Lovise, Lindsay. Perfectly Wicked. Alcove. Sept. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781639109531. $29.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Holding her family’s 200-year-old apple orchard together is Holly Celeste’s full-time job. For the first time in its history, the Celeste women are struggling to make ends meet, and rumors of their land being haunted are not helping matters. They are forced to consider selling their orchard or allowing the paranormal investigation show Grimm Reality to film on their property and look for a malevolent ghost locals claim to have seen. Holly is against both ideas, but she’s outvoted after her family meets the show’s charming host, paranormal investigator Connor Grimm. Holly just hopes that he won’t stumble on family secrets that must remain hidden. Begrudgingly spending so much time with the kind and clever Connor, however, quickly erodes the walls Holly has put up to keep her secrets and her heart safe. Connor’s research into the Celeste family and their history uncovers more than they all bargained for, all while Connor falls further in love with prickly Holly, and they unearth a threat to their futures. VERDICT This wickedly charming and sexy romance from Lovise (Never Blow a Kiss) is perfect for fans of witchy romances from Erin Sterling, Hazel Beck, and Lana Harper.—Jenna Harmison

★Roberts, Amber. Haunt Your Heart Out. Alcove. Oct. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781639109487. $30.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

When she was a young teen in Stowe, VT, Lex (a.k.a. Luna) and her best friend Natalie created a ghost-story vlog. Sometimes the background stories were true, and sometimes they came straight from Luna’s imagination. Lex never imagined anyone would believe that the hauntings were real. Now in her 30s, Lex is the manager of a quiet used-book store in Stowe. She knows all the full-time residents and simply ignores—and definitely doesn’t date—vacationers and newcomers. People leave, and she isn’t going to set herself up for another heartbreak—until James, a newcomer, asks her out. She soon discovers that James and his ghost-hunting documentary crew are in town to verify the stories from her younger self’s vlog. Lex is highly amused and reunites her friends to secretly lend some extra sound effects to the filming. As days pass, Lex starts to fall in love with James, a man whose time in Stowe is quickly drawing to a close. This steamy slow burn is filled with great characters, from the protagonists to the many spirits Luna vlogged about. VERDICT Featuring wonderfully developed characters and fluid, well-paced writing, Roberts’s (Text Appeal) latest is highly recommended for fans of small-town and supernatural romances.—Heather Miller Cover