Modern Love Books in Order

Modern Love is one of Piper Rayne's early city romance series, and it has a looser, dating-disaster energy than some of their later family sagas. The books are connected by tone and shared relationships more than by a single central family, which makes them easy to dip into if you want witty contemporary romance without a huge commitment.

The setup is simple. In a city full of attractive men and bad ideas, almost nobody is quite what they seem.

That idea plays out three different ways. Charmed by the Bartender starts with a heroine having a rough enough day to make a one-night stand seem like excellent judgment, until she discovers the bartender is connected to her life in ways she never expected. Hooked on the Boxer takes a heroine fresh off betrayal and drops her into a challenge that leads straight to a rough-edged boxer who is more than a rebound. Mad About the Banker brings in a heroine with a bold business idea, a banker tied to her brother, and all the complications that come from wanting both investment and attraction to stay under control.

These books feel a little more compact and high-concept than Piper Rayne's big Alaska or sports worlds, but you can already see the authors doing what they do best, building sexual tension fast, giving the heroines strong comic voices, and making sure the heroes are not nearly as in control as they think.

If you are in the mood for contemporary romances that feel urban, flirty, and a touch chaotic, Modern Love is a good choice. It is early Piper Rayne, but the mix of humor, chemistry, and connected character crossover is already firmly in place.