Summer may be slowly coming to an end but that means now it's truly romance book season.
After all, what says romance more than new beginnings in September, wintery evenings in November and cosy coffee dates?
I may pretend to hate romance in real life but when it comes to my books, it's all I read – my tropes of choice include friends to lovers, sports, and second chances.
So here are the books I'm devouring this fall from first time authors to award winners.
It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram
Publication date: September 2
A spicy second chance romance set in Milan and featuring a lot of gelato? Our passports are ready.
It Had To Be Him follows Ramin who, after being dumped by his boyfriend for being too boring Ramin, takes a spontaneous trip to Milan where he runs into his high school crush, Noah, who he hasn’t seen in 15 years.
Noah has just gone through his own divorce but is on the trip with his ex-wife and their children, and can't believe he keeps bumping into Rahim.
But can these two overcome their own insecurities and bring their holiday romance back home?
Wild Card by Elsie Silver
Publication date: September 9
Elsie Silver is back with the final installment in her Rose Hill series, taking readers into the lives of small-town America.
In Wild Card, Gwen falls hard for fire pilot Sebastian “Bash” Rousseau - the problem? He's her ex-boyfriend's father.
A missed connection kept them apart and now a second chance brings them back together, but will they perform the ultimate betrayal to find love?
It's Different This Time by Joss Richards
Publication date: September 30
In Joss Richard's brilliant debut novel, a twist of fate brings two former roommates back to their New York City brownstone after a mysterious email lands in their inboxes.
Turns out, in four weeks' time when the paperwork is finalized, June and Adam will own the multimillion-dollar property after a clause in the former owner’s will.
But as the New York streets fall from summer into winter, and the pair share meals and conversations and sparks, they work through the unfinished business that led to them not speaking for five years, and realize that second chances give opportunities for things to be different.
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles
Publication date: 7 October
Award winning queer romance and murder mystery author KJ Charles is back, three weeks before Halloween, with All of Us Murderers, a gothic drama full of romantic tension, envy and dread.
Part murder mystery, part love story, and 100% unapologetically queer, All of Us Murderers follows two estranged lovers who become trapped at an old-money estate haunted by apparitions, a menacing mist – and a frenzied inheritance game they have to play to escape.
Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
Publication date: October 21
B.K. Borison is known for cozy contemporary stories but fall also brings Halloween, and BK is diving into the paranormal with this adorable and magical whimsical romance.
Nolan Callahan is the Ghost of Christmas Past and because of the nature of his job, he's lonely.
But things start looking up when Nolan agrees to help antiques dealer Harriet York sort out her own past, until the pair realize there is no chance of a future together.
With their Christmas deadline approaching, will they work through their past, stay in the present or find hope in the future?
Some Kind Of Famous by Ava Wilder
Publication date: October 28
Ava Wilder throws you right into the middle of the action in Some Kind Of Famous before then slowly taking you into the complicated life of musician Merritt Valentine whose career ended after a very public breakdown.
It can be disorientating at first, but stick with the first few chapters, because once you're invested in Merritt and Nikolaos Petrakis, the local – and hot – handyman who is helping to renovate her home in the sleepy Colorado ski town of Crested Peak, Some Kind of Famous is a real and raw story of healing emotional wounds while falling in love.
