Grudges, Fake Boyfriends, and the Cowboy Who Finally Came Home

by Jane Henry

Wicked Altar is a dark arranged-marriage setup where the heroine is engaged to the boy who made her cry in a school cupboard. If you like your enemies-to-lovers with a lot of tension and a hero who is not nice, this is your lane. It sits at 3.94 with over 5,000 ratings, which is the lowest score of the week, so expect it to divide people.

by Pepper Winters

One Dirty Night is a grumpy roommate story where eight months of silence ends the night he finally tells her how he feels. Readers are throwing around five flame emojis and calling it hotter than Pepper Winters' usual dark stuff, and one reviewer was surprised by how much she liked the less depraved tone. At 4.02 with more than 3,400 ratings, it's the pick for anyone who wants steam first and plot second. Not for the shy.

“4.5 Well Fucked Looks Good On You Stars ⭐ Usually you would expect a dark and depraved read by this author. Well she nailed the depraved but instead gave us a couple full of longing and dirty, dirty appetites. I feel like One Dirty Night has been the best erotic romance with BDSM that I've read in...”

by C.L. Donley

This one surprised me. Kenya's husband leaves her for another woman, and her unlikely ally turns out to be Kevin Hayes, that woman's ex. Revenge-adjacent friendship that turns into something more is a fun hook, and the fall-favorite pitch fits. It's at 4.27 from nearly 600 readers, which is solid for a premise this juicy.

by Willow White

A Sweet Day for the Cowboy opens with a prayer to get the cows out of the road, and honestly that tells you the tone. Jenna is a single mom and lawyer who wants her dad's firm, and Denver is the Hollywood guy back home to save the family ranch. Readers have rated it 4.33 across 322 ratings, so it's a good bet if you want something cozy and uncomplicated.

by Karen Deen

Never Forgetting You is the full-length version of a Christmas novella, and the reviewers who read the novella were clearly desperate for more. Firefighter Poppy comes home for the holidays and falls for her mom's new neighbor, Landon, a single dad with two little boys. It has the highest rating of the bunch at 4.54 with over 200 ratings, which says a lot about how much fans love these two.

“When I read @karendeen_author's Christmas novella about Poppy and Landon I fell in love with their love story, so I was ecstatic to know they were getting their own book. When Poppy went back home after that Christmas fling, they couldn't predict that a devastating incident months later would push...”

by Jill Burrell

Changing Lanes is third in the Choosing Providence series, but the blurb makes it sound easy to jump into. Eden left the city to escape the man her father picked for her, and Rudy, who has a strict ten-year plan, pretends to be her boyfriend when Dad shows up. Fake dating with a small-town backdrop is a comfort read, and it's holding a 4.46 from about 130 readers.