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Dahlia Adler
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Happy July! Summer is heating up with a vengeance, both in the air and on the page, so break out some cool drinks, cue up your next read, and enjoy!
The No Repeat Policy
Author: Jordan Greene
Released: July 1, 2025 by Summit Ridge Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Months ago a cheating ex-boyfriend left Kolton Wolf’s world shattered.
Jaded and angry, romance becomes whatever ends up in his bed from the apps or the club with a strict no-repeat policy.
Then he comes into the picture.
It’s Halloween at the “club” when Kolton first lays eyes on him. A Greek god in full costume, what little there is of it. Kolton can’t take his eyes off them. They’re perfect, beautiful. A few steps across the bar and what looks like rejection leads Kolton to an amazing steamy night with conversation far exceeding the usual surface level hookup he’s used to. The next day Kolton breaks his own no-repeat policy and reaches out to the boy.
Ghosted.
No one after that reaches the Greek god’s lofty levels. They’re simply temporary enjoyment between the ever repeating flashes of that night. Is Kolton fated to only relieve his angelic encounter as a dream, or will time and chance bring them back together before Kolton gives up?
Greene’s best known for his YA Noahverse novels, which makes it extra intriguing to see him break into Adult with a spicy romance, the perfect length (just under 200 pages) to make an ideal beach read.
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Taste the Love
Author: Karelia Stetz-Waters
Released: July 15, 2025 by Forever
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
A delicious, heartwarming romantic comedy about big dreams, life-changing friendships, and the people who bring out your best.
Six years ago, eco-chef Alice Sullivan and her culinary-school rival almost gave into the burning tension between them. But those kisses? Just the heat of competition boiling over. Sullivan never expected to see Kia after graduation . . . until Kia crashes back into her life with a plan to buy Sullivan’s beloved Portland greenspace.
Kia has worked hard building her social media empire as the big-hearted glitter-bomb queen of the food-truck scene. Now she’s one step away from opening a foodie utopia for underrepresented culinary talents. But Kia’s plans catch the attention of a bulldozer-happy food conglomerate, and now both Kia and Sullivan’s dreams are on the line. When a legal loophole turns out to be the only way to save what they each love most, they’re left with one pull off a very public fake marriage to obtain the deed to the land and keep their old rivalry under control.
As the line between fake and real love blurs, can Kia and Sullivan set aside their differences and find the perfect recipe for happily ever after?
The Stetz-Waters writing pair are at it again with another charmer, this one about two culinary school rivals reunited over another fight that pushes them into a marriage of convenience. The tension is high, both sexual and otherwise, and the care and love Sullivan has for the contentious land and its associate memories leaps off the page.
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We Are the Match
Author: Mary Roach
Released: July 29, 2025 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
In this glittering, sapphic reimagining of Helen of Troy set in modern day mobster Greece, Helen is the daughter of a powerful crime lord on Paris is the woman hellbent on destroying her—if they don’t fall for each other first.
They’re thrown together in an opulent world of privilege, power, and cover-ups—and the closer they grow, the more the fragile balance of power in the world of crime lords begins to fray.
Because if Helen doesn’t choose to abandon her newfound connection with Paris and marry into the alliance her father arranged, they could all go to war.
And Helen and Paris might just be ready to let them.
I don’t read a lot of dark romance, but Sapphic, mafia, and Greek mythology-inspired? I absolutely had to check out Roach’s newest, and was not disappointed. (Note: she also has a YA coming out in September called Seven for a Secret that sounds similarly excellent and comps to Sadie, one of my favorite YAs of all time.) It’s vicious, it’s sexy, and the chemistry between Helen and Paris blazes.
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The Fortune Hunter’s Guide to Love
Author: Emma-Claire Sunday
Released: July 17, 2025 by Harlequin Historical
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance
Will this cynical fortune hunter find her true match? Find out in this enchanting sapphic historical romance
How can Lady Sylvia save herself from financial ruin?
Step 1: Move to the seaside for the summer, where there will be no shortage of wealthy bachelors holidaying.
Step 2: Strike a deal with local farmer if Hannah can help Sylvia bag a rich husband, Sylvia will fund Hannah’s dream of opening a cheese shop.
Step 3: Charm her way into luncheons, parties and exclusives balls, but do not start to confuse friendship with romantic feelings for Hannah.
Step 4: Focus on her fortune hunting scheme and not let her heart get carried away by her unexpected and magical kiss with Hannah!
There’s just something about seeing a Harlequin historical with a Sapphic pair on it, especially in an era when mass market paperbacks seem to be almost as rare as, well, Sapphic historicals. This one sounds charming and delightful!
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Lasso Lovebirds
Author: Clio Evans
Released: July 15, 2025
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Novella, Western, Romance
Series: Rainbow Ranch #3
In this steamy polyamorous cowboy romance novella, Beau Adams finds that the best things always happen in threes…
Living in the heart of Oklahoma, I’m just a cowboy with boots rooted firmly in running Rainbow Ranch. As eldest brother and professional worrier, I spend my days working hard with my family and yearning for someone I can never have.
Priscilla. She’s called Rainbow Ranch home for years and without her, my world would fall apart. Pris is gorgeous and smart and deserves everything good in her life. While I’ve always had eyes for her, I’ve never been brave enough to cross the fence between friends and lovers.
When a charming storm chaser named Sky arrives at our ranch, the three of us decide to give our wild hearts a chance. Sky is charismatic and sweeter than a cinnamon bun, and they just might be the missing piece we’ve needed.
But with pains from the past and worries about the future, Pris isn’t sure she can risk being hurt again, Sky isn’t sure Rainbow Ranch can be their home, and I’m not sure I can be the cowboy Pris and Sky deserve.
Can fate lasso the three of us into giving love a chance? Or will this whirlwind romance be our first and last rodeo?
The Rainbow Ranch series launches this month, kicking off with M.A. Wardell’s Stirring Spurs, and this polyam entry easily caught my eye because, well, look at it! It sounds sweet and sexy and like a much needed addition to queer canon, with its western backdrop and M/F/X romance. Yee-haw!
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