Known for his sharp-witted mysteries set in Botswana and Sweden and numerous other literary works, Alexander McCall Smith here presents an assortment of short fiction revolving around casual dates, romantic encounters, and other human entanglements-which often don't proceed as expected and may turn shocking, compulsive, complicated, or sometimes, completely disastrous. But when it comes to matters of the heart, we human don't give up easily...

Even though she is still grieving over her sister's death, eighteen-year-old Meredith Fox plans to reconnect with family and friends when they gather on Martha's Vineyard for her cousin's big wedding--unless she gets distracted by a week-long game of Assassin and a handsome groomsman.

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hook-up quickly became much more. She fell for him - hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love? But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared - profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted. Maybe it was...

Serial monogamist Alison finds herself confused, lonely, and drastically out of touch with the world of modern dating. But finding The One is starting to feel impossible. That is, until Paul. This is a fast-paced, contemporary story about the struggles of dating in the digital age. Replete with online profiles, witty dialogue, and a super-supportive group of female friends, this all-too-real and relatable debut novel will have readers laughing, and...

"Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain. The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she's an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up...

The story of a year in the lives of four thirty-something women navigating sex, singlehood, and the big city.

"Call Ava romantic, but she thinks love should be found in the real world, not on apps that filter men by height, job, or astrological sign. She believes in feelings, not algorithms. So after a recent breakup and dating app debacle, she decides to put love on hold and escapes to a remote writers' retreat in coastal Italy. She's determined to finish writing the novel she's been fantasizing about, even though it means leaving her close-knit group of...

"When the owner of the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky, makes a questionable agreement with a tattooed bad boy, a delightful friends to lovers romance begins to bloom-from the author of When in Rome and The Cheat Sheet. Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears...

"Saul doesn't get why he's misunderstood. At his high-tech day job, he hides in the bathroom writing a novel about his dead grandfather and wonders why his boss wants to fire him. He tells his almost ex-wife about a blind date and wonders why she slams the door in his face. He aches with worry for his seven-year-old son, who seems happier living with his mom and her new man. When the blind date becomes a complicated relationship, and Saul's blunders...

"Is it possible to love someone you've never met? A young woman finds out in this sweeping will-they-or-won't-they love story that begins with a chance wrong number dial... When Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number, she doesn't imagine it will change her life. After all, it's just an easygoing American named Davey who misdialed her while calling into a job interview. And when Hannah jokingly wishes him luck after clearing up the confusion,...