Verdict: An ambitious, deeply emotional softball love story spanning a decade, and one of the most passionately reviewed books we have covered. Readers call it remarkable and beautifully written; some found it too heavy, too long, or more character study than romance. Best for: Readers who want sweeping, yearning, messy sapphic angst with a hard-won … Read more
Verdict: A spicy, funny and surprisingly emotional new-adult rivals-to-lovers romance set on a university women’s football team. Readers love grumpy captain Maya and sunshine transfer Jamie, the heat and the family storyline; a minority found it preachy, cringey in places or short on drama. Best for: Readers who want grumpy/sunshine, sports and a lot of … Read more
Is This Is Who I Am by Harper Bliss worth reading? Our review of the menopause-meets-asexuality romance — a brave premise, a divisive third act, and what ace readers say.
Is The Third Act by Kathleen Brehony worth reading? Our review of the grief-and-second-chances romance between two women in their sixties — and a caution about its ratings.
Is Purposefully Accidental by G Benson worth reading? Our review of the funny, tender fake-dating romance between an A-list actress and a grieving ER doctor.
Is Of Love and Libraries by Brenna Bailey worth reading? Our review of the cosy second-chance romance between a librarian and a photographer in their seventies.
Is Golden Years and Silver Linings worth reading? Our review of the second-chance romance between two women in their late sixties who were lovers in 1972 Liverpool.
Is Delay of Game by Tracey Richardson worth reading? Our review of the second-chance Olympic hockey romance between Canada’s coach and a veteran US player.
Verdict: A long, emotional and unconventional romance about a widowed mother with a walking disability who finds her way back to love — deeply moving for most readers, but its central twist and the characters’ choices divide opinion. Best for: Readers who want a romance with real grief in it, fans of leads in their … Read more
Verdict: A short, sweet and sexy workplace romance between a bisexual Jewish widow in her early fifties and the Black police lieutenant she goes to work for — warm and refreshingly diverse, but predictable, told only from one side, and careless about the boss-employee problem at its heart. Best for: Readers who want heroines in … Read more