Love, Laughs, and Late Fees: Stories inspired by 90s rom-coms

by Alexandra Grace, C.M. Kane, Christina Burnard

Join BHI Publishing for another 90s anthology!

Stories in this collection are based on the epic songs from romantic comedies from the 1990s.

Title and Blurb to be announced!

1014 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 15, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Suzanne McNeill Taviner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fab collection of stories, not a bad or mediocre one in the lot!!

The Diner Girl by Christina Burnard is such a sweet story about random meetings and second chances in life. Loved Lacey, she worked so hard to keep the diner going, despite her stepmother, and I loved the found family she had. And Cole-what a lovely, genuine guy he was, I loved the way he showed he cared and was so glad he got his mojo back!

Between Linen & Lace by Liza Bee is a brilliantly hooky prologue to a longer story about Julien and Clara, they have such amazing, obvious chemistry, but will that be enough to cut through the obvious problems that are going to occur in a relationship between them?

Sunrises & Second Chances by Alexandra Grace, this story has the song 'If You're Not The One' on the cover page and this is one of my favourite songs and I totally get those vibes from this story. Ivy and Liam have a marriage in name only and the time has come to explore their real options however when Ivy is faced with a choice between a new guy she has definite chemistry with and an old flame she has unresolved feelings for, who does she choose? I know who I was rooting for but the tale keeps you guessing right to the end.

Sway With Me by Vicki Hilton is a really sweet second chance romance. Ryan and Sophie shared a kiss when they were younger but nothing more, now they are thrown back together with Ryan's sister's wedding, she is also Sophie's best friend! I loved Ryan's flirty and charismatic manner and that they actually talked about their relationship to air out any issues.

What Goth Girls Want by Cassandra Elizabeth was such a fab ride of a read! Raven was the girl I wished I was in the 90's, self confident, sassy and unapologetic. As the story unfolds we find out more about why she dislikes Hunter and he realises that he may have overlooked the best thing in his life.

Splitting The Defence by C.M. Kane is an ice hockey player romance with a bit of a twist. Jimmy and Henry are old college friends who are now playing for the same team, Mia fell for Jimmy the same time and they have been together since but!! Jimmy has not been the best boyfriend to Mia in the intervening years and when he starts acting up during a catch-up dinner Henry steps up for her. I loved how protective and caring Henry was, he knew how to treat a woman well and Jimmy ended up showing his true colours.

Ride With Me by Indie Sparks is a friends to lovers romance and this is one of my favourite trope. I loved the easy camaraderie between Lisa and Ty, despite them not having seen each other in awhile, and that chemistry was so good! Also loved that going back home gave Lisa a chance to get to know her little sister better.

Taste Of Insanity by Norma Marie while technically a step-brother romance the 'siblings' are both adult when their parents marry and only meet after the marriage. Noah and Charlotte (Charlie) meet when she becomes a temp for the company he works for and the chemistry between them is immediate and hot but, having just got out of an office romance, the last thing she wants is to start another. When they finally meet as step siblings things get complicated as they get thrown together more frequently and that chemistry is hard to ignore. I loved that Noah stood up for Charlie against her overbearing mother and when he backed her up when they run into her ex. Also love that there is another book coming out about Noah's boss.

Stealing Valentine by J. Hutchinson is another second chance romance although Myles was unable to remember what had happened in the past, with Oaklee, so he had a lot to make up for! After Myles left the town Oaklee had to deal with her Mum getting sick and dying and, along with Myles' behaviour to her, this left her jaded and a bit bitter but Myles was determined to win her round. I did love the lengths both he and her best friend went to in order to get them together.

[Jessika S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE, LAUGHS AND LATE FEES was pure nostalgic serotonin from beginning to end. This anthology completely captured the charm, chaos, romance, and heart of classic ’90s rom-coms while still making every story feel fresh and unique. Honestly? There wasn’t a single weak story in the collection for me.

Every novella brought something different to the table — second chances, friends-to-lovers, hockey romance, forced proximity, small town charm, hidden feelings — but they all carried that same comforting rom-com energy that makes you smile while reading.

A few standouts for me:

✨ The Diner Girl by Christina Burnard gave me all the cozy comfort vibes with found family, second chances, and such a lovable MMC in Cole.

✨ Sunrises & Second Chances by Alexandra Grace absolutely hit me in the feelings, especially with the “If You’re Not The One” inspiration woven throughout the story.

✨ Sway With Me by Vicki Hilton was charming, sweet, and full of chemistry. Ryan and Sophie had such easy, natural banter that made their second chance romance impossible not to root for.

✨ What Goth Girls Want by Cassandra Elizabeth was SO much fun. Raven was unapologetically herself and honestly iconic.

✨ Splitting The Defence by C.M. Kane had me fully invested in the hockey romance drama and protective MMC energy.

✨ Taste of Insanity by Norma Marie brought the tension and chemistry in the best way while still feeling emotional and heartfelt underneath.

✨ Stealing Valentine by J. Hutchinson gave me all the emotional second chance romance vibes and I loved watching Oaklee slowly let her walls down.

And honestly? The soundtrack inspiration throughout this anthology made the experience even better. Seeing songs like “Kiss Me” and “If You’re Not The One” immediately transported me back to the ’90s. Add in the rom-com movie vibes from classics like She’s All That and Maid in Manhattan and this anthology just felt like a warm nostalgic hug.

These stories are low angst, high dopamine, and perfect when you want something fun, romantic, comforting, and easy to binge.

If you love:
💕 ’90s Rom-Com Energy
🎶 Music Inspired Romance
✨ Second Chances
🏒 Hockey Romance
🖤 Friends to Lovers
🌧️ Cozy Small Town Vibes
💌 Feel-Good Romance Anthologies

…you absolutely need this anthology on your TBR.

Huge thank you to Indie Ink and all of the authors for the ARC opportunity. I had the biggest smile on my face reading this entire collection.

[Mariette De kock · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚Love, Laughs, and Late Fees Anthology

This book consists of 9 stories written by 9 Authors. Each story is inspired by an iconic song for favourite 90's Rom-Coms.

I enjoyed read all the short stories. They were all quick novellas, easy to read and each had a part I loved. The best thing of reading short novellas is that you can determine if you would enjoy a authors work. This book contains authors I have read before and still love and I also have a few new authors whose work I want to go read more off.

Book 1: The Diner Girl by Christina Burnhard
A Cinderella story inspired story, I loved the writing. It was cute and I was captivated from the beginning.
W(riting):5, P(lot):4.5, A(tmosphere):5, C(haracters) :5

Book 2: Between Lines & Lace by Liza Bee
Millionaire x maid. I enjoyed the story. It was good but the plot was not for me. The book ended on a cliffhanger.
W4, P3.5, A5, C4

Book 3 : Sunrises & Second Changes by Alexandra Grace 🌶️🌶️
I was so unsure where this was going. Whom was she going to choose. Her first love or the new whirlwind romance. I approve of the outcome.
W5, P4.5, A5, C4.5

Book 4: Sway With Me by Vicki Hilton 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Best friend’s brother, second chance romance. It was cute with dancing, caught in the rain and old feelings.
W4.5, P4, A5, C4

Book 5: What Goth Girls want by Cassandra Elizzabeth 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Second chance? High school crush. The writing was unfortunately not for me. it was difficult to follow.
W3, P4, A4, C3.5

Book 6: Splitting the Defense by C.C Kane 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Best friend’s girlfriend. Sports romance. Loved it, hot and protective vibes
W5, P4.5, A5, C4.5

Book 7: Ride with me by Indie Sparks 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Small town, high school crush. It was a cute story but hot.
W5, P4.5, A5, C4.5

Book 8: Taste of Insanity by Norma Marie 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Step brother, colleges. Loved it, was hooked and Noah, yes please!
W5, P5, A5, C4.5

Book 9: Stealing Valentine by J. Hutchison 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Miscommunication trope but done well. High school romance, sports romance.
W4.5, P4, A5, C4.5

I love that we got to relieve old classic rom-coms but in a new way. These stories had me laughing and took me down memory line. It starts off with zero spice stories and end in level 5 spice.

Thank you Beth Hudson, Ink. Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Laura Black Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Laughs and Late Fees is a terrific collection of novellas/short novels that are inspired by 90s rom-coms. I'm not up on the sources so I just enjoyed these stories as they are: - low on angst, high on fairy-tale inspiration and all are short easy reads. Perfect if you need a dopamine hit!

Christina Burnard's The Diner Girl is some delightful wish-fulfilment with Cole, a songwriter who is out of inspiration and Lacey, a bit of a Cinderella who is about to lose the family diner to her miserable stepmother. It's fluffy and funny and just the thing.

My other favourite is Vicki Hilton's Sway with Me. Sophie is back in Barden's Ditch for her best friend's wedding. She sees bar owner Ryan again and all the memories flood back of him in high school. She had such a crush, or maybe they were both crushing, and teenage awkwardness kept them apart? Some dance practice and a thunderstorm gives them time to revisit their history. Charming!

Thank you to Vicky Hilton and all the authors for giving me an ARC. Opinions are my own.

[Linda Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sophie comes home to help her best friend with her wedding, the last thing she’s thinking about is hooking up with Ryan. She’s there to help her friend, and honestly there’s no time for anything else. But, then Ryan and Sophie are partnered together to do a dance, and that means spending a lot of time together practicing and reminiscing.
I loved the angsty slow burn and the way the characters reconnected despite all the time apart.
This is a quick read, only ten chapters, but it’s fun and heartwarming and meant to be. Here’s to new beginnings.

[Inge Mosch · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so good to return to the ’90s. It brought back so many memories! I absolutely loved all the ’90s-inspired stories. “Kiss Me” and “If You’re Not the One”… wow, that brought back so many good memories. And “Maid in Manhattan” and “She’s All That” were some of my favorite movies back then!

I read these stories with the biggest grin on my face the entire time. Loved, loved, loved it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't love rom coms? This was a great collection of novellas that made you feel right back in the 90s. Each story was full of love and laughter, as the title would suggest. I loved going back to my childhood through each one.

[Mick C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the memories of the 90's. Boys, friendships and annoying parents. Loved all the references and reminding us of how life was a totally different world back then.