February is the ideal month to dive head first into some romance. Whether you’ve got the perfect valentine lined up or you’re practicing some self-love, why not turn to some steamy stories for a roadmap to passion? From contemporary fake fiancés to affairs with regency rakes, this array of new releases has swoon-worthy reads for all tastes.
Man Crush Monday
RELEASE DATE: February 3rd
Amy Clarke has a lot of things going for her: iconic pink hair, a comprehensive converse collection, and an alcohol tolerance that would put frat boys to shame. A prosperous love life, however, doesn’t make the list. But that’s fine, because she’s not in the market for romance—just tell that to the handsome stranger who rides the train with her every other Monday.
The only thing she knows about this man is how badly she wants him. When the two of them share their first conversation after a chance meeting, will things move from infatuated fantasy into reality? Or are some things better kept at a distance?
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Weekend Wife
RELEASE DATE: February 3rd
One lucky actress stumbles into the role of a lifetime when a beautiful billionaire businessman needs a fake fiancé for a weekend in the Hamptons.
It’s a dream gig: fancy clothes, expensive champagne, and free reign to flirt with her sexy employer. She just has to make sure she doesn’t actually fall for the guy. Especially when her faux beau sticks out as a genuinely sweet person amongst the uptight, pompous party guests.
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Secondhand Lover
RELEASE DATE: February 14th
After the death of his parents, Orlando must take on the responsibility of raising his two brothers. However, everything feels a million times more difficult in the wake of a bad break up, leaving Orlando in a slump.
When Orlando's brother Gino breaks the law, a man named Stefan Phillips drags him back home. Stefan is the sweetheart owner of a secondhand store: handsome, kind, and quite possibly exactly what Orlando needs to pull him out of his despair.
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Loud Mouth
RELEASE DATE: February 17th
When a blogger reveals a mind-blowing secret—hockey star Ian Petrov’s best friend is actually his half-brother—the reveal blows up in her face.
It turns out that Ian didn’t know this particular nugget of information, and rather than directing his frustration at the people who kept the secret from him his whole life, he’s content to blame the bearer of bad news. But when the Ice Knight and the online gossip get stuck in an isolated cabin during a blizzard, the tension between them starts to take on a very different tone.
Breathless
RELEASE DATE: February 18th
Joey Grayson and Logan Carter weren’t just neighbors, they were best friends.
At 22 years old, Joey left town to save herself from the feelings she kept hidden from Logan and his revolving door of women. Logan was left with an emptiness where Joey was supposed to be, and a pile of lies he never got to take back. When Joey finally returns, she has plans to take back control of her heart—but Logan has designs on making sure she stays put.
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Chasing Cassandra
RELEASE DATE: February 18th
This book is the sixth in the popular Ravenels series by historical romance author Lisa Kleypas. Tom Severin makes a fortune in the railway business—enough that his every desire is filled moments after realizing he wants it. Except now he wants the perfect wife—the charming Lady Cassandra Ravenel—and she’s not for sale. Cassandra, it seems, wants to marry for love.
Cassandra may find Tom to be handsome and intriguing, but she has no intention of spending her life with a ruthless, coldhearted magnate. But when a new enemy shatters her good name, she just might have to reconsider Tom’s proposal. However, giving her hand in marriage doesn’t mean giving her heart...
Just One Year
RELEASE DATE: February 24th
A college sophomore’s life is turned upside down by British student Caleb Yates. It starts over a bathroom altercation during orientation, but a feud grows when the Brit starts renting a room in her parents’ house.
Even when the hair-trigger animosity mellows out into a strong and sweet friendship, it only spells trouble. Because Caleb is only in the States for a year, and any deeper feelings are just asking for heartache.
Wild, Wild Rake
RELEASE DATE: February 25th
Lady Avalon Warwyk’s first husband was a cold and self-serving man, making his death a bit of a relief. She spent the next decade living her life on her own terms: raising her son, helping women get into business, and avoiding the thought of remarrying.
Devan Farris has a reputation as a charming rake, but he’s also the brother of Lady Avalon’s son’s guardian. He’s not thrilled to be sent to keep an eye on the Lady—a woman who wants to embrace her independence is none of his business. But when Devan starts to feel a pull toward the woman who won’t spare the wild vicar a second thought, he becomes determined to prove that he has a softness inside of him that’s gone unseen.
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How to Love Your Elf
How to Love Your Elf is the fourth book in the Embraced series, which focuses on five sisters raised on a magic island, finally going out to claim their destinies.
This book follows Sorcha, a woman with magical fire abilities and a deep rivalry with elves. But when she gets kidnapped by her enemies, the Woodsman—a kind, yet thieving, elf who can speak with the trees—comes to her aid. And even though a war threatens to break out around them, Sorcha and the Woodsman are overcome with a most unexpected and inconvenient attraction.
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Unforgiven
RELEASE DATE: February 25th
Hill Gamble is a calm and confident Texas Ranger, but when he’s assigned to investigate the death of the man who fathered the first—and only—woman he ever loved, he’s not so collected.
Kody Lawton let Hill break her heart once, and now that he’s back in town he’s not going to get a chance to do the same thing again. Kody can’t avoid him, but she can ignore the terrible unwanted feelings he stirs inside of her. But things may be put into perspective when Hill puts his life on the line...
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Featured photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
