New Year Bae-Solutions (Sheryl Lister) Books in Order

New Year Bae-Solutions is a countdown romance series, and that structure does a lot of the work for it. The numbered titles create urgency from the start. Time is short, feelings are inconvenient, and the promise of a new year pushes every character toward a decision they may not feel ready to make.

Fresh starts are the whole point.

Sheryl Lister's Five Midnight Moments leans into that pressure with Valencia Townsend and Dwayne Albright, whose attraction is a problem before either of them fully gives in to it. He is her boss. There is a no-fraternization policy in the way. And because this is a New Year setup, there is a natural sense that whatever they do next will define more than one night.

That makes the series good for readers who enjoy novellas with a built-in ticking clock. The holiday backdrop is not just confetti and kisses at midnight. It is also reflection, unfinished business, and the annual impulse to be braver than you were in November. In romance, that can sharpen everything. Characters who have been rational for months suddenly have a deadline for honesty.

The tone of these books tends to be modern, flirty, and emotionally direct. The short format means the central conflict needs to be clear fast, and office boundaries, stubborn rules, and undeniable chemistry are perfect for that. In Five Midnight Moments, the relationship has just enough external structure to keep the tension high while the emotional stakes build underneath.

If you like holiday romance but want something a little sexier and more contemporary than a traditional Christmas setup, this series fits well. New Year's romance is all about transition, which makes it a natural home for stories about risk and reinvention. Lister's installment uses that energy well. It asks what happens when two people stop pretending timing is the issue and admit the real question is whether they are willing to begin the year by telling the truth about what they want.