Sunlit Schemes: Emma Retold—meddling, Misfires, and Modern Love. Heat: Carson Valley

A steamy, slow-burn romcom inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma—but with more tequila, hotter guys, and worse decisions.Cassie Emerson is convinced she has a sixth sense for everyone’s love life. As Gardnerville’s most opinionated bartender, she makes matchmaking her unofficial side hustle. Her latest scheme? Setting up the sweet new girl with resident nice guy, Eddy. Easy.Except nothing in Cassie’s love triangle-turned-trapezoid is going according to plan. Turns out, she’s the only matchmaker in town who can’t spot a crush if it hits her with a bar tab.Eddy’s awkward and pining. Frank’s new in town, smoldering like a romance novel cover, and very interested in Cassie. And then there’s Joe—Cassie’s best friend, local pet shop owner, and certified chaos-dampener—who’s suddenly looking way too good in his Carhartts. He’s infuriatingly grounded, irritatingly attractive, and frustratingly good at calling her out when she’s being a menace. Which is often.The more Cassie tries to untangle everyone else’s hearts, the messier her own becomes. And when her carefully curated schemes implode (spectacularly), she’ll have to face the truth she’s been avoiding: maybe love isn’t something you can plan for. Especially when the guy she’s taken for granted turns out to be the one who’s been quietly loving her all along.Sunlit Schemes is a steamy, slow-burn romantic comedy packed with meddling, misfires, and modern love—perfect for fans of friends-to-lovers, chaotic heroines, and good guys who keep it calm until they absolutely don’t.✔ Friends to lovers✔ Small-town gossip & big feelings✔ Emotional growth, found family, and more romantic sparks than the Fourth of July✔ For fans of Emma… if Emma was a hot mess with a cocktail shaker