Newer Romantic Novels Perfect for Savoring Summer's Last Gasp

The Bossy Bookworm
4 days ago
7 min read

Bossy Romantic Favorites

The heat of August feels like a perfect time to dive into recently published romantic stories, and these have been six of my favorites this year. Check out the four titles from powerhouse romance authors (Center, Jimenez, Silver, and Fortune), plus two from new-to-me authors (Robinson, Sturino).

I'm a longtime stalwart fan of my local independent bookstore and its knowledgeable and oh-so-helpful staff, Park Road Books--and I also love that an adorable romance-focused bookstore has opened in my city, Trope Bookshop!

If you're into reading lighter fiction with romance, a number of real-life issues and complications, and often some laughs, you might also like the books on these Greedy Reading Lists:

Have you loved any other romantic comedy or lighter fiction stories lately?

01 Sunny Side Up by Katie Sturino

I loved Sunny's body positivity and her self-made-woman status. I didn't fully buy into one of her love interests but was hooked on the peeks behind the scenes of the fashion industry.

Sunny has deeply loyal and inspiring newly divorced friends to lean on, a body- and sex-positive lifestyle, and some tantalizing dating prospects. So why can't she simply shake off the fact that nothing in the Bergdorf Goodman swimsuit section comes even close to fitting a woman over a size 10?

The body-positivity in Sunny Side Up was a highlight, as was the group of Sunny's bright, supportive fellow divorcee friends (and her mentee at work), but the standout for me here was the peek into the fashion industry as Sunny continually Handles It and makes her dreams come true--thereby also taking care of fashion-conscious plus-sized women everywhere.

The voicing of her Queens-native love interest didn't ring true to me, and while he was very nice, I was partially turned off by his many corny jokes, which didn't land for me. Her ex is purely selfish and easy to detest, and another love interest turns out to be more focused on money than Sunny herself. Ultimately, Sunny listens to her inner voice and doesn't settle for anyone who wants her to be less than she is.

I loved Sunny's independence, savvy abilities, strong will, and, of course, her fashion sense.

Katie Sturino is a body-acceptance advocate who is also the author of Body Talk: How to Embrace Your Body and Start Living Your Best Life.

For my full review of this book please see Sunny Side Up.

02 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

The main male protagonist was off-putting to me in his arrogance at first, but Carley Fortune is the best at developing a lakeside romance story with characters I root for and steamy, poignant, friendship-based relationships I love. This is a great summer read.

Alice's career as a photographer really began the summer she spent with her grandmother Nan at family friends' lake house. Shy Alice watched more than she participated in lake life--and she took a photo of three smiling teenagers on a yellow boat, and it seemed to set everything else in motion. Now she's feeling disillusioned with the airbrushing and false scenes she's forced to create in her job rather than capturing something real.

So when Nan falls and breaks her hip and needs a pick-me-up, Alice arranges for them to return to the cabin where she spent that pivotal summer.

But handsome, mischievous Charlie Florek, one of the subjects of that long-ago photo, seems to be everywhere she turns--and she can't hide behind her lens anymore.

Fortune drops some breadcrumbs regarding the Issue Sure to Keep Them Apart, which follows The Desire to Not Ruin the Friendship (a concern that seems heartbreakingly valid).

The steamy scenes didn't invite involuntary squealing or cringing on my part--they couple is really drawn to each other, and there's a tantalizing teasing aspect to their slowing down the physical progression of the friends-with-benefits arrangement.

I loved the eventual relationship between Charlie and Alice, and I loved their love.

For my full review of this book please see One Golden Summer. Carley Fortune is also the author of Meet Me at the Lake and Every Summer After as well as This Summer Will Be Different.

03 Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver

I loved the love for books in this novel, but I did struggle with the premise, in which an actress plays the part of an author and develops elaborate, extensive lies about inspiration, writing process, back story, and more, then feels wronged when the situation blows up.

In Josie Silver's newest rom-com, Charlie Francisco is a divorced, cynical, harried talent agent who desperately needs to hire an actress to play the part of a novelist--and tour in place of the reticent (the writer is famous in literary circles) author of a new blockbuster romance.

Kate Elliott was once a soap opera actress, and now she's reeling from a divorce and thankful for a new job. She's ready to take on the persona of a romance novelist at readings and signings, but she also becomes entranced by the romantic story she's pretending to have authored.

Over the course of an extended book tour, Charlie and Kate are repeatedly thrown together.

I couldn't get comfortable with the compounding lies that were key to Kate's playing the role of an author out in the world, explaining (fake) inspiration, (made-up) personal experiences, and (invented) relevant life details.

I was most intrigued by the Kate-Liv sister relationship as well as Charlie's new beginning and his complex past. (Side note and request: Can we please have books about Liv and Charlie?) And I loved the intense love for books that is evident throughout Slow Burn Summer.

For my full review, please check out Slow Burn Summer.

Josie Silver is also the author of A Winter in New York, One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia Byrd, a book that appeared on the Greedy Reading List Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories.

04 The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Katherine Center's sweet rom-com about a video producer and her reluctant hero of a subject is set against the colorful backdrop of Key West. The appealingly playful love story incorporates issues of body image, job insecurity, and past tragedy in a lighthearted and charming novel.

Katie Vaughn has been single for a year, since her former fiancé, an up-and-coming musician, hit it big and then very publicly cheated on her with a pop star.

She's a mid-level video producer on the verge of a layoff--unless she accepts a job in which she documents the life of Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch Hutcheson, an everyday hero who rose to fame when he happened to save Jennifer Aniston's golden retriever. And he's not interested in being filmed.

The banter made me laugh at times, and I bought the attraction between Katie and Hutch, as well as the "reasons" (all solvable, folks!) that they must not be together. Katie's evolution in considering and coping with body image issues felt valuable and compelling. Supporting characters are great, colorful, and add nice layers of interconnectedness to the story.

The crisis that forms toward the end felt over the top and drawn out, with a rom-com-easy resolution, but by that point I was ready for anything Center was throwing my way.

This is not a racy book, and the attraction and relationship are focused on emotions and wanting to be together without being swoony or angsty.

Please check out my full review of The Love Haters.

Katherine Center is also the author of The Rom-Commers, Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard, and other books.

05 Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson

In Ava Robinson's debut novel, she offers an appealingly imperfect main character making missteps and forging a path forward while adjusting to romantic, family, and work complications after a year of sobriety.

Emma is friendly but reserved with her coworkers. She's focused on extending her one year of sobriety--a fact that she doesn't share easily with others, except at her frequent recovery support meetings.

When she's assigned to assist on the committee for the office's extravagant upcoming holiday party, she's thrown together with a cheesy, persistent executive who unfortunately spotted her joke of a dating profile before she pulled it down--and Ben, the intriguing IT manager she can't stop thinking about.

I fell in love with Emma and her imperfect, determined path forward, her sometimes-regretful reckonings with her past, and her fight to be vulnerable for a potential relationship she begins to believe in. Her missteps felt relatable, and I was hooked by her difficult decision-making and her bravery.

This is a great example of a light-fiction-feeling romance that deals with weighty, meaningful themes. It's a combination I love.

This is Ava Robinson's first novel.

Abby Jimenez and Carley Fortune are two more authors who offer deep, heartfelt situations, messy complications, and real-life consequences within a romantic structure.

For my full review please check out Definitely Better Now.

06 Say You'll Remember Me (Say You'll Remember Me #2) by Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez layers tough situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and here, her main protagonists must face and overcome past and present difficulties in order to banter their way through the story and build a sweet life together.

Samantha creates zippy social media posts for a local mustard company (I kept feeling surprise, but also joy, that this job seemed to provide a sustainable salary)--and she doesn't take any attitude from anyone.

Xavier is a young veterinarian who feels grumpy, exhausted, and as though he may be losing faith in humanity--but he loves the animals he cares for.

After one disastrous encounter involving a rescued kitten with a serious congenital disorder, then one magical, extended date, the two are falling for each other. But Xavier's painful past and Samantha's challenging present might make a future for the two impossible.

Jimenez never shies away from including heavy themes and tough situations in her rom-coms. Here, childhood abuse, animal abuse, and dementia are all part of Xavier and Samantha's past and present stories, so nothing is too easy on their path to togetherness.