Alicia Thompson writes romance novels, reads whatever she can get her hands on, plays a mean “Bad Moon Rising,” and not much else. She lives in Central Florida with her family.
Micah's relationship to music is complicated. As teenagers, her band took off after being featured on a popular TV show, but the group barely released their sophomore album before breaking up. Now, over a decade later, the band is reuniting for one more performance on a themed cruise. John misses playing in a band, and mostly he misses Micah, who had been his best friend until the music stopped. Back then, he didn't take the lead, either in his guitar parts or while he sat back and watched her date another bandmate. John has never been one to rock the boat, but he's faced with another chance now that this cruise has brought music --- and Micah --- back in his life. Onboard, Micah can't help but see John with brand new eyes, and John's feelings only intensify as the discordant band's tension grows to a breaking point.
Daphne Brink doesn’t follow baseball, but watching “America’s Snoozefest” certainly beats sitting at home in the days after she signs her divorce papers. After one too many ballpark beers, she heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler, who quickly proves there might actually be a little crying in baseball. Horrified, Daphne reaches out to Chris on social media to apologize…but forgets to identify herself as his heckler in her message. When a DM from “Duckie” catches his eye, he impulsively messages back. Duckie is sweet, funny and seems to understand him in a way no one else does. Daphne isn’t sure how much longer she can keep lying to Chris, especially as she starts working with the team in real life and their feelings for each other deepen.
Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that's always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Her coworker, Asa Williamson, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World. When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day. If Asa thought Lauren didn't know how to enjoy herself, he's surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn't serious about anything, she's surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.
PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She's even analyzing the genre in her dissertation --- if she can manage to finish writing it. It's hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn't had a relationship with for years. It doesn't help that she's low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer. It's not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier --- a genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.