★ Yin Yang Love Song
Lauren Kung Jessen offers a thoughtful and unique contemporary romance with Yin Yang Love Song. Set on Washington’s Whidbey Island, the book centers on Chrysanthemum Hua Williams, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and a self-proclaimed “heartbreak herbalist.” After meeting Vin and Leo Chao, a pair of famous rock cellists, Chryssy invites them to her family’s healing retreat to help Leo overcome a bad break-up. Cue rabid fans of the Chao Brothers assuming Vin and Chryssy are in a relationship, which the pair not-so-reluctantly embraces in order to promote their individual work. Faux quickly feels real, even though neither believes themself capable of lasting love—but it’s clear that Vin and Chryssy are romantics at heart. Chryssy’s large family (many of whom believe they are cursed to never find love) and fascinating glimpses of TCM fill out this story, which begs to be read with a cup of relaxing herbal tea. Jessen’s evocative descriptions of flowers, acupuncture and music weave their way through the narrative, adding even more to enjoy.
The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall
Romance struggles to overcome horror in J. Ann Thomas’ creepy, shiver-inducing The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall. Elegy Thorne has resigned herself to the dictates of her father: wearing historical clothing, agreeing to an arranged engagement and being bound to her ancestral home and its 14 resident ghosts. That is, until handsome Atticus Hart arrives to work on some much-needed repairs. Their immediate spark of attraction makes Elegy wonder what could be . . . but her daily encounters with the sometimes-genial and sometimes-malevolent spirits remind her why she must stay at Thorne Hall to keep them under control. Atticus soon learns the truth of her predicament, and with him and other friends at hand, Elegy decides to break the chains of old promises, even though it puts her life and the lives of those she loves at risk. Unforeseen secrets and gruesome spookiness abound.
Strike and Burn
The compelling opening scene of Taylor Hutton’s Strike and Burn is the opposite of a meet-cute: Standing beside the corpse of her dead sister in the local morgue, Honor Stone encounters undeniably sexy Strike Madden. They spar, they quip, they kiss. Purely due to the highly emotional situation, Honor tells herself afterward. But when Strike finds her at her boutique, the part-time artist can’t dismiss him, even as palpable threats hover over the burgeoning relationship. Strike is rich but mysterious, emotionally available yet secretive. Then there’s the terrifying presence of her sister’s former boyfriend—likely her murderer—who now wants Honor for his own. Hutton’s burning-hot sex scenes torch the pages, and the hallmark of the best dark romances emerges from the smoke: morally ambiguous characters whom readers will root for despite their deep flaws and violent tendencies. Strike and Burn is a can’t-look-away read.
Out of the Woods
In Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young, Sarah and Caleb Linwood seek to rejuvenate their marriage at a couples wilderness retreat. Told in Sarah’s first-person point of view, with flashbacks to give context to the present, this romance delves into a 17-year relationship that hasn’t grown as the characters—who married as teens—matured. The camping and hiking is a frame for the exploration of the marriage, and also adds humor for the outdoor-averse pair. Bonam-Young writes with an upbeat and irreverent contemporary voice that keeps the pace moving and the sex scenes sizzling as the two persevere to find new happiness. Grief and loss are at the center of this romance, which will surely touch readers’ hearts (as will glimpses of the Happily Ever After of characters from Bonam-Young’s previous novel, Out on a Limb).
Zoe Brennan, First Crush
A small, family-owned winery in Georgia is the stage for Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper Lee. Lonely and stressed, the titular character and narrator participates in a blindfolded but otherwise little-left-to-the-imagination threesome with two other women. The unexpected and explosive passion turns to near-panic when Zoe discovers she’s just had an incredibly hot hookup with her ex-BFF’s big sister and her own teenage crush, Laine Woods. The awkwardness only escalates when she finds out that Laine has been hired as the vintner at Zoe’s floundering vineyard. Cue scenes of struggling to keep things professional, of longing looks and lustful thoughts interspersed with glimpses of the grape-growing and wine-making process. Zoe’s romantic history is dismal and she’s protected her heart since the loss of her mother, but Laine could maybe change all that. A big event that will mean success or failure for the winery, as well as for Laine’s reputation, ups the stakes as these two fall in bed and then in love. There’s a Tolkienesque wedding and a cast of raucous friends to add hijinks to this lovely—and libidinous—romance.
