With Valentine’s Day around the corner and love in the air, it’s easy to be consumed with joy, sadness, envy, or all of the above. Watching couples celebrate the holiday can be miserable to some, so sometimes you just want a distraction. Whether you want to live in your own rom-com, or you’d like to sit in a love mood, here’s some of my favorite romance books!
- Alex, approximately by Jenn Bennett
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Bailey “Mink” Rydell is a movie FANATIC and has a huge crush on her online friend “Alex”, whom she’s never met since they live miles apart. Until she moves to his town. Terrified of meeting him IRL and busy with a new job, she finds herself talking to Alex less and this annoyingly hot co-worker, Porter. After spending some time with Porter after work, who is she supposed to choose? Porter or Alex?
If you like banter, mystery, summer romance, and enemies-to-lovers, this is the book for you!
- Better than the movies by Lynn painter
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Obsessed with anything romantic, Liz Buxbaum has been obsessed with Michael for years. With the help of her childhood nemesis, Wes Bennet, she tries to become the type of girl that Michael might fall in love with. However, after spending so much time with Wes, suddenly her feelings begin to change…
If you like the movie The Duff, you’ll LOVE this one! It’s friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers with cute movie quotes tied into it!
- Broken Beautiful Hearts by Kami garcia
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Everything is going according to plan for Peyton Rios – she’s kicking butt at soccer, has an offer from her first-choice college, and an amazing boyfriend. Until, after discovering his dark secret, he pushes her down the stairs and everything goes down the drain. After moving in with her uncle, she’s completely closed off from dating, even if there’s a sophisticated and sexy boxer named Owen Law that she keeps running into.
This book is NOT talked about enough, it is so sweet and your heart will be RACING for these two!
- Windy city series by Liz tomforde
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Liz Tomforde has curated five (almost six) amazing contemporary sports romance books. From hockey, to basketball, to baseball… you get to experience all of them in one universe. If you’re looking for a rich book boyfriend, Zanders and Ryan are for you! These books are full of found-family, hilarious banter, and strong female leads!
- OFF-campus & Briar u Series by elle kennedy
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Speaking of sports romance, if you’re dreaming of hockey specifically, these series are PERFECT for you! Although all of them are amazing, my favorite from the Off-Campus series has to be The Score with Allie and Dean, and The Risk in the Briar U series!! Also, ICYMI Off Campus is coming to screen soon!
- The Cheat sheet by sarah adams
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Bree Camden has been in love with her best friend Nathan Donelson, who also happens to be a star quarterback. After a drunken confession, they end up having to fake date in order to save Nathan’s reputation. How is Bree supposed to fake doing something she’s wanted to do for years?
Friends-to-lovers meets sports romance meets fake dating = PERFECTION!
- Famous last words by katie alender
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For all my true-crime, paranormal lovers, this is for you! After moving to Los Angeles, Willa is seeing dead bodies in her pool, messages on her wall… far too many things for it to be all be a coincidence. At her new high school, she doesn’t know who to confide in, Reed, who’s handsome and charming, or Wyatt, who’s intelligent and cute, but obsessed with the Hollywood Killer that’s hitting Los Angeles.
I’ve never been one to read paranormal or ‘horror’ books, but this one was light and fun to read! Plus, it has a love triangle, and that’s always fun!
- anything by ali hazelwood
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With a PhD in Neuroscience, Ali knows how to write smart men and women. I first started with The Love Hypothesis and I haven’t stopped. Seriously. I have two of her new books coming on Sunday [Bride and Deep End]
You got women in STEM, fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers, and men who YEARN, what else could you want?
- The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak
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Stella is desperate to do anything for her sick sister, Cara, and that includes standing in line for a CD from a band she hates. After accidentally running into the lead singer, Oliver, without knowing it, he quickly becomes obsessed with her. Torn between being with her sister and getting to know Oliver, Stella struggles to think about what she wants.
This is a classic from me, yes it might be from 2015, and no I don’t care – I LIKE IT!
- Maple Hills series by Hannah Grace
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Returning back to the hockey series, Icebreaker destroyed BookTok when it was first published in 2022. From the Uber scene to the splits, IYKYK, this book swept me off my feet and Hannah’s continued to slay the game with her two other novels, Wildfire and Daydream.
- ANYTHing by ana huang
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If you read my article about The Striker by Huang, you know I’m a HUGE lover of Ana Huang’s work. Literally anything and everything you could ever want. These books are a bit lengthy and twisted ;) so if you’re looking for an easy romance, this might not be for you.
- The ruinous love trilogy by Brynne Weaver
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WARNING: These books are graphic and descriptive – READ TRIGGER WARNINGS! – I was hesitant to read these books, but once I started Butcher & Blackbird I couldn’t put it down. The series follows the Kane brothers and includes serial killers, doctors, singers… it’s insane! These books are dark comedy to its finest and the romance is TOP TIER! Counting down the days until the third book is released!
- Lovely vicious trilogy by sara wolf
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This series stole my heart back when I first read it. It follows Iris Blake, who hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. There’s enemies-to-lovers, BANTER, and plot twists. Considering this is a trilogy and not just a stand-a-lone, this may be a longer read, but I definitely recommend it!
- My killer vacation by tessa bailey
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Once again, this is true-crime meets steamy romance as Taylor Bassey, a true-crime enthusiast and teacher, and Myles Sumner, grumpy bounty hunter, are forced to work together in order to find a killer. I bought this book in a mall while visiting my family in South Africa and finished it a few hours later. If you love enemies-to-lovers, solving crimes, and grumpyxsunshine, check this out!
- The replacement crush by Lisa roberts brown
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After being rejected by her lifetime crush, Vivian Galdi decides to make a list of people she deems as “safe crushes” so she doesn’t get hurt again. When Dallas comes rolling into town, he absolutely demolishes everything she had planned. These two are nerds and it’s adorable.
- Perfect chemistry by elkeles simone
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When Brittany Ellis, good girl with a seemingly perfect life, is paired with Alex Fuentes, a bad boy in a gang, to be lab partners, Brittany’s reputation is on the line – and so is her heart. Unfortunately for her, Alex and his friends create a cruel bet on her behalf and Alex is determined to fulfill it… until he falls for her too. After spending so much time together, they both learn there’s more to meets the eye, but what’s going to happen when Brittany learns about the bet?
If you like the good girl & bad boy trope, this is PERFECT!
- The maddest obsession by Danielle Lori
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Although this book is in the Made series and I really want to read it, I don’t want to recommend books I haven’t read yet. If you think you’ve met a MMC that’s obsessed with the FMC… you haven’t. Christian Allister breaks the scale and you’ll LOVE IT. Gianna is messy, unruly, and does whatever she wants whereas, Christian is a special agent that plays by the rules. The second they meet, they hate each other… or so she thinks.
If you were looking for a Mafia romance recommendation, this is it! Honestly, check out the whole series because I’ve heard it’s amazing!
- The fill-in boyfriend by kasie west
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After being tragically dumped, Gia Montgomery has to find a prom date fast. In desperation, she picks a random guy who’s dropping off his sister and begs him to pretend to be her boyfriend for the next few hours. Once the night is over, he flees from her life but not from her mind. When she finds him again, now he asks for her to be his fill-in girlfriend. Chaos ensues when her former boyfriend reappears and threatens to ruin this perfectly curated lie.
If you know Kasie West, she’s known she’s makes cliche but sweet romance novels. This is a quick and easy read, that’s perfect for this time of year!
- By your side by kasie west
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Once again.. another Kasie West novel.
In the midst of a horrific snowstorm, Autumn Collins ends up getting locked into a library for a weekend with Dax Miller, who she knows nothing about, minus the fact that he’s trouble. Once she realizes that no one is coming to rescue them, they find themselves opening up to one another and forming a connection neither of them have ever felt before. However, once the weekend is over, where does that leave them?
If you’re a fan of forced proximity and bad boy x good girl, READ THIS!
- Verse by Tayla McLean
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Lastly (sorry not sorry), but I’m going to plug my newest romance book!
After five years of being apart, Tatum Sterling finally reunites with her twin brother Sam and everything seems to be going according to plan. That is, until Tatum meets Beck Forbes, the lead singer of Surge, and her whole world is flipped upside down. Their immediate attraction sweeps both of them off their feet, but there’s one problem – Sam and Beck are rivals in a band competition.
This story is a slowburn, he-falls-first-and-harder, and a play on Romeo and Juliet.
So, here are some of my recommendations straight from my Goodreads. While this list doesn’t include romantasy or sci-fis with a romance subplot, I hope you find something that suits your fancy! Don’t forget to check TikTok or Goodreads for other options as well. Happy love day to everyone!