Kate Clayborn is the critically acclaimed author of six novels. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Bookpage, and more. By day she works in education, and by night (and sometimes, by very early morning) she writes contemporary romances about smart, strong, modern heroines who face the world alongside true friends and complicated families. She resides in Virginia with her husband and their dog.
Take Me Home (2024) Melanie Sweeney "Both youthful and mature, both tender and bold, both melancholy and hopeful, Melanie Sweeney's Take Me Home is a gem of a romance. . . . Sweeney is brilliant at infusing her plot and her characters with thoughtful, unique specificity. . . . A book that transported me, moved me . . . and one I won't soon forget."
Just Some Stupid Love Story (2024) Katelyn Doyle "I devoured Just Some Stupid Love Story: like its lead characters, this book is both relentlessly clever and unapologetically sweet, a magic-potion mix that kept me reading late into the night...Doyle has created characters that feel as modern and as messily real as the people you know you love."
The Art of Catching Feelings (2024) Alicia Thompson "There is perhaps no better title for Alicia Thompson's latest romance: The Art of Catching Feelings is such a lovingly constructed tribute to the range of emotions people experience in the modern world while falling in love. I read most of this book with my own heart in a desperate clutch of hope for Chris and Daphne, and when I finished, I sighed with perfect, pure fulfillment. I'm in no way ashamed to be cliche when I say that this book is the romance equivalent of a home run."
The Paradise Problem (2024) Christina Lauren "Another Christina Lauren book to absolutely inhale like a breath of the freshest, funniest air, this one had me laughing in delight even as I clutched my chest for all the emotion it made me feel. Splashy, summery, deliciously swoony--The Paradise Problem is the book I predict everyone will be reading this season."
When I Think of You (2024) Myah Ariel "Myah Ariel's When I Think of You is a sparkling debut that had me turning pages into the night. Ariel crafts a thoughtful look at personal and professional vulnerability in an often unforgiving world, with characters who burn bright for their individual passions - and their passion for each other. I loved Kaliya and Danny and their shared determination to build something new from the past that shaped them."
Wild Life (2024) Opal Wei "Wild Life is a classic screwball story set in the modern age--creative, compelling, and so witty. Wei delivers laugh out loud moments alongside thoughtful, moving reflections on why and how we love--with sharp, chemistry-laden banter on nearly every page."
Will They or Won't They (2023) Ava Wilder "Ava Wilder's Will They or Won't They had me turning pages late into the night, desperate for the happily-ever-after. I loved this fierce, complicated couple, and I know readers will, too."
For Twice In My Life (2023) Annette Christie "Annette Christie is a thoughtful, talented, and clever writer who explores the messy realities of living in an imperfect world that nevertheless expects us to be perfect."
Before I Let Go (2022) (Skyland, book 1) Kennedy Ryan "Kennedy Ryan is one of the most talented writers writing today, and Before I Let Go is another showcase of that talent. This book is challenging, bracing, so evocative, and so REAL."
Scandalized (2022) Ivy Owens "Reading Ivy Owens's Scandalized was like a jolt reminding me of everything I love about romance - it is a perfect blend of passion, emotion, and fun. Owens offers us a couple that is effortless to root for: Alec and Gigi are flawed and human and, best of all - absolutely exploding with chemistry every time they are on page together. Scandalized is a delicious read, absorbing, and page-turning. I can't wait to see what Owens does next!"
Luck and Last Resorts (2022) Sarah Grunder Ruiz "Luck and Last Resorts is my favorite sort of love story -- one where the feelings are as strong and complicated and euphoric and messy as they can be in real life, and one where the characters, in all their flawed and frustrating humanity, are given the space to experience them all. Sarah Grunder Ruiz's writing is absorbing and affecting, perfectly tuned to the voices that populate this story."
The Wedding Crasher (2022) Mia Sosa "A true blue rom com--The Worst Best Man made me laugh out loud. Lina and Max are hilarious together, and it's a joy to watch them fall in love."
The Roughest Draft (2022) Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley "Complex and compelling, The Roughest Draft is a love letter to the creative process and how it inflects our lives and, most especially, our relationships."
The Ex Talk (2021) Rachel Lynn Solomon "Rachel Lynn Solomon's The Ex Talk is completely charming, hugely romantic, and utterly absorbing: I adored Shay and Dominic and wholly rooted for their happily ever after--not just in love, but in every area of their complicated and realistic lives."
To Have and to Hoax (2020) (Regency Vows, book 1) Martha Waters "Endlessly charming... absorbing and clever and at times laugh-out-loud funny."
Well Met (2019) (Well Met, book 1) Jen DeLuca "I dare you not to want to travel to your nearest Renaissance Faire after reading the sweet, sexy, and smart Well Met...the kind of book that you want to live inside. Jen DeLuca is poised to become one of the freshest voices writing contemporary romance today."
