characterdriven

Seasons of War

by Lindsay French

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, forbiddenlove

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Dark Dystopian Romance Sergeant Zayne Riven was born to take his father's place as the emperor's right hand man, but he has plans of his own. Trapped inside the corrupt regime he wishes to dismantle, Zayne plays loyal war hero while secretly fighting both sides of the war. He is determined to rise to the top and destroy the emperor, even if it means destroying his soul along the way. That is until one political prisoner shatters all of his plans. The emperor has captured the rebel woman Zayne once secretly saved. The woman he could never stop thinking about. And now Zayne has been ordered to break her spirit and use her to crush the uprising. Kira Stiles is a true revolutionary. She papers alleyways with forbidden news and hijacks the emperor's magi-tech to write messages of rebellion across the sky. And she would die a thousand deaths before helping the emperor destroy the rebels. Captivity will not break her, not even at the hands of the grumpy and brooding Sergeant Riven. But as her imprisonment stretches on, Kira begins to suspect that the infamous war hero Zayne Riven may not the heartless loyalist he seems. He may secretly be as dangerous to the emperor as she is. Zayne faces an impossible choice. Her life or the fate of the entire rebellion. [Read More]

Talk to Me at Midnight

by Stephanie Harina

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, firstperson

The voice that once saved her nights is now her trainer at work. Forced out of Bangkok by her dad, Yannie finds comfort in one thing: a mysterious voice who calls her every midnight. He doesn’t know her. She doesn’t know him. And that’s exactly why it works. Until she moves to Manila. And the voice gets a face. Now a teaching intern navigating office politics and Manila slang, Yannie is assigned to Ash Anderson, her serious, exacting English curriculum trainer—who is nothing like the man she talks to every midnight. Except he is that man. To protect her secret, Yannie makes one rule: Ash must never recognize her. Not when he texts her under the table with that ridiculous grin. Not when he stands far too close while demonstrating materials. And definitely not when he singles her out to present in front of everyone… where she’s now a walking disaster in heels. But when her fake deep voice slips, his smirks sharpen, and Ash starts calling her at work, Yannie realizes midnight secrets don’t survive daylight... especially when trouble wears a suit and knows all her confessions. [Read More]

Nomad Hearts: The Long Way to You: A Sweet Vanlife Romance

by Kate Sutton

Tropes: adventure, characterdriven, smalltown

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FREEDOM GOT HER THIS FAR. HE MIGHT BE WORTH STAYING FOR. Quinn Barlow doesn't stop. Not for relationships, not for roots, not for anything that might ask her to stay small again. Two years ago she sold her Chicago life for a camper van named Biscuit and never looked back — motion is the only thing that's ever kept the panic at bay. Then Biscuit's engine dies outside Moab, Utah, and the only mechanic who can fix it wants her to do the one thing she's spent two years avoiding: stop. Wade Mercer sold his own van three years ago and never told anyone why. He built a quiet, controlled life in a town where nobody asks questions — and he intends to keep it that way, right up until a stranded stranger with seventeen contingency plans and a terrified smile shows up in his parking lot. What starts as four weeks of forced proximity turns into something neither of them saw coming: late nights fixing another woman's dream truck, porch-step confessions under a crowded desert sky, and the particular danger of a man who makes staying feel like the safest thing Quinn has ever done. But loving someone who runs and loving someone who stopped running both come with the same terrifying question: what if choosing this — choosing each other — means finally facing everything they've been driving away from? The Long Way to You is Book One in the NOMAD HEARTS series — sweet, small-town-meets-open-road romance for anyone who's ever wondered if freedom and love have to be a choice. Sweet romance — closed door Grumpy mechanic x guarded free spirit Forced proximity, one exasperating shop, one impossible timeline Guaranteed happily ever after, no cliffhanger [Read More]

The Unburied Sins

by Marion Thomas

Tropes: forcedproximity, forbiddenlove, darkromance

New Release! The Sequel to Flesh and Blood A Dark Historical Fiction Romance After the shocking events of Flesh and Blood, Jack and Abigail Dalton have built their new life of wealth and respectability in Pittsburgh where they are admired, adored and trusted until a watchful enemy begins uncovering their secrets and the truth of what binds them together; their marriage is a sin that would ruin them, their fortune is built on blood and their past is a story they have sworn never to tell. They must decide how ruthless they are willing to become to protect the only truth that survived the past... they thought the worst thing they had done was fall in love... they were wrong. For readers who love dark historical drama and forbidden romance and psychological tension, Marion Thomas’ sequel to Flesh and Blood The Unburied Sins is a gothic tale of erotic obsession, secrecy, and the price of protecting the life you stole from fate. (contains explicit graphic language and mature themes) [Read More]

The Carpenter's Second Chance

by Dan Leonard

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, foundfamily

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When Ellie Marsh returns to Laurel Ridge to renovate and sell her late grandmother's cottage, falling in love is not part of the plan. Single dad Nate Calloway has spent years keeping his world small: his daughter, his work, and the town he's always called home. But as they work side by side to restore the cottage, Ellie finds herself falling for more than the town she left behind. She finds herself caring about a guarded carpenter and the thoughtful little girl who's spent years wishing for someone to braid her hair. Now, with summer drawing to a close, and difficult choices ahead, Nate and Ellie must decide whether protecting their hearts is worth losing the home, family, and future they've unexpectedly found. A heartwarming small-town romance filled with second chances, found family, slow-burn romance, and a happily-ever-after. [Read More]

Your Arrow (Grace & Jake, book 1)

by Greta Marden

Tropes: forbiddenlove, characterdriven, steamycontemporary

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Grace isn't unhappy. She has a husband she loves, two daughters who need her, and a business she's growing. That's what makes what she's doing feel insane. She also has one empty week — and a chance meeting with a stranger changes the course of her life. One dinner leads to a motel room where she has the best sex of her life. In the dark of that motel room, he learns her faster than her husband ever has — and she lets him. This slip turns into a double life Grace cannot and doesn't want to give up. As their affair pushes into Grace's home, work, and family, she wants to end it — but she finds herself going deeper, and feeling closer. Behind the expensive gifts, private drivers, and locked motel door is a world of money, influence, and obsession. She's never felt so alive. And she's never had more to lose. She must choose between the man who completes her and the family she loves and would do anything to protect. Book one of The Grace & Jake Series [Read More]

Illumination

by Jane Arro

Tropes: slowburn, forcedproximity, forbiddenlove

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He was never leaving his mountain. She was never staying. FBI Special Agent Mason Quade has spent eleven years learning to read the North Carolina high country he calls home. He knows every trail, every hollow, and every quiet person who lives there. He does not know what to do when Washington sends him Dr. Kyla West. A forensic entomologist with a fortress built out of nine years and one careful rule, Kyla has come to figure out why a hundred thousand synchronous fireflies have vanished from a cove that had been full of them a year before. Neither the case nor the woman is what Mason expects, and neither of them is prepared for what happens when their reserved professionalism gives way, night by night, in a two-cot yurt above a dying cove. But something darker than a missing insect population is moving in the mountains around them. And when the case turns from ecology to a foreign operation with reach into their own ground, the careful line Mason and Kyla have been holding will not be enough to keep either of them safe. A literary romantic suspense set in the ancient forests of the southern Appalachians, Illumination is a slow-burn love story about being seen for the first time, and about what a person will risk to keep someone whole. [Read More]

Weddings Coordinated

by Lisa S. Gayle

Tropes: slowburn, characterdriven, dualpov

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Twin sisters. Two men. One wedding? Danielle and Mallory are as different as can be! And they’re about to get themselves tangled into an unexpected, sticky web of drama. What the twins anticipated being a simple, brilliant plan quickly becomes a complicated mess with both sisters hiding secrets and fighting strong feelings for some incredibly tempting, off-limits men. Mallory needs Danielle to impersonate her at work so she can sneak off to her best friend’s wedding. But how can you pretend to be your twin sister when you’re nothing alike? Danielle finds herself trying to save Mallory’s career while her sister’s demanding, perceptive boss, Ethan, watches her every move. It doesn’t help that she is inexplicably attracted to him when she vows to hate his guts. Meanwhile, Mallory begins to have conflicting feelings for her engaged best friend, Jesse, a sweet, rough-and-tough auto-mechanic who’s been her rock since childhood. Will the twins get caught in their silly plot to hide the truth? Or will they get more than they bargained for? Weddings Coordinated is a standalone, open-door romantic comedy. It features two emotionally charged romances roped together in one hilarious, fast-moving plot! [Read More]

Invisible

by Sonja J. Kaye

Tropes: slowburn, firstperson, magic

Life’s a mess for seventeen-year-old Olivia: she lost her mother, is sent to live with a foster family in England, and now her heartbreak unlocks a dormant Talent, a supernatural ability no one else in the world has. Turns out, that little sleepwalking problem she’s had all her life is a fickle teleportation skill that promptly ejects her into the Alaskan wilderness. Thanks a lot. Much to the dismay of her feminist pride, a grouchy bear puts her in dire need of saving—by a guy. Brilliant. Nineteen-year-old Jo has secrets he can’t ever share. If he does, he’s dead. Keeping hidden is the only way to free himself from the person forcing him to live in the woods. His rules for survival: stay invisible, stay focused, and for the love of life, do not talk to anyone. Easier said than done when this beautiful, sad girl keeps bouncing back to Alaska, cracking his locked heart wide open. Drawn deeper into Jo’s secretive spell and the inexplicable bond they share, Olivia investigates why her Talent keeps dragging her back to him, only to suspect he might be connected to the mystery surrounding her missing father who disappeared before she was born. When Jo, desperate to escape the life he’s trapped in to be with the soulmate he never thought he’d find, confronts the person behind his deadly secrets, he’s faced with a Talented mastermind whose blood runs in his veins. Now Olivia must save the boy in the wild from a killer, even when they turn their eyes on her. In this wildly romantic YA/crossover cozy fantasy, emotions and mystery weave into an unforgettable tale of love and loss, secrets and suspense, and intrigue and magic. Ideal for fans of deep yearning, atmospheric nature settings, and heart-shattering romance. [Read More]

Gold

by Runa Saevik

Tropes: forcedproximity, adventure, adult

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Six weeks, a book about wine, no complications. That was the plan. Luca Casini's father left him one word before he died. Luca followed it across the border into Slovenia, telling everyone, including himself, that the trip was about research. Matej Kos makes cheese in a cave older than the border itself. He speaks rarely, builds walls that outlast empires, and has built a life in which no one can let him down, because no one is in it. Neither man came looking for company. Something fits almost at once, easy in a way neither trusts yet: coffee that goes cold while they talk, jokes pitched between insult and affection, whole days that fall into a rhythm before anyone decides they should. The wanting arrives, blunt and physical and impossible to talk their way around. But when a key hits the floor, everything quiet turns loud, and what the stone has been holding changes everything they thought they were building. Some places are inherited. Some are found. [Read More]

Love Twists and Knots

by Jo-Anne Carriere

Tropes: firstperson, adventure, adult

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An accidental proposal, a charming sailor, a Mediterranean Romance that changes everything… Genny needs a new beginning. She takes a break from the corporate world, and spontaneously decides to go to the South of France for a carefree holiday. Enjoying her wine at a harbor café in Antibes, she cannot believe that the man sitting across from her is… HIM—the one she’s always pictured herself with. After their eyes meet, and a light chitchat, and more wine, she accidentally proposes to the charming Nick. Nick laughs it off, but he doesn’t run. Intrigued, he invites her for a sail on the Mediterranean aboard his 83-foot classic sail yacht. What begins as a magical starlit night on his yacht soon becomes far more daring when Genny loses her job due to downsizing—she risks everything, and leaves Vancouver behind to follow the man who has captured her heart. Trouble rises when Heidi, an envious work colleague appears on the quay hoping to be part of Genny’s adventure. Genny shooed her away, but Heidi finds a way… Their romance gets twisted in a knot when Nick’s past resurfaces. Desperate to settle his divorce, Nick sells his beloved yacht to a shadowy buyer, an acquaintance of his ex. The buyer has two conditions—he pays for the yacht only after it is delivered to Puerto Rico—and he insists that Heidi stay onboard for the journey, causing spiraling tension. Fate did not work in Genny’s favor—unable to cross the Atlantic, she leaves Nick and the crew in Gibraltar and reunites with Nick in Barbados. The romantic trip Genny had in mind soon turns into a web of perilous secrets and lies when they discover the buyer had a different plan. Genny must decide what she truly believes. Is Nick her anchor, or is she caught in his wake? To keep her chance at love, will she take risks to choose the wild and beautiful life her heart whispers for? [Read More]

Her Heart's Wish

by Dawn Baca

Tropes: slowburn, multipov, adult

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Can a woman who built her life around everyone else finally choose love? Leila Durand has spent years being exactly who her family needed: a devoted mother, a doting grandmother, and the steady heart of the farm that saved her after loss. But when Yuri Petrova asks her to come to Saint Petersburg, the quiet life she has carefully built begins to feel less like safety and more like a beautiful cage. Yuri has always been a man of stars, students, and solitude—until one unforgettable Frenchwoman makes his orderly world feel suddenly incomplete. From their first meeting at a family wedding, Leila’s warmth, strength, and laughter unsettled him in ways no equation ever could. After three years of calls, letters, and longing, he is ready to stop loving her from a distance. Leila is falling for Yuri, but loving him means facing the grief, guilt, and fear she has buried beneath decades of devotion. Yuri is falling just as hard, but winning Leila’s heart may mean leaving behind the life, career, and country that have defined him. When distance, family ties, and old wounds threaten to keep them apart, Leila must decide whether being wanted is worth the risk of finally being seen. Will she cling to the life that made her feel necessary—or open her heart to the man who makes her feel chosen? Her Heart’s Wish is an emotional later-in-life romance about second chances, found family, healing after grief, and the brave, terrifying joy of beginning again. Perfect for readers who love mature heroines, patient heroes, slow-burn longing, complicated families, European settings, and love stories where the biggest battle is learning to believe happiness is still allowed. Read Her Heart’s Wish today and fall in love with a romance that proves it’s never too late to choose your own happily ever after. [Read More]