Open fire bans may be in place this summer season, but that doesn’t mean readers can’t get scorched by hot romance on the page. Summer 2024 is chock-full of novels with intriguing plots that explore the vagaries of the human heart. The Times took a look at some of these twisty stories where lovers and friends seek soulmates and playmates in locales that stretch from 11th century Italy to an alternative future.
One of this summer’s most sizzling themes takes readers behind the scenes of reality dating shows where Mr. or Ms. Wrong distracts contestants from that season’s Mr.
Right. Whether you’re looking for the coolness of a noir romance or the polite manners of a Victorian spy caper, a queer superhero hunk or a polyamorous Manhattan bartender, a curvy girl’s quest to find the perfect man in time for her birthday or a woman’s treasure hunt to recover stolen jewels, plenty of steamy stories await a place on your summer TBR. Add some spice to that sweating glass of ice tea and drink deeply of these piquant novels.
We Could Be Heroes By Philip Ellis G.P. Putnam’s Sons: 384 pages, $20 (June 4) Can the hot romance between a “superhero” and a drag performer save the world? Patrick and Will meet on a chaotic night and become unexpected friends.
Find out what happens when the mask and the wig come off and their burgeoning romance puts them under the spotlight. The Secret Keeper of Main Street By Trisha R. Thomas William Morrow & Co.
: 304 pages, $28 (June 4) Bailey .
