Brothers of the Vine
Forever Evermore
Women of W.A.R.
Erin Connor’s new book Unromance sees a jaded romance writer living out all the best romance novel tropes with her one night stand, a TV heartthrob and infamous serial monogamist. He needs to cure himself of his hopeless romanticism. She needs inspiration for her new book. What could possibly go wrong?
Inspired by her book, we’ve come up with reading recs based on all the tropes that play out in Unromance!
What’s your favourite rom-com trope?
Meet Cute
The love interests meet. It’s cute. It upends their entire lives.
Read: The Relationship Mechanic by Karmen Lee
There’s no fix for a lonely heart like a little TLC…
Jessica Jae-un Miller came to Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a visit, not a breakdown. But when her rental car dies on the outskirts of town, mechanic Lavenia ‘Vini’ Williams provides a tow — and a very welcome jump start to Jessica’s heart. It’s been a minute since Jessica’s last fling — her relationship specialty — and Vini checks all the right boxes. If only the sexy car whisperer seemed interested…
Vini knows herself and what she wants. She loves her job, her family, her hometown — but she’d love to fall in love. Jessica stirs up all the right feelings, but the city girl has no intention of staying in Peach Blossom. Why sign up for a broken heart?
But the temptation is real as Vini goes out of her way to drive a carless Jessica around town. The pair can’t seem to keep their distance — or their hands to themselves. With only six weeks to figure out where their red-hot chemistry might lead, Vini and Jessica will have to decide if home can be where the heart is when the heart only knows how to run.
Sworn-Off Relationships
The hero says, “I’m giving up on love to focus on my career,” and the universe says, “Lol, hold my beer.”
Read: Body Check by Elle Kennedy
After a childhood spent being dragged around the country by her hockey coach father, Hayden Houston intends to take some time to figure out her future. Whether that future will include her currently off-again boyfriend remains to be seen. What it certainly won’t include is the for-one-night-only guy she just met at a bar.
It seems hockey star Brody Croft did not get the memo about being temporary. Big, bold and driven, he’s dedicated in everything he does. Up till now, that’s been his team – the one owned by Hayden’s dad. But his night with Hayden has sparked something he didn’t expect. The two of them are good together. Really good. There’s a connection he’s never experienced before, one he knows they’d be wrong to ignore. Even with a game-fixing scandal testing both their loyalties – to teammates, to friends…to family.
Part of Hayden wants to turn tail and run. A complicated relationship with a bad boy hockey player is exactly what she never wanted. But when it comes to Brody, Hayden is realising that people can be so much more than what they seem.
Lumberjack/Lumberjane
Romance science decrees that all persons wearing a red plaid flannel become 42 percent more attractive. If the sleeves are rolled up and the forearms are out, add an additional 17 percent and gird your loins.
Read: Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws
I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.
But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap.
Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.
Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.
She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…
She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.
And to my great horror, I realise on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance — when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter — I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.
I want to make her mine.
Catching Feelings
When the casual hookup is occupying a not- so- casual amount of your brain space.
Read: The Hook Up by Kristin Callihan
The rules: no kissing on the mouth, no staying the night, no telling anyone and above all…no falling in love.
Anna Jones just wants to finish college and figure out her life. Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is most definitely not on her to-do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy, right?
Too bad he’s committed to breaking all of the rules…
Football has been good to Drew. It’s given him recognition, two National Championships and the Heisman. But what he really craves is sexy yet prickly Anna Jones. Her cutting humour and blatant disregard for his fame turn him on like nothing else. But there’s one problem: she’s shut him down. Completely.
That is…until a chance encounter leads to the hottest sex of their lives, along with the possibility of something great. Unfortunately, Anna wants it to remain a hook up. Now it’s up to Drew to tempt her with more: more sex, more satisfaction, more time with him. Until she’s truly hooked. It’s a good thing Drew knows all about winning.
All’s fair in love and football…game on.
Crash Landing
Falling for them— literally. Bonus points for landing on top of them, faces millimeters apart.
Read: Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows
Millie was never one to take the expected path. She’s an entomologist who loves her job as a natural science curator, inspiring museum visitors every day. It’s her dream to take a larger role in the planning of her department, so when a director position opens, she is determined not to let anything distract her from her goals. Especially Finn, her grumpy coworker with his permanent scowl, electric blue eyes, and nerdy astronomy ties.
. . . Not that she’s spent much time noticing any of those things.
Finn doesn’t mean to glare at everyone, but he’s juggling his role at the museum, navigating the grief of losing his sister, attempting to make his nieces smile, and trying not to ruin dinner for the fifth night in a row. He can’t afford to let anything slip, and certainly doesn’t need anything more to deal with—especially not Millie literally stumbling into him, with her bright smile and sunny optimism.
He bugs her. She’s too starry-eyed for him. They want nothing to do with each other. But with Finn on the interview committee, avoidance is impossible. And Millie soon realizes it’s one thing when a job is on the line. It’s quite another when it’s her heart.
Everyone Can See It But Them
No explanation necessary.
Read: Would You Rather by Allison Ashley
Would you rather play it safe in the friend zone, or risk it all with a modern marriage of convenience?
Noah and Mia have always been best friends. Life is going great for Noah and he’s up for a promotion in a job he loves. But Mia’s life is on hold as she awaits a kidney transplant. She’s stuck in a dead-end job and, never wanting to be a burden, has sworn off all romance.
So when the chance of a lifetime comes to go back to school and pursue her dream, it’s especially painful to pass up. She can’t quit her job or she’ll lose the medical insurance she so desperately needs.
To support her, Noah suggests they get married – in name only – so she can study full-time and still keep the insurance. It’s a risk to both of them, with jobs, health and hearts on the line, and they’ll need to convince suspicious coworkers and nosy roommates that they’re the real deal.
But if they can let go of all the baggage holding them back, they might realise that they would rather be together forever.
The Contract
When two characters make a pact, replete with rules, which they are totally going to follow.
Read: Shoot Your Shot by Lexi La Fleur Brown
When Jaylen Jones doesn’t secure an NHL contract at the end of training camp, he worries his hockey career is over. But after an anonymous one-night stand on his last night in town, his luck turns around and a last-minute roster spot opens up on the Seattle Rainiers. Connecting his fortune to the girl he spent the night with, superstitious Jaylen is suddenly desperate to keep her around.
Aspiring tattoo artist Lucy isn’t so sure about the proposition to remain Jaylen’s lucky charm — she’s been called a lot of things in her life, but good luck has never been one of them. But stuck in a career slump, Lucy has everything to gain. Hoping for an apprenticeship at a tattoo parlour hasn’t offered her much stability, and Jaylen is willing to pay any price to get Lucy to agree…so maybe sending him a routine text message before each game won’t be too hard.
What starts as an agreement to trade favours — a good luck text for an appearance at a charity event, or well wishes in exchange for prime game tickets — quickly turns into sizzling chemistry that’s too delicious not to give in to. But Lucy’s been in too many situationships to even think about getting attached again, and Jaylen is clearly only with Lucy as long as it’s helping his career…neither of them expecting getting lucky could be so complicated.
(Un)romance
A story in which two characters absolutely, categorically do not fall in love … right?
Read: Unromance by Erin Connor
Sawyer Greene is done with romance.
Once a bestselling author of the genre, she’s been left with nothing but heartbreak and bitterness.
Mason West is a hopeless romantic.
He has a habit of falling in love with all the wrong people. So when the two find themselves stuck in a lift together, Sawyer is determined this will not be their meet cute.
But the universe has other plans.
Sawyer and Mason make a plan to cure him of his hopeless romanticism, her of her writer’s block. It’s simple. Sawyer will become the romcom love interest of Mason’s dreams and ruin romance for him one trope at a time…
There’s just one rule: do not fall in love.
What could go wrong?