Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Farah Heron’s Remember Me Tomorrow, which is out October 1st 2024.

East House is the oldest and least desirable dorm on campus, but it has a draw for lonely university freshman Aleeza Kassam: Jay Hoque, the hot and broody student who vanished from East House five months ago without a trace. It’s irresistible to an aspiring investigative journalist like Aleeza.

But when she starts receiving texts from Jay, the mystery takes an unexpected turn. To put it mildly. His messages are coming not only from Aleeza’s own dorm room but from the past—only weeks before he disappeared. Sharing space, if not time, Aleeza and Jay are living the impossible, and they start working together to prevent his inevitable disappearance. Causing a temporal paradox that could blow up the universe is a risk they’re going to have to take.

Aleeza digs through Jay’s suspicious friends, enemies, and exes, determined to find out what happened to him. Or what will happen to him. But it’s becoming more than a mystery. Aleeza is catching feelings for her charming new roommate. Wherever, and whenever, he may be.

ONE

For me, this story starts the day I realize I don’t need my best friend anymore and move out of our shared university dorm room. But really, it started before that day. And also, after that day. I just don’t know it yet.

“Aleeza, stop. You can’t move out. We need to live here together all year,” Mia, the aforementioned former best friend forever, says.

I snort at her using the words need to. Because she’s wrong. I simply don’t need Mia anymore.

As one of the only non-white kids in my hometown, years ago I developed a theory that there are two ways to survive socially when you’re different. One—be like everyone else. In other words, make sure that my skin color is the only difference between me and my classmates. But I always knew that strategy would never work for me. Because I’ve always been . . . well, odd. Which was fine when I was a little kid living in Toronto, because being a weird Brown kid was pretty common in the city. But not in Alderville, the tiny town that my parents moved us to when I was seven. I realized then for the first time that my strangeness—not adorkable quirkiness but uncool nerdiness—could be a problem for me.

Case in point. Many kids in my Alderville elementary school were into horses, or sometimes goats or sheep. (Which, fair. It’s farm country.) And of course, lots of kids were into cats and dogs. But me? I was into octopuses. Obsessed with them, actually. Ever since I saw an enormous one in an aquarium when I was four, I’ve been fascinated by their big heads, nine brains, and unreal problem-solving skills.

Which brings me to the other weird thing about me. While other girls were into romances and fantasy books, I like old—like, practically ancient—mystery books. My mom’s a librarian, and she always ordered Nancy Drew and other whodunit books for me, and I inhaled them. Movies too. I love old Agatha Christie films. I used to fanaticize that Alfred Hitchcock was my long-lost uncle.

Anyway, since being the weird, Brown new kid was making me a bit of a social pariah in Alderville, I put all my energy into my second strategy to survive—find a white friend as weird as I am.

Mia became that ride-or-die weird friend that all Brown girls living in small towns need. We became tight after noticing we were both obsessed with this kid-detective graphic novel series. Soon we were borrowing each other’s books and movies. Mom started ordering Mia’s favorites for the library—still mysteries, but Mia liked thrillers instead of classic whodunits. We had weekly movie nights in my living room dressed up as characters from whatever old movie we were watching. We daydreamed about opening a detective agency in New York City one day.

I thought our friendship was genuine. I honestly thought we’d be friends forever.

It took six months of higher education for me to realize that I didn’t know a thing.

“Aleeza, seriously,” Mia says again when I ignore her. “Stop packing.”

I glance at her once, and keep shoving items into the box. I can’t believe I was so dazzled to have a best friend who was popular and well liked and who loved all the same stuff as me (except octopuses), that I failed to notice Mia wasn’t actually a very good friend at all. Because over and over, pretty much since the day we met, Mia has been pushing me aside whenever anyone she deems “cooler” is around.

And today is the absolute last time I’m putting up with it. After Mia once again ditched me for her boyfriend, Lance (or specifically, Lance’s sister this time), I am not accepting her apologies and promises. This time I am walking away.

Apparently fed up with my packing, Mia comes toward me in our dorm living room. She takes a bright-orange octopus stuffy out of my box and throws it across the room. It lands legs up on the floor near the tiny sofa. “Tentacle Ted belongs in this room, remember?”

Of course I remember. And I knew she would claim custody of the orange stuffy we bought at a county fair near Alderville the day we found out we’d be rooming together, just like I knew she wouldn’t let me leave without a fight. Because Mia hates feeling like the villain. She hates feeling like she’s losing. It screws up her perfect mental image of herself. But I also know that despite her vow to stop standing me up and letting her boyfriend and his family get in our way again, Mia will eventually cave to one of their demands at my expense.

“I’m taking Ted,” I say. “I bought him with my dollars. And octopuses are my thing, not yours.” I cross the room to get poor Ted, brushing the dust from the cheap gray industrial carpeting off him.

“We said that Ted would be our first jointly owned dorm room accessory,” Mia says, practically pouting.

“Since I’m moving out because of your actions, I’m entitled to keep the cephalopod that I paid for.” I toss him back into the box.

Mia and I dreamed about moving to Toronto for school for years. I thought she would be better here, since we’d be making new friends together. She was always ahead of me—born and raised in Alderville, she knew all our friends first. But now that we’ve actually moved to the city, Mia is even worse than she was back home. She’s like two different people. In our room, Mia and I talk about movies and books, and she seems to love my octopuses. Outside our dorm room, Mia ignores me. She’s unreliable. She does whatever Lance or any of his friends want. In my opinion, she’s trying way too hard to fit in with her new boyfriend’s friends.

“You can’t move out!” Mia says. “You’re supposed to be my roommate all year!” She looks genuinely upset, but I know that’s only because we’re alone. If someone else were here—especially Lance or any of his crew—she’d be mocking me for my attachment to octopuses.

“Tell your precious Taylor to move in,” I say. “I’m already gone.” I’m not sure where my new bravery is coming from, but I am loving it right now. I hold up the university pass hanging around my neck. “This card won’t open the building door anymore. My ResConnect profile is already updated. I am no longer your roommate.” ResConnect is the campus residence app. I put in the room change request only hours ago, and I’m lucky they had a spot for me.

Mia shakes her head, her wavy brown hair falling out of its messy bun. She’s always been pretty—her light-brown hair and big blue eyes give her a kind of girl-next-door vibe. She’s dressed almost the same as me right now, in jeans and a sweatshirt. Hers has a Roots logo on it, while mine, of course, has an octopus.

“You’re being stupid, Aleeza!” she says in the same voice she uses to yell at her dog. “You are not giving up years of friendship over a YouTube series!” She tries to snatch my favorite coffee mug—the one with a tentacle for a handle—but I beat her to it.

It’s honestly a little bit surprising just how badly she’s taking this. But I guess it makes sense—she’s not used to me having a spine. I’ve been her doormat for years, but we’re in the city now and I can make new friends. I don’t need Mia anymore.

“No, Mia, you are throwing away years of friendship over a YouTube series! You’re the one who replaced me with your boyfriend’s sister!”

I pick up the top sheet of our campus newspaper to wrap the mug in. I’m a first-year journalism student and I wrote a film review in this edition, but it isn’t on the front page. “We planned our TCU Mysteries web series for months,” I say, not looking at my former friend. “We did market research, had a logo made, and bought a camera. One episode in and you want to replace me with your boyfriend’s sister?”

“I don’t want to replace you! I’m adding Taylor to the web series because she has a huge social presence; this will be great for our reach. We could be huge! I thought you needed to do this for your media project?”

I blink. Yes, the web series was supposed to be my major project for my media class, but not all YouTube series are equal. Our series, TCU Mysteries, was supposed to be about mysteries associated with our school, Toronto City University. The first episode was about a student found dead in her apartment on Easter in the fifties, and we just started the research on our second episode, about this wealthy alumni who donated a ton of money to the school, then mysteriously drowned a few weeks later. But Taylor wants to change the entire focus of the series to be about skincare and makeup instead. I like a good face mask as much as the next person, but Mia knows my future goal is a career as an investigative journalist, not a beauty editor. My media project is supposed to align with my journalism career goals.

I look down, the picture in the newspaper catching my eye. It’s that second-year student who disappeared off the face of the earth a few months ago. I wave the paper at Mia. “We were going to do an episode on this missing student! A TCU mystery that’s literally happening right now! Maybe we could have found him!”

“There are already eight student podcasts about that missing guy,” Mia says. “I know you’re, like, obsessed with him, but I heard he was a huge asshole. He’s not worth finding. And, he’s been missing so long, he’s totally dead. Just like our mystery web series is dead! Skincare is hot now! Taylor says we can leverage off her existing TikTok brand, and we’ll have a hundred thousand subscribers in a month!”

I really don’t want to have this discussion. If I let it go on too long, Mia will win. She always wins. This is a pattern, and patterns become cycles until someone breaks them, and I am in the mood to break things. But not this mug. I wrap the octopus mug in the newspaper.

Mia is finally silent, so I fold the flaps of the box closed, then put on my boots, parka, hat, and mittens. After I’m fully suited up to brave the snowy March weather, I look around the small living room of the apartment-style dorm room Mia and I have shared since September. The sturdy wood furniture that is surprisingly comfortable. The K-pop posters we framed. This building, West Hall, is considered the best residence in our downtown university, and Mia and I cheered when we found out we got a room here. And now I’m willingly leaving it behind, just like I’m leaving behind my best friend of more than a decade. With a duffel bag hanging off each shoulder, a knapsack on my back, and the box in my arms, I leave the room without another word.

I should have walked away from this friendship a long time ago. Actually, I should have walked away from Mia when an octopus told me to five months ago. Ironically, it was the same night that Mia first met Lance.

­

Five months earlier—October 29

It was a mistake to wear a mustache to my first ever university party. A fake mustache, mind you. True, as a Brown girl, I do grow visible upper-lip hair, but my mom found me a threading aunty in Toronto even before frosh week. Fake or not, though, I am the only girl with a mustache at this party.

Actually, even before gluing the handlebar mustache to my upper lip, I made a mistake by not dressing like an octopus like I had for the last few Halloweens. Last year I was Ursula the sea witch, and the year before that Henry the Octopus from The Wiggles. But this year, Mia insisted that for our first university Halloween, we needed to match each other, and our costumes should be tied to our upcoming YouTube mystery series so we could create content for our socials. She would be Sherlock Holmes, and I would be Watson. My mom mail-ordered me a tweed jacket, a bowler hat, and a very realistic fake mustache, and I assumed Mia did the same.

But the moment I show Mia my Victorian physician costume, I know I miscalculated. Mia’s costume isn’t accurate to the period at all. Instead, she got a cheap “sexy Sherlock” costume, complete with fishnets and a skirt short enough to make a Victorian faint.

I suppose her costume does what she actually wants it to do, because seconds after we walk into the campus pub, she catches the attention of some dude wearing a bad Spider-Man costume without a mask. He admires Mia’s legs and makes fun of my mustache in the same breath. Mia laughs her fake, flirty giggle, and the dude orders her and all his friends (but not me) tequila shots. I head to the bar alone, yanking the bowler off my head. I didn’t bother to put any product in my shoulder-length, curly hair since I figured it would be stuffed into a hat all night, and now frizzy strands fall into my eyes. I brush them away and keep walking. I can get my own damn tequila.

I order a shot from the mad scientist tending bar. I have to show my ID, of course. I’m nineteen—legal to drink here—but I look younger, even with the mustache. When I get my shot, I take a tiny sip instead of drinking it all at once. It tastes like turpentine.

“My dear Watson, is it? How do you do?” a deep voice next to me says.

I turn to see an octopus. Literally, an octopus is standing next to me at the bar. I frown. Is tequila supposed to cause hallucinations? I look closer, and it’s not actually an octopus, but a guy wearing a cheap Party City Cthulhu mask. He’s also got on a black T-shirt and jeans.

“How do you know I’m Watson?” I ask.

“The tweed,” he says.

I frown, which makes my mustache tickle my cheeks. “Lots of characters wear tweed.”

“True.” He rubs his hands on his tentacle beard as if he’s thinking. “Are you supposed to be Mr. Bean?”

I snort. The guy nods toward my drink. “What are you drinking?”

“Tequila.” For some reason I don’t want this octopus-man to think I’m as lame as I actually am, so I drink the rest of my shot in one gulp. It burns going down. I suppress a cough.

The octopus-person stares at me. I can’t read his expression because of the mask, so I can’t tell if he’s impressed or laughing at me.

“Are you alone?” he asks. I wonder if he’s trying to pick me up. Maybe he has a thing for mustached Victorian doctors?

I nod. “My friend ditched me for a superhero.” I glance over to Mia, who has her arm around Spider-Man’s waist while she talks to sexy Wednesday Addams.

The bartender takes my empty shot glass and asks me if I want another. I look at the list of drinks taped to the bar top.

“I’ll have a Witch’s Brew.” I give the bartender a ten-dollar bill, and he hands me a can of blackberry vodka cooler.

“I’ll take the same,” Cthulhu guy says, giving the bartender money. The bartender hands him a can. The guy lifts the bottom of his latex mask to take a long sip of his drink. I can’t make out what his face looks like from this distance. In fact, I doubt he’s trying to pick me up, or he’d be standing closer. He pulls his mask back over his chin even before he puts his can down.

“Are you in hiding or something?” I ask.

He laughs again. “It’s Halloween, the only time of the year I can wear a Lovecraftian mask and be normal.”

Him using the word Lovecraftian proves he’s not normal. He may even be as dorky as I am. “Honestly, I think normal is overrated,” I say. “I wish I could wear a tweed jacket all year.”

“Why can’t you?”

I glance at Mia, who is laughing and talking to her new friends like she’s known them for years. What would it be like to be so comfortable with new people? “You ever feel like the whole world is spinning five steps ahead of you?” I ask. “And by the time you catch up with them, they’ve already moved on?”

I turn back to the guy who’s maybe trying to pick me up. I’m sure I’ve scared him off. No one wants philosophical introspection at a party like this. But again, with that mask on, I have no idea what he’s thinking. He’s still staring at me, which is disconcerting—those latex

tentacles almost glow in the dim lights of the bar. Even with a few feet between us, I can smell him. Clean laundry detergent and a hint of . . . cinnamon? He has broad shoulders and strong arms.

He finally speaks again. “Three things, Watson. One, your life is going to get so much better once you step away from the people holding you back, because real friends don’t forget friends when things don’t go as planned. Two, I have a very strong suspicion that it’s not you who has to catch up with the world, but the world that needs to catch up with you.”

The Cthulhu man has a nice voice. And for some reason he’s making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Suspiciously, I narrow my eyes. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Are you drunk?”

“No,” I lie. That tequila went straight to my head. “What’s the third thing?”

“I’d like to try and catch up with you. Do you want to dance?”

The song playing is “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd, and maybe it’s an omen. I should be saving my tears. I could be dancing with this mysterious octopus instead of whining about my friend ditching me for Spider-Man.

I smile, then take a big gulp of my drink. “Sure, but keep your tentacles to yourself, okay?” I peel the mustache off my upper lip, taking all the natural hair I had there off too. Well, at least I don’t need to see my threading aunty this month.

He laughs. “Agreed, my dear Watson. I’ll keep you safe if you promise to keep me safe too.”

I nod. “Deal.”

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘Remember Me Tomorrow’ by Farah Heron appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Farah! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m Farah, and I write YA and adult contemporary romance novels. I live in Toronto with my family and two very spoiled cats. I am a serial hobbyist, and like to try new things often, but my favourite pastimes are traveling, cooking (and eating!), reading, and spoiling my cats.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I’ve always written, and once had a popular blog (about sewing!), but I didn’t start writing fiction until I was 39. My first book was published only three years later, and Just Playing House will be my seventh book. This is my third official career, and it is so cool to be doing something that has been a fantasy of mine for so long.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
• The one that made you want to become an author: Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Your latest novel, Just Playing House, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Stylish, Celebrity, Comforting, Cozy, and Romantic.

What can readers expect?

Marley is a high fashion sales associate who wants to break into personal shopping, but she is a carrier of a BRCA1 mutation and needs to have a preventative mastectomy first. When she finally gets a personal shopping client, it’s Nikhil, her former friend who ghosted her after they hooked up on prom night. Nikhil’s on his way to being a major action star and isn’t coping well with the transition. They make a deal— Nikhil will stay at her house and take care of Marley after surgery so she can style him for his press tour. While living together Marley and Nikhil learn to lean on each other, and soon their rekindled friendship turns to more.

Where did the inspiration for Just Playing House come from?

I myself am a carrier of a BRCA mutation, and years ago I facilitated a peer support group for carriers of the genetic mutation. I was inspired to write this story for the hundreds of women I met through that group. I wanted to write a joyful, romantic story about someone struggling with this difficult diagnosis.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Marley is a character that has been in my mind a long time. She originally appeared in my 2021 release, Accidentally Engaged, and I always intended to write this story for her. But Nikhil was new, and I had a lot of fun delving into his history and family. I specifically loved writing scenes with Nikhil and his sister because he’s such a big brother to her. And I loved writing Nikhil’s father, who is described as carrying every Indian parent stereotype, both male and female. My favourite moments in this book are the quiet ones where Nikhil and Marley are being open and trusting with each other about their struggles. But I also loved writing the funnier scenes, like the pre and post mastectomy parties Marley’s friend’s throw for her— complete with themed decorations and costumes.

What do you love about the romance genre? Any “trends” or hopes you have for the genre over the next few years?

I’ve always been drawn to character driven stories about complicated people who grow because of their relationships, so it’s no wonder that Romance is my favourite genre. There is nothing quite like the feeling of falling in love, and reading (and writing!) about love is almost as good as the real thing. I especially love romances that feature marginalised characters, because it’s often hard to find joyful, optimistic narratives about marginalised groups. One trend in romance that I hope sticks around is the blending of genres and inclusion of speculative elements into romances and rom coms. I love stories with a bit of magic and hope this blending of subgenres continues.

What’s next for you?

I have another book out in October! It’s called Remember Me Tomorrow, and it’s a coming of age, paranormal, time-skip, mystery-romance (I know, it’s a lot). Remember Me Tomorrow was pitched as the movie The Lake House meets the show Only Murders in the Building. It follows a lonely first-year university student who discovers she can communicate with the former resident of her dorm room, — except the weird thing is he’s been missing for months, and she’s talking to him before his disappearance. Together, they investigate what happened to him in her time, so they can prevent it in his time. And of course they fall in love along the way!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

I’ve loved Lily Chu’s The Takedown, Louisa Onomé’s Pride and Joy, and Regina Black’s The Art of the Scandal. And the book I’m most looking forward to reading this year is A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. The first book in the series was my favourite read of last year.

Will you be picking up Just Playing House? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Farah Heron, Author of ‘Just Playing House’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Releasing on September 26th, Lies and Other Love Languages is an emotional story of three women navigating ugly truths and safe lies with only love to guide them on a journey of motherhood, friendship, and life.

I moved to the USA at the age of twenty-three almost three decades ago. I was, back then, the type of person that I now look back on with some bafflement: An immigrant by choice. Someone who left a perfectly good life–a tight knit family and a fair amount of privilege and opportunity—to chase the dream of adventure, to explore that elusive ‘something more’ that lay outside my comfortable bubble. Now, a perfectly split-down-the-middle Indian-American, I fit and don’t fit equally in both my homes. The irony?  I’d choose the same path of losing myself and finding myself all over again. Because it gave me the opportunity to build a world from scratch. Almost everyone builds a marriage, a career, a life. Immigrants need to build family, to curate and nurture it.

There’s a reason my books center found family, it’s the context that lends meaning to my characters’ journeys. In LIES AND OTHER LOVE LANGUAGES, Rani is embraced by Vandy’s family as one of their own and it changes the trajectory of her life. It’s also something I look for in the books I read. So, here’s a list of books that take you inside the experience of not needing blood or marriage to feel related.

While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai

A spin on one of my favorite nineties romantic comedy films by one of my favorite romance authors, this YA walks the line between sweet and raw. With her mother deported and her sister and her on the rockiest of terms, Sonia craves family. She finds it by chance in the close-knit family of her crush when she unwittingly rescues him from drowning. His family welcomes her wholeheartedly into their fold, wrongly assuming she’s his girlfriend. And while being part of a family is as soothing and delicious as the food they shower her with, the sense of betraying her own mother speaks perfectly to the dichotomy of being an immigrant, split between and beholden to two disparate worlds.

The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel

This sharply written novel follows a world-traveling photojournalist who shuns every form of home and has no interest in belonging anywhere. Her adoptive parents, who were white, are dead and she’s never had any interest in tracing her birth parents. When a stranger leaves her an apartment in Boston that is filled with clues about her history, Meena’s Journalistic curiosity is piqued. The inherited apartment comes with Indian aunties who have no sense of boundaries and a hot neighbor with an adorable untrained puppy. As she unravels the clues to her origins, she learns how to let people in despite the discomfort of vulnerability and finally understands what you can have when you stop running away.

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

Desai writes the perfect combination of laugh out loud humor and sizzling hot chemistry. Daisy is a super smart, slightly socially awkward computer programmer with no interest in marriage who wants her family to stop pressuring her about it. Liam is an entrepreneur with a bad boy vibe who needs to be married to inherit and save his family’s brewery. Naturally, a marriage of convenience serves both their purposes. Except the feelings that come up aren’t quite convenient. One of the most delightful parts is how nurturing Daisy’s single father is and the fact that Liam when he was a boy found a parent in him. And of course the no-boundaries community and the auntie who makes the most disgusting food combinations that everyone eats, because: love.

Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das

This hilarious and adorable story is set in contemporary New Delhi so it’s the flip side of this theme. Samara has grown up all over the world as the motherless daughter of a diplomat father seeking home everywhere and finding it nowhere. She returns to India to photograph weddings while she waits to start grad school in New York and finds herself living with family friends. The family is grieving and Samara storms into the household like a do-gooder tornado and turns everything the right side up. Except Sharav, the oldest son, who’s lost his youth to responsibility after his father’s death. He’s engaged and broody and she makes him want to find the lost parts of himself the way he and his family have helped her find home.

Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma

My favorite thing about Sharma’s books is the deep fondness and joy with which she writes about the culture. This steamy romp delves right into the heart of immigrant life where friend groups are as invested in one another as family. After starting their relationship off on the wrong foot, Bunty and Bobbi call a truce when they’re tasked with planning their best friends’ wedding. The problem is someone is trying to sabotage the event. But there’s help to be had from a group of meddling aunties who would do anything for the kids in their community. As Bunty and Bobbi banter their way through a big fat Indian wedding, with a trip to Vegas for the bachelor-bachelorette party, we get to dive into the familial relationships their immigrant parents have built and experience how children of immigrants thrive among members of the community with the same bi-cultural identities.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

The South Asian diaspora extends to every corner of the world and has created distinct subcultures that merge a strong spine of identity from the Indian subcontinent with local culture. Heron writes about South Asian immigrants to Africa who then migrated to North America and it’s a rich world to get lost in. Jana and Anil separated five years ago after a short affair that gave them a daughter they adore. Now they’re forced to spend time with each other at a destination wedding in Serengeti National Park. In an attempt to help her get through the challenging situation, Jana’s friends come up with a list of activities to get the usually straight laced Jana out of her comfort zone. It’s a coming into your own story deeply rooted in community.

Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice by Annika Sharma

The friend group at the heart of this sweet romance calls themselves the Chai Masala Club. They’re a group of twenty somethings who’ve recently moved to New York and stand in as family for one another. This is especially important because Payal and Ayaan’s families aren’t exactly putting them first when they arrange a marriage between them to go with the merger between their family businesses. Payal and Ayaan go along with the plan in part because they want to help their families, but also because they’re both secretly planning to break off the engagement after the merger. The road toward that goal isn’t smooth when they start to get to know each other and sparks fly. Their dysfunctional families don’t help things, and if not for their found family, they might lose their chance at happiness with each other.

Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin

This delightful retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion is set in the tightly knit Golden Crescent community in Toronto. At almost thirty, Nada is struggling. The app she launched with great hope didn’t take off and living at home with a mother who can’t stop pushing her to get married and a father deeply set in his ways is making her feel helpless and stuck. So she lets her best friend drag her to the giant annual Muslim conference in downtown Toronto, where she’s reunited with Baz the great love that got away. The romance is deliciously funny and sparkling with chemistry, but it’s the community and the family that lends this book its beating heart.

The post South-Asian Books That Blur The Line Between Family and Found Family appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

From bittersweet endings to a romance trilogy following three sparkling sisters, to magical shenanigans that find characters fake dating a demon to please their family and steamy marriage of conveniences with your secret crush and romance books cover model—our romance-loving hearts are beating faster just looking at what’s on the menu for the first half of 2023!

You’ll be sure to find quite a few exciting new reads within this list and be sure to check out our other 2023 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Queer Books lists!

JANUARY

Make a Wish by Helena Hunting
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

With her signature charm, Hunting completes the Spark sisters’ trilogy in Make a Wish, a second chance-romance sure to leave you reeling. Ever have a defining life moment you wish you could do over? Harley Spark has one. The time she almost kissed the widowed father of the toddler she nannied for. It was so bad they moved across the state and she never saw them again. Fast forward seven years and she’s totally over it. At least she thinks she is. Until Gavin Rhodes and his adorable now nine-year-old daughter, Peyton, reappear at a princess-themed birthday party hosted by Spark House, Harley’s family’s event hotel.

Behind the Scenes by Karelia Stetz-Waters
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Business consultant Rose Josten might not have officially reached “pug lady” middle age, but she’s already got the pugs—along with their little Gucci coats and trash-lovin’ appetites. Still, life is good, with her work, her sisters, and a secret hobby creating incredibly tactile (if surprisingly sexy) mindfulness videos. So why does it feel like it’s not quite enough? Which is exactly when former filmmaker Ash Stewart enters camera left, and Rose’s world suddenly goes full technicolor . . .

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Always a matchmaker, never a match…Olivia Huang Christenson is excited-slash-terrified to be taking over her grandmother’s matchmaking business. But when she learns that a new dating app has made her Pó Po’s traditional Chinese zodiac approach all about “animal attraction,” her emotions skew more toward furious-slash-outraged. Especially when L.A.’s most-eligible bachelor Bennett O’Brien is behind the app that could destroy her family’s legacy . . .

Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort
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From The Astronaut and the Star author Jen Comfort comes a wildly electric romance about two musicians who collide on the stage of a Nevada opera house.

Back in a Spell by Lana Harper
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An awkward first date leads to a sparkling romance between one of the most powerful witches in town and a magical newbie in this rom-com.

Do I Know You? By Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
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When a couple starts to feel like they’re married to a stranger, a flirtatious game of pretend becomes the spark they need to reignite their relationship.

FEBRUARY

Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher
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In April Asher’s next Supernatural Singles novel, Not Your Ex’s Hexes, a one-night-stand between a willful witch and a broody half-demon conjures an adventure that wouldn’t be complete without several magical mishaps.

Radiant Sin by Katee Robert
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There’s nowhere more dangerous than Olympus…and no one more captivating than its golden god: Apollo. Keeper of secrets, master of his shining realm…and the only man Cassandra is powerless to deny. A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Apollo and Cassandra that’s as sinful as it is sweet.

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author and TikTok favorite Tessa Bailey comes a steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn…

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
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A shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with.

Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot
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Two restaurant critics learn their opposing tastes might make for a five-star relationship in the next foodie romantic comedy from the author of Sadie on a Plate.

Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow
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When a thirty-something American food writer moves to a Scottish village for one year to fulfill her dream of writing a cookbook she finds more than inspiration–she meets a handsome Scotsman she can’t resist.

MARCH

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly
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From the author of Love & Other Disasters comes a sparkling grumpy-meets-sunshine romance featuring two men’s sweeping journey across the Western wilderness.

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
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Mariel Spark knows not to trust a demon, especially one that wants her soul, but what’s a witch to do when he won’t leave her side—and she kind of doesn’t want him to?

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles
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Bridgerton meets Poldark in this sweeping LGBTQIA+ Regency romance from award-winning author KJ Charles! 

Ellie Is Cool Now by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren
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In this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, one woman finds that to keep her dream job, she’ll have to face her worst nightmare: high school.

Right Girl, Wrong Side by Ginny Baird
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Baird brings her signature charm to this multicultural story about two disputing families sharing a beach house and the messiness that comes from falling in love with someone who your family is determined to despise.

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter
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Two people make a wager on who can find love first, not realizing what they should be betting on is each other, in this new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Wrong Number.

APRIL

Happy Place by Emily Henry
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A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from Emily Henry.

Just As You Are by Camille Kellogg
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Equal parts witty and steamy, this debut rom-com brings a healthy dose of queerness and a whole lot of heart to a Pride and Prejudice-inspired enemies to lovers romance. This page-turning, sexy, and delightfully funny rom-com celebrates queer culture, chosen family, coming of age, and falling in love against your better judgment.

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur
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Lambda Literary award winner and national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur returns with a steamy Sapphic rom-com about a quiet bookseller and a romance novel cover model who agree to a modern-day marriage-of-convenience…

In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae
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With a gorgeous beachfront mansion, salty ocean breeze, steamy nights, and ALL the summertime feels, this funny, sexy queer rom-com is a celebration of summer love, as a cinnamon roll of a pastry chef finds his indie rocker crush suddenly within reach.

To Swoon and To Spar by Martha Waters
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This is a Regency rom-com set in the world of Waters’ previous books, in which a woman attempts to trick her new husband into thinking his ancestral home is haunted in order to finally get some peace and quiet, only to find herself enjoying his company instead.

Ana Mariá and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa
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A forbidden love between a Mexican heiress and a shrewd British politician makes for a tantalizing Victorian season.

MAY

That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey
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Turns out you’re never too old for a summer camp romance. Or a change of heart. When a divorced woman attends a sleepaway camp for adults only, she reconnects with a man from her past–only to catch feelings for his sister instead.

Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan
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This irresistible adult debut from beloved YA author Jennifer Dugan is a queer romcom for fans of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Written in the Stars, in which a woman gives a drunken bathroom pep talk to a hot stranger, only to find out it’s the bride-to-be she has convinced to leave her fiancé the night before the wedding.

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
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Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
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In this witty and romantic debut novel, Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene as two lifelong friends discover that, in the search for love, you sometimes don’t have to look any further than your own backyard.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The highly acclaimed author of Accidentally Engaged delivers a delightful rom-com of one woman trying to shed her perfect image at a destination wedding with hilarious—and moving—results.

Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander
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In this spectacularly enjoyable and serendipitous adventure, a chance romantic encounter during a wild night at a Mardi Gras bachelorette party sends strait-laced Serena Khan’s carefully constructed life into chaos.

JUNE

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
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Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.

Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder
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On screen, they’re in love. Off screen, they can’t stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won’t they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.

A Love Catastrophe by Helena Hunting
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The fur is about to fly between a cheerful cat sitter and a grumpy hockey nerd in this hilarious and charming rom-com by the New York Times bestselling author of Meet Cute.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
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For fans of Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After, from the author of Nora Goes Off Script comes the ultimate summer nostalgia read, about a woman whose return to her family’s beach house to plan her wedding brings her and her fiancé unexpectedly face to face with her first love who she hasn’t seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from age five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their love story, and herself.

The First Date Prophecy by Kate Tamberelli and Danny Tamberelli
Amazon | Book Depository

Danny Tamberelli, 90’s Nickelodeon star from All That and The Adventures of Pete and Pete, teams up with his real-life wife Kate Tamberelli for a zany, big-hearted, and truly laugh-out-loud debut rom-com set in Brooklyn, steeped in 90’s nostalgia, and inspired by their very own love story. For two talented romantic misfits who’ve been looking for love for so long, a prophecy from a psychic could be just another disastrous-first-date anecdote—or it could be the beginning of a love story for the ages . . .

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
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A ghostwriter and a struggling actor help each other on the page and in the bedroom in this steamy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk.

What 2023 romance books are you looking forward to picking up ? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Swoonworthy 2023 Romance Book Releases You Need appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

As far as my favorite activities go, reading romance books and eating tasty food are both way up there. So when I can combine them by reading a swoony romance featuring mouthwatering descriptions of food, I am fully here for it. In all of the books featured here, falling in love is delicious both literally and figuratively.

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker

In this absolutely delightful confection by Lucy Parker, two bakers must fight it out to see which one will earn the chance to bake the royal wedding cake. Sylvie is known for her colorful hair, glittery baked goods, and fanciful candy animals. Dominic is known for stately monochrome perfection and the lollipop stick up his ass. They might start off enemies, but as they’re forced to spend more time together in competition, the heat they begin to generate might melt all that sugar into caramel.

I literally laughed out loud the whole way through this hilarious romp. Sylvie and Dominic captured my heart as they slowly broke each other’s walls down to find the soft gooey vulnerabilities beneath. I finished the book feeling not just sad that it was over, but that I couldn’t actually visit their bakeries in real life. It’s a good thing I’m already married, because if I was wedding planning right now, I’d be disappointed by any cake that didn’t come from Sugar Fair.

So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park

A main character who runs a Korean cooking YouTube channel and meal prep service? I’m so in. Jessie Kim’s had enough of the racism and sexism in investment banking, and has to move home to figure out the next step in her career. Which involves not just the YouTube channel and meal prep service mentioned before, but a sweet love story with her main childhood enemy, Daniel.

I couldn’t get enough of the mouthwatering descriptions of Korean food depicted in Jessie’s channel, or the hilarious antics Jessie’s mother gets into as she does her best to “help” with it. This book was also a really fun look at the business side of the food world, as Jessie grows into herself and gets her food out to an audience eager for it.

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

As you might guess from the plot of my own book, I have a thing for books set on cooking reality shows. In this book, the titular Rosaline Palmer must battle her way through a British baking show, which might also involve falling for not just one but two men.

While this book leans heavier on Rosaline’s journey and her food than the romance, it is a joy to devour. Reading through each of Rosaline’s bakes and the creations of her competitors will make you crave cupcakes and crumpets. I’m already salivating for the next book in this series!

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Watching a fake-dating relationship turn into a real-dating relationship is the second-best thing ever—the first is, of course, when that transformation involves a lot of cooking and food descriptions. Which this book does. Reena, the main character, wants to enter the biggest food competition show around, except they’re only casting couples. Why not team up with the hot guy across the hall? Even if there are some complicated family dynamics intertwined with their budding friendship? And even if Reena still has some personal journeys to go on herself?

I loved Reena as soon as I read that she named her sourdough starters. Reading about all the different kinds of bread she bakes made me want to go buy out a bakery. (Special shout-out to the challah—my heroine Sadie approves!) And I loved learning more about East African Indian food and the discourse about not dumbing her family’s cuisine down for a Western palate. I can’t wait to make the Zanzibar egg curry recipe included in the back of the book!

Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson

Spoiler alert: this Romeo and Juliet retelling fortunately has a much happier ending than that of its inspiration. While their families are bitter enemies thanks to a stolen taco recipe many years ago, celebrity chef Julieta is forced to work for fast food magnate Ramón. There’s all sorts of tensions between them of both the literal variety and the sexual variety. Will the two of them overcome their families’ history to find a new start together?

Make sure you’ve got all the ingredients ready, because this book is going to make you crave tacos and all sorts of delicious Mexican food. But the world of Barrio Logan that the author builds is just as rich and vibrant, as are the important issues of gentrification and identity that the plot explores.

Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander

Sorry in advance, because this queer romance isn’t out until May, but trust me: it’s worth the wait. Pastry chef Simone has her dream job developing recipes at a food magazine, and she doesn’t need the super-friendly, super-hot nonbinary kitchen manager Ray getting their messy feelings all over her tidy, well-ordered life. But when Simone and Ray are tasked with creating a new video series together, and transphobia from some of their coworkers threatens Ray’s job and their health, Simone starts to realize that maybe she does have feelings for Ray after all.

This book presented a major dilemma: how could I bake the winter squash galette and chocolate-on-chocolate trifle that it made me crave without having to put the book down? Simone’s voice was both relatable and hilarious as she learned to loosen up, and her slow burn romance with Ray was tender, sweet, and hot. I desperately want to go to their dinner party (with Simone cooking and Ray hosting, of course).

Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliot

I couldn’t leave my own book off a list like this! Having just been fired by her ex-boyfriend/boss (yes, bad decision), Sadie is ecstatic to receive an invitation to compete on her favorite reality TV show, Chef Supreme. Surely that will revive her flailing career, right? And it’s a bonus when she has a meet-cute and a whirlwind date with the hot guy sitting next to her on the plane there. But when she turns up to set the next day and realizes that he’s the new judge, she’s going to have to keep the heat between them tamped down so that the pot doesn’t boil over and get her kicked off the show.

My book is less a romance with food than a romance about food. Because the main characters aren’t able to vocalize their feelings without consequences for most of the story, they use food as a substitute to tell the other person who they are and how they feel and what they want. I hope it makes you laugh, makes you feel happy, and above all, makes you crave the food!

The post 7 Foodie Romances to Fall in Love With (and Make You Hungry) appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

When seventeen-year-old aspiring designer Tahira Janmohammad’s coveted fashion internship falls through, her parents have a Plan B. Tahira will work in her aunt’s boutique in the small town of Bakewell, the flower capital of Ontario. It’s only for the summer, and she’ll get the experience she needs for her college application. Plus her best friend is coming along. It won’t be that bad.

But she just can’t deal with Rowan Johnston, the rude, totally obsessive garden-nerd next door with frayed cutoffs and terrible shoes. Not to mention his sharp jawline, smoldering eyes, and soft lips. So irritating. Rowan is also just the plant-boy Tahira needs to help win the Bakewell flower-arranging contest―an event that carries clout in New York City, of all places. And with designers, of all people. Connections that she needs!

No one is more surprised than Tahira to learn that floral design is almost as great as fashion design. And Rowan? Turns out he’s more than ironic shirts and soil under the fingernails. Tahira’s about to find out what she’s really made of―and made for. Because here in the middle of nowhere, Tahira is just beginning to bloom.

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The post Read An Excerpt From ‘Tahira In Bloom’ by Farah Heron appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn, and we’re feeling good about all the romance books releasing in the first half of 2021! In this list, you’ll find household names like Christina Lauren and Taylor Jenkins Reid as well as the author debuts that we cannot wait to dive into once they release.

Want more 2021 releases? Check out our lists for Most Anticipated 2021 Books, 2021 Queer Book Releases, 2021 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Book Releases, and 2021 Queer SFF Book Releases.

Read on to find out what romance books you might soon be swooning over from January to June 2021!

JANUARY

Ever After Always by Chloe Liese
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Buckle up for an emotional journey of hijinks, heartache, and a hot slow-burn in this marriage-in-crisis romance about going the distance to make love last.

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Public radio co-hosts navigate mixed signals in Rachel Lynn Solomon’s sparkling romantic comedy debut.

Shipped by Angie Hockman
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With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to her competition Graeme, Henley Evans begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?

The Marriage Code by Brooke Burroughs
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In Brooke Burroughs’s endearing debut novel set in vibrant India, enemies turned allies encounter obstacles in an unexpected multicultural romance only to discover that in the end, love is love.

FEBRUARY

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young
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The cozy comforts of an English village bookstore open up a world of new possibilities for Evie Starling in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The author of The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral returns with a story about finding love in all the wrong inboxes…

Make Up, Break Up by Lily Menon
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In Menon’s adult debut, two app developers and former flings butt heads as they find their offices right next to each other. 

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
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A refreshingly timely and relatable debut novel about a young woman whose life plans fall apart when she meets her wife.

MARCH

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
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In Act Your Age, Eve Brown the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard – literally.

Float Plan by Trish Doller
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Critically acclaimed author Trish Doller’s unforgettable and romantic adult debut about setting sail, starting over, and finding yourself…

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this romcom, a Muslim woman fakes an engagement to the boy next door in the hopes of winning a couples cooking contest – but the real prize might be even tastier.

Sweethand by N.G. Peltier
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After a messy public breakup, pastry chef Cherisse has sworn off dating. But after she’s named her sister’s maid of honor, she’s forced to spend time with the best man, Keiran, who she’s never gotten along with. Until now…

APRIL

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
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From the author of You Deserve Each Other comes a charming and unconventional romantic comedy about a woman who inherits a sprawling estate with a groundskeeper whose stoic exterior masks a surprising vulnerability.

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
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A hilariously quirky novel that is equal parts murder mystery, rom-com, and a celebration of mothers and daughters as well as a deep dive into Chinese-Indonesian culture.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
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From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two old women under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters
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 The author of the hilarious To Have and to Hoax returns with an effervescent, charming, and swoon-worthy novel about a man and woman who never agree on anything until they agree to a no-strings-attached affair in this Regency-era romp.

MAY

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
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With one week to win back the best friend she might just be in love with, a travel writer plans the trip of a lifetime in this sparkling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read.

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
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Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
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New York Times and USA Today bestseller Alyssa Coles second Runaway Royals novel is a queer Anastasia retelling, featuring a long-lost princess who finds love with the female investigator tasked with tracking her down.

JUNE

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes the long anticipated romantic comedy that puts a queer spin on Kate & Leopold.

The Layover by Lacie Waldon
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An unexpected tropical layover with her nemesis turns a flight attendant’s life upside down in this witty, breezy debut romantic comedy about life–and love–30,000 feet above the ground.

Anne of Manhattan by Brina Starler
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Pitched as a modern-day, grown-up retelling of L.M. Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables, Anne and Gilbert collide in their final year at NYU.

Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey
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A charming and heartwarming new romantic comedy by the author of Waiting for Tom Hanks, Kerry Winfrey. 

What 2021 romance releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Swoon Over These 2021 Romance Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.