Happy Tuesday!
A petite release week for SBTB HQ. It’s mostly contemporary romances, plus a little horror to help kick off the fall season.
Which releases are you excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!
The Honeycrisp Orchard Inn
Author: Valerie Bowman
Released: September 9, 2025 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: Honeycrisp Orchard Romance #1For fans of the Lovelight series and The Pumpkin Spice Café, this cozy and sexy romance follows a young event planner who returns to her family’s inn on an apple orchard to help run their Harvest Festival—only to find herself butting heads with the handsome son of the apple orchard’s owners.
Ellie Lawson’s city life was treating her just fine until a sour turn of events knocks her out in one fell swoop. Dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her event planning job, she is left with no choice but to return to her parents’ idyllic inn, nestled within a picturesque Honeycrisp orchard on Long Island. Anticipating a quiet hiatus in the attic apartment, she is instead met with Aiden, the stubborn, attractive son of the orchard owner who is currently occupying her planned refuge.
Forced together by circumstance, they find themselves not only roommates but also coworkers, when they’re put in charge by their parents of the orchard’s vital Harvest Festival, a lifeline for both the struggling orchard and the inn. Amidst the enchanting disorder of small-town life, Ellie and Aiden grapple with their conflicting values, burgeoning feelings, and an electrifying tension.
As Ellie discovers the unexpected charm of the life she left behind and Aiden learns there’s much more to Ellie than he’d first assumed, one fact the future of the orchard and the inn depends on their unlikely collaboration.
Embark on a captivating journey of rediscovery, love, and the irreplaceable magic of small-town life.
Valerie Bowman is starting a new cozy, contemporary series. We just discussed this on the podcast.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!People Watching
Author: Hannah Bonam-Young
Released: September 9, 2025 by Dell
Genre: Contemporary Romance, RomanceIn this sexy and emotional romance from the acclaimed author of Out of the Woods and Out on a Limb, a small-town woman’s journey to spread her wings intertwines with the arrival of an adventurous newcomer who brings out the best in her.
Prudence Welch has found solace in her introverted life in Baysville, a charming tourist town in Northern Ontario. Despite once dreaming of a life beyond its borders, she now finds contentment in her working at her father’s gas station, writing poetry, and caring for her mother, who was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s shortly after Prue’s nineteenth birthday. But as her mother’s condition worsens and her father’s concerns about her future intensify, Prue feels her world slipping further out of control.
Enter Milo Kablukov, an enigmatic wanderer whose beat-up van covered with ill-advised bumper stickers rolls into town just when Prue needs a change. It’s all too easy to let go with him, and Prue can’t help but strike up an unlikely friendship with Milo, which leads to a wild and sexy agreement between them.
Milo, a man of many adventures and countless stories, is not one to settle down. However, his brother’s urgent need for help has brought him to Baysville, and now the intriguing Prue has given him more reason to stay. Especially once they start spending more time together, their chemistry intensifying, and casual-sex lessons start at Prue’s request.
But as their temporary arrangement blossoms into something deeper, Prue and Milo discover that getting out of their comfort zones is one thing . . . taking that leap together is something else entirely.
Hannah Bonum-Young has a new standalone. Are any of you picking this one up?
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Pitcher Perfect
Author: Tessa Bailey
Released: September 9, 2025 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Series: Big Shots #4#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey is back with an all-new enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating sports romance about a playboy hockey rookie and the disciplined softball pitcher completely immune to his charms.
Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream. He’s made it to the NHL, his best friend/teammate and fellow “orgasm donor” is his roomie—and the women of Boston love them both. Life is sweet. That is, until he meets Skylar Paige, division 1 softball pitcher, girl least likely to take anyone’s bull…and the one member of the opposite sex immune to his charms. Robbie might be dazzled by the badass pitcher, but Skylar pegs him as a filthy player and wants nothing to do with him.
When he discovers she’s carrying a serious torch for her brother’s best friend, Robbie knows he should just go back to clubbing and whipped cream bikini parties, but he can’t seem to leave Skylar to flounder on her romantic quest to land another man. Nor can he miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her and hopefully redeem himself. Before Robbie knows it, he’s agreed to be Skylar’s fake boyfriend/love coach at an upcoming family wilderness competition where her crush will be in attendance. What could go wrong?
Through a series of contests that require them to trust each other, Robbie and Skylar grow closer and closer until their fake relationship starts to feel like the realest thing they’ve ever known and the sizzling lessons in sensuality burn out of control.
But it’s all just pretend…right?
Tessa Bailey’s latest installment in her Big Shots series.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Play Nice
Author: Rachel Harrison
Released: September 9, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: HorrorA woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Black Sheep and So Thirsty.
Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parents’ messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped her of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.
After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, a sinister presence in the house manifests, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.
Amanda: Harrion’s playful horror releases are auto-adds to my TBR pile.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!Tapout
Author: Nicole Disney
Released: September 9, 2025 by Bold Strokes Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, RomanceEvery fight has stakes, and the hardest jabs are the ones you don’t see coming.
Laila Moretti was on the verge of making her UFC dream a reality. A standout in the regional circuit, she was one win away from a contract—until a crushing defeat shattered her confidence. Convinced she’s not cut out for the big leagues, she walks away from the cage, her coach, and the future she fought for.
Harlow Hayes doesn’t believe in limits—only opportunities. Running an underground fight promotion takes nerve, ambition, and a willingness to play dirty. She’s built an empire on giving fighters a shot the system never would. But the audience craves blood, and with her reputation on the line, she needs a star who can do more than survive—she needs someone who can win.
When Laila steps into Harlow’s world, she sees the fighter Laila refuses to believe she is. Their attraction is undeniable, their ambitions impossible to ignore, and as the lines between business and something far more dangerous begin to blur, Harlow faces a push Laila to reclaim the dream she abandoned or admit she’s already lost sight of her own.
Tara: This just sounds really cool.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!
Remember way back when everyone would be all grabby hands for a new BDB book from JR Ward? Yes, yes, moving on.
I’ve got my eye on GHOST BUSINESS from Jen DeLuca. Ghost tours and romance, what more could you want as the leaves change color?
Just one book on my tbr this week: KD Casey’s BREAKOUT YEAR (September 12). It’s a baseball romance featuring a fake relationship between a rookie phenom (the first out player in MLB) and a former player (first Orthodox Jewish professional baseball player). I love Casey’s perfect blend of baseball and romance, so this one is highly anticipated.
I’m excited about the Hannah Bonham-Young release, PEOPLE WATCHING–I love her work.
I leapt onto KU to get Elsie Silver’s WILD CARD and the audiobook was only $4.99 with the KU loan. I love Elsie Silver’s characterization and how they grow and change. Really looking forward to this one. Elsie Silver has been a small-town romance author star for very good reasons.
People Watching, Play Nice and Tapout are on my TBR!
I read the ARC for Breakout Year and cannot recommend highly enough!
So many great images and funny lines
“He shut his eyes, then opened them. No words had appeared, just the beat of the cursor on the white of the document, its rhythm like the irritating drip of water from the kitchen faucet.”
Who has not experienced this hell?!?
“So what should we do?” he asked.
Akiva had a high threshold for words he found moving, but that we might have been the best one yet”
I just. These guys are so real. And the sex is *hot*!