NBJ WEEKLY RECAP

NEW RELEASES

GRUMPY/SUNSHINE

In a house full of rules, the only one they can’t follow… is staying away.

Jesse Thorne

Local hero, firefighter, loner, and now grumpy landlord.

She wasn’t what he expected.

His new tenant is a walking disaster wrapped in sunshine, breaking every rule he sets and driving him insane.

Controlling her? Impossible.

Ignoring her? Even harder.

And he’s not sure he can stop it.

She’s under his skin, melting his frozen walls, and making him question everything—including his stubborn heart.

Casey Lawson

Roamer, IT specialist, current tenant, and golden ray of trouble.

Her new landlord is a thorn in her side with his never-ending house rules.

He’s always there when things go wrong—rescuing her with his strong arms and that sexy, smug smile. Breaking down her defenses, one gesture, one growl at a time.

They love to argue, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.

And when they give in, it’s explosive.

Can they escape the fire without getting burned?

This is a standalone novel in the My Favorite series.

Series recommended reading order: My Favorite Kidnapper | My Favorite Boss | My Favorite Hero

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SECOND CHANCES + FORBIDDEN ROMANCE

Alice Yates is the hired “homemaker” for the Morrisons, an affluent couple in Minneapolis. For Alice, it’s a dream job to dress up like a 1950s housewife and read romance novels to Mr. Morrison before his afternoon nap.

But when the Morrisons’ only daughter returns home for the summer with her fiancé, Alice comes face- to-face with her shattered past—the only threat to her perfect life.

Eight years earlier, vacation rental owner Murphy Paddon had an impeccable vinyl record collection and did the most irresistible thing before kissing Alice, earning him a five-star rating. Their fortnight love affair was life-altering and ended tragically.

Murphy doesn’t know if Alice remembers him or whether he should tell his fiancée that the hired-help living in the guesthouse is the woman who irreparably broke his heart. He needs closure, but will the lingering glances and silent yearning lead to the end or just the beginning?

This is a standalone novel in the all-new Chain of Lakes series. It’s inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight.”

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SECOND CHANCES + BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER + SINGLE PARENTS

Derek Balfe proposed to Milly O’Shea at twenty.

She turned him down and left to build a career and a future that didn’t include him. Derek had no idea that it wasn’t purely Milly’s decision to decline but rather the influence of a meddling relative.

Now thirty-eight, Derek is a successful hotelier, divorced and parenting two teenagers. His father is retiring soon and has asked Derek to take over the family business. He has a lot going on and to add to it Milly has moved back into town, more distractingly beautiful, shy and delicate than ever—and with a teenage daughter of her own in tow. Milly is close friends with Derek’s sister so he can’t avoid running into her—but he is determined to ice her out.

That is until their daughters meet at school and become inseparable. Derek has to deal with seeing Milly every week, sometimes daily. The more he’s around her the more he realises that deep down she’s still the same girl he fell for all those years ago, and he begins to suspect that there was more to her rejecting his proposal than he’d always believed.

This is a standalone novel in the all-new Balfe Family series, and it’s inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion.

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WORKPLACE ROMANCE + PARANORMAL (GHOSTS) + FATED LOVE + FORCED PROXIMITY + SMALL TOWN

Home is where the heart is—and this one is haunted.

Collins Cartwright does not want to go home. Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming, was supposed to be in her rearview mirror, but when she finds out a developer is trying to buy her parents’ antiques shop out from under them, she doesn’t have a choice—at least, that’s what she tells her family. They don’t need to know she’s lost her job and is out of money. Or that the ghosts who have always been her companions have recently gone silent.

But just because she’s returned home doesn’t mean she has to stay with her parents or crash on her twin sister’s couch. Lucky for her, the new-to-town upholsterer has a room for rent above his store. Unluckily, it is absolutely crawling with more ghosts who are freezing her out. And Collins hates being ignored.

Brady Cooper is absolutely and totally fine. Seriously, there’s no secret reason why he decided to uproot his life and suddenly move to Sweetwater Peak. He just needed a change of pace. At least that’s what he tells himself. And everyone else.

When he agrees to let the elusive Collins Cartwright stay in his spare room, he doesn’t know that she’s absolutely bonkers—constantly talking to herself and having conversations with no one—or that she looked like that. But as they begin to get closer, the lines between them start to blur, leaving both of them—and the ghosts who have been pushing them together—wondering whether their temporary arrangement could be something more permanent.

This is a standalone novel in the all-new Sweetwater Peak series.

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STAR-CROSSED + FORBIDDEN ROMANCE + HE FALLS FIRST + RIVAL FAMILIES + SMALL TOWN

Juliette Calloway lives in a world of luxury, legacies, and lies. The daughter of Rosebrook Falls’ most powerful family, her life is a carefully crafted performance, and she’s tired of being polished to perfection.

Roman Montgomery doesn’t exist. Not officially, anyway. He’s a shadow, a hidden weapon, the secret heir to an empire soaked in danger and a generations-old feud.

When their paths cross, sparks fly.

No names.
No pasts.
Just reckless smiles and a chemistry neither of them can shake.

Roman is charming. Mysterious. Infuriatingly flirty.
And Juliette? She’s simply…his.

When Roman is called back to claim his place as heir to the Montgomery empire, the truth crashes down: Their families are sworn enemies, and Roman’s very existence is a threat.

Their love isn’t just forbidden, it’s impossible.

Now every kiss feels like a betrayal. Every stolen moment a risk. And in a town built on secrets and blood, their passion might just be the most dangerous thing of all.

This is the first book in the all-new Defying the Stars series of standalone novels with interconnected characters. It’s a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet.

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COWBOY + FRIENDS TO LOVERS + FORCED PROXIMITY + SMALL TOWN

True to their family name, the Wilders of historic Rustler Mountain, Oregon, have an outlaw lineage and a wild nature to match. But when it comes to love, an untamed heart might know best . . .

Carson Wilder and Perry Bramble have been best friends forever, starting with their painful childhoods. As far as romance, Carson always knew he wasn’t good enough for her. And by the time they were grown, their bond was too important to risk messing up. Now, Carson is grieving the death of his wife. And like always, Perry is his rock. He can’t imagine life without her. But he may have to.

Perry has loved Carson since she was 7 years old. He never showed a hint of interest in her beyond friendship, but two-plus decades later, he’s still the most important person in her life. Maybe too important. Inspired by the diary of an ancestor who left everything behind to come west as a mail order bride, Perry stuns Carson with a decision: She’s moving to a neighboring city to expand her florist business—and to find love and start a family.

Carson hates the idea, but he’ll do anything for Perry’s happiness. He’ll even help get her historic home fixed up for sale. She can stay with him at his ranch house on Outlaw Lake in the meantime. What ensues are dinners filled with laughter, dating app disasters—and Carson wondering why he’d look for another woman when the one he loves is right here. His answers may lie in the letters he finds from the man who married the mail order bride. . . . But can he finally gather the courage to be true to his wild heart—before it’s too late?

This is a standalone novel in the Rustler Mountain series.

Series recommended reading order: Rustler Mountain | Outlaw Lake | Lonesome Ridge (Feb 2026)

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MMF MENAGE + FORBIDDEN ROMANCE

I think it’s important that you know this about me, that you understand this: I’m not sorry.

I’d do it again.

After my husband died eight years ago, I made vengeance my only purpose, my religion, my destiny. But to get to my enemy, I had to make myself like him. He had a kingdom of secrets? Then I would make an empire. He had blood on his hands? Then I would bathe in it.

But Tristan and Isolde changed everything. I hadn’t counted on wanting them, needing them; I hadn’t counted on how it felt to watch the two of them fall in love. I’d thought I had everything under control—I’d thought I was safe from my own long-dead heart. I’d never imagined that the wronged husband, the jealous king from my childhood fairy tales, would be played by none other than me.

It no longer matters what I used to believe. My enemy is ready to finish the game, and for the first time in eight years, I have pieces on the board I can’t afford to lose. I’ll burn the entire world to keep Tristan and Isolde safe, I’ll scorch the earth—but as any good assassin will tell you, fire will only get a man so far, because there’s always something left in the ashes. And for the three of us, it’s the cold, bitter bones of the truth: their story begins and ends with me.

And every story needs a villain…

This is the third and final book in the Lyonesse trilogy—a queer, kinky contemporary retelling of the legend of Tristan and Isolde, set in the same world as the New Camelot series.

Series reading order: Salt in the Wound (prequel) | Salt Kiss | Honey Cut | Bitter Burn

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BILLIONAIRE + ENEMIES TO LOVERS + GRUMPY/SUNSHINE + SMALL TOWN

Emilia Taylor hates me, which is absolutely fine by me, because I don’t particularly care much for her either.
Maybe I took things too far, but I decided she was the enemy a long time ago, and she gave me no reason to think differently.
At least not until recently.
And when she sets her mind to prove me wrong, she goes all in.
I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong—because it sure as hell doesn’t happen very often.
But being vulnerable with a woman who I was convinced was out for my family was a big pill to swallow.
So, I’d rather send her a fancy gift and call this vendetta done.
However, she is anything but predictable.
She doesn’t want a fancy gift from a man who she’s declared a broody, heartless billionaire.
Her words not mine.
And it’s not like you can send flowers to a woman who owns a floral shop.
She wants a sincere apology instead but that may be more than I can give.
She’s sunshine and rainbows, and I’m… well not.
But when the first tear rolls down her cheek, I swear something inside me cracks.
Turns out, my cold jaded heart still works.
Apparently, it beats for the one woman I never saw coming.

This is a standalone novel in the Rosewood River series.

Series recommended reading order: Steal My Heart | My Silver Lining | Over the Moon | Crazy In Love | In A Heartbeat (Dec 2025) | Whisper Sweet Nothings (Feb 2026)

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ENEMIES TO LOVERS + SMALL TOWN

Clara Davenport wants to solve Fraser Falls’s biggest problem. According to Jack Kelly, Clara is Fraser Falls’s biggest problem.

All Clara Davenport has ever wanted to do is climb the ladder at Davenport Innovation Creative, her family’s toy business. Everything was going according to plan, until the company was accused of stealing a doll design from an independent toy maker, creating a flurry of bad publicity. With a promotion dangled in front of her like a carrot to a reindeer, Clara is tasked with charming the locals of the small town to solve the PR nightmare, by any means necessary.

Jack Kelly would be happy to never hear the name Davenport ever again. Less than a year after a guy in a fancy suit appeared on his doorstep with a sleigh-full of promises, the company that once falsely claimed they wanted to sign him to their small business program has copied his design. So when Clara prances into town hoping to convince Fraser Falls that her company is not the enemy, Jack is determined not to be fooled by Davenport twice.

But Clara has a plan to win over the community only to realize that beneath Jack’s frosty demeanor lies the key to the town’s heart—and maybe her own.

This is a standalone novel.

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REFORMED BACHELOR + FORCED PROXIMITY + SMALL TOWN

Blake

I don’t do relationships, but I’m excellent at casual hookups. That’s not to say I’m a jerk. Not at all. I respect women—all women—and I know the value of love. But I’m married to my job as a physician. In fact, I’m married to the hospital, having a full-time affair with the clinic, and my family is my side piece. I don’t have time for a relationship with a woman.

But then the most beautiful human I’ve ever laid eyes on walks onto my plane, and my world tilts. Thanks to a Montana snowstorm, I spend one incredible night with Harper, but wake up alone. She never told me her last name. She’s just … gone. It would figure that the one woman I could see myself breaking my own rules for is the one I can’t have.

Harper

It’s time for me to come home to Montana to help take care of my dad and pick up the slack for my siblings. I’ve been gone for a long time, but this beautiful corner of the world is my home. I’m excited to start my job as a NICU nurse at Bitterroot Valley General and begin a new chapter in my life. A fresh start. A clean slate.

Then he walks into the room, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe. Blake was the one-night stand who still haunts my dreams. The man can do things. Amazing things. But I never thought I’d see him again. Okay, that’s a lie. I knew he worked at this hospital, but he’s an ER doctor. I’m in a different department, so I planned to avoid him. Yet that didn’t last more than the first hour of my first shift.

Now, he’s pursuing me and saying things like forever. But with a past like mine, can I trust that he won’t tire of me and leave? Or is this finally my happily ever after?

This is a standalone novel in the Blackwells of Montana series.

Series recommended reading order: When We Burn | When We Break | Where We Bloom | When You Blush | Where You Belong (Dec 2025)

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AGE GAP + ONE NIGHT STAND + HOCKEY ROMANCE

I have two goals this season:
1. Prove to the Seattle Serpents I’m more than just the old guy.
2. Don’t fall for my captain’s stepsister.

In my defense, I had no clue who Vanessa was when we met. We were in a different city. How was I supposed to know she’s my teammate’s stepsister?

Now she’s in Seattle, still healing from her divorce, and apparently, she’s here to stay. That would be fine if I didn’t still think about our night together every waking hour. Thing is, I do think about it—constantly—and then when I find out she needs a place to live, I offer my spare room.

We’re roommates, and that’s it. Until it isn’t.

We’re just having fun, that’s all. Except nothing feels like just fun. It feels far too real and far too serious, and her stepbrother has no idea about us living together or that I’m slowly falling for her.

So much for focusing on the season…

This is a standalone novel in the Seattle Serpents series. 

Series recommended reading order: Body Check | Face Off | Delayed Penalty | Empty Net | Top Shelf | Match Penalty (Apr 2026)

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A mysterious book with a legacy spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day unites three women—and their secrets…

London, 2024: American expat Margo Reynolds is renowned for her talent at sourcing rare antiques for her clients, but she’s never had a request quite like this one. She’s been hired to find a mysterious book published over a century ago. With a single copy left in existence, it has a storied past shrouded in secrecy—and her client isn’t the only person determined to procure it at any cost.

Havana, 1966: Librarian Pilar Castillo has devoted her life to books, and in the chaotic days following her husband’s unjust imprisonment by Fidel Castro, reading is her only source of solace. So when a neighbor fleeing Cuba asks her to return a valuable book to its rightful owner, Pilar will risk everything to protect the literary work entrusted to her care. It’s a dangerous mission that reveals to her the power of one book to change a life.

Boston, 1900: For Cuban school teacher and aspiring author Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to study for the summer is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a whirlwind adventure that leaves her little time to write, but a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. The story that pours out of her is one of forbidden love, secrets, and lies… and though Eva cannot yet see it, the book will be a danger and salvation for the lives it touches.

This is a standalone novel.

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SECOND CHANCES

A magical cookbook and a summer on her family’s Italian olive farm help a brokenhearted social media chef cook up a satisfying new life…

Rising star Jules Costa loves re-creating vintage recipes for her popular online cooking show. But when personal and professional disaster strikes, her only chance to save her career is to complete her new cookbook before the end of the summer. Panicked, Jules returns to her family’s beloved olive farm on the shores of Italy’s stunning Lake Garda. Seeking culinary inspiration, she’s hoping to convince her spunky eighty-year-old Nonna Bruna to share her precious collection of family recipes.

Jules’s plans quickly go awry as she discovers that Nonna’s cookbook has magical and unpredictable powers. It reveals only one recipe at a time, offering a cooking experience guaranteed to satisfy the chef’s palate and bring clarity to their life. Yet the pages remain stubbornly blank for Jules. To make matters worse, the olive farm is in deep financial trouble, and Jules soon uncovers a web of family secrets involving the cookbook and a lost recipe for orange blossom cake that holds the key to everything. Then there’s Nicolo, the boy next door, who broke her young heart years ago. He is now all grown up, even more attractive, and the only person poised to help Jules find answers.

In a whirlwind summer beyond her imagination, Jules begins to unravel the mysteries baked into her family’s history and discovers the essential ingredients to create the future of her dreams.

This is a standalone novel.

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CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS + FAKE DATING + HE FALLS FIRST + HOCKEY ROMANCE + SMALL TOWN

Growing up, Dani couldn’t help but follow around the adorable son of her mom’s best friend. Funny, kind of nerdy, and a little soft, Alec was always down to hang with Dani when they were little. From play dates on the playground to sneaking into movie theaters, Dani and Alec were inseparable. Until Dani moved away. Alec promised they’d stay in touch—except, they didn’t.

Flash forward and Dani is back in Minnesota for her senior year, she and her mom living with her grandfather. Dealing with the fallout of her parents’ devastating divorce, Dani wouldn’t mind a nerd-out with the cozy and comforting Alec (and maybe a chance to confront him on his MIA status for all these years). But teenage Alec is nothing like the kid Dani remembers. He’s a hockey star in a town where hockey players are worshiped as gods. Dani’s place as his shadow has been taken up by drooling female fans…and he loves it.

Dani is resolved to ice out her former best friend until an unlikely series of events brings them together—and forces them to fake being a couple. Once forced together, the former childhood sweethearts begin to reconnect, unearth complicated family secrets, and face their true feelings towards each other…including the real reason Alec has been pushing Dani away all these years.

This is a standalone novel.

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