Waiting For Wentworth

Waiting On Wednesday (766) Sweet Something (Wood Hollow Stories #2) by Lane Hayes

Sweet Something
(Wood Hollow Stories #2)
by Lane Hayes

Expected Publication: July 21, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings
that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.
(WoW was previously hosted by Breaking The Spine.)

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Dexter:

The donut business is booming in Wood Hollow, along with my flag-football program. Now I’m ready to take on a new challenge—parenthood. See, I’ve always wanted to be a dad and it’s finally happening. Wood Hollow is the perfect place to raise a child. It’s quiet, safe, and the folks here are friendly.

One glaring exception is the grumpy lumberjack…who ends up being best friends with my surrogate. What are the odds?

Yeah…this will be interesting.

Viggo:

I’m a logger. I like wood. That’s it. Maybe that makes me a solitary person, but so what?

Unfortunately, I can’t ignore the handsome donut man’s new dad-to-be situation. Not when it concerns an old family friend.

Look, I don’t want to be involved, but I have no choice. And if that means I’ll have to step outside of my comfort zone and do people-y things to make sure Dexter is a going to be a good dad, so be it.

It doesn’t mean I like Dexter. He’s accidentally funny, kind of sweet, very hot, and—

Okay, fine.

Maybe I like him too much.

I've read and enjoyed a few of this author's previous works, and I really liked the first book in this new series, so I'm looking forward to reading more.

On a side note, I'm so done with the crappy year I'm having. My 88 year old mother with dementia fell and broke her hip and had to have a complete replacement. How do you rehab someone when they literally have no idea what you are instructing them to do? So now she'll probably never walk again and be stuck in a wheelchair or bed. And on top of that, our air conditioning went out and we've had to wait 5 days for a new installation in 90+ heat. Life is grand.

What are you waiting on this week?

Better with Kevin
(Not That #4)
by Isabel Murray

Expected Publication: July 7, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Charlie Galloway is handling it, okay?

No, he is more than handling it. He’s living his HEA with his handyman boyfriend, Kevin ‘The Corpse Finder’ Wallis, and his elderly dog, Phil. Business at The Chipped Cup coffee shop is booming. Media interest in the Cotswolds Collector—also known as the whack job who stashed dead bodies in Charlie’s house—has faded. The world has moved on, and now it’s time for Charlie to do the same.

He’s got a garage filled with a lifetime of junk that he’d prefer to leave in the past, but Kevin is itching to complete his self-appointed mission of turning Charlie’s dilapidated house into the home Charlie always dreamed of. Sorting through the clutter of unwanted possessions and unhappy memories is the last task on the list.

He’s put Kevin off for long enough. He wants to make Kevin as happy as Kevin has made him, and if hard, boring, physical labour is what makes Kevin happy (it is, the freak), who’s Charlie to stand in his way?

Besides. What’s the worst that could happen?

It’s not as if he’s going to find another dead guy.

Better With Kevin is a novella-length return to Chipping Fairford to check in with Charlie and Kevin, the protagonists from the third book in the series.

I loved the humor in this series, so I can't wait to read more!

What are you waiting on this week?

In Your Court
(Love Game #1)
by Kit Haley

Expected Publication: July 16, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Australian Matteo Russo is the first and only openly gay tennis pro. Once a brilliant junior, he was slated for a bright future – until a freak accident derailed his career. Now, he’s fed up, he’s struggling to qualify for tournaments, and he’s not sure he can afford dinner tonight.

After losing to his old rival—the rich, arrogant, American superstar Miles Callahan—Mat throws the man’s privilege in his face and sets him a challenge – one he’s sure Miles would never accept. But he does. Determined to prove he’s earned his success, Miles travels to Wimbledon on a tight budget – no support team, no coach, no fancy hotel. And now the American needs a hitting partner, and someone to explain laundromats, and what started as a dare soon becomes a searing off-court fling.

Mat should be focussing on his career, not falling for a glamorous star, but Miles believes in his game in a way Mat hasn’t for a long time, and is fast becoming everything he’s ever wanted. Only... love and tennis just don’t mix, because one day soon they’ll have to face each other on the court.

And in tennis, someone always has to lose.

This is one of those books that I'm on the fence about reading due to the huge (massive) amount of ARC reviews that I feel aren't truthful. SO many amazing 5 stars that I don't believe in, and many DNFs that I applaud for their honesty (especially for DNFing an ARC.) Sports romance? Okay, great. The author blurbing that there is very little actual tennis in a 500 page book? Not so great.

Add in this a debut author, and this might be going on the long list TBR and I'll get around to it when I'm in the mood.

Also, ballsy move to release this during Wimbledon. I'm currently scheduling my life around Wimbledon matches (AND World Cup!).

What are you waiting on this week?

Stormz Rising
by Nicky James

Expected Publication: July 16, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
A storm rages inside Gale. He’s drowning in secrets and failing at every turn. A life in the seminary didn’t work out. A degree in atmospheric science wasn’t what he had hoped. Closeted and insecure, overshadowed by his outgoing twin sister, Gale’s only happiness comes from photographing nature.

Ozrik’s life is a series of lightning strikes. Suffocating under the thumb of a mentally ill mother, he rebels by chasing tornadoes. Fearless and reckless, he risks his life simply to feel alive.

When Ozrik’s chase team gets noticed by a television producer who wants to turn his hobby into a reality show, Ozrik jumps at the chance. Getting paid to chase tornadoes might be his ticket to freedom.

Until he learns that his team isn’t the only contender.

A rival group of chasers has also been selected.

What was meant to be a life-changing opportunity turns into a competition that Ozrik can’t afford to lose.

He was born for this, and as the season ramps up, he’s ready to prove himself.

Except that the storm he ends up chasing is unlike any he’s encountered.

It lives inside the heart of a complicated man.

A storm with the power to destroy him.

Did anyone else enjoy watching storm chasers on Discovery back in the day? I did. I still like to watch them live on YouTube, especially when they are nearby.

I've been reading a lot of this author's work recently, which her last 2 series were really long, so I'm looking forward to a stand alone from her.

What are you waiting on this week?

Edge of Mercy
(Sugar & Vice #3)
by Allie Therin

Expected Publication: June 23, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance, Fantasy

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Caught in the crosshairs of a deadly conspiracy, empath Reece Davies was forced to embrace his darker nature to protect the enemy he’d fallen for. Now, joining forces with others like him, drawn to chaos and vengeance by the corruption in his veins, Reece is being hunted…by the very man he saved.

Evan Grayson, a notorious empath hunter known as the Dead Man, was engineered to never falter from his mission—until he met Reece. Even corruption can’t cool their desire for each other, but with Reece’s dark side in control and all of Seattle at stake, Grayson must stop him, no matter the personal cost.

As the battle between the two enemies heats up, so does their forbidden attraction. But the danger is growing and closing in on them from all sides. Because Grayson isn’t the only one hunting the empaths—and they both may have finally met their match…

I've been wanting to start this series for 3 1/2 years! Now that the third and final book is out, I can enjoy the whole series without interruption. Fantasy is not something I normally read, but this series has stayed on my radar and kept me interested, so I'm going to give it a chance.

What are you waiting on this week?

Call Back
(The Model Agency #3)
by Lily Morton

Expected Publication: June 21, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Once upon a time, Reuben Langley broke Xavier Conway’s heart.

Five years later, Xavier has convinced himself that he’s over it. Now a famous supermodel, his life is filled with faraway locations, glamorous parties, even more glamorous men, and so much noise. And if his mind still drifts to the quiet and responsible war photographer he loved and lost, then no one else has to know.

Xavier’s living the dream until everything comes tumbling down around him, and when he hits absolute rock bottom, the person there to pick up the pieces is Reuben.

Reuben fell in love with Xavier the first moment he met him—a wild, sassy boy in a hotel bar. That passionate affair came to a disastrous and painful end, and since then, Reuben’s had to be content with the tiny glimpses he’s had of Xavier over the years. But now, Xavier needs him, and Reuben isn’t going to turn away this time.

Set in London and the Inner Hebrides, this is a story of second chances and a constant, hopeful love.

This sounds like it will be more emotional and angsty than what I am used to from this author. She usually writes a lot of snark and sass into her characters. But it's romance, so HEA is guaranteed at the end!

What are you waiting on this week?

Dearly Departed
by Chip Pons

Expected Publication: June 16, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance, Fantasy

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Hope is a dangerous thing for gods. Even former ones.

Hayden Harlow, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood by the allegedly irreversible Immortal Retirement Act, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home—a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he’s lost. Still, he’s determined to claw his way back…if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him.

Enter Levi Wilder: a florist with an artist’s heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life’s messiest moments. When Hayden storms into Levi’s shop to complain about a bouquet of sunflowers—an offensive choice for a funeral, in his opinion—their worlds collide. Hayden is all restraint and shadows; Levi is all sunshine and charm. But beneath the clash lies an undeniable spark neither can ignore.

As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine. But trusting Levi means risking the walls he’s kept in place all these years—and it’s not just his heart on the line. Because in the threads of fate, one choice can change everything.

New to me author, and I don't read straight up 'fantasy', but this book sounds really good to me with the MM and Romance added in. Also, too soon for me to read a funeral home romcom? Maybe.

What are you waiting on this week?

Magpie
by Lucy Lennox

Expected Publication: June 16, 2026

Genre: MM, Romance

This is my favorite day of the week because I love sharing and discovering new books.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
For as long as I can remember, Kittredge Evers has been my anchor—the powerful CEO who never let me down, the man who called me Magpie and filled my childhood with treasures. My father's best friend. But when one drunken confession shattered our careful boundaries, I learned how dangerous it was to want him.

Ten years later, I’m grown. I’m no longer the sweet kid he swore to protect—I’m a man with desires of my own. And Kit? He’s still the most compelling man I’ve ever known. Stern, gorgeous, untouchable… and the one person I can’t seem to let go.

Every stolen glance and slip of the tongue drags us closer to the line we swore we’d never cross. But once we do? There’s no turning back.

While I've never been a fan of age-gap romance, I usually read all of this author's books, so this went on my tbr automatically. But I reserve the right to change my mind and not read it. I guess it depends on my mood at the time.

What are you waiting on this week?