Michelle M. Bates

A crew looking for some kicks is about to collide with a hero hiding from his past. The knockout game is a violent one-punch assault on random strangers. Years ago, it faded like a bad memory, but now it’s back with a vengeance. This time the contest is twisted into an act of retaliation. Its target? The image of the elite—men in suits and ties. No man is safe walking through downtown.

When mystery author D. B. Ziegler is late delivering her book, Abi Schore steps in to help. Surely she can give her favorite author moral support over the holiday break and get the manuscript to her boss at Tea & Sympathy Publishing in time for the new year. When Abi shows up on Ms. Ziegler’s doorstep bearing holiday treats, she’s met by the author’s handsome grandson Dov, who reveals a startling plot twist. His grandmother isn’t able to finish the book and Dov promised he’d complete it so fans won’t be disappointed—a task that’s harder than he ever imagined.

Spencer Crane thinks I’m a human tornado. I think he’s a calendar app come to life. While he schedules? I spin-out. When I spontaneously combust? He overcompensates. And this is why convincing my new boss to hire him is a completely brilliant idea. You see, workplace romance is forbidden, but attraction between total opposites like Spencer and me is a non-issue. I only wish I hadn’t discovered Mr. Clark Kent Glasses is (secretly) scorchingly hot. Even worse, he’s funny and chivalrous, and shoving me straight out of my Tess the Mess comfort zone.

Not everyone is destined to live happily ever after, right? I’d be fine with averagely ever after. Lower expectations mean less heartbreak. But then I meet Mac and Daisy. Single dad Mac needs a temporary nanny for his daughter, Daisy. I need a second job until my promotion kicks in. It’s the perfect arrangement…until it isn’t. Because who can resist a dad buying ballerina tights after a day spent in a hard hat? Not me, that’s for sure. Now, Mac’s green eyes and Daisy’s crooked pigtails have me dreaming about a future I can’t give them.

Romance can be a little complicated when you get sucked into a wormhole. Just ask high school English teacher June Flint. One little solar flare happens and suddenly you find yourself 85 years in the future. Eighty-five years from your dream job. Your ailing mother whose only companion in this world is you. Your favorite stuffed-crust pizza from DeLucia’s on Sunday nights. But when June’s cell phone inexplicably picks up a signal, she’s able to call back to the present—more specifically, four weeks before she accidentally time traveled.

I'm basically a golden retriever puppy. I love everyone and want everyone to love me. But Cameron is the singular exception to my "love everyone" rule, and the hatred goes both ways. First of all, he's one of THOSE guys. The kind that looks like he belongs on the cover of Yacht Club Weekly. Second of all, he's way too good at his job. The man is a walking Wikipedia. His walking tours of historic downtown Charleston stay booked weeks in advance. Did I mention I run tours along the same route?

Ever since his career-ending injury, Pat has bounced from job to job, idea to idea, short-lived relationship to short-lived relationship. But when his father purchases the town of Sheet Cake, Pat suddenly sees his life with clear purpose: get his brothers on board with his dad's wild idea and win back the one woman who got away. Lindy was supposed to be traveling the world, not stuck in a small town, caring for her niece. But she would do anything to keep custody of Jo, even if that looks like a marriage of convenience with the man who already broke her heart once.

Confession: I'm attracted to my student's dad. Let me give you Tyler Dixon's resume: thoughtful, manly, father of the year, widower, ridiculously attractive (basically the opposite of a dad bod). This might sound like good news for someone like me—someone who dreams of getting married and becoming a mom—but it's not. Getting involved with a parent is a ground for immediate removal at my school, and right now, my fragile heart can't handle being fired. My mom just died. My boyfriend broke up with me, and to top it all off, my dad started dating again.

Julia Derks loves the small town of Mapleton where she grew up and launched her business, On Deck Café. What Julia doesn’t love is change. So when a smooth-talking stranger arrives with plans to develop the site of Mapleton’s cherished, shuttered paper mill, she doesn’t even try to hide her contempt. First impressions aren’t everything, though.

I said I’d never set foot on Oakley Island again. Not so long as he lived there. After my life implodes, I’m reconsidering everything. Including my reasons for avoiding the first—and only—man I’ve ever loved. I’m a high achiever. Driven. Maybe a little too driven. So when my boyfriend confesses to cheating and steals the promotion I’ve been working toward for years, I do the unthinkable for someone like me. I break. The timing couldn’t be better for me to fall apart. I escape to the idyllic Oakley Island and oversee the renovations on my late grandmother’s estate.