The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

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Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal

A late bloomer romance where 1) they meet at a sex club, 2) the plot critiques the use of genAi in entertainment & news, 3) the friendships get plenty of attention outside of the romance plot. I ate this debut adult romance right up.

Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593953839, December 2025)

Reviewed by Alex Reinhart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver

Adorable romance set in Iceland. If you’ve been lucky enough to visit the country, you will appreciate the great descriptions of the enchanting landscape. Great for readers who love a good romance with a side of travel thrown in. The characters are likable and you will root for them.

Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593952405, November 2025)

Reviewed by Christina Tabereaux, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama

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Overruled by Lana Ferguson

She just keeps getting better. Oh my word! This book was exquisite. Listen, we can talk about how Dani is a wonderful female main character, strong but still fragile. We can talk about the hilarious banter and sizzling chemistry. But what makes this book amazing is the one and only Ezra freaking Hart. He has stolen my heart with his charm, his sensitivity, and just overall deliciousness. He is one of the best main male characters I have ever read, and at this point in time no one will take his crown. In true Lana Ferguson style, this book had me laughing, blushing and screaming from literally page one.

Overruled by Lana Ferguson, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593549391, July 2025)

Reviewed by Mekhala Villegas-Rogers, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida

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What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon

This is a good old-fashioned “I need to stay up late reading and see what happens” romance! This second-chance story, inspired by the author’s own expat journey, follows Dani, an adrift American, as she tries to get her bearings in Amsterdam following a messy breakup. As she struggles to prove to her family (and herself) that she can handle her new adventure, a long-lost first love appears to provide some solutions. Can she put her resentments for her first heartbreak aside and be civil long enough to find her purpose? Can he? Tension! Tulips! So bingeable and wanderlust-inspiring!

What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593548554, May 2025)

Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score

After loving the first book in the series (and being quite charmed by Nash), I was eagerly awaiting the second installment in Score’s knock-out Knockemout series. Luckily for all of us, this book definitely lived up to the first. (I think I liked it more!) This is a delicious slow burn with all the suspense elements you come to expect with a Lucy Score novel. Lina & Nash made for great characters, and overall, these ~600 pages flew by.

Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score, (List Price: $18.99, Bloom Books, 9781728276113, February 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah Kerbs, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

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Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood has quickly worked her way to being a favorite Romance author, for myself and many other readers. Mixing STEM, Feminism and romance is her recipe for her superb romances. Love on the Brain follows Bee, a strong willed and smart scientist as she embarks on a project partnered with NASA that just might turn her career around. An awful break-up changed the course of her career choices previously, but she is back stronger then ever about to show her stuff! However, her college nemesis Levi ends up being her partner for this project. You don’t have to be a science lover to appreciate Bee’s resilience in a male dominated career and to enjoy her nerdy, flirty, and powerful love story unfold.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood, (List Price: $17.00, Berkley, 9780593336847,  August 2022)

Reviewed by Lillian Kay, Novel in Memphis, Tennessee

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Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

An August 2022 Read This Next! Title

Badass woman in science, CHECK. STEM setting with real life issues, CHECK. Huge, hot, *secretly pining* fellow scientist with off-the-charts chemistry with said badass woman in science, CHECK. We have all the components of another supremely satisfying steamy STEM romance by Ali Hazelwood. I loved Love on the Brain!

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood, (List Price: $17, Berkley, 9780593336847, August 2022)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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