You don’t need an excuse to read romance, though if one helps, I won’t object. Say you want something steamy in summer or cozy in winter, or the state of the world has you desperate for a literary happy ending. Say you want to explore traditional gender roles, or invert them, or find a way to happiness through them or despite. Say you want to go to a game convention, a tropical island, a magical garden or a sparkling lake, with a writer, an architect, a feminist activist, a duke or another duke. For any of those excuses, or none at all, here are seven new romances to sweep you away.

Maybe the most romantic being swept away is by someone you’ve known almost your whole life. AMERICAN SWEETHEARTS (Carina Press, 284 pp., paper, $8.99), the fourth book in Adriana Herrera’s Dreamers series (though it works beautifully alone), opens about a year after the high school sweethearts Priscilla and Juan Pablo have broken up for what really seems to be the last time. They’ve had a rocky relationship ever since Priscilla enrolled in the police academy but Juan Pablo, instead of joining her there as planned, went to grad school instead. Now, in their early 30s, the last break seems to have stuck — until a friend’s wedding in the Dominican Republic brings them back together. But it’s not a tropical whirlwind, nor proximity, nor the ample pressure from family and friends, that gets Priscilla and Juan Pablo past everything keeping them apart. It’s working honestly and bravely through their issues. That’s swoon-worthy, in my opinion, but don’t worry if it sounds staid — this book is sweet and thoughtful, but delightfully filthy, too. (While Priscilla and Juan Pablo have to work hard on emotional honesty, they’ve been together long enough to be extremely comfortable with all of their predilections in bed.) Another swoon for the realist romantic: Juan Pablo has been in therapy for a year. We get to see Priscilla discover how he’s changed, and we see from his point of view the work that goes into changing yourself. He makes space for her, but doesn’t push her. Every moment in their love story feels beautifully earned.