Katie Garaby

RomanceScience Fiction

What’s more fun than one alien boyfriend? How about two! (Plus, a pink T. Rex.)

Interview by Katie Garaby

After wildlife biologist Dory is abducted by aliens, she finds herself on a mysterious planet populated by prehistoric creatures—and two very hot aliens named Lok and Sol. We talked to Lemming about surprising inspirations (Furbies!) and what she’d want to make sure she had on an alien planet.

I’m calling it now: 2025 is the year of the alien romance and who better to kick it off than you! (I’m a big alien romance reader, and you have my unwavering adoration.) What compelled you to write an alien romance?
I was watching Meerkat Manor in between binging alien romance novels and I couldn’t help but think of how funny it would be if an animal researcher got abducted by aliens and became the animal being studied. Then I thought, “Well, what if the alien research team was hugely underfunded and had to cut corners?” That got me thinking about all the mishaps that could come from trying to create a habit for a species you didn’t know the first thing about. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those old photos of T. Rex fossils posed upright in those prized fighter positions, but for generations we thought those eight-ton behemoths were running around with excellent posture. Who’s to say aliens four star systems away wouldn’t make similar mistakes? When I had the idea that they’d just have their AI populate the world with DNA they stole from a dinosaur exhibit, I knew I couldn’t rest until I wrote this book.

“I’d have been killed immediately trying to pet all the dinosaurs.”

When you were creating your alien species, the Sankado and the Biwbans, how did you decide what physical attributes you wanted them to have?
There’s a running joke in my family that Furbies are evil aliens sent to destroy us. The one I had as a kid would insult you any chance it got (no clue where it got that from) and had a habit of turning on in the toy box at night to scare the ever-loving shit out of my mom. So I made the Biwbans kinda look like that. As for the Sankado, I kind of just had the idea of these alien satyrs that breathed fire. Then a friend of mine demanded to know how these satyrs breathed fire, which sent me on a research spiral and ended up with me changing their appearance a bit to add patches on their skin that allowed excess steam to roll off and a long tail with a breath tube at the end to help take in more air for fire-breathing. 

Lok and Sol are both able to produce flames as a result of the way their body digests yeast. What other fun, niche areas did you find yourself researching for your world building?
I already knew animals like goats and cattle produce methane, and the thought of an alien species powered by garlic bread cracked me up, so I went with that method. I also spent far too long researching how much weight a parasaurolophus could safely carry for one scene, but that’s neither here nor there. I mostly spent my time researching how to see the world through Dory’s eyes as a wildlife biologist. She’s endlessly curious about the world around her, and it was a lot of fun to figure out how nature could still survive and thrive on a planet where wildly different species of plants and animals were just tossed together into one big melting pot.

Read our review of ‘I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com’ by Kimberly Lemming.

Dory finds herself with not one but two possessive, alpha aliens madly in lust/love with her, going against the “fated mate” trope we see in a lot of monster and alien romances. Tell us about why you decided to give Dory two partners.
Lok was originally meant to be a rival that got killed off. But I liked him too much and just added him to the trio. Sol needs all the help he can get with keeping Dory alive. So it all worked out.

Dory is a fighter! While she occasionally gets overwhelmed, we never find her defeated even though her life has been completely upended. (I hope I could muster a fraction of her chutzpah in her situation.) How do you think you would fare in her boots?
I’d have been killed immediately trying to pet all the dinosaurs. If the Biwbans wanted me to survive, they’d have to assign a team of Sankado to watch me round-the-clock so I didn’t run off to explore. All bets are off on an alien planet. Survival is secondary, I need to see if the pterodactyl will let me ride on its back. It won’t, but that’s what the team of Sankado is for. 

If you were abducted by an alien species, what would you hope would be in your cargo pants pocket to help you once you landed?
Old Bay seasoning, a phone with the same solar-powered case [Dory] had so I could still listen to music, and a book on what plants are safe to eat so I don’t choke to death on a bad berry.

One of my favorite things about your books is that even when the characters are scared out of their mind or trying their best to survive, you have a way of defusing the moment with humor. (Hello, giant pink T. Rex who is allergic to soap bubbles.) Why are humor and camp such important elements in your books?
Life sucks and then you die. May as well laugh about it.

Okay, I have to ask: Our trio finds themselves in a very sexy situation while riding on the backs of two large dinosaurs—and yet, they don’t fall off! How did you go about diagramming this scene while writing?
I imagine parasaurolophus run with a very smooth gait. No, I do not have any research to back that up. 

I love hearing who my favorite authors are reading: Who is someone you want to make sure is on our radar in 2025?
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell was my favorite read [last] year. I’m hoping he’s got more on the way for 2025. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea is a close second!

What’s next for you?
I’m in the middle of writing the second book in this series now. After that, I’ll probably go back to fantasy for a while. My readers have been very patient waiting for the next Mead Mishaps book, and it’s about time I gave it to them.

Alien Romance This or That:

Horns or Tail?
Horns no question. 

Your Planet or Theirs?
Earth? In THIS economy? Theirs.

Wings or Hoofs?
Wings. I imagine hooves would be hell on my hardwood floors

Fire or Poisonous Saliva?
Fire. Poisonous Saliva would probably stain my pillows or something.

Pink T. Rex or Giant Frog?  
Pink T. Rex. I WILL befriend her and she WILL let me ride around on her back.

Photo of Kimberly Lemming © Kimberly Lemming.

Kimberly Lemming’s sci-fi romance starts with an alien abduction and only gets wilder from there.
RomanceFantasy Romance

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com

Review by Katie Garaby

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com (say that three times fast) is a steamy and adventurous alien rom-com by Kimberly Lemming, who has been charming readers with her campy and humorous books since her Mead Mishaps fantasy romance series went viral. Lemming’s fans are sure to love this utterly hilarious and ridiculously sexy start to a new series.

Dorothy “Dory” Valentine is working on her Ph.D. in wildlife biology when she is attacked by a lion in the field. Fear not! Dory is quickly saved—or rather—abducted by aliens. On the spaceship, Dory and the lion forge an unlikely alliance and commandeer an escape pod, only to crash-land on a planet filled with massive dinosaurs. Dory and Toto (the name she gives the lion) are aided when they land by an extremely hot alien, Sol. As they travel in this new world, they also run into a charming and dangerously sexy ex-warlord named Lok. While they battle prehistoric animals and fight off the primal lust they feel for one another, the group learns more and more about what brought them to the mysterious planet. Though this world isn’t what she expected, Dory can’t help but wonder if she really wants to go back to Earth at all.

Kimberly Lemming’s pretty sure she’d be killed by a dinosaur if she got abducted.

This book is a trip. What is so fun about reading a Lemming book is that you just never know what she is going to do next. Not exactly in regards to her plotting—readers will find all the well-loved rom-com beats here—but with all the eccentric, small flourishes. One of the best bits in the book is that instead of her having a language chip or a translation device, Dory’s alien captors seem to have done something to her saliva: She just has to kiss everyone and then they can understand one another. This leads to a hilarious existential crisis for a massively oversized frog, who was wholly unprepared to be able to communicate with humanoids. In another funny moment, when a massive pink T. Rex is chasing them, Dory uses some shampoo to blow bubbles at the creature and make it have a sneezing fit. Amid this hilarity, Lemming’s three romantic leads are building rapport and falling in love. This trio is a funny mix of personality and ego, and in the beginning, it isn’t clear what we’re meant to make of their relationship. (Do they really have feelings for one another or is it the mating serum they’ve all been hit with?) But this book is so much fun that you won’t really worry about what brought them together, only that they stay together and have lots of hot, steamy encounters (like one notable scene that takes place while they’re riding a dinosaur through the jungle). What a delight it must be inside Lemming’s brain.

Buckle up, y’all. I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com is a wild and silly ride that’s sure to tickle your funny bone and also get you hot under the collar.

Mead Mishaps author Kimberly Lemming’s first sci-fi romance is a wild, silly and steamy ride.
RomanceContemporary Romance

The Broposal

Review by Katie Garaby

The sweetest sparks fly when childhood friends agree to a marriage of convenience for the sake of a green card in The Broposal, the charming adult debut from Sonora Reyes, author of acclaimed YA novels The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School and The Luis Ortega Survival Club.

Alejandro (Han) and Kenny met in second grade during a contentious game of dodgeball, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. No one is surprised when they announce their engagement. In fact, most of their friends and family think it’s about time they made it official. The thing is, Han and Kenny are faking the whole thing so that Han can get a green card and become a U.S. citizen. If Han is going to fake marry anyone, it might as well be his lifelong bestie, who knows him better than anyone else. Sweet, sensitive Kenny would do anything to help his friend, and if it helps Han get over his toxic ex, Jackie, then all the better. But soon their fake relationship begins to feel all too real. With all their friends and family rooting for them, can these two bros dodge threats from the vengeful Jackie and immigration officers and make it down the altar for real?

Reyes doesn’t shy away from infusing this rom-com with very real and terrifying stakes. (Sensitive readers should consider reading the list of triggers in the Author’s Note.) On one hand, it is a complete delight to watch Han and Kenny dance around each other, completely oblivious to their true feelings and fooling no one but themselves. They adopt a cactus together, co-parent an adorable dog and support each other at every turn. Despite all of this, there is an almost constant hum of unease in the background, as their happiness is on shaky ground thanks to forces outside their control. While this worked for most of the narrative, at times it overwhelmed the story, since the odds against Han and Kenny are almost insurmountable. With Jackie as an almost cartoonish villain threatening their happiness at every turn (“Jackie” may replace “Karen” as a generic placeholder for horrible white women committed to being the worst), the additional threat that ICE presents to Han every time he leaves his house and a few other obstacles I won’t spoil, Han and Kenny do not have an easy road to happiness. But Reyes understands that queer joy is important: Even if we have to wait till the very last pages, their characters are going to get that hard-won HEA. Throughout The Broposal, Reyes effectively conveys the deep love that their characters have shared since they were young. So despite moments when everything feels bleak, that love is still palpable, and it’s clear that these two sweethearts are going to make it.

Fans of Reyes’ previous work will be excited for their adult debut and the chance for more from this talented author.

In their adult debut, Sonora Reyes infuses a rom-com with real and terrifying stakes.
RomanceHistorical Romance

Time and Tide

Review by Katie Garaby

Unceremoniously dumped at the airport on her way to a European vacation with her girlfriend, Sam throws caution to the wind and goes anyway. But the plane experiences a mysterious rip in space and time, and crash-lands in 1805. The only survivor, Sam is rescued by a dashing naval captain, Fenton “Finch” Goodenough. Sam decides to pursue the captain for protection (what she refers to as a “safety bang”) until she can figure out how to get home. But once on land, Sam realizes Finch is not only engaged, but owes a horrible nobleman money and has agreed to betroth her to his debtor to settle his financial woes. With all the gumption of a 21st-century woman, Sam flees the wedding, throws herself on the mercy of Finch’s sisters and resigns herself to a quiet life as a tutor. However, one of said sisters is none other than Margaret Goodenough, an aspiring author who will write the first-ever lesbian kiss in British literature—and whom Sam finds increasingly alluring.

The historical romance subgenre has a rich tradition of defying expectations (and historical accuracy) in favor of a bonkers plot twist. True to form, the plot of J.M. Frey’s Time and Tide is a lot to take in: Some of it is fun, if often silly, and the bones of the story are solid. Frey expertly sets up a classic, time-traveling romance with a refreshing queer twist. Sam is incredibly resourceful and smart, stumbling through the unimaginable with admirable resilience. She’s doing her best to survive, but she’s a brash and outspoken modern woman in Regency England. And so, she constantly finds herself unintentionally overstepping, oversharing and occasionally hurting others’ feelings. 

Unfortunately, the central romantic relationship is not as developed . Despite the captain’s eventual betrayal, Finch and Sam’s chemistry is palpable and exciting, whereas the energy between Margaret and Sam feels more tepid and prim. There is little spark between them, and it’s disappointing when Frey closes the metaphorical door after Sam shifts her attention from Finch to Margaret. Why is there explicit, on-page sex between Finch and Sam, but then only vague descriptions of Sam and Margaret’s more amorous moments? They are the couple readers are supposed to root for, but in order to fully do that, we would need to see more passion, love and commitment between them. 

Time and Tide by J.M. Frey isn’t perfect, but it’s still a lot of fun, and it’s wonderful to see a time-travel romance embrace queer love.

J.M. Frey’s sapphic romance Time and Tide is a weird and wild time-travel story that embraces queer love.
RomanceParanormal Romance

Lightning in Her Hands

Review by Katie Garaby

In Lightning in Her Hands, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland returns to the small town of Cranberry, Virginia, and the fascinating Flores women she introduced in Witch of Wild Things. This time, Gilliland focuses on the mercurial Teal Flores as she embarks on a friends-to-lovers romance.

Teal has a magical gift, as all the Flores women do: She can alter the weather depending on her mood. But ever since her mother pinched a piece of her gift as a child before skipping town, Teal’s power has been unpredictable and uncontrollable. To fix her gift, she’ll probably have to find her long-lost mother, who unfortunately has a magical knack for hiding. A more pressing problem is that Teal doesn’t have a date to her ex’s wedding, but there’s an obvious, very hot solution for that: her longtime best friend, Carter Vasquez. If only Carter hadn’t decided a year ago, after a steamy, one-time-only make-out session, that he was done pining after Teal. They haven’t spoken since, but what does Teal have to lose in asking?

As it turns out, Carter needs Teal, too. To gain his inheritance from his recently deceased grandmother, he has to find a wife. So the two strike a bargain: They’ll pretend to get married, with Carter taking Teal to her ex’s wedding and giving her a cut of his inheritance. But what starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement quickly turns into a love that can withstand any storm.

Building on a rich history of magical realism, Gilliland has crafted a family of strong but wounded women whose stories we crave and whose happiness we root for. The Flores sisters are a captivating trio, each with their own unique talents. While Teal is the main focus of this book, Sage (the heroine of Witch of Wild Things) and Sky are an integral part of her story. Lightning in Her Hands builds beautifully upon Witch of Wild Things, highlighting the importance of family and the strength of sisterly love, and will leave readers looking forward to Sky’s turn at the helm. But before we get there, we can savor this perfectly executed friends-to-lovers romance. Carter is an excellent foil for Teal: steady and even-keeled, someone who has always seen her worth. The love and attraction they have for each other is palpable, and we know it’s only a matter of time before they realize it, too.

Lush and beautifully written, Lightning in Her Hands is a gorgeous novel full of heart, magic and family.

Read our review of the audiobook of Lightning in Her Hands.

Lightning in Her Hands is a gorgeous friends-to-lovers romance that builds beautifully upon author Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s debut, Witch of Wild Things.
RomanceParanormal Romance

Rules for Ghosting

Review by Katie Garaby

Shelly Jay Shore’s tenderhearted debut, Rules for Ghosting, is equal parts ghost story, Jewish family epic and achingly sweet queer love story. With great care placed on each of these components, Shore has gifted readers with a haunting tale full of grief, joy and desire. 

From the time that Ezra Friedman was young, he was able to see dead people. This wouldn’t be a problem for some, but growing up in a funeral home made it all a bit more complicated. From his grandfather’s ghost giving him judgmental glares when Ezra transitioned, to the never-ending influx of spectral strangers that appeared while families grieved, there seemed to be no escape. It only made sense that when it came time to choose a profession of his own, Ezra ran to the opposite end of the life cycle and became a doula. But when his dream job falls through and his mom runs away with the rabbi’s wife, Ezra finds himself right back at the family business, trying to pick up the pieces. This time, however, a very cute volunteer usher named Jonathan seems to be making eyes at Ezra. Things in that area seem promising—until Jonathan’s deceased husband, Ben, starts showing up. Can Ezra hold his family together, save the business and keep his heart from breaking into pieces? Only time will tell. 

Rules for Ghosting is for romance readers who like their stories with an undercurrent of sadness; think Anita Kelly or Ashley Poston. Ezra and Jonathan are both actively grieving: Ezra the loss of a job and his parents’ marriage, while Jonathan is only a year out from the loss of Ben. Both try to put one foot in front of the other while finding happiness in everyday joys like queer family dinner and sloppy kisses from Ezra’s pitbull. These small moments of humor and brevity bring lightness to a book that otherwise deals with many of life’s difficult trials. Shore takes her time with the central love story, choosing to focus at first on building out Ezra’s friend group and setting up his chaotic family dynamic. It’s nearly halfway through the book before Ezra and Jonathan do more than cast flirty glances at each other or have a passing conversation. But worry not: Shore more than makes up for that restraint in the second half of the book.

A gentle love story with a beautiful, queer, Jewish relationship at its center, Rules for Ghosting will make you laugh and make you cry, maybe even at the same time.

A gentle, ghostly love story with a queer Jewish relationship at its center, Rules for Ghosting will make you laugh and make you cry, maybe even at the same time.
RomanceContemporary Romance

The Pairing

Review by Katie Garaby

In Casey McQuiston’s The Pairing, two former flames, one food-and-wine tour across Europe and an unhinged hookup competition make for a delicious and decadent queer romance. 

In their nearly two decades of friendship, Kit and Theo have been many things to each other: childhood besties, first crushes, romantic partners and now, estranged exes. After a devastating breakup four years ago, mid-flight to the European foodie tour of their dreams, neither has heard a single word from the other. Theo has found their groove as a bartender and aspiring sommelier, Kit graduated from pastry school in France and both have left a wake of lovers in their path. With a month left before the voucher for the trip they never took expires, Kit and Theo both rebook the tour—only to find that great minds think alike. But time heals all wounds and both characters are completely over each other. So much so that when Theo makes a bet with Kit on who can hook up with their hot Italian tour guide first, it feels like a perfectly reasonable thing to accept. And heck, why not go all out with a full-on hookup competition? But as this “friendly” competition heats up, Theo and Kit find it hard to ignore what they’re really craving.

Two exes actively hooking up with other people doesn’t exactly sound like the traditional road to a Happily Ever After. But The Pairing is what happens when an immensely talented and much-beloved author levels up. McQuiston deftly crafts a complex love story, one that not just any writer could pull off, and the result is testament to their talent. The care Kit and Theo have for each other is clearly evident, manifesting in the tender way they handle their day-to-day travels together and discussion of their competition. While they may be actively sleeping with other people, they are never far from the other’s thoughts: In one particularly sexy scene, Theo and Kit find themselves on adjoining patios with their lovers, apart but together, the sounds they know so well fueling them towards their finish. Theo and Kit’s relationship is delightfully queer and nontraditional, playing with gender roles in and out of the bedroom, so it makes sense that their path back to each other would be similarly unconventional.

A Bacchanalian romp from Monaco to Pisa to Paris, The Pairing is best accompanied by a Campari spritz and a cornetto alla marmellata di albicocche, ideally whilst seated in a little Italian cafe. But regardless of the location, you will devour this book with unbridled gusto.

A bacchanalian romp from Monaco to Pisa to Paris, The Pairing is a testament to Casey McQuiston’s talent.
RomanceHistorical Romance

The Mistress Experience

Review by Katie Garaby

In The Mistress Experience, the final chapter of Scarlett Peckham’s wildly fun Society of Sirens series, courtesan Thais Magdalene brings the fight for women’s rights to her bedroom and winds up finding her very own happily ever after. 

The infamous Thais fetches a pretty penny for a single night in her bed and sees no customer twice. And so to raise enough money to finally open a women’s institute, she and her fellow activists who make up the Society of Sirens decide to auction off a month-long engagement of her services. Lord Alastair Eden, who bids on Thais by proxy to ensure his privacy, is the lucky winner. Confident in nearly all aspects of his life except for the bedroom, Alastair wants Thais to teach him how to please his future wife. Neither of them expect to develop feelings. (Do they ever?) But Alastair finds bawdy, kind Thais surprisingly charming, and Thais finds much to admire in the shy, proper nobleman. Is their attraction strong enough for them to defy society’s expectations—not to mention their own ideas of what they deserve and where their duty lies? 

Peckham is known for her nontraditional heroines, and has never wasted time trying to fit her leading ladies into a neat and tidy happy ending. (Think open marriages and paramours who live in separate houses.) Thais’ pursuit of a more traditional HEA involving marriage and children might therefore initially come as a surprise to readers. But Peckham stresses that these supposedly conventional choices have always felt out of reach for Thais, who started working in a brothel at 9 and was first auctioned off by age 14. Although Thais hasn’t lacked attention from men, she has lacked kindness, care and being seen for more than what she can offer in the bedroom. Thais and Alastair are perfect foils for each other, and it is such a joy to watch her needle the prudish lord. In one early scene, Alastair cooks for Thais, and it’s so sweet that it’s hard to not be a complete pile of goo by the end. This book is full of similar loving, simple acts of kindness (but is also still so very sexy), and readers will undoubtedly fall hard for both main characters.

The Mistress Experience is a sparkling conclusion to an already dazzling series. I only wish we had more sirens to look forward to.

A romance between a bawdy courtesan and the shy nobleman who wins a month with her, The Mistress Experience is a sparkling conclusion to an already dazzling series.
RomanceContemporary Romance

Out on a Limb

Review by Katie Garaby

Filled with fun tropes, disability representation modeled after the author’s own experience and beautiful writing, Out on a Limb is a love story so sweet you want to squeal with glee. Originally self-published, Hannah Bonam-Young’s lovable rom-com is a must-read gift to the genre. 

Winnifred “Win” McNulty is used to forging her own path. Not one to tolerate being coddled for her limb difference, Win has spent most of her life trying to prove to everyone around her that she can make it just fine on her own, thank you very much. But that all changes one very steamy night at her best friend’s annual Halloween bash, when Win hops into bed with the very handsome Bo. Caught up in the moment, they rely on Win’s irregular use of birth control and find themselves facing a surprise pregnancy. Bo recently lost the lower part of one of his legs to cancer (he’s now in remission), and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to have children. So he’s elated at the news, shocked but genuinely excited. Meanwhile, Win decides to view her pregnancy as a way to level up into adulthood after spending her 20s flailing. The two plan to navigate pregnancy and parenthood as friends only, because that’s what good, responsible future caretakers would do. But if Win and Bo have learned anything, it’s that things rarely go according to plan. 

Here is my romance hot take, the absolute hill I will die on: I love a surprise pregnancy. That’s right, I said it. Out on a Limb perfectly deploys this tricky, often unpopular trope with two of the best main characters a reader could ask for. All the while, Bonam-Young winks at the reader, letting us know not to worry since Win and Bo secretly have big, tenderhearted feelings for each other. Both are softies who’ve had a bit of life thrown at them and, as a result, are scared of the possibility of a good thing. We watch them unlearn past hurts, often from time spent operating in an ableist society, and be seen for the very first time by a partner. It’s an incredible thing to bear witness to, and it makes for a powerful love story.

“Isn’t that all we ever want? To be seen and heard?” Win says at one point. “Validated, even when we’re not able to ask for it?” Out on a Limb allows readers to feel all of those things alongside its characters, and the romance world is better, kinder and more expansive for it.

Hannah Bonam-Young will make you a believer in the oft-loathed surprise pregnancy trope with Out on a Limb.
RomanceContemporary Romance

Funny Story

Review by Katie Garaby

Daphne and her fiancé had the perfect meet cute: On a windy day in a park, Peter chased down her hat. They fell in love, and moved back to his lakeside hometown of Waning Bay, Michigan. Everything was picture-perfect—until Peter’s bachelor party weekend, when he realized he was in love with his childhood best friend, Petra. And so Daphne finds herself adrift in a town where she knows basically no one, bearing witness to her ex-fiancé and his new fiancée’s disgusting displays of love. The only person who can understand her grief is Miles, Petra’s ex. Daphne proposes they become roommates, and soon, they hatch a scheme. What if they post some easy to misinterpret pictures and make Petra and Peter think they are together?

In our introduction to the leading couple of Emily Henry’s Funny Story, a frustrated Daphne is annoyed that Miles is listening to Jamie O’Neal’s “All By Myself” at top volume, stoned. It’s not exactly love at first sight, but they’re both deeply charming and relatable, showcasing Henry’s skill at crafting engaging yet realistic characters that immediately hook readers’ hearts. You want Daphne and Miles to heal. You want them to bump into their exes and make out so hard that everyone is a little uncomfortable. (But who cares! Peter and Petra should suffer!) Henry also expertly sidesteps the worry-inducing pitfalls of having a couple bound, at least initially, by grief. No one wants a happy ending undercut by the characters using each other as an emotional scratching post. Thankfully, Miles and Daphne’s relationship is simply one part of their individual healing journeys, not the entirety of them. With a supporting cast of helpful family and friends, meaningful and passionate purpose in their community and a little bit of therapy, all things are possible. The work they each put in on their own only makes the love story more satisfying. 

With her signature laugh-out-loud banter and flawed but lovable characters, Henry has created another novel that’s everything her readers have come to expect, without falling into predictable patterns. Funny Story is Emily Henry at her best.

Featuring laugh-out-loud banter and flawed but lovable characters, Funny Story is Emily Henry at her best.
RomanceContemporary Romance

The Prospects

Review by Katie Garaby

When beginning this review, I promised myself that I wouldn’t go overboard with baseball puns to describe just how wonderful KT Hoffman’s sports romance, The Prospects, is. Like “Hoffman hits it out of the park with his debut” or “Gene and Luis are the grand slam of relationships.” I tried my hardest, but damn if baseball doesn’t lend itself to describing the absolute home run that is this book.

As the first openly trans professional baseball player, Gene Ionescu is no stranger to hope and hard work. He thrives on it; and baseball loves an underdog. The minor league Beaverton Beavers are like a second family to him, and he feels safe and supported among his teammates. Until Luis Estrada, his former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers and suddenly all that Gene has built for himself feels threatened. At first, Gene and Luis can’t work together on or off the field. But a begrudging friendship blooms during long hours on the bus and intimate after-hours practices. As Gene and Luis find their stride, they gain the attention of the heavy hitters in the Major Leagues and see each other with fresh eyes. Had Gene never really noticed how sexy and kind Luis was? And does Luis really need to head to his own place when Gene’s apartment (and maybe Gene himself) feels like home? Soon their tenuous friendship gives way to tender new love. But with the Majors calling, the two must decide what they truly want, both from each other and their baseball careers.

The legendary Yankee catcher Yogi Berra is quoted as saying, “Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.” So what happens when a book mixes romance and America’s favorite pastime? You get the perfection that is The Prospects. I will be the first to admit that everything I learned about sports, I learned from sports romance novels. But as an expert on the genre, I can tell the difference between a writer who is just using a baseball diamond as a backdrop and a writer who loves the game so fiercely it almost outshines their love for the main characters. Hoffman is one of the latter. Every corner of this book shines, from the tender love of Gene and Luis to the charming found family that surrounds them and the game that brings them all together. The Prospects is about dreaming big, finding love and blowing the roof off simply by existing. It’s a debut so good it’s in a league of its own. (I’ll see myself out.)

KT Hoffman’s The Prospects is a perfect baseball romance that overflows with love for the sport and its main characters.
RomanceHistorical Romance

The Phoenix Bride

Review by Katie Garaby

The Phoenix Bride, Natasha Siegel’s stunning sophomore novel, is a breathtakingly beautiful novel about forbidden love in 17th-century London.

The year is 1666, one year after the bubonic plague wreaked havoc on London. Young widow Cecilia Thorowgood lost her husband, who was a childhood friend and a love match, to the disease. Without financial means of her own, Cecilia finds herself trapped in her sister’s home, deep in the throes of a paralyzing depression and hounded by a slew of doctors who try to cure it with scalpels and leeches. When Cecilia shows no signs of improvement, her sister decides to take the risk of hiring a foreign doctor. David Mendes is not only Portuguese, but also Jewish. He and his father recently immigrated to England, where they can publicly practice their faith. Their new home is a marked improvement from Portugal, but antisemitism still runs rampant. However, David and Cecilia form a friendship despite the social barriers between them, born out of their grief over the loss of loved ones. Cecilia deeply mourns her husband, and David has yet to move on from the death of Manuel, a friend whom he loved secretly for years. As the two begin to heal, they realize the love they have for each other is beyond anything they could have imagined. But is it enough to help them overcome seemingly insurmountable societal odds?

This book will break you open with its beautiful writing, and readers will find themselves wringing their hands, wondering how on earth David and Cecilia could ever be together. Siegel does not soften history to make it easier for her characters to find love, a popular tactic in other queer historical romances. Instead, she finds subtle ways for her characters to bend the rules while not outright disregarding them, allowing them to find their own happily ever after even though traditional markers like marriage remain out of reach. David and Cecilia’s victory feels realistic and hard won, pushing readers to reconsider what an HEA looks like. And while Seigel handles many heavy subjects in The Phoenix Bride such as grief, trauma, antisemitism and biphobia, the romance doesn’t feel weighed down by these issues. Cecilia is a darkly funny heroine and while David is a more serious foil for her, they have a charming ease with each other that creates lighter moments to balance the weightier aspects of the story.

The Phoenix Bride is a gorgeous romance about healing from trauma, making peace with grief and finding love where it doesn’t seem possible. This glorious follow-up to her debut, Solomon’s Crown, firmly establishes Seigel as a writer to watch.

Natasha Siegel’s beautifully written The Phoenix Bride pushes readers to reconsider what happily ever after looks like.
RomanceHistorical Romance

To Woo and to Wed

Review by Katie Garaby

Martha Waters’ fifth and final Regency Vows romance, To Woo and to Wed, ends the series on a high note. In this second-chance romance, Waters once again brings us into a world full of heat and charm, where love matches are plentiful and happily ever afters are guaranteed.

Life as a widow isn’t half-bad for Lady Sophie Bridewell. In fact, it’s quite freeing. She can spend her days in the library reading and eating French pastries to her heart’s content. Not too shabby! But when her sister Alexandra, who is also a widow, shares that she is being courted but doesn’t want to get married and leave Sophie alone, well, that just won’t do. A decade ago, she rejected her own true love, the Marquess of Weston, rather than jeopardize her sisters’ potential betrothals, and she refuses to let that sacrifice be for nothing. Instead, Sophie approaches West with a proposition: They’ll fake an engagement until Alexandra is married, then go their separate ways. This actually works out quite well for West, whose malevolent, meddling father has begun pushing him to marry. A fake engagement to the woman he loves—er, loved—should be easy. But as their “fake” feelings get more and more real, Sophie and West must work to leave the past behind and look towards the future.

In a Waters romance, friend groups are supportive and families are, for the most part, loving. (Parents even make sex jokes about their children’s love lives!) Regency novels are a very popular subgenre, especially after the success of “Bridgerton,” but Waters’ work is still exciting, fun and fresh. She twists the norms of the time to suit her own purposes and creates characters that feel shockingly contemporary. Sophie and West are some of her most endearing leads; you’d be hard pressed to find two people more worthy of love. The responsibility they believe they owe to their families and to each other constantly tugs them in different directions. Both are so deeply invested in being a noble martyr that, at a certain point, you just want to force them to sit down and talk instead of continuing to assume what’s best for each other. But isn’t that part of the fun and frustration (funstration? frun?) of reading romance? Watching two people dance around each other and feeling the tension build until they tear each other’s clothes off and bang until their problems are solved? Destiny is waiting for these two, if they can just get out of their own way.

To Woo and to Wed is a perfect ending to the Regency Vows series, solidifying its status as one of the most entertaining historical romance series on shelves today.

To Woo and to Wed is a perfect ending to the Regency Vows series, solidifying its status as one of the most entertaining historical romance series on shelves today.

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