Need inspiration for the Indie Voices Read-a-thon? From charming main streets to close-knit communities, these indie books showcase the small-town settings readers love to visit again and again.
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2026 indie read-a-thon recommendations: small town setting
Westward
by Carrie Ann Ryan
Atlas Carter has it all.
One of the best careers in the NHL as a star goalie.
A family that sacrificed everything to get him where he is.
And a small town that praises him as their golden boy.
What he doesn't have is the girl he left behind.
But when Atlas gets hurt and is forced to spend his recovery in Ashford Creek, he finally has a second chance.
Elizabeth loves her life-her small town, her family, and her job.
Only she knows she can't love Atlas Carter.
They parted ways for a reason, and those who judge her from her town don't need to know the truth. She knows what it feels like to have the town's eyes on her when it comes to Atlas Carter. So when she finally gives in, she's prepared for the heat.
At least that's what they both tell themselves. Because the season is almost here and choices will have to be made.
Only they aren't the only two forced to make a choice. Somebody doesn't want Atlas to return...and small towns keep their secrets for a reason.
**Westward is right person, wrong time, hockey hero, small town romance in the Ashford Creek series featuring Atlas and Elizabeth. Each book can be read as a complete standalone. A HEA is guaranteed!**
You've Got Hate Mail: A Viral Sensation Romance
by Pippa Grant
A funny romance perfect for readers who love protective book boyfriends, slow burns, and epically awkward meet-cutes.
I should've worn underwear that day.
I'd have far less hate mail in my inbox. I'd also still have a job.
But I didn't wear underwear. And I had a wardrobe malfunction on a livestream.
So now I'm the proud owner of the internet's most famous... you know.
The good news? I've been invited to hide from my sudden infamy at a closed winery with other women who've suffered their own five minutes of shame.
The bad news? The winery has a live-in handyman.
A competent, compassionate, patient, sexy, single dad handyman.
Whom I met when I punched him in the face.
Accidentally, of course. But I still get why he's happy keeping his distance from me.
But when we find out the winery that's saving my life is in danger of foreclosure, he and I become accidental partners.
No big deal, working with a guy that I'm falling harder for each day.
I'm already the internet's favorite punching bag. Why not add an unrequited crush to my life?
But what if it's not unrequited after all?
Indigo Ridge
by Devney Perry
A small town, enemies to lovers romance from #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Devney Perry.
Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana's new chief of police, she's determined to prove herself to the community and show them she didn't earn her position because her grandfather is the mayor.
According to her pops, all she has to do is earn favor with the Edens. But winning over the town's founding family might have been easier if not for her one-night stand with their oldest son. In her defense, it was her first night in town and she didn't realize that the rugged and charming man who wooed her into bed was Quincy royalty.
Sleeping with Griffin Eden was a huge mistake, one she's trying to forget. He's insufferable, arrogant and keeps reminding everyone that she's an outsider. Winslow does her best to avoid Griffin, but when a woman is found dead on Eden property, the two of them have no choice but to cross paths.
As clues to the murderer lead to one of Quincy's own, Griffin realizes Winslow is more than he gave her credit for. Beautiful and intelligent, she proves hard to resist. For him. And the killer.
Small Town Smokeshow
by Holly Renee
From USA Today Bestselling Author, Holly Renee, comes the next installment of The Calloway Ranch Series.
Hunter Calloway is a small town smokeshow and the kind of man my father warned me about.
He's got a reputation a mile wide, a smile that could burn through any girl's good sense, and did I mention he's also the man my sister once loved and left behind?
He strolls through town like he owns it, tips his hat with a promise in his eyes, and slides those calloused hands across my bakery counter like they haven't been haunting my dreams for years. He's six feet of pure temptation wrapped in worn Wranglers, and every time I'm near him, it's like striking a match during a drought...
Dangerous, inevitable, and exactly what I shouldn't want.
I try to convince myself I don't notice the way his gaze lingers, or the way he says my name as if he's tasting it. But all my good intentions crumble to dust when we find ourselves alone under a sky full of stars with nothing but whiskey and want between us.
And it changes everything.
We promise each other we're just having fun, yet his fingertips brush across my skin when no one's watching, and we pretend we don't ache for each other in a room full of people who would never understand. Every kiss stays in the dark, every desire whispered like a secret, and every touch brands me with guilt.
I know better than to fall for a cowboy like him.
I know better than to want my sister's past.
But when his eyes find mine, I forget every reason I've ever had to say no.
Every touch feels like a risk and every secret like a countdown. I'm lying to everyone, falling harder for a man who never promised me anything, and wondering how much longer I can pretend I don't care whether I'm just another notch on his well-worn belt.
Because I'm in love with Hunter Calloway regardless of the cost.
Where Dark Things Rise
by Andrew K Clark
Sixteen-year-old Mina is frustrated by Daddy's drinking, her mom's fanatical religious beliefs, and growing up poor in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Most of her teachers assume she won't amount to much despite her 4.0 GPA, and the country club guys think she's easy prey. But they don't know Mina's dark secret: She can control a magical force of supernatural creatures known as the Shadow Faces. Mina doesn't want powers. All she wants to do is escape the trailer park for a leafy college campus far away. But when her crush, Gabe, is stalked by a shapeshifting preacher/wolf, Mina learns to use her powers to protect him. Mina soon discovers the same preacher is trafficking teens for a mystical brothel and has kidnapped her best friend, Erin, after a failed attempt at conversion therapy. Can Mina use the Shadow Faces to save Erin and the other kids without losing her chance at a normal life?
2025 IngramSpark(R) Editorial Selection - Horror
One Last Thing Before You Go
by Caroline Frank
Carlota "Lottie" Veracruz's idea of a happily ever after shatters when her diagnosis of PCOS and endometriosis leaves her unable to have kids and divorced. Two years later, she's back in her hometown, Ceres Cove, living in her brother's loft and working at the town's only bookstore, all while plotting how she can get back to her high profile life in New York. When the bookstore owner passes away, one too many martini's leaves grief-stricken Lottie to have a one-night stand with a man seven years her junior.
After a childhood spent bouncing around cities with his single mom, freelance photographer Knox Riddick has no intention of putting down roots. But when he's summoned to the small town Ceres Cove, Maine after his estranged father's death, the last thing Knox expects is to inherit a percentage of a bookstore or for the other part of it to be left to the beautiful woman he last saw sneaking out of his hotel room days before.
If Lottie and Knox want to have any chance of getting back to their lives, they must work together to fix up the bookstore and sell it. This means keeping their hands off one another, no matter how strong the temptation is. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Lottie to ignore her feelings, including her lingering fear that Knox will reject her once he learns she can't have kids. And when they give into their desire for one another, they might learn firsthand why mixing business with pleasure always is a recipe for disaster!
Flirty Fall Fling: a small-town spicy secret fling romcom
by Lyra Parish
THE USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FALL I WANT PRESENTS FLIRTY FALL FLING!I read the grumpy skeptic's fortune in the bottom of a coffee cup. The grounds say he'll find true love, but I tell him to expect a flirty fall fling…
In my defense, he thinks I'm a fraud and made it clear he doesn't believe in l-o-v-e. I try to forget him, but he keeps appearing wherever I go. Then he offers me five grand per hour to break a family curse he swears is real. Considering I need the money to repair the roof of my haunted manor, I help him.
Our sessions end before the autumn equinox, and instead of walking away he proposes a new deal: be each other's until Halloween. Against my better judgment, I agree, but with strict rules.
Between sneaking around at the apple orchard and finding each other in the hay maze, I catch myself not wanting to keep him my dirty little secret. The town's meddling matchmakers don't know their beloved Jamie is Jameson Cross, a billionaire in hiding. Or that he's in my bed every night. When the paparazzi track him down and the tabloids leak that he's dating a witch, his bags are already packed for New York.
The cup said he'd find his forever, and I don't believe it's me. Magically, the stubborn man who's never been able to commit to anyone longer than thirty days is determined to prove me wrong.
And I think the universe might be on his side. Pfft.
Flirty Fall Fling is the first book in a brand new season series by Lyra Parish. This book is a laugh-out-loud romance that's set in a small touristy mountain town where our heroes and heroines fall in love when least expected.Warning: this book is a spicy secret fling romcom with all the witchy, fall vibes. It's time to snuggle up with a soft blanket and get cozy!
Make it a Double
by Amber Palmer
When small-town bartender Sawyer Sutton catches the eye of Beckett Montgomery, their connection burns as bright as the fireworks at the country fair. She isn't afraid to tell the wealthy property developer what she thinks of his profession, and he finds her passion for the community endearing, even if old-fashioned. After a fervent one-night stand, they go their separate ways with only memories to remind them of what they shared.
Or so they thought.
Six weeks and two pink lines later, Sawyer and Beckett find themselves tied together in ways they never imagined. Becoming parents wasn't something either of them had planned, but as the countdown to the due date begins, the two must learn to work together despite clashing personalities. The more time they spend together, the harder it is for them to ignore the sizzling chemistry that got them into this position in the first place. The only thing standing in their way now is themselves.
Stay With Me Forever
by Farrah Rochon
In Gauthier, love isn't just found. It's forever.
Paxton Jones returned to her Louisiana hometown for one reason... to buy her mother the bar she's tended for twenty years and turn it into the dream they've both wanted. What she didn't plan on was working alongside Sawyer Robertson, the state civil engineer assigned to her levee protection project and the untouchable golden boy she crushed on throughout high school.
Sawyer came back to Gauthier to rebuild his life and start fresh, not to rehash ancient history. But the sharp, successful woman who once watched him from the sidelines is impossible to ignore now. Especially when she's challenging his engineering decisions and making him question everything he thought he knew about ambition, belonging, and what he really wants.
Between clashing over flood control systems and stolen moments that feel dangerously close to those teenage dreams, Paxton and Sawyer must figure out if some connections are worth the wait. In Gauthier, where the past and present meet on the banks of the bayou, they'll have to decide if this time they're brave enough to stay with each other forever.
North Country
by K A Tucker
From USA Today and international bestselling author of The Simple Wild comes a sweeping second-chance, forbidden romance set against the rugged beauty of northern Ontario.
Emery McAllister once dreamed of leaving Cold River with the boy next door, but one devastating night destroyed their future and left her heart carefully guarded. Twenty years later, she's built a life of control: running the town's police detachment, raising her daughter, and keeping a fragile peace with her ex-husband, the mayor.
She's certain she has moved on until the day she has dreaded-and secretly hoped for-finally arrives.
Logan Landry is home.
After two decades behind bars for being in the wrong place at the wrong time-and the choices that haunted him ever since-Logan returns to his family's bison ranch carrying the weight of everything he lost, but especially Emery. Friendship is all he dares hope for now, but seeing her ignites a fire he thought long extinguished.
When a teenage girl disappears and old wounds reopen, Logan becomes Cold River's favorite suspect, despite his airtight alibi. As distrust closes in, Emery must choose between the life she's built ... and the love she can't let go.
Fragile Hopes
by Lisina Coney
A spicy firefighter romance perfect for readers who love cozy small towns, age gaps, and slow-burning tension!
After three years in the city, Ivy Farnsworth never expected to return to Harmony Hills as her brother's guardian. At twenty-six, she suddenly finds herself raising sixteen-year-old Joe and juggling two jobs, determined to give him the chance to chase his dream of becoming a pilot-even if it means putting her own on hold.
The last thing Ivy needs is a distraction-especially Ford Hayes, the firefighter next door. Wary and closed off after a messy divorce, Ford has no interest in giving love a second chance... until Ivy's quick wit, quiet strength, and unwavering optimism begin to chip away at his walls.
Ivy has spent her life taking care of everyone else, but Ford is the first to truly show up for her. As their friendship slowly deepens into love, they must decide if they're willing to risk their hearts-or if the weight of their pasts will keep them apart.
2026 IngramSpark® Editorial Selection - Romance
Where There's Smoke...: A Small Town Sapphic Romance
by Aricka Alexander
Where there's smoke, there's bound to be a fire. However, fire never smelled this good.
Everyone knows Phoenix "Phee" Preston as the gorgeous, gentle giant, always ready to help in any way she can with a smile on her face. Ever since she was younger, she has always looked up to her grandfather, the town's Fire Chief. She admired him and respected him, having been raised by him from the age of 6. So it's only natural that when she turned 18, she followed in his footsteps, becoming the first and only female firefighter in the small town of Tucker, Louisiana.
When her grandpa passed away suddenly, she left town because it was hard being there when he wasn't. It isn't until a year later that she finally returns, and as if the Universe was gifting her for returning, she runs into a beautiful woman who immediately captures her heart, not only with her beauty but with a slice of strawberry shortcake. However, the moment is short-lived, and the woman disappears from her life, leaving only the taste of the sweet dessert and her name behind.
A year later, that mysteriously intriguing woman permanently moves to town to take over her late grandmother's bakery.
Angel Savoie has spent a great deal of her adult life avoiding small towns because of the bad memories she had involving her parents' death, but now she has no choice but to move to one. To her surprise, the town quickly grows on her, and she can see herself putting down roots in Tucker. Especially after she reconnects with a certain very attractive female firefighter who stops at nothing to make her smile.
Nebraska Avenue
by Vincent Rubino
In the sweltering Bicentennial summer of 1976, fourteen-year-old Vinny Perino is the new kid on Nebraska Avenue. Trading Brooklyn's concrete for the suburbs of Long Island, he finds an unexpected brotherhood among a crew of wisecracking Newsday paperboys.
But the easy rhythm of morning routes and Fourth of July mischief doesn't last. When a string of burglaries hits homes along Vinny's route, suspicion lands on the boys-and a local cop with a long memory is more than willing to make it stick.
With no one else on their side, the crew sets out to prove the truth themselves-following the only lead they have and risking more than they bargained for in the process.
The news is only for a day. The legend of Nebraska Avenue is for a lifetime.
The Lone Wolf Paradox
by M J Etkind
The bisexual, asshole, lumberjack, werewolf your TBR needs!
Praise for The Witch of Wall Street "In a subgenre known for its small towns, THE WITCH OF WALL STREET shoots above the crowd like a skyscraper." Olivia Waite, New York Times Book Review
Two lone wolves are pushed to confront what it means to build a pack of their own and rely on their village after being alone for so long. The only risk, they might just fall for each other in the process.
When Bea Howell puts her beloved farmhouse up for rent as a last-ditch effort to save her family's apple orchard and moves into the garage apartment to earn extra money, she never expected that a total asshole, full-time lumberjack, and fellow werewolf would move in with kids in tow.
Untethered by a pack, Lane has spent most of his adult life on the move and uncommitted to any man or woman. When his parents, who are raising his sister's children, are ostracized from the community, he returns to Maine and moves the kids across the state in search of anonymity and a fresh start. Renting the quaint farmhouse was an obvious choice, but his werewolf landlady, was a surprise.
Having sworn off a relationship after her divorce, Bea is surprised when she starts to develop feelings for the interloping werewolf, leading to Bea's increased involvement in Lane's family life. Distracted by his infatuation, Lane can't help but aid Bea with the floundering farm, which makes him unavailable when the kids need him most. As their lives intertwine, Bea is wooed by Lane's quiet competence, while Bea's tenacity only furthers Lane's attraction.
The Lie of Having It All
by Morgan Elizabeth
From a young age, child star-turned pop star Willa Stone knew "having it all" was a myth. The truth is, at some point, you have to choose what you really want in life: a career or a love life, fame or friends, success or peace. Knowing her true purpose in life is to create music and perform, she's long accepted that her life would always be on display, and every moment would revolve around building the brand. Even her relationships are manufactured, a lifetime of fake PR relationships in order to build interest in her next album.
When she's instructed to hide from the limelight for a while, she isn't sure what to do with herself. That is, until she stumbles into Holly Ridge. There, she starts daydreaming about finding balance and, for the first time in her life, having it all.
After a health scare made him realize he was living for nothing but his job, Leo Sinclaire is out to find balance in his life. This starts with buying a rundown house, connecting with the roots he's ignored since becoming a cutthroat publicist to some of the world's biggest stars, and, most importantly, being alone.
Unfortunately, he quickly finds that if he wants to be alone, Holly Ridge is the wrong choice. That peaceful existence completely evaporates when he discovers his biggest client-and biggest headache-has the same small town as her place to hide away. He spends time trying to keep her in line, both for his job and his sanity, but after a while, old feelings start to surface, and even though dating a client is strictly forbidden, he can't seem to stop thinking about her.
What happens when those thoughts turn into trying to figure out if they can have it all, together?
Queenslander
by Laura Garden
Farms collect broken things. Things awaiting resurrection.
Since getting out of juvie, Ronnie Madonna has built a tentative life in Lionheart working as a farmhand for Nev at Upsend Downs, but one thing is still missing: her daughter Rainbow.
When she realizes she has a chance to get Rainbow back, she must prove she is a responsible adult and a good mother. Her quest will take a village, and will force her to confront demons from her past. Will she follow her football dreams to Brisbane or put down roots on the land that holds a mysterious power over her and her boss?
Ten years ago, jaded former war photographer Nev Bickerman woke to a pregnant teenager smashing the family room with a cricket bat. Now, Nev is far too professional to admit she's falling in love.
"This extraordinary debut from Laura Garden is so many things: a lyrical ode to Queensland and its people, an exploration of love in all its many forms, a double portrait of two women who only appear to be perfect opposites to one another, but in fact share a bond deeper than blood. Queenslander, like its protagonists Ronnie and Nev, never gives up its secrets easily, but the rewards along the way are well worth the journey. Lush and transportive, tender and fierce, this is a novel that lives on well after the last page."
-Hesse Phillips, author of Lightborne
Hungry Love
by Tomiko Diaz
A big-hearted foodie romance about heartbreak, healing, and the courage to want more.
Ava Diaz has always been the one holding everything together: a rising food editor who gave up her dreams to be a chef, a devoted girlfriend, and a survivor of a childhood that taught her that love comes with fine print. But when a dinner she's sure will end in a proposal takes an unexpected turn instead, Ava's carefully curated life collapses in a single course.
The last person Ava expects to offer her a lifeline is Gavin Jones, her ex's older brother-guarded, maddeningly observant, and impossible to ignore. A man who has always treated her like a problem he can't quite solve. So when he offers her a summer job as his private chef on a remote Pacific Northwest island, she surprises herself by saying yes.
It should be simple.
But what begins as a temporary arrangement becomes something far messier and more intimate.
Surrounded by wild shorelines, hidden coves, evergreen forests, farmers markets, and salt air, the island has a way of softening even the hardest hearts.
As Ava cooks for Gavin and others on the island who are nursing private losses of their own, she begins to wonder if the life she thought she wanted was never really hers-and if the thing she's most afraid to want is exactly what she's been missing.
Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, who love Mr. Darcy vibes, found family, slow-burn tension, and emotionally satisfying happy endings.
Hung Up
by Sierra Mac
Sorrel Saxxon has been hiding out at her family's Montana ranch all summer. Normally she's on the barrel racing circuit, entering professional rodeos. But after a nasty breakup with her bareback rider, ex-boyfriend-Huck Kenzington-she couldn't face seeing him. Even if that meant missing out on summer rodeo season.
Unfortunately, she can't hide forever. When she enters Montana's biggest rodeo of the summer, she knows the chance of a run in with her ex is high. She just didn't expect it to be at the concert after the rodeo. She also didn't expect the performing artist, Denton Reed, to stop the entire show when they caused a scene.
Denton's had his eyes on Sorrel since her run. He overheard his old college rodeo team member talking about a smokin' hot barrel racer.
Sorrel isn't even remotely interested in cowboys at this point in her life. Not even a smooth-talking up-and-coming country music star. Nothing can pull her away from barrel racing, her family, and their ranch.
Fallin' Tides (Holly River Book 1)
by Tori Ford
Gilmore Girls meets The Notebook in this small town romance with heart, humor, and heat.
Colt Mitchell was a charity case, taken in by the prominent Sinclair family to keep their star quarterback son on track. After three years under their roof, Colt traded in his broken background for the Marines, dead set on leaving Holly River for good.
Alice Sinclair was a dreamer, growing up in a house that worshipped trophies. Colt, her brother's best friend, was the only one who truly saw her. When he left, Alice flooded his mailbox with hope-letters he devoured, but rarely answered.
Until the last one arrived.
Now Colt Mitchell is back. And the kid sister he remembers is gone. In her place is a woman on a mission. Alice has three months to turn her childhood home into the bookshop of her dreams, or lose it forever. And Colt's hellbent on ensuring that happens, because when Colt was deployed, Alice's letters saved him. And now he's come home to repay the favor.
But as the two race to finish renovations by the Fall Festival, and the heat between them rises, Colt realizes that the one woman who's entirely off limits...is the exact one he wants.