Lovelorn #47

A campus dreamer named Bill finds himself unexpectedly courted by Janet, the most popular coed on campus—but her affections come with a troubling price when she's pressured to convince him to help cover up a cheating scandal involving the football team's star player. As Bill and Janet grow closer, genuine feelings begin to complicate a deception that was never meant to last, forcing both of them toward a reckoning neither anticipated.

A drama student gets her big break when she's invited to observe rehearsals for a professional production, only to find herself drawn into the world of the theater—and the arms of the charming leading man, Blaine Crowley. When the play's leading lady loses her voice, Lois is thrust into the role herself, but Blaine's sudden coldness toward her amateur performance threatens to shatter the enchantment she's been living in. Now she must prove herself as an actress while navigating the thin line between her dreams of stardom and her heart's desires.

When a young woman finally convinces her reluctant boyfriend to pretend he's falling for another mysterious admirer, she's banking on his jealous mother to come around to their engagement—but Dick's mother proves more formidable than expected, and the scheme spirals in ways Lee didn't quite anticipate. As the deception deepens over days of wistful moods and mysterious phone calls, mother and son find themselves caught in a battle of wills that tests whether clever strategy can really outwit a mother's fierce protection of her only son. Will Lee's gambit backfire, or does she know women well enough to win?

Ruth Raynor's heart shattered when her fiancé Jim was killed in Korea, leaving her numb to joy until a charming neighbor named Glenn Crandall draws her out of her grief—only to reveal himself as an aimless playboy more interested in family money than purpose. When Ruth attends a concert and watches a violinist named Tom Reynolds collapse mid-performance, she senses in him a kindred spirit haunted by loss, and she becomes determined to help him rebuild his confidence and reclaim his gift for music. As Ruth and Tom grow closer through their rehearsals, she must decide whether she's truly awakening a dormant heart—or simply playing savior to another man who needs her more than he loves her.

It Isn't Romance, If... serves up a practical checklist of red flags that separate genuine affection from a guy who's just not worth your time. Through a series of telling scenarios, the story shows what real romance isn't—a man who avoids introducing you to his family, insists on keeping you isolated from other friends, won't cover his own expenses, and treats you like a secret rather than someone worth claiming publicly. A smart girl knows better than to settle for someone unwilling to show up for her, in every sense.