19 August Releases for Romance Awareness Month

In this second queer Victorian romance from Emma R. Alban, two young gentlemen keep getting thrown at each other, even though they would rather never see each other’s faces. Ever. But an extortionist starts threatening both of their families, and they have to figure out how to deal with that. Come for the Bridgerton vibes, stay for the fun!

A cryptid expert, you say? A web content producer looking for a new show star? Sounds like a great place to start! Hallie has just been dumped, which is bad enough. But he was also the star of the show she produced, so now she could be out of a job. When she finds cryptid expert Hayden, she thinks he’ll be perfect—until he actually appears on camera. Jumping in to save the content, she finds herself an unwilling costar as they seek out Bigfoot and his friends.

The Wild Wynchesters are back! And this time, we get to hang out with Elizabeth, the queer, disabled smart-ass who will cut you! (With her sword!) When she finds herself trapped in a castle with a handsome rogue, their swords aren’t the only things that cross. With enemies without and their battling hearts within, the pair have to determine what their lives will look like after they’ve finally gotten out. 

In this third book in the Carrigan’s series, we’re reintroduced to Tara, who is totally okay with going to her ex-girlfriend’s wedding on her own. But when she panics and says she actually is bringing her new girlfriend, she has a new problem: she doesn’t actually have one. When the woman she’s been crushing on actually offers to be her fake girlfriend, the pair feel like they have a plan. But—as tends to happen—real feelings are bound to get in the way. What do they do when they have very different plans for the future? 

Adrian has never stopped loving Hope. So when she ends up on his boat for a summer research project, he isn’t sure how much his heart can take seeing her day in and day out. She, too, is just looking for some closure. But their hearts might have minds of their own, and they could find themselves starting a whole new journey. And, oh: did I mention there were sharks?

When you can see ghosts, the last thing you want to do is work at your family’s funeral home. So Ezra aims to live his life as far away from it as possible. But when his family starts to implode for reasons beyond his control, he has to come back to support the family business. The funeral home’s new volunteer, who also lives in Ezra’s building, is a welcome surprise, and Ezra can’t help developing a crush. If only his recently deceased husband weren’t also hanging about. 

When Farzan has a spectacular meal at a new restaurant, followed by a spectacular night with the hot sommelier, he discovers that it was all a case of mistaken identity. The pair laugh it off, not expecting to ever run into each other again. But when Farzan finds himself in need of David’s help, will their continued attraction get in the way of both of their goals?

I’m sorry, did someone say there’s a new If Shakespeare Were An Auntie romance? And this time it’s got touches of Twelfth Night? Yes, please and thank you!

Friends Deepak and Vera have both worked hard to get to where they want to be in life. But neither of them is particularly in the best place, emotionally, mentally, romantically. Deepak is prepared to marry Olivia, a board member of his family’s company, when he’s surprised by her public announcement of their separation. When he and Veera accidentally get married (!?), they both use this change in their situations to update their image, and discover that their longstanding friendship could evolve into something even better for both of them. 

In this follow-up to Mortal Follies, Alexis Hall drops us back into this Regency world with a twist. John Caesar wants nothing more than to give his younger sister the best coming out he can offer, but many things thwart his efforts, including the work of a malicious fairy godmother. When Mary is cursed, he finds it necessary to work with the handsome Captain James to save her. But that’s all that they should be doing together. Right?

This is the first traditionally published romance novel by a Native author with a Native couple, and I can’t believe that’s a thing we’re saying in the Year of Beyoncé 2024. (There have been full casts in indie published romance, and in the traditionally published romances by Indigenous authors that I’m aware of, there has often only been one central character who was Indigenous; I could be incorrect!) Either way, this workplace romance promises shenanigans! Ember and her Native coworker Danuwoa are immediately interested in pursuing something more, but their company has a strict no-dating policy. What happens when a different coworker finds out they’ve been ignoring it?

When Lyric and Devon find themselves accidentally booked together in a room in Aruba, they venture on a no-strings fling that they both expect to leave behind. But neither of them is prepared to see each other back in the US–and definitely don’t expect to find that Lyric is Devon’s daughter’s new dance teacher! 

When Vivi decides to go to Việt Nam to understand her family history, she is determined to try everything she’s read about in the food blog A Báhn Mì for Two. Then, she meets Lan, who wrote the blog with her father until he died, and gets Lan to take her on a food tour of Sài Gòn by offering to help her get her writing juju back. Along the way, they find out things about themselves and each other that set them on the path to love. 

“Love Island” winner Amber Rose Gill is back with another destination romance, this time taking us to Miami. When workaholic Kya books a Miami vacation, the last thing she expects is to be fired mid-flight. Ready to drown in her sorrows upon arrival, she runs into Jade, a fancy Miami DJ. She’s ready to let her freak flag fly with this hot new friend she’s made, but what happens next? 

I was so excited to see a new Kris Ripper book as I collected books for this list! Ze hasn’t published anything for a couple of years, and this looks like the perfect combination of drama and joy that ze is known for. After Des writes a story that destroys Orion’s career, he abandons his own career in shame. Years later, Des is asked to recruit Orion for a campaign the ad company he works for is putting together, and Des is determined to make up for what he’s done. So when he sets off for Orion’s remote cabin to plead his case, the goal is to be in and out. But of course, Mother Nature has other plans!

I’m sorry, did you say haunted TOWN? 

When Cassie randomly decides to move to the seaside town of Boneyard Key, she’s not expecting to get a new roommate in the form of a ghost. Nick, on the other hand, has gotten used to the ghost that hangs out in his coffee shop and home, and leans pretty far into the town’s ghost tourism. When Nick offers to take Cassie on a ghost tour as part of a welcome to town, their light flirtation at the coffee counter evolves into something else…but what if Cassie decides to leave just as quickly as she blew into town?

(Transparency note: Jen and I are friends in real life.)

Lanie has to travel back and forth from New York to London regularly for family reasons. When she finds herself next to Ridley on one of her flights to London, the pair hit it off on their transatlantic journey. When one thing leads to another and he agrees to be her plus-on at the wedding that has been bringing her to London, the two must deal with a lot of their own personal issues if they want to pursue anything more. And there’s the whole question of long-distance, of course. 

Academics! We love academics! After Clara lands her dream teaching job fresh out of grad school, the last thing she expects is for a long-lost love to show up as a visiting scholar. She fell in love with Theodore Harrison long ago at sleepaway camp, but that person is not the man she now has to work with. As they get to know each other as the people they are now, Clara wonders if the second time might be the charm.