A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
by Sangu Mandanna
Consequences are the lifeblood of fiction; there’s nothing more central to the novel than the question And then what happened? In A WITCH’S GUIDE TO MAGICAL INNKEEPING (Berkley, 352 pp., paperback, $19.99), Sera Swan knows all about consequences. The British Guild of Sorcery cast her out when she used a forbidden spell to revive her beloved great-aunt — and worse, the spell cost her most of her magic. Now she runs a charmed inn with that same great-aunt, along with a witch trapped in fox form, a resurrected rooster skeleton and a gaggle of guests with plenty of their own quirks.
Until one new guest offers her a second chance. Luke Larsen is a Guild scholar who might know a spell to restore Sera’s magic — but he’s reluctant to help anyone targeted by the tyrannical Guild leader Albert Grey. Mandanna’s earlier hit, “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches,” brushed up against a sinister authority figure, but here that danger is magnified: Grey is a real threat to the garden of kindness Sera has spent her years tending. It is glorious, then, watching Sera and Luke figure out how to deliver the consequences his actions deserve — as if someone has stitched a huge, pillowy duvet out of justice and revenge.
Love Is a War Song
by Danica Nava
LOVE IS A WAR SONG (Berkley, 336 pp., paperback, $19) also starts with a heroine in metaphorical exile: Avery Fox is a rising Native American pop star who sparked outrage when she posed in a warbonnet on the cover of Rolling Stone. To ride out the backlash, she takes refuge at her grandmother’s ranch in Oklahoma. She’s out of her depth with her relatives and on the reservation; the ranch manager, Lucas, seems to hold a particularly simmering grudge. (First Luke, now Lucas — it’s a classic romance hero name, what can you do.)
But doing professional choreography in five-inch heels has made Avery tougher than anyone expects; she makes some beginner mistakes, but soon she’s fallen in love with the ranch and with the close-knit community she finds in Oklahoma. And, of course, with Lucas — whose grand plans to restore the ranch will take both their efforts to accomplish. This book feels as lived-in and appealing as your favorite pair of jeans: sexy in an understated way and uniquely American.
Ready to Score
by Jodie Slaughter
Jade Dunn, one heroine of READY TO SCORE (St. Martin’s Griffin, 320 pp., paperback, $19), is a bisexual Black woman who works as a high school football assistant coach in the South; for her, the consequences of the smallest error can be catastrophic, so she lives her life with iron self-control. It’s working: She’s been invited to join the head coach’s poker game, and is hoping he’ll name her his successor.
Unless the irresistible new art teacher disrupts Jade’s control, her plans — and her heart.
Francesca Lim gave up coaching to move halfway across the country for a girl who then dumped her. Now she’s stranded teaching art in a new town — and striving for a spot on the team’s coaching roster. Too bad Assistant Coach Dunn seems to be fiercely opposed to the idea. Too bad Assistant Coach Dunn is also brutally sexy.
Watching these two determined Sapphics scheme and smolder at one another is gloriously popcorn-worthy — and as always, Slaughter knows how to bring the heat.
How to Sell a Romance
by Alexa Martin
Lastly, HOW TO SELL A ROMANCE (Berkley, 384 pp., paperback, $19) is the romance novel equivalent of “LuLaRich” and other dishy docuseries about multilevel marketing scams. Emerson Pierce is a kindergarten teacher whose principal introduces her to the skincare brand Petunia Lemon as a way of earning some extra cash over the summer. After a wildly encouraging conference, she’s feeling optimistic about her future and indulges in a no-strings hookup with a guy she meets at the hotel’s rooftop bar.
Unbeknownst to them both, Lucas “Luke” Miller (last one, I swear!) is a parent of one of Emerson’s students. He’s also an investigative reporter working to expose Petunia Lemon after it destroyed his first marriage. Between the challenges of school politics, side hustles and one truly terrible ex-wife, Luke and Emerson agree to leave their shared night in the past. But when signs emerge of Petunia Lemon’s sinister nature and Emerson realizes how deep she’s in, her only hope might be to work with Luke to keep anyone else from becoming a victim.
With so much conflict around them, Martin’s characters find their strength in the abundant warmth of their connection. Because as fun as it is to see villains get their comeuppance, and as gratifying as it is when a character’s virtue is rewarded, the best romances ask us to imagine something beyond the tallying of debits and credits. Love is a gift, not a wage. Love is an action, not a product. Humanity is not earned, it is experienced. Silence the voice in your head that divides people into those who deserve and those who don’t.
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