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Author: Dahlia Donovan
Title: Worse Than a Paper Cut
Genre: Contemporary Ace Romance
Release Date: August 21, 2026
Available now!
All links: https://books2read.com/papercut
A tender small-town romance featuring an autistic heroine, found family, a healing coastal road trip, a quietly steadfast doctor hero, and an asexual love story about learning to love again after loss.
Retired autistic rugby player Prisca Heath has spent the past year caring for the man who raised her. When Angus’s sudden decline leaves her grieving and alone, she struggles to imagine a future without him.
An unexpected connection with one of his doctors, Kauri Teague, offers a fragile sense of hope. Determined to face her loss, Prisca sets out on a road trip around the Cornish coast—accompanied by a stubborn cat and a quietly irresistible doctor.
As windswept beaches, late-night board games, and shared cups of tea begin to mend her shattered world, Prisca learns that grief and love can coexist. And that even after devastating loss, new beginnings are possible.
Perfect for readers who love emotional journeys, found family, slow-burn romance, and heartfelt stories of healing and hope.
Available now!
All links: https://books2read.com/papercut
In the safety of her vehicle, Prisca grappled with going to such a familiar place. It was one of the pitches Angus had worked at—connected to a local college and a league team. There were memories attached to every aspect of it.
I can do this. It’s going to be brilliant. Just a game of rugby. Something we both loved.
I can do this.
It was a familiar walk from the car park to the secondary pitch used for training, which was where they’d be playing today. She felt the weight of loss slowly dragging her mood down. It was as if she were being physically battered by the ghost of past moments.
Prisca took one step off the pathway and onto the pitch proper. The scent of freshly mowed grass hit her, and she froze in place. A million memories struck at once. A chaotic kaleidoscope of joy and grief. She couldn’t filter through them. It all cascaded like concrete dominoes in her heart. “Bugger.”
“Prish?”
She couldn’t respond or make herself move.
“It’s okay. See if you can take a few slow breaths. Count in your head if you can. It’s okay to miss him more today. It’s normal for this to be hard.” Kauri stepped up beside her, keeping a little distance between them. “Feels more real here, doesn’t it? Harder to avoid the truth?”
Prisca nodded, not yet trusting her voice.
“When my best mate from uni died in an accident in our last year, I was coping until I stepped into our favourite library to study. It hit me there because of all the hours studying for exams. Grief knows our tender spots.” Kauri waited patiently beside her. “We’ll all feel some measure of loss today. Angus and rugby were intertwined for you and all the players who worked with him. I imagine today is going to be both a joyful remembrance and a painful release.”
Grief, Prisca had come to see, was a two-sided coin. Beautiful, happy memories coexisted with the painful reality of loss. She had to find a way to live with both.
“You with me?”
Prisca counted her breathing a few more times before giving another nod. “It’s the smell. I didn’t expect a silly thing like a freshly mowed rugby pitch to set me off. It’s silly. I’m being ridiculous. Grass shouldn’t set me off.”
“It’s not silly. It’s grief and human. Messy and painful.” Kauri reached out to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “None of it is easy.”
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.
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