Mia Sosa, Alexis Daria, and more romance authors share red-hot book recommendations

A Holly Jolly Diwali, by Sonya Lalli

As someone who grew up in India and has lived her adult life in America, books that satisfy both sides of my Indian American identity are rare. A Holly Jolly Diwali, by Sonya Lalli, absolutely did that. It is funny, heartwarming, and deeply honest, and it subverts stereotypes even as it explores identity. An Indian American woman travels to India for a wedding where she meets a hot Indian rock star with an entirely perfect unconventional Indian mom who made me want to high-five the author. —Sonali Dev

The Love Con, by Seressia Glass

The Love Con had me scouring the internet to learn more about a subject I had no interest in before reading the book: cosplay. Seressia tackles the obstacles Black women in cosplay must overcome in order to be recognized for their creativity with both honesty and nuance, all while maintaining a fun, sexy, upbeat story. There is so much to love about this book. —Farrah Rochon

One Week to Claim It All, by Adriana Herrera

Adriana's books consistently leave me as a reader smiling, fanning myself, and searching for the date of her next release. One Week to Claim It All is a sexy, drama-rich book that captures you like a telenovela. Amidst the twists and turns in the world of money, power, and influence, the sexy love story unfolds in a delicious and swoon-worthy way. —Denise Williams

Love & Other Disasters, by Anita Kelly

Love & Other Disasters is for foodies, failures, and people with too many feelings. As the first openly nonbinary contestant of America's favorite reality cooking show falls for a competitor, it's impossible not to fall in love with Anita Kelly's writing. From mouthwatering dishes to sizzling-hot sex scenes, everything about this book is delectable. —Meryl Wilsner

Reel, by Kennedy Ryan

Reel is the first book in Kennedy Ryan's Hollywood Renaissance series and perfectly exemplifies her storytelling prowess. Canon Holt, a broody and mega-talented Hollywood director, finds his muse in Neevah Saint, a relatively inexperienced actress with the X-factor needed to play the titular role in Canon's upcoming Harlem Renaissance biopic about jazz singer Dessi Blue. Sparks fly from the moment Canon and Neevah meet. Still, they can't risk the damage to their reputations or the threats to their careers that would surely follow if a relationship between the rising starlet and her director were to blossom. The odds are against this couple, but as if often the case in romance novels, love finds a way to defeat the odds. This is an epic Black romance that honors the past, the future, and all of the moments in between: the glimpses of Dessi Blue's brilliant and tumultuous life, the promise of Neevah and Canon's love, and the wholly immersive journey that brings their story to a close. As Canon says, "Great actors inhabit the character, sometimes so much that the line between fact and fiction, them and you, blurs and you feel everything." The same could be said of Ryan's work because that is what she accomplishes here: I felt everything. —Mia Sosa

Fall Into You, by Georgina Kiersten

Fall In You is a novella-length small-town, sapphic, friends-to-lovers story. Reading it gave me all the best vibes of fall, but this delightful debut also centers plus-size and queer characters finding happily-ever-after, which are the vibes I was in every season. This book from a stunning new voice in romance is like sipping apple cider and snuggling with your favorite person. I look forward to their next books! —Denise Williams

West Side Love Story, by Priscilla Oliveras

Reading a Priscilla Oliveras book is like being wrapped in a warm hug, and West Side Love Story is no exception. This loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet features rival mariachi bands and a forbidden attraction, along with all the emotion, family drama, and romance you could ask for. —Alexis Daria

Singles Table, by Sara Desai

When I read romance as a young person, I dreamed of someday reading one with protagonists who looked like me and represented me culturally without deviating from the sexiness and escape that defines the genre. Sara Desai's Singles Table is exactly the book I was dreaming of then. It's filled with hilarious banter, quirky community, and a romantic connection between an exuberant lawyer and a broody ex-Marine that is both incredibly sweet and scorching hot. —Sonali Dev

Queen Move, by Kennedy Ryan

I don't think I've stopped talking about this book since I first read it. This second-chance, friends-to-lovers novel delivers everything from first-middle-school-kiss butterflies to very grown-up activities on a trampoline. Along the way, it's impossible to not fall in love with the characters and their passions. Kennedy Ryan didn't invent the concept of a swoony and sexy story that delves into complex social issues, but it's safe to say she's perfected it. —Denise Williams

Big Bad Wolf, by Suleikha Snyder

I owe my love for paranormal romance to Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series, and Suleikha Snyder's Big Bad Wolf dovetails perfectly into my Singh-inspired hunger for the subgenre. It's a sweeping saga of angst, grit, and high stakes set in a world inhabited by every manner of mythical being fighting to survive as chaos reigns. The love that blossoms between a fish-out-of-water lawyer and a shapeshifting wolf accused of a heinous crime is fast, complex, and sexy. And having a badass South Asian American woman at the center feels powerful and important. —Sonali Dev

Fake It Til You Bake It, by Jamie Wesley

A football-player-turned-cupcake-shop-owner and a reality TV star who left her reality TV groom-to-be at the altar. It's the perfect recipe for a fake-dating, opposites-attract rom-com that's hard to put down! This book had me literally laughing out loud multiple times. —Farrah Rochon

Take a Hint, Dan Brown, by Talia Hibbert

If you haven't read the Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert, run, do not walk, to your local bookstore or library to pick it up. All three books are fantastic rom-coms with plenty of heat, but Take a Hint, Dani Brown is my absolute favorite. What could go wrong in a fake relationship between a hopeless romantic and a woman who has sworn off romance? —Meryl Wilsner

A Proposal They Can't Refuse, by Natalie Caña (May 24)

Natalie Caña's debut gives all the hate-to-want-you vibes between two former best friends whose meddling grandfathers force them into a marriage pact to save their respective family businesses: a Puerto Rican restaurant and a whiskey distillery in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. Kamilah and Liam's romance is snappy, funny, and full of heart. I can't wait to read more from Natalie! —Alexis Daria

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris, by Adriana Herrera (May 31)

Although Adriana Herrera has garnered considerable and well-deserved acclaim for her contemporary romances, A Caribbean Heiress in Paris is her first full-length work in the historical space. It's also the start of an exciting new series, Las Léonas, which promises to bring a much-needed voice to the popular subgenre. In this book, we meet Luz Alana Heith-Benzan, a Dominican rum heiress who's attending the Exposition Universelle to help expand her family's business and blaze her own trail. She's certainly not in Paris to find love. That is, until she encounters James Evanston Sinclair, the Earl of Darnick, a broody Scottish man who has eschewed his title and built his own brand of whisky. Both need to be wed to secure their interests, though neither wants a lasting union. Intent on reaching their respective goals, the pair enter into a marriage of convenience, while denying that their delightful banter, mutual respect, and blazing chemistry could ever lead to a lasting union. This is a romance, so of course there's a happy ending, but the path to that ending will leave you breathless—it's filled with intrigue, scandal, glorious pining, and scorching sex scenes. Still, the heart of this story is Luz, a tenacious Latina who never cowers in the face of any challenge and knows her worth notwithstanding the many roadblocks society places in her way. As Evan observes, "Seeing the world through Luz Alana's eyes was an utterly transformative experience." I couldn't agree more. —Mia Sosa

Luz Alana and her best friends, collectively known as Las Leonas, are on their way to Paris to take the City of Lights by storm. What Luz doesn't expect is a business proposition in the form of a marriage of convenience with a hot earl. Well-researched and very steamy, Adriana Herrera's stories of brilliant and mission-driven Afro-Latinx heroines are not to be missed. —Alexis Daria

The Romance Recipe, by Ruby Barrett (June 28)

In her debut, Ruby Barrett wrote one of my favorite romance heroes of all time, but it's her heroines who shine in The Romance Recipe. A prickly restaurant owner butts heads with her new chef in this steamy f/f romance, which will be the perfect way to celebrate Pride when it publishes this June. —Meryl Wilsner

American Royalty, by Tracey Livesay (June 28)

Desperate to improve her image after an incident with a conniving pop star goes viral, rapper Dani "Duchess" Nelson agrees to perform at a tribute concert organized by the royal family of England. There, she meets Prince Jameson, who isn't happy about the new public-facing role the Queen has foisted on him or the complications arising from Duchess' arrival. Soon, however, these strong-willed opposites find common ground and a mutual attraction—but as one might imagine, opportunistic forces are committed to keeping Dani and Jameson apart. American Royalty is Livesay's trade-paperback debut, and she knocked it out of the park. Duchess moves through the world as if her own personal anthem accompanies her every step; it's a joy to uncover the strong yet vulnerable woman beneath her big persona and watch her take a chance on love with Jameson. Swoony, sexy, and funny, American Royalty is not to be missed. —Mia Sosa

The Accidental Pinup, by Danielle Jackson (July 19)

Danielle Jackson's upcoming debut novel is the type of body-positivity story that needs to become the norm in romance. I love a competent protagonist who isn't afraid to show her vulnerable side, and we get this with Cassie Harris, the photographer-turned-curvy-lingerie-model. And did I mention the swoon-worthy romance with tons of hot chemistry? —Farrah Rochon