Published by Keylight Books on August 4, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
For fans of Tessa Bailey comes a steamy debut sports romance following an Olympic downhill skier and the sexy risk-taking ski mountaineer she hires to train her for a new event. But when their chemistry threatens to disrupt her carefully planned life, will she stick with her schedule or let her life veer off course in the name of love?
Kit Schuster has been bombing downhill on skis since she was two-and-a-half, and becoming the most decorated woman on the slopes has made the decade of competing across multiple continents and grueling race schedules worth it. She doesn’t look anywhere but straight ahead of her—on the racecourse and in life. But a younger rival now has her looking over her shoulder. To solidify her place in history, Kit decides to enter in the newest Olympic event of ski mountaineering, giving her eighteen months to prepare for the 2026 Winter Games in Cortina, Italy.
Asher McClendon grew up dangling from rock faces in Yosemite, and he stuns his followers with daring climbs up the world's most remote peaks before skiing down their steep ridges. He lives for the high-stakes thrills that come with ski mountaineering. When he agrees to coach a legendary alpine skier at his home outside Lake Tahoe, he's more intrigued by the paycheck than the woman. That is, until she arrives to stay in his guest cabin.
Far away from the perfectly groomed ski slopes of European resorts, Kit’s routine and laser focus get a major detour—by Asher's training regimen and their growing attraction to each other. Before she realizes it, everything in Kit’s life is veering off course. Faced with an insurmountable hurdle and no ski lift in sight, they must both determine what they’re willing to risk for love—even if it’s their careers.
Kit was America's sweetheart in the world of skiing. At her level (and age), she was beginning to feel as though some of the younger skiers were looking to dethrone her. This drives her into the world of ski mountaineering which was making its Olympic debut, and Kit hoped to be part of that team. In order to prepare, she hires outdoor adventure athlete, Asher, to train her. She does indeed learn more about skimo, but she also learns that there is more to life than skiing.
Reading about elite athletes is my catnip, so I absolutely adored seeing two highly gifted athletes falling in love. I liked the whole opposites-attract, grump/sunshine thing they had going and wholly approved of the way their budding relationship made them challenge some of their ideas about their lives, careers, and futures.
Kit had been hyper-focused on skiing since she was 13 years old. For fifteen years, she made all her decisions based on how they would benefit her career. It was lovely seeing her loosen up a bit and enjoying the warmth and joy of Asher's family and friends. They were a lively and loving bunch who immediately embraced Kit and claimed her as her own. Being in that environment had a lot of positive influence on Kit, and I believe it pushed her to heal some important relationships in her life.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this blend of romance, action, drama, family, and fun. It was thrilling to be part of Kit's skimo journey but even more thrilling to see her and Asher fall in love.
Published by Dell on August 11, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
What begins as a near-midlife crisis transforms into a journey of love and self-acceptance in this sharp, beautifully layered, and funny debut romance that explores true love and unexpected happiness from screenwriter and director Laura Chinn.
At thirty-eight years old, Rhea Darby has never been more single in her life. With her best friends all married and having kids, her social calendar is filled with baby showers and birthday parties, petting zoos and bouncy castles. However, she’d much rather be having hot sex with "the one" and getting closer to the perfect life she always envisioned. After being told that her fertility might plummet when she turns thirty-nine, and always having wanted kids of her own, Rhea decides that drastic times call for drastic measures. She has less than a year to find the right guy, or she’ll have to rethink her meticulously crafted vision board of the future.
Apparently, manifestation really works, because she soon meets Danny, a gorgeous gardener who is perfect for her—until Danny reveals he is absolutely morally opposed to having kids. Still, the connection between them is too strong to resist, even as their differences threaten to tear them apart. Rhea realizes she can’t let go of Danny, but is she willing to sacrifice her dreams to keep him?
Counting the Days is an insightful and sexy novel, in which the complexities of love and modern womanhood are met with relatable humor and self-acceptance.
Rhea dreamed of the life she wanted, and that life included children. Now the countdown was on to her 39th birthday (when her fertility falls off a cliff!), and she hopes to be making her dreams come true by then. In a stroke of luck, she meets Danny, who's a ten but doesn't want children. Rhea must decide what she wants more in her future- Danny or children.
This was a very thoughtful story that was told with honesty and a good dash of humor. I am a mother, but I have never been married, so I could relate to Rhea regarding that feeling of being "the" single person.
Her situation was so tough. She was part of a tight quartet of women who had been friends since high school. Lo and behold, the other three were all simultaneously expecting. Obviously, this was a big part of their lives, but it was isolating for Rhea. Her backstory was kind of sad as well, and it solidified how important this friend group was to her. They were the only family she had.
It was easy to understand why Rhea had baby fever, but Danny turned her world upside down. He was a very kind, generous, self-aware man who made her laugh and loved her. He made her feel safe and cared for, but he was not budging regarding his stance on children.
As much as I appreciated the romance between Danny and Rhea, the bigger story was her personal journey. Rhea coming to terms with what she wants or should want according to society and the powers that be. She also had to battle her past. I felt Chinn navigated the conflict well, presenting it from multiple angles, and in the end, coming to a resolution that seemed fair and realistic to me.
*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
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