Michelle Ruoff

Contemporary Romance Author

Spicy small-town romance with a little magic

A Summer to Stay

From debut author Michelle Ruoff comes A Summer to Stay, a small-town, second-chance romance releasing May 2026.

Read the free prologue

About the Book

Ten years ago, Ava Hanson left Cedar Falls — and Owen Fowler — behind.

Now she’s back, grieving her father, packing up his cabin, and counting the days until she can return to New York and the career she’s sacrificed everything for. Her plan is simple: don’t stay long, don’t reopen old wounds, and definitely don’t fall for Owen again.

But Owen isn’t the boy she left behind.

He’s a devoted single father, the owner of the town’s beloved coffee shop, and the unlikely buyer of the bed-and-breakfast they once dreamed of building together. Seeing Ava again stirs up everything he thought he’d accepted, including the future he stopped believing was possible.

With grief closing in and sparks that were never truly extinguished, Ava must decide whether ambition is worth the loneliness it costs, or if the life she ran from is the one she’s been searching for all along.

Read the free prologue

If you love stories with

  • Small-town vibes like Stars Hollow

  • Second-chances

  • Single dads (did someone say man bun 👀)

  • Found family + sibling banter

  • Nostalgic summer nights

  • Slow burn with satisfying spice

  • It was always you

Meet Michelle

Michelle Ruoff writes spicy small-town romance with a little magic.
A former technical writer turned romance author, she lives in Orlando with her husband and dog, Sage. When she’s not writing, she’s probably reading an omegaverse, watching Love Island, or pulling tarot cards under a full moon with an iced coffee.

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