Interested in the genre of all things love and happiness? I’ve curated the perfect list for beginners who are interested in trying out romance!
the soulmate equation by christina lauren
Jess Davis is a single mom with a six-year-old daughter that she loves with all her heart, so much so that she has not thought about dating again in years. Reluctantly, and with a little peer pressure from her best friend, Jess signs up for a new dating program, that supposedly matches soulmates by their DNA. Jess ends up getting an almost-perfect score of 98% with none other than River Pena, one of the company’s creators, that seems to hate everything he sets his eyes out. With a little bit of persuading, and a hefty compensation promise, Jess agrees to try to go on a few dates with the man that everyone loves (even though he hates everyone) to see if this soulmate equation really adds up.
the bride test by helen hoang
This standalone sequel of “The Kiss Quotient” series tells the story of Esme Tran, a young single mom living a poor life in Vietnam, who receives a phone call from a mother begging Esme to marry her son in exchange for a more privileged life in the United States. Khai Diep is against the idea of a relationship and marriage fully. He has known from an early age that his autism gets in the way of his ability to form meaningful connections and to process emotions. As the two join and learn to live together, they soon find out they both found feelings that they never thought would arise.
normal people by sally rooney
The best way I would describe “Normal People” is a wave. It depicts the up and down love story of Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron who continue to cross paths throughout their evolution into adulthood while they navigate relationships with each other and their peers, as well as battle social classes, identity, and the growth to independence. It is equally heartbreaking as it is addicting to watch their love unfold.
check & mate by ali hazelwood
Mallory Greenleaf vows that she is done with chess because of what it caused in her life and is now focusing on her family and siblings. That is, until she agrees to compete in one last charity tournament, where she wipes the board against the current world champion, Noah Sawyer. Noah becomes enamored by the fact that Mallory won and is persistent on a rematch. Mallory continues opportunities that swarm her after her win while internally battling separating her family from the sport that tore it apart. Noah infuriates her but his need to rematch and get to know her makes her want to get to know him too. Check & Mate is a young-adult romance that will make you squeal over even the smallest of cute moments.
the wall of winnipeg and me by mariana zapata
Vanessa Mazur was the personal assistant to football player Aiden Graves for two faithful years until his mean behavior finally made her call it quits. Shocked by her sudden resignation, Aiden cannot let her leave, so he tracks her down and makes her a proposal. To keep his green card instead of returning to Canada, Aiden convinces Vanessa to marry him for 5 years. As they go back and forth, trying to learn how to live with either, a more unexpected connection ignites. Will Vanessa stay until the end, or will she leave to get away from Aiden?
marriage for one by ella maise
Rose is struggling to understand her uncle’s will and the hidden clause that promises her an estate she dreams of turning into a cafe. Jack is a lawyer sitting in front of a woman who fears her dreams being taken away, and he cannot let that happen, especially because he met her a year before and has admired her from afar. Rose’s ex-fiancée broke up with her over text, and she fears she will not be married by the time her money-hungry cousins get the estate, until her lawyer with a rough exterior is proposing to her. Beginning with a hopeless-seeming marriage, Rose works every day to set up her cafe to perfection and surprisingly, she gets the help from her brooding and quiet husband. Now that they live together, Rose and Jack slowly start to break down each other’s walls and potentially form something realer than their contract marriage.
beach read by Emily Henry
January Andrews is a romance writer that is having a tough time writing romance due to being dumped by her boyfriend and finding out about the lies in her parents’ happy marriage and is in desperate need of inspiration for her book that is due to her publisher before they drop her. January takes a trip to a lake house where she meets her grumpy neighbor Augustus Everett, a literary fiction author, who just happens to be her handsome college crush, rival, and acquaintance. Gus and January reacquaint and challenge each other to draft a story from the other person’s style, serious for January and happy for Gus. In hopes to get creativity flowing for her book, January is happy to write this book but finds herself sparking something more than creativity.
once upon a broken heart by STEPHANIE GARBER
Evangeline is heartbroken to find that the man that she loves is engaged to her stepsister. She seeks any way to change his fate as she is convinced that he is under a spell for betraying her for her sister. She seeks help and strikes a deal with the Prince of Hearts, and agrees to grant him three kisses whenever he chooses, and he stops the wedding. From the outside, it is a small fee, but there is more than meets the eye in this deal because changing fate is no easy task.
by a thread by lucy score
One fateful day, Dominic Russo walks into the pizza parlor where Ally Morales and ultimately gets her fired. Ally is offered a position by Dominic’s grandma at their family magazine as Dominic’s personal assistance. As much as she resents Dominic for getting her fired and being arrogant in the process, she can not deny this position because of her family’s financial situation. Dominic fights the fears of becoming his dad when office banter evolves into a romance and Ally is scared of him discovering her struggles.
Flawless by elsie silver
Rhett Eaton is an aging bull rider who is giving up on his own career. Summer Hamilton works for her fathers PR company and is sent to be Rhett’s babysitter making sure he isn’t causing any controversy and is keeping up with his career. As Summer and Rhett are always at each other’s necks, they become closer and slowly their professional relationship turns into something more.