Best Contemporary Romance Novels

On the Market by Rachael Herron

The Bachelor meets The Property Brothers: Love, property, and construction. What could possibly go wrong?

Liam Ballard is good at buying houses, fixing them up with his brothers, and flipping them for a profit. When Felicia from the network shows up to offer them a reality show (the brothers renovate a house while one of them dates the buyer), the pay is too good to turn down. With it, they’ll finally be able to open the after-school program for at-risk youth to honor the man who raised them. But when the very LA-like Felicia decides she’ll be the buyer of the property (and his date), Liam wonders for the first time what set of keys he’ll want to pass over to her, and will one of them unlock his heart? The author on the inspiration for this novel:

“I’ve figured out over the years there are two kinds of people: those who like reality TV and those who mock reality TV but watch it in private… There’s a secret about reality TV that no one talks about, though. Those shows can be good for the heart. Just like romance novels… Six seasons of America’s Next Top Model got me through my mother’s death… When I didn’t know how to help a friend when she was very low, I attempted to hook her on Project Runway… We all need escape sometimes from a life that while often very, very good, can be very, very hard. That escape doesn’t have to be mindless. It can be mindful… And I realized that I’d love to write a reality show series. So here’s the first in the Ballard Brothers series. It’sThe Property Brothers meets the Bachelor, set on the California coast in the town of Darling Bay. I fell in love with Liam while writing him, and so did Felicia, the network executive who ends up accidentally starring in her own show (oops!).”

Rachael Herron