Romance novels to heat up the waning days of summer

By Lily Chu

Sourcebooks Casablanca, $15, 384 pp.

Gracie Reed glumly sits in a coffee shop contemplating a sexual harassment suit against her boss and what to do about her mother, who suffers from dementia, when suddenly the flash of a camera interrupts her somber thoughts.

The photographer is chased away by an employee, and an unnerved Gracie puts it out of her mind until the next day, when a luxury SUV pulls up beside her on the Toronto street and her doppelgänger peers out. It’s Wei Fangli, Chinese A-list movie star, who, in perfect English, says she wants to chat. Next to Fangli is actor Sam Yao, dubbed Sexiest Man in the World by a celebrity magazine.

Fangli saw the coffee shop photo of Gracie online, taken by a paparazzo who thought she was the actress. Fangli presents her with a proposition: Pretend to be the star for two months for a huge amount of money. Overwhelmed and suspicious, Gracie tells them she’ll think about it.

Unfortunately, the next day Gracie gets fired by her slimy boss. With no job, and also needing money to move her mother to an expensive private-care home, Gracie calls Fangli.

During a meeting with Fangli and Sam, the plan is laid out. While the stars are in town for a project, Gracie will be the double at public appearances for the overworked actress. Sam, who clearly is against the plan but is supporting his friend Fangli, is to act as her escort.

After much preparation, and upgrades in wardrobe and makeup, Gracie starts playing her part and discovers the vastly different lifestyle of the rich and famous. She realizes that she likes her role, no matter that the smoking-hot Sam is so surly.

As she grows more comfortable, she also becomes more assertive in her own life. She confronts Sam about his behavior, and they make peace.

Working together with the stars draws Gracie and Sam closer, and attraction grows. It also reveals a stunning secret about Fangli.

While snarky fun, The Stand-In also touches upon some heavier topics, such as class and racial prejudice and the stigma surrounding mental disorders. But they don’t detract from the entertainment and the satisfaction of seeing Gracie start to shine her own light.

By Jasmine Guillory

Hyperion Avenue, $16, 320 pp.

By the Book is a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Isabelle Marlowe is an editorial assistant at the Tale as Old as Time Publishing company in New York, but she feels frustrated with her job and wants to become a book editor. An opportunity to impress her demanding boss comes during a trip to a convention in Los Angeles.

Her boss, Marta, had signed Beau Towers, handsome former child star and son of two celebrities, to a book deal for his memoir. But it has been over a year and Beau has basically disappeared, retreating to his late grandparents’ mansion and ignoring all communications. Izzy impulsively offers to go talk to Beau in person.

Before disappearing, Beau was known in the tabloids for fights, model girlfriends, car accidents, even screaming at his mother during his father’s funeral. A nervous Izzy drives out to his house, but Beau refuses to see her.

His assistant walks her back down the drive, where the woman falls, injuring her leg, and Izzy has to help her back inside. An unkempt Beau walks in and angrily demands to know what is going on. After Izzy explains and introduces herself, Beau grudgingly allows her to stay the night and give him her “pep talk” during dinner.

Izzy lays out what she thinks are helpful tips for someone who is having writer’s block. Beau is rude and laughs at her, and she angrily leaves the table.

But the next morning she gets a text from her boss, who says Beau called to say Izzy had been very helpful, so Izzy is ordered to stay longer.

A smart, plucky heroine, Izzy disarms Beau, and he gradually thaws and opens up about his struggles writing his memoir. And as Izzy helps Beau, she starts working again on her own book. She also is enjoying staying in a beautiful house that seems almost magically well-stocked with delicious food and snacks.

As their relationship deepens, Izzy finds that she likes the man beneath the beastly facade. But a betrayal by a duplicitous coworker may put their relationship and book progress in jeopardy.

By Lana Harper

Berkley, $16, 368 pp.

In Lana Harper’s second novel in her Witches of Thistle Grove series, Isidora Avramov is hiding from her necromancer family that she doesn’t want to be involved in their Arcane Emporium business anymore. She no longer finds fulfillment being the artistic director of their haunted house. What she really wants to do is be a fashion designer. But she can’t tell that to her mother, matriarch of the family.

During a town celebration before the Beltane festival, someone unleashes an attack of dangerous dark magic, seriously injuring a member of the Thorn family. Since suspicion falls on the Avramovs because of the necromantic nature of the spell, the family is allowed to have a representative in the investigation, and Issa’s mother chooses her. Worse yet, the Thorn representative is Rowan, her archnemesis.

Issa and Rowan have loathed each other for years. She sees him as a pompous do-gooder; he thinks she is a smart-mouthed rule-breaker. The town’s different magic families have never been close, jealously guarding their separate powers.

Issa and Rowan agree to work as a team to find the source of the dark spell. Despite their initial animosity, a powerful attraction grows as they investigate together. As they get closer to the answer, they find themselves in danger, with Rowan becoming the next target.

Lana Harper has created an enthralling witchy world, filled with wonderfully offbeat and diverse characters. The rom-com is spiced with moments of danger and horror and is an entertaining read.

By Amy Rose Bennett

Sourcebooks Casablanca, $9, 384 pp.

The first book in the Byronic Book Club series features a strong, opinionated heroine. Artemis Jones is a “bluestocking,” much to the dismay of her aunt and sister. She has no desire to marry. Instead, her dream is to open an academic ladies college. But her meager pay as a teacher and as the secret author of Gothic romances is not enough to finance a school.

When her friend is forced by her father to have a season in society in order to find a wealthy husband, she begs Artemis to come to London, too, and offer support. Though Artemis’ own season several years ago ended disastrously, she agrees. She decides that while there, she can discreetly seek a wealthy woman to be her school’s patron.

When Artemis arrives, she literally runs into Dominic Winters while hailing a coach. The sparks between them are immediate.

Dominic does not tell her he is the Duke of Dartmoor, also known to society as the Dastardly Duke because of rumors that he murdered his wife years ago. He is in town to find a wife who can provide an heir and help him with his rebellious daughter. He is attracted and intrigued by Artemis.

Attending a ball with her friend, Artemis is shocked when Dominic appears and is introduced as a duke. He immediately seeks her out for a dance, setting off gossip.

Her aunt’s scandalized reaction puts an idea in Artemis’ head. She asks Dominic to compromise her in a strategically planned manner so her aunt will be convinced that Artemis is ruined and will stop hounding her to get married.

Dominic agrees only if Artemis uses her academic background to provide advice and direction to his daughter.

However, Artemis’ “ruination” does not quite go according to plan when, faced by the aunt’s outrage, Dominic’s honor has him making a marriage offer instead. He explains to Artemis that she can reject the Dastardly Duke with no blame from society once she finds a patron.

But the more time the two spend together, the more they keep falling into passionate embraces. Besides the physical attraction, they also enjoy each other’s company and their lively, witty conversations.

Dominic may be befuddled when it comes to his teen daughter, but he is deliciously sure of himself with Artemis. She realizes she is falling for him, but can a Duke fall for a bluestocking who writes scandalous romances?

Artemis’ views seem bold for the time period the book is set in, but the author has created a forward-thinking hero who is her match.