This post may contain affiliate links which earn me a commission at no additional cost to you.
Yeah, yeah, I’m about a week late posting this, but you guys have no idea how many hockey romances I had to filter through to get to these books. Seriously, what’s going on? Who’s reading all of them??
I’ve also been thinking about switching up how I do this list next year. I’m not exactly sure what the new format will be yet, but let’s be real—anyone who loves reading enough to visit a book blog is probably already aware of the major releases. So, I’ve been trying to highlight more indie and lesser-known book releases. That said, it’s definitely a challenge to filter through everything.
I also want to include more sapphic romances in these lists! I feel like I always come across MM romances, but finding good sapphic ones is so much harder. If you’ve got any recommendations, let me know!
Jump to: Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi | LGBTQ+
Fantasy
Dec. 1st, 2024: Mapmaker: Book 1 by N. E. White
Aleeya is a winged cartographer and a slave. Her mapmaking skills and the will of the gods have kept her relatively safe in the foreign City of Ka’ai in Western Helacon, but that changes when her plans to escape are thwarted, and she is sold. She thought that was the worst thing to ever happen until she is stolen by slave smugglers and a religious cult who have other plans for her. They reveal a truth about herself she suspected, but never believed. Can she master her newfound cartographic abilities and tame her doubts in time to save herself and those she loves?
Inspired by Roman mythology and culture, readers who enjoy an immersive fantasy and action adventure will love Aleeya’s trials and journey of self-discovery.
Dec. 1st, 2024: When Legends Spark: A Spicy Winter Fantasy Romance (Firestarter and Swordsman) by Casey Blair
A firestarter of unmatched power,
The most legendary swordsman alive,
And the sparks that will ignite their worlds…
Kazuron is happy with his isolated life, but everything changes when he discovers a kidnapped firestarter in the snowy expanse of the Frozen Wilds.
Since the people Jesra made herself small for betrayed her, she’s ready to use her magical fire to burn those bridges with prejudice. Unfortunately, she can’t do it alone. While Kazuron may be the only person she’s felt at home with, he’s retired and doesn’t need her problems.
But shocking no one more than him, he wants them—and her, with all her magnificent fire—to stay. If only he had something to offer her beyond choosing each other’s battles, because Kazuron’s enemies and the past he’d thought behind him are back and more treacherous than Jesra’s.
With the sanctuary of the Frozen Wilds threatened, it will take both their skills to fight the combined forces after them—if they can trust each other to stand by them when they demonstrate just how much they’re really capable of, and reach for a brighter future together.
When Legends Spark is a spicy, action-packed winter fantasy romance novella about two weapons who’ve been feared for their power their whole lives finding a place and a person they can be their full glorious selves with—and discovering what they’re capable of together when they make the choice to wield themselves.
Dec. 3rd, 2024: Quicksilver by Callie Hart
The global phenomenon by Callie Hart–a highly addicting enemies-to-lovers Romantasy with razor-sharp banter, heart-stopping action, and blistering hot romance–now has an embossed cover, silver foiling, and an updated interior design.
Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.
Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.
When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.
The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.
Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details…
Dec. 10th, 2024: A Crown Forged in Blood (The Forged Queendom)
The land is dying.Magic is withering.Death lies within the void.
Lithia has been a general for a century, but no battle could prepare her for the chaos that has befallen her world, nor has it given her time to adjust to being High Queen of Suviel. A day after becoming queen, reports flood in that a curse has seized the heart of Suviel leaving a void of magic slowly making its way across the land. As the land and the fae upon it watch their magic begin to wither, Lithia’s magic is the only hope to bring life back to the heart of Suviel.
Unfortunately, they have to be able to find the heart to save it.
Calcas is angry. His friends are dead, and the one who killed them is sitting on a throne. He’s spent a decade running from his anger, fighting, hiding, and clawing his way out of his grief. Now here he is, helping a queen he loathes, fight for a land he wants no part of, to save his family.
They will have to navigate treacherous alliances and dangerous terrain to find the heart of Suviel but, as they draw closer, they realize that the cost may be higher than they ever imagined. Sacrifice everything or succumb to the darkness that threatens to consume them all.
Dec. 17th, 2024: A Cruel Thirst (Joy Revolution) by Angela Montoya
A fledgling vampire and a headstrong vampire huntress must work together—against their better judgment—to rid the world of monsters in this irresistible young adult romantasy.
Carolina Fuentes wants to join her family in hunting the bloodthirsty vampiros that plague her pueblo. Her father, however, wishes to marry her off to a husband of his choosing, someone who’ll take her away from danger.
Determined to prove she’d make a better slayer than wife, Carolina vows to take down a monster herself. But when she runs into un vampiro who is somehow extremely attractive and kind, her plan crumbles.
Lalo Villalobos was content leading a perfectly dull life until un vampiro turned him. Now forced to flee his city, he heads to the pueblo where he believes the first vampiro was made. Surely its residents must know how to reverse this dreadful curse. Instead of finding salvation, Lalo collides with a beautiful young woman who’d gladly drive a dagger through his heart.
Fortunately, Lalo and Carolina share a common enemy. They can wipe out this evil. Together. If his fangs and her fists can stay focused, they might just triumph and discover what it feels like to take a bite out of love.
Dec. 21st, 2024: Warm-Blooded by J Greene
Could you abandon your past, your family, even your own name for the chance to be a hero? Millions attempt to do just that by applying to East Technical Institute’s hero program, trying to earn the right to use the powers they were born with. After all, only licensed heroes can use their powers freely; if they are not accepted into the program, those caught using their abilities- even to save themselves- are branded villains.
Kirin has, in his opinion, only barely managed to grab one of these spots. He’s determined to make the most of the opportunity, doing his best to focus on the rigorous program itself. But, more and more, he’s drawn to his most standoffish classmate, a man who knows more about the secretive school than he should.
When disaster strikes midway through his first school year, Kirin and his classmates are thrown into the conflict of hero versus villain, as well as human versus superhuman. Battling prejudice and his own past, Kirin must decide what being a hero is worth and what he’s willing to sacrifice to become one. After all, in a world that treats most people with powers as monsters, it’s not easy to see the line between victim and villain.
Romance
Dec. 3rd, 2024: Holly and Homicide: A Holiday Cozy Romantic Mystery (Christmas in Harrogate) by Alina Jacobs
When your cheating husband drops dead in your cozy Christmas cat café, the proper response is not to shout, “I didn’t do it!”
Showing up at his funeral with a plate of sympathy cupcakes after he’s just been poisoned by your signature Santa’s Surprise confection is… also not the correct response.
To be fair, if your husband walked into your café unannounced after stealing your hard-earned money and moving his pregnant mistress into your home, most people would understand if you bashed him over the head with a frying pan.
However, I would never defile eggnog cream filling with cyanide!
Too bad.
He had it coming.
Now the whole town thinks I did it.
Including the hot lawyer who’s visiting next door.
And by next door, I mean visiting his great-aunt, who lives across from Gran in the retirement home where I had to move because my husband evicted me from my own goddamn house.
Yeah, I definitely have a motive for offing the cheating bastard.
Thankfully, Marius has been volun-told to take my case.
When he scowls, I remind him, “’Tis the season of giving… and Marius is giving annoyance and disbelief.”
For someone who is working for free as my lawyer after being guilt-tripped by his elderly relative, he lacks customer-service skills, and there are an awful lot of questions and commands like “Are you sure you didn’t kill him?” and “Do not lie to your lawyer, so help me God…”
I don’t care what Mr. Tall Dark and Obnoxious thinks. I need my café to stay open and my name cleared. I’m done with men. My twenty cats and I are going to spend Christmas Eve sharing a roast turkey and binge-watching Hallmark movies.
Okay, I may have a problem.
Especially after kissing the guy who thinks I’m a murderous cat lady…
Dec. 5th, 2024: Wicked Promises by S Massery (Book 3)
They tried to take Margo from me-but I will stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Hounded by a relentless stalker, my overbearing uncle, and a detective who seems to think I’m guilty of a crime, my only solace lies with Margo.
I’ve only just found her.
Forgiven her.
And the threat of that all being taken away eats at me.
But as she remembers our shared history, and the blood that lies between us, our present begins to unravel.
Some danger cannot be avoided.
And when the stalker makes their final move, only one of us will be left standing.
Dec. 6th, 2024: The Minotaur and the Mage: A Cozy Monster Romance (Elderberry Falls Book 3) by Cora Crane
A city girl who’s inherited a small town magical storefront, the minotaur single dad next door, and a rivalry that’ll drive them both wild.
I thought I had it all figured out—a thriving career in the music industry, a promotion on the horizon, and enough work to keep me distracted from my love life (or lack thereof). Then, boom! I inherit a storefront in a strange magical town from a witch grandmother I never knew existed.
And, oh yeah, turns out that I’m a witch too.
But I know how to manage this: I’ll sell the building, use the money to buy my partnership at my company, and forget about these newly awakened powers. It’ll be simple.
Except the baker next door—the distractingly handsome minotaur baker—is a major pain in my rear. Rian’s turned the town against me and the chain business who wants to buy my building. He’s even dug up an archaic law requiring property owners to inhabit their property full-time before they can sell it!
Guess I’m moving to Elderberry Falls after all…
The Minotaur and the Mage is a standalone fantasy romance set in the magical town of Elderberry Falls. It is interconnected with other tales in the Elderberry Falls series but can be read alone.
All books in the Elderberry Falls series guarantee short, sweet, spicy romances in a cozy magical town with a happily ever after!
Dec. 13th, 2024: A Pack for Winter: A Small Town Why Choose Romance by Eliana Lee
She’s resigned to being single.
They’re on a mission to change her mind.
Ivy Noelle Winter is content with being a 31-year-old unbonded omega with no prospects of a pack. She adores teaching fifth grade, she has wonderful friends — and that baking show marathon isn’t going to watch itself.
Until a snowstorm and power outage traps Ivy in her classroom after hours…with three men.
Rome, the new alpha music teacher.
James, the flirtatious beta vet he’s bonded to.
And Logan, the town’s grumpy alpha electrician.
Their scents call to Ivy and her body answers, setting off her first-ever mini heat. When the pheromones settle, she gets a proposition beyond her wildest dreams — a chance to be a pack. But there’s no such thing as a perfect courtship, especially when the biggest roadblock to happiness might be Ivy herself.
A Pack for Winter is a standalone MMFM why choose small town romance. It is part of the Cozyverse shared universe, bringing you cozy omegaverse full of heart, heat and humor.
Dec. 17th, 2024: Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson
A touching and deeply funny debut about starting over sober only to discover life’s biggest messes are still waiting right where you left them.
The very last person anyone should worry about is Emma. Yes, hi, she’s an alcoholic. But she’s officially been sober for one entire year. That’s twelve months of better health. Fifty-two whole weeks of focusing on nothing but her nine-to-five office job, group meetings, and avoiding the kind of bad decisions that previously left her awash in shame and regret. It’s also been 365 days of not dating. And with her new dating profile, Emma, 26, of New York is ready to put herself back out there.
Except—was dating always this complicated? And did Emma’s mother really have to choose now to move in with her new boyfriend? Being assigned to plan her office’s holiday party feels like icing on the suddenly very overwhelming cake until her estranged father reappears with devastating news. Icing, meet cherry on top. But then there’s Ben, the charming IT guy who, despite Emma’s awkwardness and shortcomings, seems to maybe actually get her? Sobriety is turning out to be far from the flawless future Emma had once envisioned for herself, but as she allows herself to open up to Ben and confront difficult past relationships, she’s beginning to realize that taking things one day at a time might just be the perfectly imperfect path she’s meant to be on.
Bittersweet and darkly hilarious, Ava Robinson’s debut novel about navigating sobriety and complicated family dynamics is witty, heartbreaking, and profoundly relatable.
Sci-Fi
Dec. 3rd, 2024: How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis (Book 2)
Sparks fly when Ada and Rian just-so-happen to find themselves at the same charity gala—but there’s something rotten behind the sparkling gowns and dazzling wealth on display
This heist turned rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis is perfect for fans of sexy, romantic science fiction and readers of Martha Wells and Becky Chambers
Ada had no intention whatsoever to continue working for the rebel group that hired her to retrieve the government’s plans for a nanobot climate cleaner if they weren’t willing to pay her for it, but then they offer a different perk: an undercover mission to a charity gala where Rian will be in attendance. Rian, meanwhile, has volunteered his services for the gala believing that the rare items up for auction will attract Ada’s eye. Hoping to catch her in the act and pin her with a punishable crime, Rian has no idea Ada’s really after.
In a high-stakes game of theft and deception, Ada plays to win…and Rian will do anything to stop her.
LGBTQ+
Dec. 3rd, 2024: A Series of Rooms by A.J. Barlowe
On the night of his twenty-first birthday, a domino effect of unfortunate events leads Liam Cassidy to a chance encounter with a stranger. What he thinks will be nothing more than a moment of shared refuge in a bar bathroom takes a turn when Liam finds the same stranger waiting in his hotel room that night.
Jonah Prince is just trying to survive another night, same as he has done since his life derailed at seventeen. When his services are requested as a surprise for someone’s birthday, the last person he expects to see is the man from the bar who showed him kindness.
It doesn’t take long in a room together to see the cracks in Jonah’s facade. He’s afraid of someone, even if he can’t say it out loud. Hungry, guarded, and jumping at shadows, it’s clear he is in desperate need of a break, and Liam is in a unique position to grant him one—even if it’s just for a night.
Drawn together by their mutual need for escape, the two of them fall into an arrangement of weekly meetings inside the cheapest hotel rooms Chicago has to offer. The encounters are not sexual in nature, but an unexpected intimacy blossoms between them over time. For Jonah, it’s one night a week of guaranteed safety. For Liam, it’s the first real friendship he has ever known.
But soon, the circumstances that exist outside their private series of rooms begin closing in around them, reminding them that they can’t live in a bubble forever.
Dec. 3rd, 2024: Deck the Palms by Annabeth Albert
Nolan Bell has a very Merry problem this holiday season…
As a native New Yorker, I’ve always dreamed of my name in lights on Broadway. But when my Army officer brother calls in a favor, I wind up in Hawaii to help his family while he’s deployed.
A winter in paradise doesn’t sound too bad until I become the substitute choir teacher at a middle school near the base. Wrangling a bunch of tweens while planning the annual school holiday lights festival is a far cry from playing Peter Pan.
Enter Merrick “Merry” Winters, the school’s grumpy but hot shop teacher. I can win over any audience, but Merry’s a tough sell. And I need his help to make the festival successful.
The more time I spend with Merry, the less grumpy he seems, and the more I like the guy. He’s the third generation of a legendary North Shore surfing family. He’s committed to raising his twin boys on the island as a single dad. And like me, he doesn’t have time for an inconvenient but undeniable attraction.
As disasters pile up, the only holiday magic Merry and I seem to be making is with each other. What starts as a harmless fling becomes the only present I want under my tree.
If I want this romance to last past New Year’s, I have to decide which dreams are truly worth chasing.
Can Merry and I catch a wave for a future together before the sun sets on this holiday season?
A brand-new holiday romance from the author of the beloved The Geek Who Saved Christmas starring two middle school teachers in over their heads in an opposites-attract, fish-out-of-water romance. Deck the Palms features a slightly grumpy single dad and a sunny city slicker navigating family dynamics amid holiday small-town romance vibes with a side of Hawaiian sunshine. Guaranteed low-angst, feel-good, happy ending with a heaping helping of holiday spice!
Dec. 3rd, 2024: Free from Falling (Breakaway Book 4) by E.L. Massey
Justin “Matts” Matthews is good at a lot of things: Rubik’s Cubes, playing guitar, herding cattle, and most importantly for his career in the NHL, hockey. He’s not good at human interactions or social cues, especially when it comes to women. This deficiency is an annoyance rather than a problem, right up until he meets Sydney Warren. If it’s not love at first sight, it’s sure something close.
Sydney Warren, frontwoman for up-and-coming rock band Red Right Hand, is fierce, driven, and she doesn’t do relationships. Being an out trans woman in the music industry is more than enough pressure—a romantic entanglement would be added stress she doesn’t need. A romantic entanglement with a professional hockey player who, to all accounts, is only just learning to be an ally is definitely not what she needs. And yet.
After a chance encounter, Matts and Sydney become unlikely friends. However, in the stolen moments of their busy schedules––late-night phone calls between NHL games and concert tour dates—they start to question if maybe “friendship” isn’t so apt a description for whatever this is between them.
But can they overcome the outside pressures from family and media that would rather their relationship end before it has a chance to start?
Dec. 3rd, 2024: Ice & Sweet: An MM Christmas Romance
Falling for my crush at my ex’s Christmas wedding? Piece of cake!
Making the cake for my ex-fake boyfriend turned best friend’s wedding the week before Christmas was easy. Carting it halfway across England in the snow was not. Especially not when a blown-out back tyre leads to me coming face to face with my long term crush for the first time in five years.
I’ve known André since his days of boyband superstardom, but since I was supposed to be dating one of his bandmates, I was never able to act on my feelings. But now we’re both single and stuck in a hotel for the weekend with our interfering friends who seem determined to push us together.
But maybe André and I don’t need a push. Maybe all we need is a chance to see if the spark we felt all those years ago is still there.
After all, it is Christmas. And that means anything could happen.
Dec. 5th, 2024: Tangled Tracks on Side B by Lucia Faraci
It all should’ve been easy for Angelica.
Glowing skin, softball captain, and the happy, popular family of her classmates’ envy—practically the recipe for high school smooth sailing, right?
Too bad the captivating cheerleading captain also has a habit of hanging around the girls’ locker room after school. And too bad she just might be the one girl who can complicate everything.
Angelica’s life is beginning to look like her mom’s old mixtape cassettes.
On Side A, everything is going to plan. But turn over the tape to Side B and there is an unexpected mix of tracks Angelica is surprised to discover she might really love…
But how long can she keep this double life a secret?
Dec. 10th, 2024: Blood Fist: Steel and Scale Chronicles
A prince sold for a bargain. A soldier born in the gutter. And a young warrior destined to unite them all.
Centuries after the great dragon Artrax sacrificed himself to imprison the evil sorcerer Sinestrus and his Void Soul magic, humanity is divided. Behind the city walls of Kaledonea, magic is currency. Outside the walls are the Clansmen who hold true to the legend of Artrax. They live in prosperity in the shadow of his mountain tomb, far from the magic they distrust so much.
But the magic is fading. Without it, Kaledonea will fall.
Brune Son of Somebody, was born and raised in the gutter. With nothing more than the prospect of food and a roof over his head, he joins the Kaledonean army. As a lowly foot soldier, he has no ambitions other than his next meal. When he is ordered to march beyond the massive walls of the city, he doesn’t expect to find the one thing he’s never had–purpose. And when that purpose turns to love, he will do anything to keep it. Even if it means betraying the only life he’s ever known.
Omega Ridan Oldsun has always known he will one day be chief of the Stone Blade clan. Raised wild, and free, he has never considered the responsibilities of his impending leadership.
Until Kaledonea brings war. And with it, an alpha soldier Ridan shouldn’t trust. But at the edge of a blade Ridan will find that love, war, and loyalty come at a cost.
Blood Fist is a slow burn omegaverse romantasy featuring a strong willed omegas, fierce alphas, and the magical world they’re carving a life in. It is the first in an interconnected series with a self contained story.
ejbookblog 