"Sexy, smart, and fiercely feminist." —Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test
A meet-cute gone wrong is the start of a surprising courtship in this fresh, modern take on the workplace romance from debut author Ruby Barrett
Corrine Blunt knows what people think of her—she’s an icy, unapproachable executive. It’s the price she’s had to pay to get to the top. But there’s knowing you have a reputation in the office, and there’s hearing your new intern laugh when someone calls you “Blunt the C*nt” in the elevator on his first day.
She’d hoped to finally find an ally in Wesley Chambers, but she’s not about to let him off the hook for joining the office boys’ club. Taking refuge in the professional boundaries between them, she relegates Wes to assistant work—which would do the trick, if he weren’t so eager to prove he’s a decent human being.
Wes is sincerely apologetic, insisting it was a misunderstanding, and to her surprise, Corrine believes him. Being forced to work together was one thing, but long hours at the office with what turns out to be a kind, thoughtful man soon has their business relationship turning personal, and things get complicated—fast. Could this be something more serious than either of them dared to hope for? Or is their relationship just playing into the harmful power dynamics Corrine’s had to endure her entire career?
A note on content warnings:
Hot Copy deals with themes of workplace sexual harassment, cancer, parental death, and grief. There is explicit sex and migraine rep in this book.
"The feelings in this one are dialed up so high you almost can’t look at them directly: It would be like staring into the sun... Like Rosie Danan or Kate Clayborn, Barrett has a way of making palpable the full journey of a relationship" –New York Times
“Simply put, The Romance Recipe is a treat.” –USA TODAY
Amy Chambers: restaurant owner, micromanager, control freak.
Amy will do anything to revive her ailing restaurant, including hiring a former reality-show finalist with good connections and a lot to prove. But her hopes that Sophie’s skills and celebrity status would bring her restaurant back from the brink of failure are beginning to wane…
Sophie Brunet: grump in the kitchen/sunshine in the streets, took thirty years to figure out she was queer.
Sophie just wants to cook. She doesn’t want to constantly post on social media for her dead-in-the-water reality TV career, she doesn’t want to deal with Amy’s take-charge personality and she doesn’t want to think about what her attraction to her boss might mean…
Then, an opportunity: a new foodie TV show might provide the exposure they need. An uneasy truce is fine for starters, but making their dreams come true means making some personal and painful sacrifices and soon, there’s more than just the restaurant at stake.
FINALIST
Jesse Logan doesn’t want a fresh start. He wants his old life back—before an injury made his career as a firefighter impossible, before his grandfather’s Alzheimer’s got so bad he doesn’t recognize Jesse anymore. When a friend tells him about a paid psychological study, Jesse sees it as a chance to get back to the man he was while making a little extra cash.
All Lulu Banks is asking for is a fresh start. Back home after a devastating breakup, she’s struggling to find her place. She’s always been a lot—too loud, too eager, too obvious about her feelings. The friendship study seems like a great idea…until she’s paired with Jesse Logan, who recently ghosted her after a blind date that led to a steamy make-out session.
Now that old familiar tension is back. Despite the program’s strict “no romance” rule, Jesse and Lulu are quick to find a work-around that allows them to explore their tenuous connection. And soon they’re on their way to total self-improvement…
As long as they don’t get caught.
A note on content warnings:
The Friendship Study deals with a parental figure with dementia, disclosure of sexual assault (assault is not on page and not between main characters) and descriptions of a car accident and of injuries, including blood. There is explicit sex and representation of bisexuality, undiagnosed neurodivergence, and use of mobility aids.
He’s not her perfect match, but he might be perfect for her.
Jasmine Palmer is looking for love, but only if it comes with stability. Unfortunately, stability comes with f*ckbois and after one dumps her via text, Jasmine hires a professional matchmaking company, with a 99% successful matching algorithm, to be her Cupid. But her perfect match, “Nick” is a bartender with a bad case of Peter Pan Syndrome. He’s not stable boyfriend material, but she decides to cut her losses and asks him to help her save face at her now engaged ex’s party. It’s a harmless, one-time arrangement. It won’t hurt anyone.
This isn’t the first time Nick Scott has followed a beautiful woman with a dubious scheme. So, when a random bar patron asks him to be her pretend boyfriend he figures he’s done a lot worse for way less. A night of rubbing elbows with Toronto’s elite is a nice change from cleaning puke off the bar’s floors and trying (and failing) to win his dad’s approval. They even have a pretty cool time…and a really hot kiss, so when Jasmine offers to repay the favour, he cashes in ASAP.
He thinks they’re partners in dating fraud, until he realizes Jasmine believes he’s actually a different Nick. If he reveals the truth, she’ll think he purposefully misled her, pull out of their deal, and he’ll lose his chance at the loan that could save his bar. But losing her might be worse than his livelihood.
Either love or science will prevail when these two mis-matches redefine what it means to be a perfect match.
Chloe is the one thing a matchmaker can't be: single. When her clients blame their failed dates on her unattached status she knows she needs help to save her business. Unfortunately, the only person that might be able to help her is the last person she ever expected to see again: Dean - the secret high school hook-up who's heart she broke, along with her own.
It might be petty, but Dean still hasn't forgiven Chloe after 15 years. When she comes to him seeking his infamous boyfriend-for-hire services, he laughs in her face. But to reach his own professional ambitions, he has no choice but to make a deal with her after all. As they become wary business partners, Dean and Chloe fight to ignore their fiery past.
But with their high school reunion around the corner, the woman voted Most Likely to Succeed and the man who got away, might find themselves getting schooled by their hearts.
Nora hates two things: New Year’s Eve parties (too loud, too late) and her friend group frenemy, Finn (too tall, too argumentative). Then one New Year’s Eve, their friends enforce the “everyone has to kiss someone at midnight” rule and Nora and Finn begrudgingly lock lips. And something about that kiss makes Nora rethink that Finn’s mouth might be good for something other than pestering her.
Every New Year’s Eve over the next five years, Nora and Finn share a kiss. It starts out as an experiment, a test to see if those fireworks she felt the first time were real, but slowly turns into more: a need, a New Year’s Eve tradition.
But when Finn wants more than New Year’s Eve or nothing at all, Nora must decide if she’s willing to open herself up to a relationship she never saw coming, if changing everything she thought about New Year’s Eve and Finn is worth true love.