Designs on You

October 1, 2024

Author of the "Boots and Bouquets" series, Burton offers a rom-com in which Natalie, an interior designer focused on her kids and career, meets Eugene, a younger-than-her game designer. Their chemistry is wonderful, but Natalie wonders if she is able to overcome her feelings about his age and her place in life. Prepub Alert.

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October 15, 2024
Recently divorced Natalie, an interior designer and mother of two young children, is not interested in dating but is willing to hang out with the younger brother of her sister Hazel's boyfriend. Eugene is a game designer who has moved to the Orlando area to design a ride attraction at a major amusement park. He is helpful and kind, pursuing Natalie on family-friendly outings with siblings, kids, and dogs, but she believes their age difference precludes a serious romantic relationship. He hires her to decorate the home he has bought and that is being renovated by his brother Linc, from Housebroke (2023). Eventually agreeing on a date, Eugene whisks Natalie off on a chartered plane for an outing to Miami. After writing more than 100 books, Burton has the formula for a happy, mostly angst-free romance. Filled with food and decor descriptions, life in affluent Orlando suburbia is fun, cotton-candy fluff, with charming kids, cute dogs, and a sexy younger man.

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September 30, 2024
Bestseller Burton (The Backup Bride Proposal) serves up her signature blend of heat and sweet in this solid contemporary. Freshly divorced Natalie Parker is ready to seize her independence after having been forced to spend years as a stay-at-home mother by her controlling ex. Eager to make a name for herself as an interior designer, she agrees to help her sister, Hazel, with her new home, a project that thrusts her into the orbit of Eugene Kennedy, Hazel’s boyfriend’s brother. Video game designer Eugene is five years younger, drop-dead gorgeous, and full of joie de vivre. Even Natalie’s two young kids love Eugene, but Natalie initially fights their explosive chemistry, manufacturing reasons why a relationship would be a bad idea. Her defenses crumble, however, in the face of their easy friendship and eventual sheet-singeing sex. It’s a simple setup, leaving plenty of space to probe the nuances of how a divorced mom might feel when dating a younger, childless bachelor, including concerns that he might want his own children someday. Supporting characters—including Grizelda, a heart- and scene-stealing puppy—add to the fun. Burton’s fans will eat this up.