Summertime is prime time for reading! Whether you’re poolside with a cool drink or soaking up the sun on a sandy beach, these romances will make great company for any reader. Whether you love British werewolves, wicked wagers or a mix of sugar and spice, we have three books that are sure to satisfy.

For fans of contemporary romance

In Zuri Day’s Sweet Heat, tensions run high as two cooks battle their attraction and each other on a televised cooking contest.

With $50,000 on the line, Marvin Carter and Naomi Carson have no desire to get friendly. Both have their own dreams of how they want to spend the prize money to advance their culinary careers, and falling in love doesn’t factor into their plans. But as the stakes become steadily higher for Marvin and Naomi, close quarters and fierce competition have a way of producing unexpected results. With meddling contestants and scenarios that require keeping cool under pressure, their romance is hard won but so worth it.

Family and food is at the center of this delicious contemporary romance. (Seriously, don’t read this romance while hungry.) Marvin and Naomi’s banter crackles with electricity. Neither one wants to show the first sign of weakness, but their flirtation comes so naturally. Naomi is a tour de force with her soul food cooking, but she knows early on that she needs to keep Marvin from being her ultimate distraction. But loyal, lovable Marvin is quite the keeper, and he creates the most amazing desserts. The competitive setting is an entertaining backdrop, keeping the main characters conflicted as their ambitions are pitted against finding love. Of course, who says you can’t have both?

Fans of cooking shows and foodie romances will devour Sweet Heat.

For fans of paranormal romance

Paige Tyler returns to her SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team series in Wolf Instinct, a romance between a werewolf in desperate need of answers and an FBI agent who is after things that go bump in the night.

SWAT werewolf Zane Kendrick and FBI agent Alyssa Carson are immediately attracted to one another when they cross paths during an investigation. There’s just one huge complication. Zane senses that Alyssa is his mate. Too bad that she hunts supernatural beings like him, and he isn’t sure she can see him as anything but a monster. Meanwhile, Alyssa is used to working alone. Teaming up with a partner is foreign to her, especially one who clearly isn’t a typical human.

Alyssa is an admirable, resilient and smart heroine as she investigates why several missing people have turned up dead and drained of blood. As her inquiries lead her to the hunky (and British!) Zane, she reluctantly agrees to join forces. Her own reservations about Zane are put aside in the face of finding this vicious attacker. Tyler’s pacing is perfect for relaxing in the summer sun, as the action keeps things effortlessly moving. While the thriller elements add a shot of adrenaline, the real conflict comes from whether Alyssa can accept Zane as a man and not a monster.

Wolf Instinct is a great choice for readers who love tough heroines and a romance that develops in the face of danger.

For fans of historical romance

A battle of wills ignites between a woman longing for adventure and a man hiding from the world in Say No to the Duke.

Betsy Wilde has resigned herself to playing the perfect lady. She’ll marry a respectable gentleman and abide by society’s rules, but before that, she just wants one taste of being a little less than proper. Lord Jeremy Roden has exiled himself to the Wilde family estate, Lindow Castle, after being offered solace by Betsy’s brother. While Jeremy contends with the difficulties he’s facing from war and his lingering PTSD, Betsy proves to be a perfect distraction. And when he gets wind that she’s after a bit of excitement before marriage, Jeremy makes a dangerous proposal over a game of billiards. If Betsy wins the game, Jeremy will help Betsy disguise herself as a man and let her experience things most women cannot. If he wins, Betsy must share the night with him. He doesn’t expect her to call his bluff, hoping to scandalize her with his suggestion.

This is another entertaining romp of a romance from New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James, but it also explores the deep insecurities of both Betsy and Jeremy. Betsy is still paying for her unfaithful mother’s shocking behavior. She’s unable to be herself, always living in her mother’s shadow. Torn between doing what’s expected of her as the eldest daughter and pursuing her own passions, Betsy worries her own happiness isn’t worth her family’s status. Jeremy is battling his own demons, hiding his genuine and sensitive nature behind rakish behavior.

James’ wit and wordplay has never been better in this lovely romance marked with tenderness, shining moments of emotional bravery and the central notion that girls just want to have fun.

Sweeping gestures of romance are timeless, as is Romancelandia’s fascination with Highlanders. This month, I’ve got two stellar romances. Both have Scots galore, Highlanders who fall hard for their loves, and both have grand, sweeping gestures.

Alyson McLayne takes us back to her popular Sons of Gregor MacLeod series about five boys fostered together to become brothers, who are destined to become Highland lairds. The fourth installment, Highland Captive, begins with Laird Gavin MacKinnon, callous and bitter in the aftermath of his son’s disappearance two years ago from an annual festival. He’s never given up hope of finding Ewan and is shocked to discover that the beautiful woman he meets at the market, Dierdre MacIntyre, is the woman who’s had his son for the last two and a half years. When he and his brothers go to collect Ewan, they decide to nab Dierdre at the same time and sort out the particulars later. But for Gavin, getting Ewan back is only the beginning. He’ll have to sort out his feelings for Dierdre during this complex, twisty story.

McLayne delivers a highly emotional, deeply satisfying tale of deceit and revenge, longing and loneliness, and ultimately of forgiveness and love. It’s a very fresh perspective in the world of Scottish Highland historicals.

Laura Trentham takes us forward in time to present-day Highland, Georgia, with her charming and sweet romance, A Highlander Walks Into a Bar. First in a new series, this book made me grin the whole time I read it. It’s comedic gold.

Things kick off with a harried Isabel Buchanan, who’s stretched to her limit navigating the Atlanta traffic to collect her mother, Rose, from the airport. (If you’ve ever driven in Atlanta, you will feel her pain.) Rose has been in Scotland doing research while Izzy’s been focused on planning the town’s annual Highland festival. And Rose’s trip was a resounding success, as evidenced by the six-foot-tall souvenir she brought home, Gareth Connors.

Alasdair Blackmoor is a risk manager and former risk-taker who’s come to the deep South to collect his Uncle Gareth and save him from the American tart he’s taken up with. As it turns out, Rose isn’t much of a tart, but her daughter Izzy is definitely captivating to Alasdair.

There’s a bit of a fish out of water tale here, mixed with an opposites-attract angle that caught and held my attention to the very end. Trentham’s casual, inviting writing is wonderful, showcasing her clever wit in every turn of phrase. The attraction between Izzy and Alasdair has great, natural chemistry, and while Rose and Gareth are secondary characters, I really enjoyed their romance as well. It was nice to see 50-somethings giggle and fret on their journey to love. This isn’t a fast-paced race to the finish line. Slow down and savor it.

Some say that girls just want to have fun, but fun backed by a hefty bank account is on a whole other level. Whether you’re a historical romance reader or prefer something a bit more contemporary, these two heroines are determined to take control of their lives—and with the privilege of wealth, the sky’s the limit.

Laura Lee Guhrke returns to her Dear Lady Truelove series with an heiress ready to find a husband and the stuffy guardian determined to reign in her reckless behavior in Heiress Gone Wild.

Jonathan Deverill made a vow to a dying friend that he’d become the guardian to his daughter, Marjorie. When he goes to collect the young woman from school in New York, he is shocked to find an adult and not some pink-cheeked runt of a girl. Eager to spend her inheritance and to make up for all the lost time spent secluded at a finishing school, Marjorie McGann hopes Jonathan will steer her away from any suspected fortune hunters but still give her a proper London season.

The couple butts heads quite often, as Marjorie’s carefree and oftentimes wild behavior scandalizes the buttoned-up Brit. Marjorie uses her flighty personality to mask her grief at having lost her father. She had hoped for a touching reunion, but loneliness quickly sets in. Her father is gone and the only thing she has to show for it is money. No memories. No adventures. She wants to rectify that and readers will be eager to see her succeed in finding happiness. Jonathan is tougher to like, given his closed off and at times snooty attitude. But romance fans who love stories with brazen heroines urging their heroes to let loose will find a winner in Guhrke’s setup.

After a frothy and bubbly start, Heiress Gone Wild quickly deepens into a tender tale of reclaiming lives half-lived.

In a more contemporary tale of escapism, Love on Lexington Avenue follows a young widow in uptown New York City as she clashes with a rugged contractor.

Claire Hayes is struggling to cope with the death of her husband, mainly because she just discovered he was a serial cheater and that certainly doesn’t mix well with grief. Now she’s ready to clean house and gut her Upper East Side brownstone in an effort to redefine herself following a tragedy and betrayal all in one. Unfortunately, contractor Scott Turner has the impression that Claire is nothing but a spoiled socialite who married for money.

Everyone knows that home renovations never go smoothly and as the complications pile up, so does Claire and Scott’s chemistry. These opposites definitely attract and in an attempt to the cool the building tension, they agree to a temporary, no-strings-attached affair. (That never works out well in romance.) Inevitably feelings get involved and the gruff, blue-collar, flannel-wearing contractor isn’t satisfied with having Claire in just the bedroom.

The emphasis on female friendship is a lovely bonus in Love on Lexington Avenue and the entire Central Park Pact series. It’s a great example of women supporting women through ups and downs and feels very reminiscent of “Sex and the City,” if that’s your jam. Author Lauren Layne is a master at sexy banter and funny dialogue. Add in some girl power and a man who knows his way around his power tools, and this one is a real winner.

Take your coziness to the next level with three new historical romances that’ll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, inside and out.

Anyone but a Duke
In Anyone but a Duke by Betina Krahn, the quiet of a country estate is shattered when its mysterious owner returns to find a troublesome American woman managing its grounds.

Sarah Bumgarten has had it with the London aristocracy after being publicly rejected and has sworn off arrogant, titled men. Her only recourse is to lick her wounds in private at the Betancourt estate. The owner, the sibling of her brother-in-law, is presumed dead, and Sarah is grateful for the distraction of rehabbing the grounds.

But things quickly go awry when Arthur “Art” Michael Randolph Graham, the definitely not-dead owner of Betancourt, arrives injured on Sarah’s doorstep. It takes a village in despair and a greedy band of thieves for Sarah and Art to realize that the only way they can solve their problems and restore Betancourt to its former glory is to do it together.

Krahn’s subtle, insightful writing creates wonderfully tender scenes between the main characters. But don’t be fooled by the mischievous coterie of animals or the bucolic setting—Sarah and Art are survivors. The romance unfolds slowly and sweetly, with both Art and Sarah healing their emotional and physical wounds through love and understanding.

Forever and a Duke
Grace Burrowes puts a gender-swapped, historical spin on a “beauty and the geek” premise in Forever and a Duke.

Eleanora Hatfield hides behind numbers. Math makes sense, and she’s good at it. Of course, her workaholic behavior and all-business, no-nonsense attitude have absolutely nothing to do with the past she’d prefer to keep hidden. But when her abilities are recommended to the Duke of Elsmore, Wrexham “Rex” Dorset, she frets at leaving the safety and comfort of her bank job, though she’s not in a position to refuse.

Rex dearly loves his family, especially his sisters, and with so many accounts to run and lands to oversee, no one can blame him for being a little scatterbrained. With his sisters approaching the age to be wed, he realizes he needs to get his affairs in order, and Eleanora comes highly recommended.

And then Rex falls head over heels in love. He admires Eleanora’s knack with numbers, and while Eleanora may also be developing a crush, she knows a future together is nonexistent. Forever and a Duke is a lovely romance with a hero unabashedly embracing the feelings he has for the heroine (it is the sweetest thing) and the heroine doing everything she can to not fall madly in love with him. File this one under fun, flirty and just a little nerdy.

The Princess Plan
A Cinderella story between a privileged prince and a snarky spinster gets the royal treatment in Julia London’s The Princess Plan.

Sebastian is the crown prince of the fictional kingdom of Alucia, and he has a lot on his shoulders. He needs to broker a trade agreement with England, find an English wife to bolster the countries’ alliance and catch the person responsible for murdering his best friend. It’s, well . . . a lot. What he doesn’t need is a women’s gossip magazine spreading rumors and false accusations.

Enter Eliza Tricklebank: a judge’s daughter, co-publisher of Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies, a repairer of fine clocks and the largest thorn in Sebastian’s side.

Eliza and Sebastian’s quippy banter is just a means of foreplay. They’re well-matched in terms of intelligence and personality, despite the glaring disparity in their titles. Eliza is a wonderfully feminist heroine whose actions are always punctuated with a scathing one-liner or wry observation. And Sebastian . . . sweet Sebastian! He is a true romantic hero, who loves Eliza wholly and completely as she is.

Steeped in fairy-tale elements—a prince, a ball, a crown—The Princess Plan is a sparkling introduction to a new series by London.