Four charming reads from Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elena Armas, Lynn Painter and Jodi McAlister for your spring book list

But no matter what others may think of the genre, it's also a lot of fun. Yes they can be easy reads, but they can also be charming. And the best ones walk that line between lighthearted plot lines and storylines of substance.

So here are four new releases worth adding to your book list, that do just that. From tennis pros to dating show contestants, these books will have you hooked from the first page.

Whenever someone asks for a suggestion of what to read, Taylor Jenkins Reid is my go-to suggestion. She is a must-read author, in my opinion. She's so good, that her latest book even had this non-sportsperson read a book about tennis and love it.

For those who have already read Jenkins Reid, in particular her 2021 book Malibu Rising, you will already be familiar with Carrie Soto. And if you haven't, you can easily start with Carrie Soto is Back (Penguin, $32.99).

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017), Daisy Jones & the Six (2019), Malibu Rising (2021), and now Carrie Soto is Back are all set in the same world. It means characters will appear in passing or be referenced in some way, shape or form but we don't get to know much about them until their book is released.

Heading in, we know that Carrie Soto had a brief fling with fellow tennis player Brandon Randall in the 1980s but we don't know enough for Carrie Soto is Back to be predictable - especially since most of it is set in the '90s.

From the first page alone we learn that Carrie is fierce with an unrivalled determination that has seen the tennis pro shatter every record, and claim 20 grand slam titles along the way. But now, six years after her retirement, that record has just been equalled. It's the 1994 US Open and the brutal but stunning Nicki Chan has just claimed her 20th grand slam. She only needs one more to overtake Carrie - and she's showing no signs of retiring any time soon.

MUST READS:

So what does Carrie do? At 37 years old, she makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement to be coached by her father for one last year in the hopes of securing her record.

Carrie is by no means a likeable sports personality. She doesn't play for fans, she is known to have a mouth on her and she is not a great loser. Her first time around the tennis circuit she was known as the Battle Axe. This time commentators opt for Bitch, instead.

Still, as a reader, this is a gripping tale of ambition that verges on obsession. Carrie is more than dreaming of winning, she believes it is fact. But to make this fact a reality, she needs to push herself past her limits.

More than that, however, Carrie Soto is Back is a story of women in sport, following a life and career impacted by sexism, double standards, the "importance" of being likeable and the trivialisation of her achievements compared to the men.

Do you know those books that have you up until all hours? You promise yourself just one more chapter but then something happens that makes you want to keep going.

That was The American Roommate Experiment (Simon & Schuster, $22.99) for me.

Author Elena Armas is described as the queen of the slow burn by fellow author Ali Hazelwood, and she's not lying. It's a book that starts with a simple spark which slowly builds into a full-on fire - in the steamy romantic literary sense, that is.

For those who have already read Armas's first book, The Spanish Love Deception, you'll be familiar with some of the characters. While it's not a sequel as such - and there is no need to have read the author's debut first, much like Carrie Soto is Back - it is set in the same world, this time focusing on the best friend of The Spanish Love Deception's leading lady.

Rosie Graham is a bit of a hot mess when we meet her. She's just quit her secure and well-paid job to be a romance writer. Which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that she has writer's block. What's more, the ceiling of her New York apartment has just collapsed, meaning she has to temporarily relocate to the empty apartment of her best friend Lina, who is on her honeymoon in Peru.

The problem is, the apartment is not empty for long. It turns out Lina has already given her apartment to her Spanish cousin, Lucas. (A fact that Rosie only finds out mid-way through a 911 call, thinking someone was trying to break in).

Luckily, not only is Lucas not a burglar, but he's basically a knight in shining armour, offering to share the studio apartment with Rosie and sleep on the couch.

Armas uses those classic rom-com tropes to her advantage in The American Roommate Experiment. It's almost paying homage to all things romance, without treating them as gospel, which takes the predictability out of what could have been an obvious plotline.

It's light-hearted, fun, and packed with flirty moments and delicious tension.

Who hasn't gotten a text from a wrong number before and been tempted to respond? Perhaps you even did. Most likely it's a polite "Sorry, wrong number" but what if you respond with something a little more?

Mr Wrong Number's (Penguin, $22.99) Olivia Marshall is a magnet for bad luck and the most recent result of her magnetic "charm" is her apartment burning down during her post-break-up ritual of setting her ex's things on fire. A dramatic end to a dramatic response to a break-up. And one that sees her move in with her brother and his best friend, Colin Beck.

It's during this life upheaval that she receives a flirty message from a random number. "What are you wearing?" In need of a little entertainment (it's been a rough 24 hours, after all) she responds to Mr Wrong Number, sparking a weeks-long conversation between the pair. And even if this conversation-based relationship is completely anonymous, it's the most entertaining and hottest connection of her life.

Meanwhile, Colin has always seen Olivia as his best friend's kid sister. But when she moves in with him, he starts to see her in a different light. Oh, and did I mention that he's also been sending flirty messages to the irresistible Miss Misdial at the same time?

MUST READS:

Author Lynn Painter makes sure the readers know what's going on between these two characters before they do - and even puts it in the blurb on the back, so you know what you're in for. And while Colin works it out relatively early (and decides not to tell Olivia), the readers always know more than either of the characters, as we switch between their points of view.

It's a great rom-com that certainly offers some laugh-out-loud out moments. This may not be for everyone, though.

I don't think Olivia will be for all readers - she'll be a bit too much of a hot mess for everyone to find endearing - and there are certainly some plot points that many will believe cross that line between fun and quirky and cross over into plain unbelievable and far-fetched.

It's a fun book that will keep you hooked, and the tension that Painter creates between these two characters - both in their messages and in real life - is done well.

This is probably the most fun take on incorporating the pandemic into fiction that I've seen.

Here for the Right Reasons (Simon & Schuster, $19.99) follows Cece James, a criminology student who loses her part-time job thanks to COVID. Thankfully, just weeks before, during a drunken night out, her best friends convince each other to apply for The Bachelor-style reality show, Marry Me Juliet.

This means that just moments after she gets the call saying she's been let go, she gets another call asking her to be on the show. Better yet, it comes with a weekly wage. Marry Me Juliet isn't Cece's idea of a good time, and she certainly doesn't expect to find true love, but a girl has got to pay her rent.

And the man that she and so many other women are there "vying" for - because let's face it, a lot of the contestants are there for a social media boost - is Dylan. But it turns out the handsome gold medalist also has his reasons for being on the show.

Anyone who knows even a little bit about The Bachelor will be familiar with how the premise works. However, author Jodi McAlister uses the pandemic to her advantage, meaning that when women get removed for the race for Dylan's heart, they have to stay on-site in a separate house. This adds an extra element that we haven't seen from any of the real-word dating show formats, meaning the book's plotline is far from formulaic.

Plus, since Dylan is of Sri Lankan descent and talks openly about mental health problems, it brings elements to this fictional show that reality TV is lacking outside of the novel.

It's also worth noting that when McAlister is not writing novels, she's a lecturer at Deakin University, where her academic work focuses on the history of love, sex, women and girls in pop culture and fiction. This means that watching shows such as The Bachelor is technically work for her, and also sees her approach this premise of a dating show romance from a really interesting and informed point of view. It is an example that these fun reads can still be works of substance, despite the stereotypes.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: