9 Best Romance Books of December

Davina Kleins Roberts can’t find her way out of the grief of losing her husband, Lew, holding him even in his final moments. The only way to make sense of a world without him involves placing all of her attention on her skin care Golden Oil. Co, and she may have just found the perfect endorsement. Deke Bishop is a hot shot both on and off the court, and his cosign could change the game for her business, but Davina finds herself less interested in work than in letting Deke soothe the harsh edges her loss has left behind. But can Davina move forward? Williams crafts a beautifully heart-wrenching tale about loss and the beauty of falling in love.

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Sasha Rubinstein and Ethan Jones, the stars of Nora Dahlia’s rom-com Pick-Up, may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I mean, how was Ethan supposed to know that the slot that he finessed for his son was the same one Sasha was rooting for? Either way, whenever the pair meet at the school pick-up, it’s game on. When Sasha, a video producer, is asked to shoot content at an exclusive Caribbean island for Escapade magazine, she’s thrilled until she learns Ethan is said magazine’s editor-in-chief and will be coming along. Dahlia’s playful romp is part work and plenty of play as these two rivals uncover the tension that’s been building all along.

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Pack your bags, because Lana Ferguson is taking you along to Scotland, where protagonist Key MacKay is in search of answers. Key struggles to face the aftermath of her father’s death and needs to find her family for answers about a mysterious story her father once told her. When she arrives in her ancestral home in Scotland, Key begins displaying unheard of powers and questions if that bedtime story was ever a story at all. Meanwhile, Lachlan knows that MacKays are a bad sign for him, but he can’t help his feelings for Key as she forges a way forward for herself. When the pair realize their family secrets may be connected, working together may leave answers — and a little something extra.

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Haleigh Berkshire is over dating apps (aren’t we all?) and is quite possible over the concept of love as a whole. With her sister’s wedding coming up, Haleigh and her best friend, Jack, rope her family and friends into her dating hangup and ask that everyone set her up on a date to find a potential match. The last thing Haleigh expects is for Jack to potentially get in the way of her falling in love, considering she’s always had feelings for him and one college hookup was evidence it wasn’t meant to be. But with hot new dates arriving at Haleigh’s doorstep every few weeks, Jack and Haleigh must confront the tension between them, for better or worse.

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Lovers of Natasha Bishop’s insta-viral Only for the Week, the first installment of The Forever Falling series, can enjoy a refreshed cover with its rerelease from Zando’s Slowburn imprint. A destination wedding would be considered a treat for anyone but Janelle Cross. Why, you may ask? Well, Janelle is playing maid of honor to her sister…who is marrying her ex-boyfriend. To make matters more dramatic, Janelle can’t deny the attraction growing between her and groom-to-be’s best man, Rome. When the pair can’t deny their chemistry any longer, they make a deal: They can freely hook up — but only for the week. The clock is working against this couple, who is finding with every moment of camaraderie and vulnerability that maybe they were the ones made for forever after all.

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Hoyt keeps the passion burning in No Ordinary Duchess, the third installment in her Georgian Greycourt series. To anyone who’s met him, Julian Greycourt is a man of steel, but he’s only grown this hard exterior to protect himself from the abusive ways of his uncle. Lady Elspeth de Moray is underestimated by many, but underneath her soft shell is a woman determined to find the secret society that nurtured her sisters. When Julian and Elspeth are both caught snooping in a library, the pair take refuge together, the first spark of what will blossom into a full fledged love affair. But if Julian can’t learn to stop pushing Elspeth away, he finds he might just push her away for good.

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Small town romance has never felt as good as it does in Zuri Day’s Stuck in the Country. Genesis Hunter’s life might be in shambles — her boyfriend has left her, she’s running on the last dregs of her savings, she just got laid off, and worst of all, her beloved uncle Cyrus has passed away. But Cyrus has left Genesis in charge of the farm, and with few options in her arsenal, she finds her way back to Tennessee to fulfill his wish of her taking over. Genesis doesn’t think things can’t get any worse until she learns her new neighbor is the one and only Jaxson King, a former fling who betrayed her family. But Jaxson doesn’t recognize her, and eagerly takes Genesis under his wing to show up the ropes of managing a farm and a life in a small town. Genesis fears falling for Jaxson could lead to further disaster, but letting her heart lead might finally bring her the peace she’s been searching for.

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Angela Montoya’s vampire x hunter YA romance is the perfect way to close out the year of the vampire. Carolina Fuentes is nobody’s fool. That’s why she is willing to do anything to escape the pending marriage her family has arranged by proving that she has what it takes to join the family business as a vampiro hunter. Lalo Villalobos is frightened of what he’s become ever since a vampiro bit and turned him. His only hope is finding the pueblo where the first vampiro was created and having this curse reversed. Carolina and Lalo aren’t meant to be, but when their paths find each other and intertwine, both find that they are unable to wrangle themselves away from each other, no matter what the world might think.

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Lorraine Heath turns the steam all the way up in her latest Victorian romance following landlocked lovers. After suffering an accident that has left him unable to compute numbers, Viscount Langdon has retreated to his private island to recoup and figure out what comes next. A sudden storm and air balloon accident brings Marlowe, quite literally, hurling toward him, leading to an ocean-swept rescue that leaves both of them shaken. Langdon, because though he’s always wanted a shot with Marlowe, fears that his feelings are too deep, and Marlowe, because she remembers that card game Langdon purposely lost so he wouldn’t have to date her. But trapped on an island until the storm subsides, Langdon and Marlowe keep finding themselves in compromising positions and must answer whether it’s by chance or if this could be their second chance.

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