Recommendations based on "Seeking Approval"

A New York Times Notable Book of 2023A New York Times Books Review Best Romances of 2023 pick • Apple Books’ Best Books of the Month • Amazon Best Books of the Month Editor’s Pick, Romance • An NPR “Books We Love” • Library Journal Romance Pick of the Month • LibraryReads Hall of Fame: June 2023 • Publishers Weekly Best Romances of 2023Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century grumpy/sunshine rom-dram about a scrappy reporter and a newspaper mogul’s son "‘for Newsies shippers,’ [that] absolutely delivers” (Dahlia Adler, Buzzfeed Books).“A spectacularly talented writer!” —Julia QuinnNick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life—he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender thing between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.

An interior designer who is never without the perfect plan learns to renovate her love life without one in this new romantic comedy by Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care.For Astrid Parker, failure is unacceptable. Ever since she broke up with her fiancé a year ago, she’s been focused on her career—her friends might say she’s obsessed, but she knows she’s just driven. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation, which will be featured on a popular HGTV show, Innside America, Astrid is thrilled. Not only will the project distract her from her failed engagement and help her struggling business, but her perpetually displeased mother might finally give her a nod of approval.However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru’s granddaughter and the lead carpenter for the renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Jordan is determined to preserve the history of her family’s inn, particularly as the rest of her life is in shambles. When that determination turns into some light sabotage to ruffle Astrid’s perfect little feathers, the showrunners ask them to play up the tension. But somewhere along the way, their dislike for each other evolves into something quite different, and Astrid must decide what success truly means. Is she going to pursue the life that she’s expected to lead or the one that she wants?

Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance from the USA Today bestselling author of You, with a View.Georgia Woodward lives by her lists, none more so than the one about her ex, Eli Mora. It’s full of the ironclad dos and don’ts they’ve been following since she returned to the Bay Area after their cataclysmic breakup five years ago.With the wedding of their mutual best friend, Adam, looming, and them about to step into their roles as best woman and man, Georgia’s never needed it more. She refuses to threaten their tight-knit friend group with her messy—and still very present—feelings. The rules on that list will keep her cool, calm, and compartmentalized.What’s not on her list? Eli arriving from New York with a new rule-breaking attitude or the all-inclusive venue burning to the ground, leaving the bride and groom in dire straits. Nor does she anticipate Adam asking her and Eli to help him make a miracle happen. Together.As Georgia and Eli rush up to Napa Valley to pull off the perfect wedding, their old chemistry comes back in technicolor. Somewhere between cake tastings gone wrong, disastrous DJ auditions, and Eli’s heated attention, Georgia starts recognizing the man she fell in love with before. And if she lets herself break her rules, she might find what they’re building isn’t the something old that ruined them—it’s a chance at something new.

"A friends-to-lovers romance that’s magically both hot and wholesome. Cozy, sexy, and so very satisfying… this one’s a keeper." ― Jen Devon, author of Right Where We Left UsIn Erin Hahn's cozy, swoony romance, Maren Laughlin has been fishing her whole life, but she’s finally ready to be caught.At thirty-three, Maren Laughlin's just turned down her boyfriend’s proposal, walked away from her decade-long position as a park ranger, and returned to her childhood playground in Northern Wisconsin to accept her inheritance: a decrepit waterfront bait shop. After a lifetime of letting things happen to her, she’s ready to start making her own moves, even if everyone else thinks she’s making the wrong ones. Well, not everyone―at least the local heartstopper and resort owner is on her side.Josiah Cole has made some missteps in his life, but he’s proud of what he has: two awesome kids and the keys to the kind of getaway spot that has families coming back every summer– their up north home away from home. After his marriage dissolved, leaving him a single dad, he feels he’s the last person to judge Maren for her recent transformation (even if his best friend, her brother, wants him to feel otherwise). Besides, he genuinely likes having her around. She’s a breath of fresh air, his kids adore her (not to mention her dog, Rogers), and it doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful.Things between Maren and Joe are easy. So easy, they’re fully immersed in the middle before they even decide to begin. It’s not a question of should they, but rather can they make it last? Are things too easy, or is this just how real love works? In Erin Hahn’s heartwarmingly sexy Catch and Keep, Maren and Joe have to be brave enough to find out.

Loving Someone Is Something You Never Forget How To Do . . . Zoe Hornsby Has Enough On Her Plate. Her Pet Grooming Business Tucked Inside Her Friends' Veterinarian Clinic Is Busy, And All Her Free Time Outside Of Work Is Dedicated To Caring For Her Mother's Ailing Mind. Dating Is Certainly Not On Her Agenda. For All She Cares, The Town Gossips Of Redwood Ridge, Oregon, Can Set Their Matchmaking Sights On Someone Else. Because No Way Would She Consider Sexy Veterinarian Drake O'grady Her Perfect Guy. Once Upon A Time, She May Have Harbored A Little Crush, But He'd Only Had Eyes For Her Best Friend. And The Crazy Attraction Building Between Her And Drake Now? Down Boy, Down. After Drake Lost His Wife To Cancer, He's Finally Clawed His Way Out Of Grief And Beginning To Feel More Like A Part Of The Human Race. But He's Appalled To Learn His Prying Family Thinks He's Ready To Jump In The Dating Pool. And The Woman They Thrust At Him Couldn't Be More Inappropriate. As His Dead Wife's Best Friend, Zoe Is Off Limits. Even If They Seem To Share A Common Sadness, She Is Too Potent A Personality To Get Romantically Tangled With. Yet She's Making His Heart Beat And Blood Roar Like He Never Thought It Could Again. And He Doesn't Want To Just Exist Anymore . . . If You're A Jill Shalvis Fan, Kelly Moran Should Be On Your Auto-buy List. New Tricks Is A Heart-touching, Toe-curling, Binge-worthy Read, And Puts Kelly Firmly On My List Of Beloved Romance Authors. ~kelsey Browning, Usa Today Bestseller

One of the hottest, fastest-rising rom-com stars delivers her latest swoon-worthy novel about a destination wedding on a cruise ship.After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest ), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment—so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and it’s agony, too—and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask. Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.

They staged a romance, faked a breakup, and this time around, anything can happen—even something real.Thea Pappas has always been the storm in her own life—fiery and unpredictable—traits that led her and her younger sister, Addy, through a series of foster homes. But with Addy's whirlwind engagement, Thea is determined to be the perfect maid of honor, even if she finds it odd that she hadn't heard of the fiancé until the ring was on Addy's finger. She believes she can survive a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains with a group of strangers without causing any trouble.But upon arrival, Thea realizes these aren't strangers. Among the familiar faces is Owen Hayes—the man who, three years ago, paid her to pretend to be his girlfriend at a family wedding. Now, he's looking at her with the same panicked expression.Owen's life has always been about control—managing his mother's matchmaking schemes, his family's expectations, and the career path he never truly chose. Thea was his one rebellion, a beautiful lie that ended with a "heart-destroying" fake breakup. Now, with his younger brother's wedding underway and his mother on the prowl, Owen begs Thea to reprise their roles. One week. Same fake breakup. No feelings.But as old sparks reignite and the lines between pretense and reality blur, Thea and Owen will have to choose: carry on their greatest performance yet or admit the truth—that it was never fake at all.

Amanda is making the idyllic escape to the countryside to find a new life. Ben is picking up the pieces of his life after his wife left. Could a chance encounter outside Amanda's 'chic boutique' set them on the road to renewed happiness? Shop owner Amanda leaves London behind for life in the country and find's love with local vet Ben in this fun, addictive winner of the Prima Flirty Fiction competition

Join an anxious bookworm as she lets her alter ego call the shots in this steamy romantic comedy about finding the courage to step out of your comfort zone. I keep my nose stuck in a book where things are safe. But after a night out with friends, it becomes painfully obvious that while I've lived a million lives between the pages, I've never had an adventure of my own. So when my sister asks me to fly to New York for her wedding, I decide to become Harriet 2.0: a bold, outgoing version of myself. Who knew this little experiment would initiate me into the mile high club? Except, Luke isn't just the tall, sexy stranger in the middle seat with a devastating smile and gorgeous forearms. He's here in New York, and he's totally off-limits. When I learn that he's a gamer who gets all my nerdy references, I can't stay away-even if it might jeopardize my sister's wedding. With my time in New York running out, I find myself wanting to do the most outrageous thing of all: take a chance on love. Here's what you can expect from Outrageously in Love: ♥ Steamy romantic comedy with a side of forbidden love♥ Hot nerdy hero♥ Anxious heroine stepping out of her comfort zone♥ First big O - but definitely not the last!♥ Instant attraction/chemistry♥ Maid of honor duties and wedding mayhem♥ A few of New York's quirky hidden gems Please note that this book contains sensitive topics such as high school bullying, self-harm, panic attacks, and divorce. It also contains cursing and sex scenes, and is intended for audiences 18 years and older. This book can be read as a standalone, but it contains spoilers for the earlier books in the series.

An autistic YA homage to The Shop Around the Corner with a pinch of Cyrano, Elle McNicoll's Wish You Were Her is a triumph!Allegra Brooks is an eighteen year old actress who is secretly autistic. When a journalist publishes a scathing profile on Allegra, she decides to take the summer off in Lake Pristine, to visit her slightly estranged father. There, she befriends the booksellers of Brooks Books and decides to help them plan the popular Lake Pristine Book Festival. As she gets closer to Simon, the openly enthusiastic and neurotypical of the two, she realizes it's really Jonah, the boy she argues with constantly and finds a bit off-putting, who she's actually more and more drawn to. As the summer wraps up and the festival approaches, Allegra has to make some decisions about what she owes to others, and to herself.