Hello Readers! I’m a bit late to posting my TBR this month. It’s the story of my life right now. But I AM happy to report that my reading finally picked up last month, so I’m being terribly optimistic for May, hoping I’ll get to seven books! If I don’t, that’s okay, too. I’m keeping it low-pressure.

My “plan” for May is all romance, all month long. All my favorite romance authors have seemed to converge at this point in time, so I’m just gonna embrace it! I’ve been struggling with some of the romances I’ve picked up recently, so this will either restore my faith in the genre or make me want to swear it off for a while. 🤣

Here’s what I’m hoping to get to in May!

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

I’ve already finished The Rom-Commers, one of my most-anticipated books for the year, by one of my favorite authors. A review will be coming soon, but I’m bummed to say I didn’t love this one as much as her previous books. Clearly I’m in the minority because this one is getting high ratings.

Synopsis:

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone—much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script—it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter—even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules—and comes true?

Goodreads
Expected publication June 11, 2024

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Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

My current read, which has somewhat restored my faith in romances. I was starting to think I might need to take a break from the genre, but I could tell I was gonna enjoy this one from the first page. Whew! Oddly enough it has lower early ratings. A great reminder for me to ignore those stars on Goodreads sometimes.

Synopsis:

So many ways to torpedo your career and your love life…So little time.

A woman accidentally reveals all her secrets in this witty and charming novel from the author of Eight Perfect Hours.

Two years ago, thirty-year-old receptionist Millie Chandler had her heart spectacularly broken in public. Ever since, she has been a closed book, vowing to keep everything to herself—her feelings, her truths, even her dreams—in an effort to protect herself from getting hurt again.

But Millie does write emails—sarcastic replies to her rude boss, hard truths to her friends, and of course, that one-thousand-word love declaration to her ex who is now engaged to someone else. The emails live safely in her drafts, but after a server outage at work, Millie wakes up to discover that all her emails have been sent. Every. Single. One.

As every truth, lie, and secret she’s worked so hard to keep only to herself are catapulted out into the open, Millie must fix the chaos her words have caused, and face everything she’s ever swept under the carpet.

Goodreads
Expected publication May 21, 2024

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Funny Story by Emily Henry

I received my pre-order of Funny Story days ago but haven’t had a chance to pick it up. I’m looking forward to devoting some time to it soon. I’m always nervous to pick up a new Henry book. I haven’t read one I haven’t enjoyed yet, but the first time I do might crush my soul. 😆

Synopsis:

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

Goodreads
Published April 23, 2024

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Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the new season of Bridgerton is coming soon. I need to read the next book before I watch. Or at least give it a try. I’ve heard some mixed reviews, so if I’m not enjoying it, I’ll DNF and just watch the adaptation. 🙂

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the story of Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington, in the fourth of her beloved Regency-set novels featuring her charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix.
 
COLIN AND PENELOPE’S STORY

Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother for . . . well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret . . . and fears she doesn’t know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can’t seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same—especially Penelope Featherington! The girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide . . . is she his biggest threat— or his promise of a happy ending?

Goodreads

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This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

I have high hopes for this one, as well. I’m waiting on my pre-order to arrive. Don’t you hate it when the author gets too big for your little blog and the publisher won’t grant you an ARC anymore??!! 😃 Hopefully I can pick it up this month!

Synopsis:

This summer they’ll keep their promise. This summer they won’t give into temptation. This summer will be different.
 
Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again.

It’s easier said than done.

Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vinho verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won’t wind up in Felix’s bed. Again.

If Lucy can’t help being drawn to Felix, at least she’s always kept her heart out of it.

When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she’s never been able to. But Felix’s sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy’s beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.

Goodreads
Published May 7, 2024

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Savor It by Tarah DeWitt

I was invited to read this romance by the publisher, and I loved the synopsis and seeing it had high early reviews. It will be my first book by the author. Fingers crossed I like this one!

Synopsis:

Summer won’t last forever.
 
Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She’s learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her friendships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win―something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs a partner.

Fisher Lange was a hotshot chef in New York City until the loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for his teenage niece Indy. When Fisher loses his Michelin star along with his love of cooking, his boss sends him and Indy to Spunes on a much-needed summer sabbatical to consult on a restaurant opening. But when clashes with the townspeople threaten his last chance to redeem himself and a kiss with his new neighbor Sage leads to dating rumors, a strategic alliance might just be the best way to turn things around.

A deal is struck. Sage will improve Fisher’s image in the eyes of the town and remove the roadblocks he is facing with the restaurant, and Fisher will be Sage’s partner for the competition. But as their pact quickly turns into steamy rendezvous, emotional wounds begin to heal, and the pair tries to savor every moment, they start to realize that summer is racing by much faster than they would like…

Filled with spicy summer fun, small-town charm, and Big Feelings, this highly anticipated romcom is Tarah DeWitt’s best yet.

Goodreads
Expected publication May 21, 2024

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Right Where We Left Us by Jen Devon

Another one of my most-anticipated, Devon’s debut Bend Towards the Sun was one of my favorite reads of 2022, so I’m hoping I love this one that’s set in the same world, just as much. If I can’t get to it this month, I’ll pick it up early June.

Synopsis:

Temperance Jean Madigan and Duncan Brady have never gotten it right. After one radiant, secret summer together when they were eighteen, they’ve been on-again off-again ever since. Now, despite red-hot chemistry and TJ’s closeness with Duncan’s family, they’re virtually strangers, only capable of adversarial banter, awkward small talk―and the occasional messy hookup.
 
When a wedding at the Brady’s vineyard lands TJ there for the summer, their mutual avoidance strategies prove impossible. The last thing TJ wants is to be under those angsty, heated glances Duncan thinks he hides. And for Duncan, having fiery TJ constantly close is the ultimate distraction that he absolutely can’t afford. When forced proximity begins to chip away at their armor, buried tensions resurface, old wounds urge confrontation, and once-in-a-lifetime love demands one last chance to finally get it right.

Goodreads
Expected publication June 18, 2024

Have you read any of these books yet? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!