6 Forever Alones Who Find Love 

Romancing the Duke, by Tessa Dare
Izzy Goodnight, “at her best when invisible” is “overdue for a ravishing.” As a child, she was a beloved character in her father’s serial, a fantasy adventure that included a sweeping romance. But as a spinster of 26, wild-haired Izzy learned long ago that fairy tale endings and happily-ever-afters are for other people, not her. But then she unexpectedly inherits a castle, with a grumpy, scarred-but-sexy Duke to go with it. As they vie for the rights to the property, sparks fly between them that prove impossible to ignore. A fun historical with a Beauty and the Beast vibe.

Topaz, by Beverly Jenkins
Today there’s nothing unusual about an unmarried, 28-year-old newspaperwoman. But in 1884, it’s extremely rare. Especially if the newspaperwoman is black. Accomplished, ambitious, “too tall” journalist Katherine Love doesn’t need or want a man in her life, until the story she’s broken wide open lands her in danger. Enter Dixon Wildhorse, a Black Seminole marshal from Oklahoma’s Indian country. The strapping lawman has been sent by Kate’s father to rescue (and wed) Kate. Although Kate feels an undeniable attraction to Dix, she’s equally determined to continue her career. Whose will power will prove strongest?

Out of the Game, by Kate Willoughby
In her third stand-alone book from the In the Zone series about contemporary hockey players, Willoughby introduces readers to the gorgeous team playboy, Alex, who never intends to settle down the way his friends and teammates have. But a torrid kiss from Claire several months earlier has rarely left his mind, and when he gets the opportunity to spend a weekend with her, he jumps at the chance—and discovers he might be ready for a relationship after all.

The Spymaster’s Lady, by Joanna Bourne
In this Regency-era swashbuckler, Annique Villiers has been a spy for as long as she can remember. A French double-agent entrusted with the much-coveted Albion plans, her code name is “Fox Cub,” and “she’s made mistakes which haunt her at night and which [she] cannot erase.” As Annique puts it, “To love, in our profession…is madness.” But after teaming up with a dashing enemy agent, Robert Grey, to enact a bonkers-awesome prison break, Annique and Grey find themselves willing to twist a few laws if it means getting closer to each other.

All of You, by Christina Lee
This New Adult romance features Bennett, a hot, tattooed, male virgin who captivates the imagination of his frisky downstairs neighbor, Avery. Though Bennett and Avery come from similarly dysfunctional pasts, their methods of coping couldn’t be more different. Convinced that being single is the only way to stay sane, Avery eschews relationships, preferring short-lived hookups. Bennett, however, is wary of no-strings sex, determined to hold out for something real. Will he find it with Avery?

Uncertain Magic, by Laura Kinsale
Fans of Sookie Stackhouse will love this supernatural Gaelic romance about Roderica (“Roddy”) Delamore, an Irish lass whose telepathy allows her to read the minds of everyone around her. Roddy is resigned to a lonely existence, dressing up as a boy and tending to her father’s horses, whose physical ailments she deciphers with her gift. She’s certain “no man could abide to have his mind an open book for his wife to read,” but then she discovers there is one man upon whom her powers don’t work; too bad he’s the terrifying Devil Earl of Ireland, Faelan Savigar, and he may be hiding an even bigger secret than Roddy.
What Forever-Alone-no-more romances do you love?