Summer Reads 2020 from Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly

Boyfriend Material

Alexis Hall (Sourcebooks Casablanca)

Fake boyfriends catch real feelings in Hall’s flawless rom-com. Luc O’Donnell, the rascally son of a washed-up rock star, is tired of his messy love life serving as tabloid fodder, and so are his employers, who instruct him to improve his image with a stable relationship. Enter Oliver Blackwood, a straitlaced criminal barrister. Their opposite personalities play off each other beautifully, leading to moments of laugh-out-loud humor and heart-melting tenderness.

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A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby

Vanessa Riley (Zebra)

Riley’s intricate plotting sets this twisty, interracial Regency apart. When West Indian heiress Patience Jordan’s British husband dies, his mercenary relatives separate Patience from her baby and slander her name. Determined to be near her son, she disguises herself as his nanny in the household of her late husband’s brother, a rakish war hero with a heart of gold. Intrigue, banter, and smoldering chemistry make this unmissable.

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The Marriage Game

Sara Desai (Berkley)

Desai debuts with this sassy enemies-to-lovers romance. Layla Patel and Sam Mehta clash while being forced to share office space, but when suitors come calling for Layla at work in response to a dating profile her father made for her, Sam feels oddly protective and agrees to chaperone Layla’s dates. The outings that follow are hilariously disastrous, and Layla and Sam’s increasingly flirtatious bickering is a constant delight.

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The Rakess

Scarlett Peckham (Avon)

This fierce, feminist series debut flips the typical Regency romance script. The scandalous Serafina Arden cares more for the fight for women’s equality than she does for any of her string of casual lovers. But when she propositions architect Adam Anderson, a handsome single father with romantic ideals, it soon becomes a struggle to keep their relationship purely physical. Peckham strikes a perfect balance of politics, passion, and emotional vulnerability.

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Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Talia Hibbert (Avon)

The phenomenal standalone follow-up to Get a Life, Chloe Brown is a fake-relationship romance for the social media age. When a video of burly Zaf rescuing bisexual academic Dani from a stalled elevator goes viral, Zaf asks Dani to help keep the buzz going as he launches his charity. Their dynamic is just as sweet, supportive, and sexy as Hibbert’s fans would expect. This is a knockout.

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