Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Mhairi McFarlane’s Cover Story, which releases on October 7th 2025.

Bel has just landed a job at the Manchester office of a big national newspaper, coming off the success of her latest award-winning podcast. The team is small, consisting of Bel, her ambitious colleague Aaron, and the new intern. But when the intern turns out to be a thirtysomething man called Connor, she’s not impressed. She’s patronizing, he’s hostile: it’s a terrible start.

Connor’s life is in a state of collapse. He’s left his seemingly perfect life in London—a well-paying job, great apartment, and beautiful girlfriend—for a chance to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a reporter. After a bad first impression with Bel, his internship begins to feel like another in a series of poor decisions. But if Connor were honest with himself, she’s the first bit of excitement he’s felt in a very long time.

When Bel suddenly finds herself at the heels of a huge story, she’s determined to see it through— even if it means involving the inscrutable and aloof Connor. Before they know it, they must convince people they’re not just a couple, but a couple madly in love. If they mess up, Bel’s cover is blown and the biggest story she’ll ever have landed will disappear, along with justice for its sources.

But as time goes on, Bel and Connor start to wonder if their cover story is just an act, or if their feelings are real…

EXCERPT

“Hi . . . ?” Connor said, hesitantly, as he drew level, removing his sunglasses.

“Hi yourself!” Bel said, in a voice that implied this was funny, in a way they both understood.

She could see him taking in her hair, makeup, the violet sundress with gold platform sandals, the whole “not working from home, in fact, pavement boozing” vibe, while not looking at all like Bel Macauley. Dissonant cues everywhere, confusion jangling like wind chimes. His knitted brow said: Was Bel some sort of grifting sociopath, using the “investigations editor” title to get wasted on the newspaper dime?

She had to leap, or it was game over.

“Amber. This is Connor. My boyfriend,” she said, looking directly at him, enunciating clearly and confidently. She injected a note of shy girlish pride, inhabiting the role of A Woman Head Over Her Esska Heels: undoubtedly her most skillful acting yet.

Connor, understandably, stared at her in alarm, wondering if he’d misheard. Yet crucially, in the moments that followed, he made no response. Mute stupefaction was desirable— Bel could work with silence until Connor, she hoped against hope, caught up. It was a coin flip: surely he’d take some self-righteous pleasure in making her look ridiculous. She was at his mercy, and she didn’t fancy his stocks of mercy were high.

“Pleased to meet you, Connor,” Amber said. “I’m Bella’s new BFF. Laurent-Perrier introduced us, hahahaha.”

“I was hot desking in there”—Bel nodded into the bar—“and got into a major Bridezilla spat with Shilpa about her hen do on FaceTime, tell you later,” she said, with a theatrical eye roll, “and I needed a drink. This absolute babe has bought me bubbles to cheer me up.” She paused. “What are you doing here?”

Her palms were now slick with sweat. Ironically, it was a question she’d like answered, just absolutely not right now. Connor hadn’t been in the office this morning; she’d assumed he’d been sent out in the field.

“Checking out Didsbury House Hotel for my brother’s imminent visit. He likes eyes on his options. I’ve got a day off in lieu today . . .” Connor hesitated. “Remember?”

“Oh, of course!” Bel said. “Looking forward to meeting him.”

There was a tense beat where Bel realized the blindsided Connor couldn’t risk saying anything else without knowing the terms of her batshit fiction.

“How long have you two been together?” said Amber curiously.

Bel quietly panicked that whether consciously or not, Amber was registering it was quite odd for a couple not to share notes on their whereabouts. If it didn’t bother her now, it might do later. It was too soon for unusual things to start happening. Bel had to bluster with enough force that it was forgotten.

“Erm . . .” Bel contorted her face, as if trying to do genuine calculations. “Where are we now, June? That’s eight months, give or take? We met at a Halloween party in London. What a night that was, Con.”

She let go a goofy dirty laugh, in her Bella mode. Con. Well, quite.

“Aww. Was it love at first sight?” Amber said, looking to Bel and then to Connor.

“Erm . . .” he said, with a look of consternation. Was he going to give up? Sorry, I’ve missed a page here . . .

“Difficult to say, thanks to the fancy dress,” Connor said, after a throat clearing. “Harley Quinn costume. I was glad to find out the hair was a wig.”

She had another rush of adrenaline, this time in relief flavor.

“I went all in,” Bel agreed.

“Remind me what Harley Quinn looks like again?” Amber said.

O, fuck. Bel couldn’t remember at all. Was she in a superhero movie? Supervillain?

She opened her mouth and nothing came out.

“Fishnets, pigtails, hot pants and a baseball bat,” Connor supplied. “Reflective of Bel’s complicated nature.”

Bel gave silent thanks to him, and that she’d gone for a spin on her forename as her alter ego.

“Love it,” Amber drawled, dragging on her vape pen and giving Connor an appraising, appreciative look. “What did you go as?”

“Gomez Addams,” Bel said hastily, returning the favor.

“Mustache, pin-striped suit,” Amber said. Her eyes ran up and down him and Bel had to concede, his being superficially hot was useful distraction right now. “Want to join us, Connor?”

Bel opened her mouth, but Connor was there first: “I’d love to, but apologies for not stopping, I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm. Nice to meet you, Amber. See you later.” He addressed his Not Girlfriend. He paused. “Call me if you need picking up?” Bel was, for now, brokenly grateful.

“Sure. See you later, darling!” Bel trilled, trying to keep the tense relief out of her voice.

“Well, well done, you,” Amber said, as Connor cleared earshot range, and Bel’s heart rate started slowing. “He’s gorgeous. Where did you say you found him again?”

“Soho. Liked it, clubbed it over the head and dragged it back north,” Bel said, as Amber gurgled.

“He left his job?” Amber said.

“No, they let him move to remote, like me. He’s in finance.” Bel waved her hand. “Please don’t ask me what he does, exactly.”

“I’ll never put you on that spot,” Amber said. “When we’ve finished the bottle, I might make you tell me what he’s like in”— she cupped both hands round her mouth to whisper— “bed, though.”

“Oh, he’s an earthquake,” Bel said, with a knowing look. “Never had better.”

Amber made an oh my God swoon face. Bel smiled, sipped from her flute and thought she’d be lucky to keep her lunch down.

From COVER STORY by Mhairi McFarlane. Copyright © 2025 by Mhairi McFarlane. Reprinted by permission of Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Mhairi McFarlane’s You Belong With Me, which releases on September 3rd 2024.

She found The One. But when everyone wants him, can she keep him?

Edie found true love. And on Christmas day, he’s knocking at her door.

Elliot Owen is handsome, charming and basically Hollywood royalty. And, he insists, madly in love with Edie Thompson: an ordinary citizen with tomato soup stains on her coat. It’s going to be complicated. Edie will have to learn how to live in the limelight, but they’re just too good together not to try.

Edie discovers it’s not easy when the press is the third person in your relationship, or when stories start leaking that force you to mistrust the motives of those around you. It’s tricky when you’re separated by an ocean and gorgeous co-stars and charismatic new colleagues are closer by. It’s harder still when your past is raked up by envious people determined to destroy your present.

Edie already knows how it feels to be infamous, now she’s going to find out what it’s like to be famous.

Are she and Elliot a fairytale, or a cautionary fable about getting what you wish for?

PROLOGUE

“It’s someone for you.”

Edie frowned after Meg spoke. She took off the oven glove and placed it next to the pigs in blankets, crossing the room and weaving past her grinning, flushed sibling. Meg reflexively removed her paper hat as if a hearse rather than her elder sister was passing.

Edie knew exactly who was at the door, and yet she still didn’t know, both at the same time. Perfect certainty and the precariousness of hope.

The Christmas Day cook’s cava had her bumping along merrily as it was; now she face-planted down a log flume of it.

The caller at the end of the hall came into focus, his face partially obscured by a large, brown-paper-wrapped bunch of white roses. Fireworks went off inside Edie.

“Are roses kind of ‘cheating husband’ cheesy? I don’t speak fluent ‘flower,’” Elliot Owen said, lowering the roses and offering them to her.

He somehow looked better than she remembered.

He was in a grey winter coat, with a turned-up collar, that whispered at least a grand, possibly even two. His dark hair had been unusually short for a role but was now grown out a little and starting to curl.

Edie accepted the roses with a small exclamation of gratitude, momentarily unable to respond.

“You’re not pissed off I’ve crashed your Christmas Day?” Elliot said, an anxious look she knew so well crossing his face.

“No . . . I’m merely stunned at seeing you,” Edie said, inclining her head toward the flowers. “Thank you. Cheating husband.”

“I haven’t, obviously,” Elliot said.

A few beats of creaky silence followed as the remark landed heavily: first the idea of marriage and then the notion that he could somehow cheat on her in their current circumstances.

Edie had absolutely no idea what to say, so they were left looking at each other with a you go first intensity and longing. She was glad she’d declined the “Santa’s Chimney Legs” deely boppers.

“I didn’t come round only to be a flashy shithouse with a bouquet,” Elliot said eventually. “I was going to say—I’m pretty sure delivery isn’t that much extra if you’d wanted to pay for it,” Edie said, trying to emulate a level of savvy-comeback composure she didn’t feel.

She was incredibly touched and excited that he was here. She also didn’t think microdosing Elliot Owen was ever going to work, so she had the roller-coaster sickness.

Call her a pessimist, but an inner voice was already scoffing: yeah, lovely, he wants to call in and see you on Christmas Day, but imagine the emptiness next year when he doesn’t. When he can’t. When you know why he won’t.

This was precisely why she’d ended it. She wasn’t going to perform the emotional equivalent of barefoot free-climbing the Burj Khalifa to prove it couldn’t be done and confirm that falling the distance would break her. What they’d had was too perfect and good to end that way. She foresaw inevitable outcomes.

And yet, he was here. And suddenly nothing else mattered.

Elliot cleared his throat. “I wanted to say . . .”

Edie glanced over her shoulder as there was a scuffle behind them and a ceremonious closing of the dining-room door—as if a festive table full of people who’d been trying to listen in to catch the mood of the interaction had decided they probably shouldn’t.

“The reasons you gave for dumping me—they were bullshit,” Elliot said, breaking into a wide smile of nervous relief that he was finally risking saying the thing, and that Edie was at least smiling back.

“I’ve thought about nothing else but you since I last saw you,” he said, as Edie tried to look intelligently neutral and not to fall forward into his arms. “You said you couldn’t fit in with my career? And that I couldn’t manage with your wanting to stay here.”

“That was the size of it, yes,” Edie said, leaning on the door jamb, supposedly casually but actually a little bit for support.

“. . . Thing is, I want you more than I want the career. Why am I binning you off to make way for it? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

Edie felt faint and hot in the misty December air. She was wholly unprepared for this and would need to hide in flippancy. “Is the plan for you to retrain as an electrician and plumber?”

“It’s recession-proof work,” Elliot said.

“Haha. You’d look like Derek Zoolander as a coal miner.”

“Listen, I’m a twat who can’t do anything else—I mostly enjoy acting. And I need to keep all my hot sluts in bunches of roses.”

Edie properly laughed. She was a fool for him when he dropped posh actor Elliot and used his real accent.

“But I’m the only person in charge of my life. If I want the jobs I take to suit having a girlfriend in the East Midlands, they will. Simple as that.”

A pause.

“Elliot . . .” Edie began. “It’s amazing you’d offer.” She adjusted her hands on the brown paper around the roses, felt her fingertips dappling it with sweat marks. “But I didn’t give you up for trivial reasons. It was the hardest, most grown-up decision I’ve ever made, but I thought about it from every angle, and there wasn’t any other way.”

From You Belong With Me by Mhairi McFarlane. Copyright © 2024 by Mhairi McFarlane. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

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Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Mhairi McFarlane’s Between Us, which is out now!

When Roisin and Joe join their friends for a weekend at a country house, it’s a triple celebration–a birthday, an engagement, and the launch of Joe’s shiny new TV show. But as the weekend unfolds, tensions come to light in the group and Roisin begins to question her own relationship. And as they watch the first episode of Joe’s drama, she realizes that the private things she told him–which should have stayed between them–are right there on the screen.

With her friend group in chaos and her messy love life on display for the whole world to see, Roisin returns home to avoid the unwanted attention and help run her family’s pub. But drama still follows, in the form of her dysfunctional family and the looming question: what other parts of her now-ex’s show are inspired by real events? Lies? Infidelity? Every week, as a new episode airs, she wonders what other secrets will be revealed.

Yet the most unexpected twist of all is an old friend, who is suddenly there for Roisin in ways she never knew she needed…

Joe’s diary used to be: get up, drink black coffee, preferably wash, write, stick something in the oven, more writing. Rinse and repeat. Now it became complicated and ablaze with fuss. Roisin learned the lingo of “co pros” and “turnaround” and “punches.”

After a day of high-powered breakfast and lunch meetings in the capital, Joe would get off the train mid-evening at Manchester Piccadilly, and Roisin would meet him for dinner out.

He’d talk too fast and they’d drink too fast, and she gloried in every last detail of the latest developments. She was so pleased for him and always thought, girlfriend bias aside, he had the talent to make it.

Then the work came so thick and fast it often made sense to stay in London overnight, and Hollywood called, and he was flying back and forth to Los Angeles.

A production company in New York bought the rights to another of his ideas. At some point, Roisin accepted get past this week and things will calm down a bit was a coping mechanism lie of adulthood.

Joe being away never bothered Roisin. She enjoyed her own company, liked hearing about his adventures.

Yet somehow, at some point, hectic and mentally occupied became cold and detached.

Roisin learned not to message Joe when he was away, because she rarely got much back. He must be the only man, she thought, to deploy the heart react emoji to WhatsApps as a dismissal.

How’d it go with Searchlight? Heart. Did the hire car get replaced? Heart. Oh my God, that ginger cat is back soiling our garden! Pooing with his tail vibrating, making unnerving eye contact! Heart. You heart defecating cats, okay.

She’d not raised it. When someone comes through the door after five days away bearing a duty-free Toblerone, you don’t want to greet them with whining.

A thought came to Roisin, and once she’d had the thought she couldn’t unhave it: the prolonged absences were doubling as practice for breaking up. Each time he returned, he was a degree more distant than the last time.

Life had fundamentally changed, or maybe more accurately and painfully, Joe had changed. Can success really change a person, though? she wondered. Maybe it only brings elements that were always there to the fore?

The humor that once bonded them felt like sparring, underscored by resentment. Like an arm-wrestling bout that had to have a winner.

Plans with their friends were an obligation, if not an irritation— Joe always had something slighting to say.

God, that place again? We’ve become bourgeoise. Soon we’ll have bless this mess decal stickers on our trash bins.

She half wondered if hating on Matt was a way of carving out a convenient exit from the Brian Club. Sorry, not if he’s there—I can’t stand him.

Sex had dwindled, and when it occurred, it had the unmistakable sense of reaching a deadline: best do it or it’ll become a thing we haven’t done it.

When they first met, the spark between them was obvious. Joe had immediately mentioned he had a long-distance girlfriend, Bea, back in his home city, York.

Nothing had happened between Joe and Roisin—nor would it, if the girlfriend had remained; Roisin wasn’t into foul play— but she’d catch Joe looking at her, across tables, at the hour of the night when blood alcohol levels were high and the lights were low.

One Friday afternoon, Joe had found Roisin alone in a corner of the shop, stickering Signed By the Author copies of Terry Pratchett.

“I want you to know. I’m ending it with Bea.”

“Okay,” Roisin said.

“When I’ve done that, I’m going to ask you out.”

“Okay,” Roisin said, and tried not to flush sunset red.

He walked away. Whoa. Quietly spoken Joe, with a love of the graphic novels of Alan Moore and a winning resemblance to young John Cusack, had a streak of real confidence. It was undeniably, hugely attractive.

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We chat with Mhairi all about her new novel Mad About You, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!

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

Oh God! Do I have to? My favourite thing about my job is never having to write a CV again. (Well, I hope). I’m a British romantic comedy author, I live in Nottingham and I have a fluffy cat. Think Joan Wilder in Romancing The Stone but less glamorous, and less likely to have a man in cowboy boots roll up to her window in a sail boat on a trailer.

When did you first discover your love for writing?

Probably like a lot of writers, I don’t recall a time I wasn’t writing, really. I loved making up stories as a kid and I had a natural impulse to fill A4 lined books with my rambling nonsense. Many survive, written in felt tip, with capital letters EWAN DO NOT READ THIS!!! printed on cover. (Ewan is my little brother, and I don’t doubt these warnings were highly effective).

Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!

Ooof. First I read myself, I guess: this wasn’t my first ever, so don’t call the police, but I used to hoover up the titles on my mum’s bookshelves (I was that kind of precocious kid, who always suspected the party was going on elsewhere). So I read feminist memoir like Gloria Steinem, non fiction books on assertiveness training, (!! Didn’t work) and the one that really sticks in my head: White Palace by Glenn Savan. (It got made into a film with Susan Sarandon and James Spader). I would be about 10 years old, and totally unable to grasp a lot of it – thankfully! – but lines in it stick in my head to this day. ‘It was important not to mistake part of the truth for the whole of the truth.’

Author inspo? Let’s go with Pride & Prejudice. Jane Austen’s humour, her social observation, her sheer calm ability to simply story tell in that authoritative voice. It made me realise that romance can be society, in a box. With added hope and redemption.

One I can’t stop thinking about: Kate Atkinson ‘Behind The Scenes At The Museum.’ She has this incredible way of describing patterns and echoes down generations, and it must be getting on for 25 years since I read it, yet it was in my mind writing my current novel.

Your new novel, Mad About You, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Acerbic. Funny. Warm. Heartbreaking. Hopeful.

What can readers expect?

A humorous novel about a wedding photographer in Leeds, northern England, which spins off into deeper, darker territory about the insidious nature of abusive relationships. But humorous! And there’s hotness and flirting.

Where did the inspiration for Mad About You come from?

I don’t want to spoiler but there is a serious issue it covers which I’d wanted to write about for a while. I couldn’t figure out how it fitted into the tone and essential joy of romantic comedy. Once I realised my protagonist had experienced this in her past, not her present, the puzzle pieces all started fitting together. The theme of the novel throughout – which I only realised with hindsight! Often the way – is control, and the varying forms control can take. Hopefully the book is fun though. J Light and shade!

Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?

Again, hard to do this without spoilering but the plot involves the heroine making a stand, and there being a blowback for that, and the heroine working out how she’ll up the ante. That effectively meant stakes going higher and higher, and that took some thinking about. I spent a lot of time talking to my editor and playing the What If? game, which is how all fiction works, I think. By the way, never let anyone tell you there’s anything harder than plot. I think building a surprising yet satisfying narrative is honestly the toughest part of a novel. Your readers are a sophisticated audience. Who can easily choose Netflix instead if you’re not delivering the goods, haha.

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

Hah, I LOVE writing monsters who don’t know they’re monsters, so fiancé Jon and mother in law from hell, Jacqueline, were a real pleasure. Jon is the part of the book I’m proudest of: a man completely trapped inside his own interests and selfish rationales, yet convinced he’s the perfect gentleman. There’s a few of him out there.

What do you love about the romance genre?

There is so much to love: principally, how you get to describe the ways people treat each other, and like the Godmother of the genre, Jane Austen, that’s not confined to how people treat each other romantically. In Mad About You there’s a passage about how 21^st C ‘social media Gatsbys’ behave, essentially what the popular kids at school are like in their moneyed thirties. I loved writing it, as social commentary: they’re a type! They exist! Also I’d love a reader to take all the British references in that section and swap them for the American ones. Like ‘They arrive in work on a Monday, straight from a hedonistic weekend away on the Eurostar….’ Is that a Greyhound bus for you?! OK, maybe not…this is why I need your help.

What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?

This is a brilliant question that I don’t think I’ve ever been asked before. Best. Hmmm. ‘Lie about anything except emotions.’ This is very true, I think. Or if it isn’t, I’ve never found the contradiction. Absolutely everything is up for grabs for reinvention, but human nature springs eternal. If it didn’t, we’d not still get so much from Shakespeare.

Worst, easy! When I was unpublished, I hoovered up tons of online advice, couldn’t get enough of it. My debut novel You Had Me At Hello was in first draft stage. About a quarter of the book is flashback because the protagonists met at university, so I run a ‘Did They Didn’t They?’ in past tense timeline, alongside the present tense ‘Will They Won’t They.’ I read this piece by an incredibly stern woman in horn rim specs saying NEVER EVER INCLUDE FLASHBACKS THEY SLOW THE NARRATIVE! Thinking I’d stumbled across immutable law instead of a clumsy arbitrary opinion, I wailed to a friend I’d best take all the university flashbacks out of my book. He replied “VS Naipaul uses flashbacks. However, I’ve never heard of this woman.” That cured me.

What’s next for you?

My ninth rom com for HarperCollins! You’ve caught me in a good day when I absolutely love the WIP. Ask me next week and I’ll probably be begging to bin it J

Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers? Any you’re looking forward to in 2023?

Sally Thorne, the genius behind The Hating Game, has written a brilliant Gothic historical romance called Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match. It once again proves there is no one out there quite like Sally. Her mind is a wonder.

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Eve, Justin, Susie, and Ed have been friends since they were teenagers. Now in their thirties, the four are as close as ever, Thursday night bar trivia is sacred, and Eve is still secretly in love with Ed. Maybe she should have moved on by now, but she can’t stop thinking about what could have been. And she knows Ed still thinks about it, too.

But then, in an instant, their lives are changed forever.

In the aftermath, Eve’s world is upended. As stunning secrets are revealed, she begins to wonder if she really knew her friends as well as she thought. And when someone from the past comes back into her life, Eve’s future veers in a surprising new direction…

They say every love story starts with a single moment. What if it was just last night?

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We’re sure you all know the feeling. You read a book, you love it even, but there is that part of you that wishes that these characters were queer. So, our contributors Mimi and Simone asked their Instagram followers for their favourite straight reads that they wish were a little… not so straight. 

Now, we would like to present to you: “If you liked… then you’ll like… “ QUEER EDITION. 

We have paired each straight book with a queer book we think you will really enjoy if you’ve liked the original. Our picks vary from all-time classics, to sweet teenage romances, and to fabulous fantasy adventures. We are sure that there is one pick for everyone here!

CLASSICS

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen → Gay Pride and Prejudice by Kate Christie

Pride and Prejudice:

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work “her own darling child” and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.” The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen’s radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Gay Pride and Prejudice:

Like other variations on Jane Austen’s classic romance novel, Gay Pride & Prejudice poses a question: What if some among Austen’s characters preferred the company of their own sex? In this queer revision of the classic original, Kate Christie offers an alternate version of love, friendship, and marriage for Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and others among their circle of friends. But even as the path to love veers from the straight and narrow, the destination remains much the same.

Dracula by Bram Stoker → The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Dracula:

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client’s castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman’s neck; and a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his ‘Master’. In the ensuing battle of wits between the sinister Count and a determined group of adversaries, Bram Stoker created a masterpiece of the horror genre, probing into questions of identity, sanity and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire.

The Deathless Girls:

They say the thirst of blood is like a madness – they must sate it. Even with their own kin. On the eve of her divining, the day she’ll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community.

Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn’t understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts. They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate… 

ROMANCE

Josh and Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating by Christina Lauren → Tell Me It’s Real by TJ Klune

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating:

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air. Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?

Tell Me It’s Real:

Do you believe in love at first sight? Paul Auster doesn’t. Paul doesn’t believe in much at all. He’s thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother’s homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.

Enter Vince Taylor. Vince is everything Paul isn’t: Sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.

But when Paul hits Vince with his car – in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it’d-only-be-manslaughter kind of way – he’s forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself – and that is one obstacle Paul can’t quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince’s family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he’s perfect the way he is.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane → Almost Like Being In Love by Steve Kluger

Don’t You Forget About Me:

If there’s one thing worse than being fired from the grottiest restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else.

Reeling from the indignity of a double dumping on the same day, Georgina snatches at the next job that she’s offered – barmaid in a newly opened pub, which just so happens to run by the boy she fell in love with at school: Lucas McCarthy. And whereas Georgina (voted Most Likely to Succeed in her school yearbook) has done nothing but dead-end jobs in the last twelve years, Lucas has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but also has turned into an actual grown-up with a business and a dog along the way.

Meeting Lucas again not only throws Georgina’s rackety present into sharp relief, but also brings a dark secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows the truth about what happened on the last day of school, and why she’s allowed it to chase her all these years… 

Almost Like Being In Love:

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years. Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing …. Travis is the first to figure it out. He’s still in love with Craig, and come what may, he’s going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown.

Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who’s wondered what ever happened to that first great love.

FANTASY

Cinder by Marissa Meyer → Tarnished Are The Stars by Rosiee Thor

Cinder:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Tarnished Are The Stars:

A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher’s chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog — donning the moniker Technician — to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner’s tyrannical laws.

Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner’s son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father’s respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father’s elusive affection is worth chasing at all.

Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner’s secrets at any cost — even if it means betraying her own heart.

When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic — before the Commissioner ends them first.

Vicious by VE Schwab → The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune

Vicious:

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

The Extraordinaries:

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right? After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

YOUNG ADULT

Geekerella by Ashley Poston → Ship It by Britta Lundin

Geekerella:

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Ship It:

CLAIRE is a sixteen-year-old fangirl obsessed with the show Demon Heart. FOREST is an actor on Demon Heart who dreams of bigger roles. When the two meet at a local Comic-Con panel, it’s a dream come true for Claire. Until the Q&A, that is, when Forest laughs off Claire’s assertion that his character is gay.

Claire is devastated. After all, every last word of her super-popular fanfic revolves around the romance between Forest’s character and his male frenemy. She can’t believe her hero turned out to be a closed-minded jerk. Forest is mostly confused that anyone would think his character is gay. Because he’s not. Definitely not.

Unfortunately for Demon Heart, when the video of the disastrous Q&A goes viral, the producers have a PR nightmare on their hands. In order to help bolster their image within the LGBTQ+ community-as well as with their fans-they hire Claire to join the cast for the rest of their publicity tour. What ensues is a series of colorful Comic-Con clashes between the fans and the show that lead Forest to question his assumptions about sexuality and help Claire come out of her shell. But how far will Claire go to make her ship canon? To what lengths will Forest go to stop her and protect his career? And will Claire ever get the guts to make a move on Tess, the very cute, extremely cool fanartist she keeps running into?

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins → This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender

Lola and the Boy Next Door:

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story:

Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings. Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after?

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post If You Liked, You’ll Like: Queer Edition appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our January to June picks and tell us in the comments below if you will be checking any of these out!

JANUARY

Marriage on Madison Avenue (Central Park Pact #3) by Lauren Layne
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne, comes the final instalment of the Central Park Pact series, a heartfelt and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that’s perfect for fans of Sally Thorne and Christina Lauren.

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey returns with a unique, sexy romantic comedy about a young married couple whose rocky relationship needs a serious renovation.

You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Acclaimed author Colleen Oakley delivers a heart-wrenching and unforgettable love story about a woman who must choose between the man she loves and the man fate has chosen for her in a novel that reminds us that the best life is one led by the heart.

A Favor for a Favor (All In #2) by Helena Hunting
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the New York Times bestselling author of Pucked and A Lie for a Lie, a new stand-alone romance about trading favours, battling wills, and winning love.

And Then One Day by Samantha Chase
Goodreads | Amazon

Courtney Baker is ready to put small town life—and the man she can’t have—behind her. At least she’ll be able to forget all about it when she leaves town in less than 48 hours. It takes a lot to surprise Dean Jones, but a kiss from the girl he’s been secretly attracted to for years does just that and he doesn’t want to let her go. But she’s his sister’s best friend and that’s a line he knows he should never cross.

Frenemies by Emma Hart
Goodreads | Amazon

There are some things you just have to deal with. Like your hot as hell college booty call moving in next door with his adorable daughter. The only time we’ve ever gotten along is under the sheets. My roommate is determined to see me married before she bites the dust. Unfortunately for me, she’s got her eye set on Cameron Black.

FEBRUARY

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Critically acclaimed author Mia Sosa delivers a sassy, steamy enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about a woman whose new job requires her to work side-by-side with the best man who ruined her wedding: her ex-fiancé’s infuriating, irritating, annoyingly handsome brother. Perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Helen Hoang, and Sally Thorne!

A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Tyson Trice finds himself tossed into the wealthy coastal community of Pacific Hills after recovering from being shot and surviving the rough streets of Lindenwood. Golden girl Nandy Smith has spent most of her life building the pristine image that it takes to fit in when it comes to her hometown Pacific Hills where image is everything. After learning that her parents are taking in a troubled teen boy, Nandy fears her summer plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames.

The Kissing Game by Marie Harte
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Rena Jackson is ready. She’s worked her tail off to open up her own hair salon, and she’s almost ready to quit her job at the dive bar. Rena’s also a diehard romantic, and she’s had her eye on bar regular Axel Heller for a while. He’s got that tall-brooding-and-handsome thing going big time. Problem is, he’s got that buttoned-up Germanic ice man thing going as well. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Rena’s about ready to give up on Axel and find her own Mr. Right.

Been There, Married That by Gigi Levangie Grazer
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Been There, Married That is a drop-dead hilarious battle of wills that will make you laugh out loud, cringe, and keep turning the pages to see what crazy disaster will happen to Agnes next…and how she’ll rise from the ashes.

Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give.

Loud Mouth by Avery Flynn
Goodreads | Amazon

Don’t miss the next hot, hockey romcom from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

MARCH

The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the New York Times bestselling author behind The Unhoneymooners comes a delightfully charming love story about what happens when two assistants tasked with keeping a rocky relationship from explosion start to feel sparks of their own.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day—a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever.

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assist Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart… even while she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Internationally bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane returns with another heartful romantic comedy perfect for fans of Josie Silver, Sophie Kinsella, or Sally Thorne.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this next captivating love story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December, a young woman is reunited with her late fiancé in a parallel life. But is this happy ending the one she really wants?

All I Ask by Corinne Michaels
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the New York Times bestselling author of One Last Time comes a breathtaking story about first love, second chances, and starting over.

APRIL

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone comes an adorable and fresh romantic comedy about one trouble-making dog who brings together two perfect strangers.

Not That Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An office attraction becomes something more when they’re off the clock in this delightful romantic comedy by the USA Today bestselling author of Not the Girl You Marry.

The Ingredients of You and Me by Nina Bocci
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of On the Corner of Love and Hate comes a sizzling and sweet small-town love story that follows a bakery store owner who decides to take her chances on a truly hopeless romantic.

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy debut.

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this fresh and hilarious historical rom-com, an estranged husband and wife in Regency England feign accidents and illness in an attempt to gain attention—and maybe just win each other back in the process.

The Business of Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

All is fair in love and lust in New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey’s tale of two brothers, four women, and the business of desire.

MAY

The Trouble With Hating You by Sajni Patel
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy debut about first impressions, second chances, and finding the love of your life in the most unexpected way.

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance.

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers in the vein of Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series by USA Today and New York Times bestselling author duo Kit Rocha.

Beach Read by Emily Henry
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When Graham Barnett named his diner The Tourist Trap, he meant it as a joke. Now he’s stuck slinging reindeer dogs to an endless string of resort visitors who couldn’t interest him less. Not even the sweet, enthusiastic tourist in the corner who blushes every time he looks her way…

Hideaway by Nora Roberts
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional new suspense novel.

JUNE

The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Making it up the aisle was the easy part: After marrying the heir to the throne, Rebecca “Bex” Porter must survive her own scandals as she adjusts to life in the glamorous British royal family, in this “highly anticipated” follow-up to The Royal We.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral…

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A high stakes wager pits an aspiring entrepreneur against a ruthless CEO in this sexy romantic comedy.

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

USA Today bestselling author Farrah Rochon launches a new series about three young women who become friends when the live Tweeting of a disastrous date leads them to discover they’ve all been duped by the same man.

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Two girls embark on a summer of montage-worthy dates (with a few strings attached) in this hilarious and heartfelt lesbian rom-com that’s perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jenny Han.

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the much-anticipated final book in her Bareknuckle Bastards series, featuring a scoundrel duke and the powerful woman who brings him to his knees.

What romance release are you looking forward to the most? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Most Anticipated 2020 Romance Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.