Cozy Fall Romances

The Seven Year

Slip by Ashley Poston

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

Can they stop hating each other long enough to fall in love?

When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly.

A free-spirited, struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual, Ari sublets, takes gigs, and she never sleeps over after hooking up. Born-and-bred Manhattanite Josh has ambitious plans: Take the culinary world by storm, find The One, and make her breakfast in his spotless kitchen. They have absolutely nothing in common . . . except that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman.

Ari and Josh never expect their paths to cross again. But years later, as they’re both reeling from ego-bruising breakups, a chance encounter leads to a surprising connection: friendship. Turns out, spending time with your former nemesis is fun when you’re too sad to hate each other—and too sad for hate sex.

As friends-without-benefits, they find comfort in late-night Netflix binges, swiping through each other’s online dating profiles, and bickering across boroughs. It’s better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur. . . .

Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt

When falling in love is the punchline…

Farley Jones is a loud, chaotic, and hilariously clever standup comedian on the way to stardom. The only thing she loves more than the rush of telling jokes in front of a revved-up audience is her hot older manager Meyer, though he doesn’t have a clue. Keeping her feelings hidden from him is agony (a tragedy, even―in lieu of flowers, please send cash...) but Meyer has been Farley’s closest and most treasured friend, not to mention vital to the trajectory of her career. She can’t risk ruining their relationship by telling him how she truly feels. After all, who else would have the patience to put up with a hot mess like her?

A former standup star himself, single father Meyer Harrigan left the stage years ago in order to focus on raising his deaf daughter Hazel. Farley has been everything to them since she came into their lives three years ago, and despite his grumpiness, his protectiveness over Hazel, and his disdain for public attention, Meyer will do anything to make her standup dreams come true.

When the biggest opportunity of Farley’s career comes along and forces the pair to fake-date in order to stir up publicity, it doesn't take long for their act to bring all those other funny feelings out into the open. Like most matters of the heart, it quickly begins to feel like anything but a joke.

Just Between Us by Madison Wright

Ellie Bates is in big trouble.

When her parents, the owners of the apartment complex she manages, tell her she’s on her last strike, Ellie knows she can’t break any more rules or risk getting fired. She needs to tread very, very carefully or chance falling straight through this thin ice beneath her feet.

That’s easier said than done when Camden Lane moves into her complex and starts flipping her world upside down. But dating residents is off-limits and getting close to him is a rule she's not willing to break.

Camden Lane can’t get Ellie out of his head.

He may be in town for work, but it’s Ellie that his focus keeps drifting toward. Between his impending departure date and her parent’s rules, he knows nothing can happen. Except, the more time they spend together, the harder and harder it gets to resist the pull they feel toward each other.

When the lines between them start to blur, Camden and Ellie have to decide where their priorities lie. Is what they have worth what’s at stake?

Love at the Salted Caramel Cafe by Angie Ellington

Sierra Blake has returned home to Mill Hollows, Virginia. She's lost her job as a hotel marketing executive. She knew getting romantically involved with the son of the franchise owner was a bad idea. Turning down his marriage proposal left Sierra updating her resume and needing a change of scenery. Returning to the small football-loving town located in view of the Blue Ridge Parkway is definitely a change of scenery from the sultry heat and water sport enthusiast city of Tampa. Wes Carter is new to Mill Hollows and stirring up more than sediment and rocks for geology sampling upon meeting the beautiful Sierra Blake at the Salted Caramel Cafe. Renting the cabin next door to the Blake family gives him views of the Roanoke Valley and reasons to contemplate leaving behind his days of suitcase living. Fall in Virginia isn't the only chill in the air. The last time Sierra saw her younger sibling, Roxie, the two didn't exactly leave each other on the best of terms. Then again, they've butted heads since they were teenagers. Sierra and Roxie need each other more than either will admit. More than sweet treats abound in this cozy romance that will leave you craving decadent desserts and a romantic getaway .

Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter

IT STARTED WITH A CUP…

Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person.

But when she’s running late for her first day at a dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” 3x with no answer, she does the unthinkable.

Izzy takes that PSL.

It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only waaaay further ahead in the line, so she mutters “I’m Amy” and grabs the cup.

But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising until he says the words, “See you tomorrow, Amy.”

Uh, oh – she’ll definitely have to straighten him out the following day.

Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips - the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who dos not find her explanation funny at all.

Happily Haunted Afters by Brittany Kelley

Nothing is spookier than a second chance at love.

I’m done juggling dead-end jobs and deadbeat boyfriends. It’s time to nail down my goal of owning a hotel — and fix my friendship with my ex-best friend, Jack Colson. He's a big shot investor, and I’m going to need one. Nailing him barely crosses my mind.

I might actually get my life in order, especially if I snag the deep (and deeply weird) discount for staying an entire weekend at my dream property. It’s hard not to fall in love with the place. Though I could do without the creepy doll that lives there, the noises Jack insists are raccoons, and the eerie AF abandoned hotel I’d need an even spookier amount of money to renovate.

The worst part is, I’m falling for Jack… again. He'll never invest if he finds out I have feelings for him. But as we work through the phantoms of problems past, we’ll have to figure out if the property is infested with rodents — or something else that goes bump in the night.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

Every Rule Worth Breaking by Amanda Chaperon

Rules are made for a reason, but some rules are meant to be broken.

After dropping out of NYU, moving across the country, and spending the last two years as the co-owner of a successful activewear brand, Mackenzie Jean has decided it’s time to go back to school. Does she want to finish her degree? Absolutely. But enrolling at Michigan State University is about so much more. Somewhere along the way, she lost herself in the fog of her anxiety, and it’s time she rediscovers who she is.

Aiden Fuller is an MSU hockey standout set to embark on his senior season. He’s flying high, all of his dreams within reach, until a seemingly harmless dare from his teammates ends with Aiden staring down a ten-game suspension. Now, he’s terrified he’s on the verge of losing the one thing in his life that means the most to him.

When a chance encounter during Welcome Weekend pulls Kenzie and Aiden into each other’s orbits, suddenly all the rules they’ve carefully laid out for their lives seem to be hindering more than helping.

Can Aiden be a safe place for Kenzie, a place where her mind is at rest and she can simply be? And will Kenzie help Aiden realize he can have it all—the game and the girl?

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

When Jeanie's aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job.

Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbor's gossip at all costs. But Jeanie's arrival disrupts Logan's routine and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.

Will Jeanie's happy-go-lucky attitude win over the grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan, or has this city girl found the one person in town who won't fall for her charm, or her pumpkin spice lattes…

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

The Fall of Bradley Reed by Morgan Elizabeth

What if you actually had a hot FBI agent watching your search history while you plot revenge on an ex… and what if it became his mission to keep you out of trouble?

When Olivia Anderson gets left at the altar, she decides to do what all modern women do—hit up Google. When a couple of searches land her in a support group for jilted brides, she immediately takes the reins and decides they all deserve revenge on their exes.

Andre Valenti is tired of watching spoiled rich Olivia Anderson's every move, but his career depends on putting her ex behind bars. He's managed to stay off her radar until one day he realizes her search history is peppered with revenge that will land her in prison and ruin her status as a reliable witness.
As Andre gets more involved in Olivia's schemes, will he be able to keep it professional? Or will the subject of his work assignment become....something more.

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby

Wilkens

It's been months since horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. But he was so infuriating, with his sparkling green eyes and his bestselling horror novels that claimed to break Native stereotypes. And now she’s a publishing pariah and hasn’t been able to write a word since. So when her friend invites her on a too-good-to-be-true writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle, she seizes the opportunity. Of course, some things really are too good to be true.

Neil wants nothing less than to be trapped in a castle with the frustratingly adorable woman who threw a book at him. She drew blood! Worse still, she unleashed a serious case of self-doubt! Neil is terrified to write another bestselling “book without a soul,” as Pen called it. All Neil wants is to find inspiration, while completely avoiding her.

But as the retreat begins, Pen and Neil are stunned to find themselves trapped in a real-life ghost story. Even more horrifying, they’re stuck together and a truly shocking (extremely hot) almost-kiss has left them rethinking their feelings, and… maybe they shouldn’t have been enemies at all? But if they can’t stop the ghosts pursuing them, they may never have the chance to find out.

Her Favorite Jack O Lantern by Rebecca Rennick

Jack Campbell has just returned to his hometown after eight years away in the army, much to his family’s delight, to rent the only place available in town. He quickly appreciates his luck when he meets his new lavender-eyed neighbor.

Sally Smithson is the weirdo among the townsfolk, with her black house and hearse to match. Not many in the small New Hampshire town appreciate her sense of style. It doesn't matter either way to her. She has her two best friends, her cats, and her interior design business, which is all she needs . . .

Until a rather dashing familiarly handsome man moves in next door—her high school crush, Jack—who finds her too enticing to ignore. She's sweet and loves her baked goods but is different from the rest of the country club attending town. And he adores it. She intrigues, captivates, and arouses him. He can't seem to stay away from her. So, when the opportunity to spend more time with her presents itself, he takes it.

When their relationship turns more than friendly, Jack is all in, but Sally is worried they won’t fit together. It takes the support of her friends, old and new, to learn how to move beyond the gossip, to accept the affection of a man she thought she could never have.

Pumpkin Spice and not so Nice by Becky Monson

If I were ever to write a memoir, it would be titled, Jenna Peterson’s Guide to Dating Emotionally Unavailable Men. I’m like a professional at it. I’m so good, I can take any dysfunctional man and turn him into Prince Charming, just in time for him to dump me and then go on to marry the next woman he dates. I’m about ready to give up on loving real men and focus on lusting over fictional men in the Turkish dramas I can’t stop devouring.

But then . . . I find a mysterious fifty-dollar bill with a handwritten note on it that was donated to my family’s pumpkin patch by accident. And wouldn’t you know it, the mystery man it belongs to is emotionally unavailable, albeit freakishly attractive. I keep telling myself to walk away, but there’s something about Aidan St. Claire that makes me want to unravel all his secrets. All I know is he sure can heat up the cozy fall nights. I can’t help but think that maybe this time I’ll get to keep Prince Charming for myself.

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks

Falling for the wrong person?
Bury your feelings.

Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner and a movie. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business and carry on their legacy under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. So it’s out of the mortuary and into the dating scene.

Lark Thompson would rather get crushed by a falling anvil than live next to a funeral home during her stay in Galway, Ireland. The vivacious American cartoon creator and animator came here to embrace life, not be reminded of losing her husband.

When Lark learns of Callum’s dilemma and aversion to marrying out of necessity rather than love, she agrees to help the introverted mortician. Although sworn off love herself, she is optimistic that Callum can find The One and secure his inheritance.

But as the dating project progresses and their friendship grows, so does a mutual attraction. The more time she spends with serious, sarcastic Callum, the more she dreads finding him a match. And the more disastrous dates he endures, the more trepidation he feels for Lark’s imminent return to the states.

If they think it’s possible to ignore their connection, they’re dead wrong.

Written by Carlie Renee