Every so often a book comes along that isn’t just a romance — it’s an argument for why romance matters, dressed up as a romance so it can sneak past your defenses and land twice as hard.
There’s a particular thrill in watching an author step outside the lane readers built for them — and Ali Hazelwood’s Not in Love is exactly that. Hazelwood made her name on STEM-flavored academic rom-coms, all witty banter and lab-coat tension.
Every so often a book comes along that makes you stop and ask what, exactly, you are rooting for — and then keeps you rooting anyway. Leather & Lark, Brynne Weaver’s follow-up to her viral hit Butcher & Blackbird, is one of those books.