<br/><br/>Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her.<br/><br/>Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?

Promise Me Sunshine: A Novel

Cara Bastone · 2025

How do you find yourself after you lose the one you loved the most?<br/><br/>Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not.<br/><br/>Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated “live again” list of things she’s promised to do to survive her grief. But maybe if she acts like she has it all together, no one will notice she’s falling apart.<br/><br/>The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse – he seems to be able to see right through her.<br/><br/>Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won’t stop showing up for her. Turns out, sometimes your life has to end to find your new beginning.

Mile High (Windy City Series Book 1)

Liz Tomforde · 2022

Just for the Summer

Abby Jimenez · 2024

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick!<br/>This witty, slow-burn rom-com is the "ideal beach read." --Elle<br/>Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.<br/>Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.<br/><br/>It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

First Time Caller

unknown author · 2025

<p><b>'Sharp, swoon-worthy, and profoundly romantic - <i>First Time Caller</i> is brimming with heart' - <i>LYLA SAGE</i><br> <br> <i>'</i>A beautiful, steamy, effervescent romance' SARAH ADAMS<br> <br> A hopeless romantic meets a demoralized radio host in this cosy, <i>Sleepless in Seattle</i> inspired love story from <i>New York Times</i> Bestselling author of the LOVELIGHT series, B.K. Borison.</b><br> <br> Aiden Valentine has a secret: he's fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore's romance hotline, that's a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom Lucie, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and <i>Heartstrings</i> into the limelight.<br> <br> Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life--or lack thereof--she begins to question if she's as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn't be such a bad thing.<br> <br> Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending. . . even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.<br> <br> <b>READERS ARE FALLING HEAD OVER HEARTSTRINGS FOR <i>FIRST TIME CALLER. . .</i></b><br> <br> 'THE most <b>exquisite slow burn</b> and another <b>masterpiece in swoon</b> by B.K. Borison.'<br> <br> 'The easiest <b>5-Stars</b> I've ever given!'<br> <br> 'I <i>DEVOURED</i> and I mean <b>DEVOURED</b> <i>First Time Caller -</i> Bec has encapsulated all the feelings of your <b>favourite 90s romcoms</b> and bundled it up into this fabulous book!'<br> <br> 'This is genuinely the <b>best romcom I've read in years</b>. I absolutely adore B. K. Borison's work but she has <b>OUTDONE</b> herself with this one!'<br> <br> <br> ----<br> *<i>First Time Caller</i> was an instant <i>New York Times</i> Bestseller in the 3rd Week of February 2025.</p>

Bride

Ali Hazelwood · 2024

Taming 7

Chloe Walsh · 2024

She's the quintessential sunshine girl. He's the lovable class clown. But storm clouds are rolling in, and this Tommen boy is about to get serious.<br/><br/>Tommen's cheeky lad, Gerard 'Gibsie' Gibson, is a comedian at heart, but underneath his happy-go-lucky-nature lurks a broken boy, tortured by the events of his past. Using humour to cope with his demons, Gibsie hides everything from the world.<br/><br/>Only one person knows who he truly is on the inside. His friend's little sister. His Claire-bear.<br/><br/>Enveloped in sunshine, Claire Biggs, has spent her whole life adoring the boy across the street. Her brother's friend. Seeing a side to Gerard that no one else sees, Claire is determined to tame her wild-at-heart childhood best friend.<br/><br/>But when the unexpected occurs and lines are crossed, will Gibsie and Claire's friendship survive? Will it blossom into something more, or will they lose themselves in the riptide?

Funny Story

Emily Henry · 2024

Let's Talk About Hard Things

Anna Sale · 2021

Just Kids: A National Book Award Winner

Patti Smith · 2010

<p> It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. </p> <p> Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max's Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous—the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years. </p> <p> <i>Just Kids</i> begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists' ascent, a prelude to fame. </p>

The House Of My Mother

Franke, Shari

While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence

Meg Kissinger · 2023

Heart Strings (A Love in Galway Novel)

Ivy Fairbanks · 2025

Holding the Reins

Paisley Hope · 2024

In this steamy cowboy romance, a woman returns to her family's ranch after a broken engagement and finds herself falling for her brother's best friend—the first novel in the Silver Pines Ranch series. Take a deep breath and let go of the reins. Cecilia “CeCe” Ashby is finally escaping the toxic relationship that has consumed her entire adult life. She's returning to her hometown of Laurel Creek, Kentucky, and to her family’s equestrian ranch, unsure of what the future holds. Nash Carter, the newly retired superstar of the Dallas Stars, is Laurel Creek's hometown hero, local business owner, and notorious bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fourth sibling in the Ashby clan. It’s been years since his days of tormenting CeCe with her older brothers Wade and Cole. So, when CeCe needs a job, he feels drawn to help her. Nash can’t seem to take his eyes off of his best friend's sister, and it seems she’s been staring right back, not without animosity left over from his childish teasing back in the day. Despite their initial reluctance, the fire between them ignites and it isn't long before they jump into the flames.

Circe

Madeline Miller · 2018

Blood of Hercules

Jasmine Mas · 2024

A sarcastically funny, dark fantasy romance reimagining of Hercules from Amazon bestselling author Jasmine Mas.<br/><br/>I'm just a girl. And it turns out, I'm Hercules.<br/><br/>I'm struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.<br/><br/>My blood test reveals I'm part of the powerful elite. I'm one of them. A Spartan.<br/><br/>Forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, I undergo the most harrowing test of all time to see if I have what it takes to be an immortal. There's just a few problems. Achilles and Patro are my scary mentors. Kharon, the ferryman of death, and Augustus, the son of war, are my terrifying professors. Also, I'm pretty sure either someone's stalking me everywhere I go, or my sanity's slipping––I have a bad feeling both are true.<br/><br/>I'm surrounded by Villains and they're smothering me with their hate, obsession, and dark possessiveness. Too bad for them, they have no clue just who they're messing with.

Divine Rivals: A Novel (Letters of Enchantment, 1)

Rebecca Ross · 2024

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.<br/><br/>After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.<br/><br/>To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish―into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.<br/><br/>Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross's Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

The Poppy War: A Novel

R. F. Kuang · 2018

One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time “I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year...I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, the brilliantly imaginative debut of R.F. Kuang: an epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy. When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising. But surprises aren’t always good. Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school. For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . . Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

Parable of the Sower

Octavia E. Butler · 2012

White Oleander

Janet Fitch · 2006

The unforgettable story of a young woman's odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes on her journey to redemption. Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery - but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls apart over a lover. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, and is sentenced to life in prison. White Oleander is the unforgettable story of Astrid's journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned. With determination and humor, Astrid confronts the challenges of loneliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become. Oprah Winfrey enjoyed this gripping first novel so much that she not only made it her book club pick, she asked if she could narrate the audio release.

Girl Dinner

Olivie Blake · 2025

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six, Girl Dinner is a darkly-fun novel about power, lust, and eating your fill, as wealthy moms and sorority girls practice a sinister new wellness trend . . .<br/><br/>Good girls deserve a treat.<br/><br/>Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving, and universally respected.<br/><br/>After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she's taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner's new position at the cutthroat University. After 18 months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane's clothes don’t fit right, her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is, and even the few hours a day she's apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that Sloane so desperately craves.<br/><br/>As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power.

This Book Will Bury Me: A Novel

Ashley Winstead · 2025

The Adult

Bronwyn Fischer · 2023

An addictively gripping coming-of-age story about an all-consuming, insidious love affair between a college freshman and a mysterious older woman, from an unforgettable new voice in fiction   Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just arrived at her first year of university in Toronto, leaving her remote, forested hometown for the big, impersonal city. Everyone she encounters seems to know exactly who they are. She reads advice listicles and watches videos online and thinks about how to fit in, how to really become someone, whoever that might be.   And then she meets Nora, an older woman who takes an unexpected interest in her, and is drawn unstoppably into Nora’s orbit. She begins spending more and more of her time at Nora’s perfect, tidy home in her beautiful, quiet world. Natalie lies to her floormates about her absence, inventing a fake off-campus boyfriend, and care­fully protects this sacred, adult relationship. This only deepens her obsession, even as she comes to  suspect Nora is hiding something. As the secrets multiply and the intensity of the romance threat­ens to overwhelm her, Natalie realizes that the new, adult identity she had imagined for herself is far from the one she’s actually coming to know.   With atmospheric, electric prose that captures the anxiety and emotional intensity of young adulthood like never before, The Adult is about sex, yearning, poetry, and learning to free one­self from the expectations of others. Bronwyn Fischer is an immensely talented new writer to watch.

Come and Get It

Reid Kiley · 2024

Big Swiss: A Novel

Jen Beagin · 2023

Intermezzo: A Novel

Sally Rooney · 2024

An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family―but especially love―from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.<br/><br/>Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.<br/><br/>Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties―successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women―his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.<br/><br/>Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.<br/><br/>For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude―a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.