• Best Clean and Wholesome Romance,  Best Contemporary Romance Novels

    Love & Chocolate by Elsie Davis

    June 6, 2025

    Some say Valentine’s Day is for lovers, while others prefer to think of it as February Fool’s Day. The question is, which one do you believe, and which one rules your heart?

    The Sweeter Side of Life bakery in Hallbrook is in financial trouble and Amanda is determined to save the business her mother started twenty years ago. While honoring February Fool’s Day, Amanda’s name for the lovey-dovey holiday, she learns about the Anything Chocolate contest and is determined to win the cash prize. There’s only two drawbacks, one, it’s a statewide contest and the competition will be fierce, and two, she’s not a big fan of chocolate. Kevin is trying to adjust to his new job as the Turlington High School chemistry teacher and to small-town living, a task made more difficult by his twin ten-year-old daughters who aren’t happy with the move or the divorce. When the twins demand they go to the Heart-to-Heart festival for a chance to hang with their new friends, he relents knowing it was important. But a fellow teacher turns the night into a matchmaking attempt and Kevin finds himself signing up for the Secret Chef fundraiser dinner to avoid Amanda, the attractive, but off-limits woman his new friend deems perfect for him. Which worked wonders, at least until his winning dessert bid revealed Amanda as the secret chef and the woman who would come to his home and cook the six-course meal he’d won. So much for avoiding her. When the twins take objection, their shenanigans cause nothing but trouble at home and school. What they didn’t count on though, was their actions forcing him to spend more time with Amanda, putting his custody of the twins in jeopardy. Is Kevin willing to risk custody of the girls over love? A five-star review for the novel:

    “The characters are great and easy to connect with. It’s also very realistically insightful about relationships, the doubt and benefits. Such a great outpouring of love even from the community at large. Very well written, tears of joy with a few speed bumps with rambunctious kids which I think only help the adults deal with their dilemmas. Love this, very enticing story, it clearly depicts building a relationship without needing or having to add the physical to the romance of getting to know someone. I was provided a free advance copy and am voluntarily reviewing.”

    Annette–Goodreads
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  • Best Contemporary Romance Novels

    Red Clover Inn by Carla Neggers

    April 4, 2025

    A marine archeologist takes a break from her adventurous life to dive deep into the mysteries of love.

    Charlotte Bennett is more comfortable exploring sunken wreckage than exploring a relationship. But as her cousin Samantha’s maid of honor, she finds a new perspective on her nomadic, solitary life. In need of a quiet refuge, Charlotte offers to stay in Knights Bridge, Massachusetts and look after the Red Clover Inn while Sam and Justin are on their honeymoon. While the quaint inn is closed to the public, Charlotte will have time to plan her next project—and perhaps discover how her cousin found love. But the tranquility is disrupted when Greg shows up at the inn. The Diplomatic Security Service agent lives a dangerous life, and he, too, wants to clear his head before his next assignment. Juggling work, raising his two teenage children, and nursing a wounded heart has left Greg jaded. The last thing he expects is to fall for the willful Charlotte. Now each of them must decide if they can put love first before it’s too late. The author’s inspiration for the location of her book’s series:

    “Knights Bridge is fictional, but the area where it’s located is real. Our family homestead is on the edge of Quabbin Reservoir, a huge pre-World War II project that changed this part of New England forever. As a kid, I’d climb a tree with pad and pen and look out at the Quabbin ‘accidental wilderness,’ as I wrote, imagining the lives of the people who’d lived in the small towns razed to create the reservoir. I also spent countless hours in my hometown library, which is the inspiration for the Knights Bridge library—including the rumors that it’s haunted.”

    Carla Neggers
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  • Best Contemporary Romance Novels

    Montana Creeds: Logan by Linda Lael Miller

    March 21, 2025

    Descendants of the legendary McKettrick family, the Creeds are renowned in Stillwater Springs, Montana—for raising hell.

    After years of wandering, Logan Creed, a cowboy with a dusty law degree, has returned home to Stillwater Springs, Montana. To put down roots and reconnect with his brothers, to restore his family’s neglected ranch . . . to have kids of his own. Divorced mom Briana Grant has heard all the stories about her very attractive new neighbor and his less-than-attractive reputation. So Logan’s kindness to her young boys is a welcome surprise, especially when her ex reappears and an unknown enemy vandalizes her home. That’s when Logan shows Briana—and the people of Big Sky country—just what he’s made of.

    The author on her favorite part of the writing process:

    “Once I’ve picked up speed and really gotten to know the characters, the story seems to fly along, and I have to hurry to keep up. I love it when the story becomes real to me — I often say it’s like watching a movie in my head and writing down what I see.”

    Linda Lael Miller
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  • Best Contemporary Romance Novels

    Never Let Me Go by Elena Aitken

    January 24, 2025

    He’s not looking for love, but she’s the sunshine to his grump and six months is a long time to deny his desire.

    Chase never fit in with his big tight-knit family. Always on the outside looking in, as soon as he could, he left small-town life—and his family—behind. Now, a clause in his father’s will has forced him home for Six. Long. Months. Sunshiny and oh-so-sexy, Annie is just the distraction that Chase needs until he can put his hometown in the rearview for good. The last thing he expects is to develop any actual feelings for her, or the young boy she’s raising, but the longer Chase stays in town, the more attached he becomes. All too soon, time is running out, the stakes are high, and Chase can’t decide what’s more dangerous. Leaving for good. Or staying.

    The author on her goal as a writer:

    “My number one goal has always been to be able to reach someone with my stories. It’s always my hope that someone can pick up my book and be totally immersed in the story that they don’t want to put it down. But it’s when I hear that my story touched them in someway or made them think, or even opened a dialogue with someone they care about, that I know I’ve achieved my goal.”

    Elena Aitken
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  • Best Contemporary Romance Novels

    The Next Mrs. Blackthorne by Joan Johnston

    January 10, 2025

    Who will she be?

    A lavish summer wedding is being planned at Bitter Creek ranch. In one month, Clay Blackthorne will wed socialite Jocelyn Montrose. But when she hears stirrings of a corporate takeover by the family’s arch rival, North Grayhawk, Jocelyn covertly heads to North’s ranch to offer a valuable commodity—herself—if North will call off his plans. Striking a deal to spend the summer with the steely, seductive North, Jocelyn fails to see that her sacrifice to protect the man she loves may have dire consequences. Stunned by his fiancee’s rejection, Clay, a newly appointed federal judge, begins presiding over an incendiary terrorism trial, which brings him face to face with his first love, Libby Grayhawk. As tensions mount, forces beyond Clay’s control threaten the women most precious to him in the past and the present. And only in a daring act of sacrifice will he know which woman will become the next Mrs. Blackthorne. The author on why her Bitter Creek series is so popular:

    “The Bitter Creek series is about feuding families, the rich and powerful Blackthornes against the poor and struggling Creeds. I have written three historicals, and five modern-day novels in the Bitter Creek series, all involving the same families and their ancestors… I think people enjoy reading about the ongoing characters, how the feud got started, and what happens to the families next.”

    Joan Johnston
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