Join fifteen bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming authors as they reimagine some of the most popular tropes in the romance genre.

Fake relationships. Enemies to lovers. Love triangles and best friends, mistaken identities and missed connections. This collection of genre-bending and original stories celebrates how love always finds a way, featuring powerful flora, a superhero and his nemesis, a fantastical sled race through snow-capped mountains, a golf tournament, the wrong ride-share, and even the end of the world. With stories written by Rebecca Barrow, Ashley Herring Blake, Gloria Chao, Mason Deaver, Sara Farizan, Claire Kann, Malinda Lo, Hannah Moskowitz, Natasha Ngan, Rebecca Podos, Lilliam Rivera, Laura Silverman, Amy Spalding, Rebecca Kim Wells, and Julian Winters this collection is sure to sweep you off your feet.

What's Inside

CONTENTS

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FROM THE EDITORS ∙

SILVER AND GOLD

By Natasha Ngan

“Snowed In Together”

FIVE STARS

By Amy Spalding

“Mistaken Identity”

UNFORTUNATELY, BLOBS DO NOT EAT SNACKS

By Rebecca Kim Wells

“Kissing Under the Influence”

EDGES

By Ashley Herring Blake

“The Grumpy One and the Soft One”

WHAT MAKES US HEROES

By Julian Winters

“Hero vs. Villain”

AND

By Hannah Moskowitz

“Love Triangle”

MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL

By Sara Farizan

“Best Friend’s Girlfriend”

(FAIRY)LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE

By Claire Kann

“Mutual Pining”

THESE STRINGS

By Lilliam Rivera

“Sibling’s Hot Best Friend”

THE PASSOVER DATE

By Laura Silverman

“Fake Dating”

BLOOM

By Rebecca Barrow

“Love Transcends Space-Time”

TEED UP

By Gloria Chao

“Oblivious to Lovers”

BOYS NOISE

By Mason Deaver

“Only One Bed at the Inn”

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

By Malinda Lo

“Secret Royalty”

DISASTER

By Rebecca Podos

“Second-Chance Romance”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

FROM THE EDITORS

Dear Readers,

When we sold this anthology and recruited our contributors, it was January 2020. None of us could’ve guessed how the world would change in the months to come, or how our relationships would change—with our families and friends, with partners and potential partners. Some grew stronger under the pressure, or more intimate despite the distance. Some did not. It’s no surprise that romance stories set before or beyond the pandemic (or in a different world altogether) have been a welcome escape. Romance tropes are familiar and beloved blueprints for relationships that take on lives of their own, and we’ve loved disappearing into these characters’ lives for a while. There’s struggle and sadness, sure, but the Happily Ever After on the horizon always keeps us going and gives us hope.

As the months passed and the world seemed to fall to pieces, reading these stories and writing our own was a balm. With every word penned by the amazing contributors we’re lucky to feature—whether they’re about finding your soul mate across time and space, rival superheroes realizing they don’t hate each other at all, or two teens at a Passover Seder faking and then falling in love—we found a respite. Not only was it entertaining and just damn fun, it was sustaining. Love, as it turns out, still conquered all.

By the time this anthology is published, we have every hope that the world will be a brighter and healthier place. We hope we’ll get to see our readers in bookstores and gush over our contributors in person. And, in the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy escaping into these stories, losing yourself in your all-time favorite trope, and rooting for the happy ending we all deserve.

♥

The Editors