Romance Wrap-up May 2026

 Lights Out - Navessa Allen 

I'll fully admit, I wasn't going to read this until I saw someone describe it as an unexpectedly funny dark romance.  I was intrigued and I will say I was pleasantly surprised at the humor and almost rom-com elements in the beginning of the book.  However, that charm quickly wore off as I continued reading and ended up feeling more cringe and over done by the end. I enjoyed the set up and the stalker elements of the book - I found the tech aspects to be an interesting twist on the normal physical stalking.  However, this book really suffered from a pacing problem. The murder element got stretched out way longer than I was expecting and felt like it was tacked on at the end simply to introduce a whole other cast of characters so that this can become a series.  The book tried to keep the same light tone but also wanted to introduce a whole new level of danger and it didn't quite work for me. 

Tropes: Stalker, Dark Romance, Insta-Love, 

Series: Into Darkness #1 

 

Fall or Fly - Sophie Snow

This was an absolutely fantastic read and solidified Snow as an insta-read author for me. This was trope candy for me, but the characters were so fantastically fleshed out that I was immediately invested in both of them.  The balance between the tension and chemistry was perfect. The 'will we or won't we' was used for just long enough without feeling overly used. I also really liked that we get to see some characters from the earlier books in the series as well.  

Tropes: Age Gap, Best Friend's Daughter, Snowed In, 

Series: Wintermore #3

Cactus Heart - Clio Evans

This book was constantly showing up on my Kindle recommendations and I'm glad I finally picked it up. I loved that the tension between our three MCs comes out pretty much instantly and it was wonderful. Each of our MCs had their own character arcs and I enjoyed how they all came together in the end. There was a really good balance of character development and spice that kept me engaged through the read. I really liked how most of the characters were completely fine with the MMF relationship so that wasn't really the core conflict. I look forward to reading on in this series for sure. 

Tropes: MMF, Brother's Best Friend, Small Town, BDSM

Series: Whynot #1

Muse - Miranda Silver

This was a really fun and different twist on a BDSM romance. I think Silver does a really great job at creating complex and bruised characters that find each other at the right time. In this case, both our MCs are at a sort of crossroads in their lives.  The spark between them was immediate and once they actually got together, it burned so bright.  I really liked the way our MCs explored kink and BDSM topics through the photo shoots and how they crossed the line from being in a scene to being themselves.  

Tropes: Age Gap, Professor/Student, BDSM

Standalone

 

You Won't Forget Me - Mazey Eddings

This was a really great example of an emotional, angsty, and pining romance, but that isn't the type of romances I generally gravitate to.  Eddings does a fantastic job in all of her books of really developing the character's emotional states and having them work through those on the page. I love that the relationship is never the fix to whatever the characters are struggling with, but that the relationship is always supportive and this was no exception in this case.  This ended up just falling in the 'not quite for me' category. The chemistry between our MCs was amazing and I enjoyed the side characters immensely.  

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was June 9, 2026.

Tropes: FF, Friends to Lovers, Rockstar

Standalone 

The Break-Up Retreat - Camilla Sten

"Welcome to Himlafall Clinic, where we use revolutionary therapy techniques to heal you from heartbreak. Whether you are going through a devastating breakup, or can’t seem to stop picking the wrong partners, we are here to help you change your life, once and for all…

Isobel Anderssen has heard rumors. Nestled deep in the Swedish woods, there is a clinic. Primarily aimed at helping women who have gone through devastating break-ups, the Himlafall Clinic is meant to heal your mind and help you move on.  Sometimes people are never heard from again.

Armed with a fake story and a contraband phone to record interviews, Isobel is ready to expose Himlafall’s founder and get closure for the families of missing loved ones. But when she gets there, nothing goes to plan. Her contact is missing. The founder, Dr. Martina Hastings, knows how to get under Isobel’s skin in ways she didn’t anticipate. And all the while, the ghosts of the missing haunt her at every turn. It is clear something is going wrong and Himlafall, and Isobel must uncover the truth, before she disappears once and for all."

What Worked for Me:

The premise was really interesting and worked as a great set up.  It doesn't take a lot of time for us to get to the actual retreat location and get right into the investigation.  There wasn't too much set up, even once MC gets to the retreat and meets all the other characters - we were able to get into the investigation more quickly than I was expecting. 

I enjoyed that we got more background information of the situation that lead MC to start her investigation sprinkled into the book as it went along.  These interjections are done via forum posts and letters which really helped them stand out from the main plot. There were some that weren't exactly clear how they immediately fit in, but by the end, everything was clear.  

The variety of characters was very well done and I enjoyed seeing the full spectrum of the type of people who may be attracted to this sort of retreat. They all had distinct personalities that were very clear so I didn't get them mixed up or get confused. 

What Didn't Work for Me:

Based on the build up of the premise, I was anticipating much more of a sinister vibe for the retreat.  Instead, it seemed like a very regular place and our main character was the weird one.  There are a few moments where things get a little tense, but nothing that I felt matched the vibes of the allegations that inspired our MC to investigate.  

There's a particular part of our MC's background that gets mentioned a number of times and I was expecting it to become a bigger plot point.  However, it didn't really feel like it was a big deal to anyone outside of our MC and didn't seem like it held her back in a significant way.  I think the idea was interesting, but I would forget about it between the different times the MC mentions it. 

Overall, this was a good read that really paid off on the premise.  I liked how we got right to the retreat without any delay and dove into the investigation.  I was expecting a more sinister vibe to the book that didn't really come until very late.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is June 9, 2026.