Dolly R. Sickles

If I had to sum up Kerry Winfrey’s new contemporary romance Not Like the Movies in one word, it would be charming.

Chloe Sanderson is an optimistic, klutzy, hopeful ball of positivity, and reading from her perspective is the perfect nightcap to a long, arduous day. The caregiver for her father, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, romantic comedy movies are Chloe’s escape. But her best friend has just written a rom-com that’s inspired by her. On the surface, this seems fun and flattering, but in reality, it sets an untenable expectation for a happily ever after, because the guy in the movie who gets the girl based on Chloe is an obvious fictionalization of Nick Velez, Chloe’s boss at the coffee shop where they work—and in real life, they’re just colleagues who wonder “what if,” but never follow through. The stress of seeing their on-screen HEA is seriously anxiety inducing.

Nick is a quiet introvert who’s sweet and kind, and he’s thoroughly supportive of Chloe. He’s much more serious than Chloe, and less carefree, but fortunately, opposites attract. Unfortunately, Chloe’s life is maxed out with responsibilities and he repeatedly gets swept up in her chaos. When she says life is too risky to take a chance on a relationship, he sticks around and reminds her of why it’s so important to leave her comfort zone.

They say it’s bad to meet your celebrity crush, because the reality never lives up to the fantasy. Chloe and Nick are forced to face their own fantasy in film form, and it’s a scary prospect. But Winfrey has built in all of the charming things that make rom-coms addictive: richly developed characters, a deep pool of supportive friends, awkward situations, goofy reactions, missed opportunities, big misunderstandings and grand gestures. This romance is slow building, but the journey is a delight.

Andie J. Christopher’s latest contemporary romance, Not the Girl You Marry, is a gender-swapped, millennial revamp of rom-com classic How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. But in this modern era of enlightened and equitable partners, the lovers’ tactics of sabotage  stem from heavy personal baggage. Their ruse nearly gets away from them before they can get their hearts back on track.

Jack Nolan is a journalist at an internet media company who’s trying to get into harder hitting assignments, and Hannah Mayfield is an event planner at a prestigious firm who’s trying to prove she’s got the chops to move into the major leagues—weddings. Jack’s niche is How-To articles, and because he’s handsome, he has become the pretty face of the company. His boss is of the opinion that political reporters are a dime a dozen, so he encourages Jack to write a How-To article on how to get a girl—by showing readers the things that would make you lose her. But the problem is, Jack genuinely likes Hannah. And when Hannah has an opportunity to climb her corporate ladder by proving she could date someone for more than two weeks and thus understand the wedding market, she sweeps Jack along for the ride.

I enjoyed the portrayal of the struggles Hannah faces as a biracial woman, and many readers will see themselves in Christopher’s heroine. But I did find myself wishing that Jack and Hannah had struggled a little more in the beginning of their relationship rather than jumping into an instant attraction and regard for one another. Despite this flaw in believability, Christopher’s story comes full-circle and hits home when the truth is unveiled, because no healthy or lasting relationship can be built on lies.

There’s a lot of angst in this story about 20-something-year-old professionals, and if Cher had been either of their bosses she would’ve told them to just “snap out of it,” but don’t let the relative immaturity of the main couple turn you away from a promising new voice in romance.

Zoey Castile is back with the third installment of her Happy Endings series, Flashed. It begins as just another sexy story about a hot male model and stripper (who’s a player on the soccer pitch and off). But it evolves into so much more. Once Patrick Halloran is disfigured from a life-altering accident, his inner beauty is able to shine through, giving this romance a hint of Beauty and the Beast with some reverse ugly duckling thrown in.

The woman who finally breaks through Pat's self-imposed isolation is Lena Martel, an aspiring artist working her way through college by keeping house. As you can imagine, it is unusual to work for a grumpy hermit of a man who has zero communication skills. Until they begin messaging each other. Sexily. Without the benefit of face-to-face interaction, Pat and Lena are forced to wade through getting to know each other with no posturing, allowing them to focus more on who they are, deep inside where the vulnerable bits are safely hidden.

For a man whose livelihood has always been his body—his strength, speed and beauty—Pat finds relying on his wits is new. But for Lena, an artist used to experiencing and touching and feeling life around her, relying on digital communication tests her, too. Patrick and Lena are incredibly likeable characters, and they defy the odds by sticking with one another. Great romances remind us that the heart wants what the heart wants, and it knows when it’s time to move forward. Even if you’re a man who wonders if his is the face the woman of his dreams can love forever.

This is a story for all the less than perfect people out there who have relied on being nice, funny and kind; who are often overlooked at first pass because they’re not shiny and sparkly and perfect. Those who know the truth about love and relationships because at the end of the day (and when it really, truly counts), substance trumps shine any day.

Samantha Chase is back with the seventh installment of her popular Shaughnessy Brothers series. Set in a small coastal North Carolina town and as refreshing as a warm summer breeze, Tangled Up in You hits bookshelves at precisely the right time for summer reading.

When police officer Bobby Hannigan is shot in the line of duty, he’s forced to take some rest and relaxation. In his downtime, he meets single mother and widow Teagan Shaughnessy, who’s just brought her son back home to be near family.

The timing is wrong for Bobby and Teagan. Their future’s too uncertain, the changes too big. But as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” Their attraction is gentle at first, and they forge an undeniable bond through their shared emotional struggle to adjust to their respective new normals. Bobby’s love for Teagan’s son, Lucas, only reinforces their inevitable happy ever after.

Chase takes readers on an emotional journey, and you’ll laugh and cry and get sucked into the drama of the Shaughnessy clan. If you’re a fan of big, meddling families and a full cast of secondary characters, you’ll enjoy it all the more. And even if you haven’t read the preceding books in the series, Tangled Up in You is a great standalone love story.