I know, I know: I’m six days late on posting my must-buy reads for this month (two of them already released and waiting patiently for me on my Kindle), but can I just say that it’s been a crazy start of summer so far? Yes? Well, it has.

I blame “The Bachelorette.”

On June 1st, I purchased a Harlequin by a tried-and-true favorite. Should’ve Been a Cowboy, is by Vicki Lewis Thompson, author of the absolutely adorable NYT-bestselling “Nerd” novels. This Blaze™, set in the modern wild west of Wyoming, is the fourth installment in her “Sons of Chance” series and involves one of my favorite tropes: the unexpected return of the one-night stand. As far as I know there’s no sekrit baby involved (whew!), but I will admit that I would read it anyway, even if there were sekrit babies (of which there are none), because Ms. Thompson’s stuff is like crack to me. Plus, I’ve been on a cowboy kick lately.

Today marks the release of Shannon Stacey’s newest Kowalski contemporary from Harlequin’s digital-first imprint, Carina Press. Yours to Keep stars Sean and Emma, a former military man and a landscaper. The premise is a little crazy—she invents a fake fiancé for her worry-wort grandmother’s sake, and the “fake” fiancé happens to be him—but as I enjoyed Ms. Stacey’s Undeniably Yours (which involved a baby…so you know it was well-written for me to actually like it), and given this excellent review over on Dear Author, I’m pumped to start this one. In fact, I probably will do so tonight.

On June 28th, the amazingly talented Meredith Duran celebrates the release of her fifth historical romance, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. There are so, so, so many things I love about Ms. Duran’s writing; her Bound by Your Touch was the first romance I gave to a nRR (non-Romance Reader) pal of mine, and how unsurprising was it that my pal adored it? The author’s attention-to-detail and her smoothly drawn characters pull me in like a fly to honey. I’m intrigued by the premise—a pistol-toting female vigilante and a wicked earl in desperate need of an heiress—and have no doubt that Ms. Duran will deliver.

The last book I’m looking forward to this month is Lorelei James’ new modern-cowboy erotic romance, Chasin’ Eight, the next in her “Rough Riders” series. I don’t know much about this title, except that it features a rodeo star hero and comes out on June 30th in e-book format from Samhain Publishing. Ms. James is incredibly good with dialogue and with characterization, even while she manages to slip in (heh) lots of sexxoring.

Of course, these aren’t the only books I’m reading this June—my overflowing Goodreads TBR list proves that—but they are the only new releases I’m looking forward to. Unless you have any other suggestions…?