Best Summer Books, 2016 Publishers Weekly

How the Duke Was Won

Lenora Bell (Avon)

Debut author Bell begins the Disgraceful Dukes Regency series with a winning tale in which disreputable but charming protagonists bond over a shared passion for righting social injustices. Colorful supporting characters, plentiful plot twists, and the trials of star-crossed lovers make for a sizzling and emotionally rewarding page-turner.

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Sweet Little Lies

Jill Shalvis (Avon)

Contemporary romance star Shalvis launches an exciting series with this winning title. Pru Harris captains a San Francisco Bay tour boat, Finn O'Riley is co-owner of O'Riley's Pub, and rescue mutt Thor wants to bring them together. The heartwarming vibe is almost overwhelming, but Shalvis never lets her sweet tale become saccharine, and the characters are perfectly imperfect.

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Top to Bottom

Delphine Dryden (Riptide)

The third Escape contemporary erotic romance sizzles as two ex-lovers reunite to open a BDSM club. Dru just wants a little help getting her registration system set up, but when she and Amie meet again, their old flame reignites. Dru and Amie's relationship is tender and sweet with a healthy dose of hot, responsible kink, and the characters are deliciously well-rounded and engaging.

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Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

Nancy Campbell Allen (Shadow Mountain)

Allen keeps both the romance and the gore PG-rated as she reimagines "Beauty and the Beast" as a supernatural murder mystery set in a steampunk Victorian England. Her tale seamlessly combines family politics, ballroom dancing, and romantic swooning with airships, ray guns, and automatons, as well as scientifically verified vampires and werewolves.

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All In

Simona Ahrnstedt, trans. from the Swedish by Tara Chace (Kensington)

This passionate love story set in the cutthroat world of big business and venture capital was a bestseller in Sweden. Notorious corporate raider David Hammar doesn't count on falling for Natalia De la Grip, the brilliant but unappreciated daughter of his chief rival. Drawn together by sexual sparks and their mutual outsider status, the two become lovers but must make a series of deeply difficult choices.

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