If only life were as simple as making a reservation. Makenna Rye Conroy was living the dream—with an amazing husband and a beautiful new baby daughter—when one night changed everything. Almost six years after Adam’s death, Makenna and her daughter Paige have built a solid, happy life together. Makenna manages her brother’s trendy restaurant, The Yard, and helps out at Ryeland Farms, the family business, all while navigating the world of private school parenting. Sure, being a single mom has its challenges, but she hardly has time to pack her daughter’s lunch in the morning, let alone think about dating. Travis McNulty, the middle child and biggest disappointment of the McNulty clan, is a chef at his best friend’s new restaurant. He gave up apologizing for not being the football hero his family wanted a long time ago. In fact, Travis apologizes for very little these days. He loves creating great food—it’s more of a passion than a job—and he lives life on his own terms with few complications. For the past couple years, Makenna and Travis have worked side by side at The Yard, bickering, teasing, and never taking each other very seriously. That is until Makenna has her usual reoccurring dream; but this time, instead of her late husband as the featured man, Travis stands in his place. Travis may be attracted to his best friend’s sister, but she’s a widow and a mother, which tops the charts for complicated in his book. As the game changes, Makenna and Travis, with a little help from Paige, have to figure out what they are willing to risk to reserve a table for three. Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes, but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. car accident, death, loss of a loved one, slut shaming

Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time "A book for warriors, divas, artists, queens, individuals, activists, trend setters, and anyone searching for the courage to be themselves.”—Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating. Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs. As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart—and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known. This is a bighearted, sprawling epic about friendship and love and the revolutionary act of living life to the fullest in the face of impossible odds.

If only life were as simple as filling a vacancy. Hollis Jeffries is a “dynamo” as her father likes to say. She’s the youngest vice president at Dobbins Capital. She wows investors, runs marathons, and speaks three languages. As the oldest, Hollis is always first to try and first to succeed. According to the other Jeffries sisters, she’s practically perfect. . . until she’s not. Matthew Locke grew up in the shadow of his brother’s death and with the added pressure of his parents’ expectations. They want him to take over the family coffee shops someday, but Matt has other plans. Despite the grumblings of his working-class parents, he has found success in Silicon Valley even after dropping out of Stanford a semester shy of graduation. Matt has spent most of his life under the radar and there’s not much he’s willing to rock the boat for. . . until there is. Hollis and Matt met on Tomales Bay the summer they both turned twelve and during the summers that followed, they grew up and fell in love. One night, after an unexpected test, they fell apart. Now, twelve years later, Hollis, who seeks refuge at her uncle’s seaside cottages to ride out a storm of her own making and Matt, weighed down by obligation to his parents, both return to Tomales Bay. Forced to share another summer in the small town that brought them together, will Hollis and Matt be able to move beyond the echo of their past and into a future filled with ever after? Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes, but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. loss of a loved one, divorce

If only life came with a script. Anna Jeffries has spent the last thirty-two years blending in, content in her worn-out reading chair—her happy corner of the world—spinning romantic scenarios she’s certain reality can’t deliver. After three years of teaching Shakespeare at UC Berkeley, Anna is working toward full tenure. Her life in the classroom means everything and she can’t imagine wanting more… until she does. Dane Sivac is in his second year as the wide receiver coach, and with new talent on the team this year, he’s beginning to think his future may hold a permanent position with Cal—as permanent as any coach can hope for. When his star receiver begins struggling on and off the field, the sports psychologist asks Dane for help. For Dane, emotions are best ignored, but his player’s seemingly uptight Shakespeare professor is driving Dane nuts… until she’s not. Invested in the future of a student athlete they’ve both come to care about, Dane and Anna are forced to work together. The attraction is undeniable, but opposing teams rarely get along. Right as Dane makes the type of romantic gesture Anna has only known in fiction, her career is threatened and she is reminded, playbook or not, she was never good at games. Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes, but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. employer bullying, death of a parent

If only life were as simple as a good-looking guy and a great dress. Samantha “Sam” Cathner gave up needing Peter years ago, but now her theater needs his play. She knows how fairytales end once the house lights are up, so she steadies herself to work with the brilliant playwright who once broke her heart. Peter Everoad is back in Pasadena, the hometown he traded for the bright lights of New York as soon as he graduated. The Pasadena Playhouse, where his oldest friend and one time lover Sam works, is in financial trouble, they need him and his new play Looking In. Sam is flustered to reencounter this new version of Peter—as always, witty and smart, and now handsome and successful. But he’s still the jerk who crushed her happily-ever-after. She’s not going to let him waltz in and unsettle her carefully ordered life. But she’s drawn to him and intrigued by the autobiographical undertones of Looking In—is the Pasadena debutante “Sally” supposed to be her? Can Sam ever really trust Peter again, or will the demons that drove them apart the first time, tear them apart again? Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes, but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. alcoholism, suicide

If only life were as simple as checking things off a list. Clara Mar is a world-renowned cellist. As a sought-after soloist, her life has been planned and executed by a team of professionals since she was eight years old. Now, reeling from a messy and public breakup with a fiancé she never loved and the fallout from an explosive family lie, Clara arrives in Bodega Bay as the unexpected recipient of her grandfather’s historic inn. Well, half the inn. Dylan Pace is Bodega Bay’s own hometown hero. From working Search and Rescue to picking up shifts as a paramedic with the local fire department, his life was the job. Until he blew out his knee for the last time. Scrambling for a new direction, Dylan is shocked when Mr. Levinson, his recently deceased mentor, leaves him part of the famous Inn by the Bay. Clara and Dylan quickly discover the inn comes with a series of last requests, specifically six months under the same roof. Determined to make the best of things, they begin ticking off the list before the summer reopening. But, reconciling an unshared past with attraction neither can deny, and Clara’s anticipated return to the spotlight forces them to grapple with expectations, old wounds, and what it means to stay. Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. alcoholism recovery, infidelity, childhood poverty, parental emotional abuse

Dave Faber and Robert McGehee were meant to be together: Less than two years after their first date, they were married. They ate out together, went to movies, and did everything else a loving couple does. They even decided to train together for the Houston Marathon in 2006. Like every couple, they expected to face hard times, but neither was prepared for Roberts diagnosis of esophageal cancer. But just like everything else, this was a fight they would wage together. After learning what he was up against, Robert suggested to Dave that he keep friends and family informed about their battle against the disease. This account draws on that correspondence and includes intimate details of their battle that may have otherwise been lost. Dave stands by Roberts side through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and physical therapy. Throughout his illness, their intimacy and love for each other grows. Whether youre suffering from a serious disease or illness or caring for someone who is, Dave and Roberts love story and spiritual journey will inspire you to keep your faith in each other and in the world around you even through the most difficult times.

If only life were as simple as choosing between shaken or stirred. Sage Jeffries grew up an overachiever. She studied, excelled, and became a mechanical engineer for a firm in San Francisco. Yet much to her family’s surprise, at age thirty, she made a bold move to Los Angeles and became a bartender at The Yard. Now, she spends her time mixing drinks and trying new things. Her life is good, fun . . . except for two teeny tiny challenges—she’s in love with her best friend’s older brother, and her sister bought her a book, Nice to Naughty in Ten Easy Steps, and dares her to master every step. Sage never backs down from a challenge. Garrett Rye is Ryeland Farms. He grew up under his father’s wing and has now taken over operations. Working the fields was nothing compared to the hassle of managing, but keeping the farm running without hiccups is what’s expected. His brother and sister may run The Yard, but Ryeland Farms is the rock of their family. No matter how many changes swirl around him, Garrett intends to keep it that way. It’s New Year’s Eve and Sage, who’s had too much tequila, is realizing it’s easier to read about “naughty” than actually put it into practice. Instead of a wild night, she ends up tucked into Garrett’s truck, spilling her heart. Now, Garrett is finding it impossible to concentrate on keeping things business as usual when the woman he’s only noticed behind the bar suddenly wants to raise the bar. Both stirred and shaken, Sage and Garrett will have to decide whether to keep mixing things up or if they should put their feelings on ice. Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes, but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. alcohol

Love has a story. It’s bigger than you. It’s bigger than me. It comes from old, an overflow of the beautiful love shared between the Father whose heart bursts for the Son, the Son who adores His Father, all wrapped in the glorious, life-giving love of the Spirit. And this great Love knows and cherishes every secret and intimate detail of your story. In fact, this story is for you. So where and how do we fit in this grand story of love? In Love Has a Story, author and poet Quina Aragon shares how, before the foundations of the earth, the great storyteller was penning a story that included you. Love was thinking about you, imagining ways to showcase His love for you, and planning to rescue you. This was not one of those sentimental loves, but a love that would traverse the wilderness in search of and for His beloved . . . and give everything—His life, blood, wounds, hope, and an invitation to be family. Join Quina in entering the greatest love story ever told. Through the prose and poetry of these meditations, you will come to know the great love of God for the world and for you. When you reach the end of this book, you will want to begin all over again. And you will want to share this great love story with your friends and family. Before you danced in your mother’s womb, before Adam and Eve, your greatest-grandparents ever walked the earth, before stars lit up the night sky, there was God—handpicking you to inherit a bottomless ocean: His love. —Quina Aragon

If only life were as simple as happily ever after. Jules Bartlett stopped believing in fairytales the day Prince Charming got caught banging her friend on their expensive countertops. Now, having returned to her seaside hometown—sans prince—the only men in Jules’s life are her crew of twelve smart ass fisherman who pose no romantic threat and endlessly dote on her daughter. Perfection. Tyler Pace is used to saving the day. Straddled between the big city and Bodega Bay, he seamlessly juggles big business and hometown city council, all while picking up the pieces for his alcoholic father. But when it comes to Jules Bartlett — the woman he’s loved forever — Tyler loses every ounce of his hard-earned charm and finesse. Jules isn’t interested in being another one of Tyler’s “projects” — and no grand gesture or impressive attention to detail is going to convince her otherwise. In fact, his constant meddling is threatening to destroy her last shred of patience...or her defenses. As past heartbreak and future dreams collide one momentous night, Jules and Tyler find themselves forced to set aside what they think they know about love. Because falling isn’t always the scariest part — sometimes love comes down to trusting the catch. Below are courtesy content warnings to the best recollection. They cover the major topics/themes but may not be as nuanced as other trigger/content warning sites. alcoholism, infidelity, childhood poverty