With the semester slowly coming to a close, the promise of winter break is on the horizon. If you’re like me and plan to utilize this break for ultimate relaxation and trying to accomplish your 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge, here is a list of some of my favorite books to add to your TBR.
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I originally read this book as a senior in high school, when Booktok was at its peak. After loving The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by this author, I figured I would give After I Do a shot. A contemporary romance about second chances, Lauren and Ryan feel their marriage has reached its end, until they come up with a very unorthodox plan. The couple decides to spend a year apart from one another, with no contact. The caveat, though? They can do whatever they want, go out with whoever they want; anything goes. Throughout this year-long break, Lauren finds herself on an expedition to find out who she really is. Through various conversations with her family and friends, she realizes everyone has their own view of love and what marriage really means. As time goes on, living apart from Ryan, Lauren contemplates those views and questions, ‘When can you have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?”
On Goodreads, I gave this 5/5 stars. It was just that good. If you’re looking for a book that pulls at your heartstrings and hooks you for the entire 352 pages, then this is the book for you.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood first gained its popularity on Booktok, which is where I got the inspiration to pick it up and give it a read. If you love a good fake dating romance book, then this is the book for you! Olive Smith, who’s in her third year as a PhD candidate, does not believe in long-tenured relationships; however, her best friend Anh does. Olive manages to lie to Anh, persuading her that she has, in fact, entered the dating pool. With them being scientists, though, Anh needed further explanation. So, Olive kisses the first guy she sees. That being one of Stanfords, young and up and coming professors, Adam Carlsen. Despite having a checkered reputation of not being the nicest person, Adam agrees to Olive’s ploy to become her fake boyfriend. As they start to peel back the layers of one another, Olive realizes that Adam is really more than what just meets the eye, including his abs.
On Goodreads, I rated this 5/5 stars. I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters and how well/easily the story flowed. What better way to kick off winter break than reading about a dreamy scientist! Not to mention, they are creating a movie that will be released in 2026, starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a book that I discovered earlier this Spring. I spent my summer on Cape Cod, so before I left, I wanted to read something that felt like a tropical vacation, as an appetizer for my beachy summer. And boy, did this book not disappoint. Oftentimes, I read at a snail’s pace, but I finished this book in a matter of three days, the quickest I’ve ever finished a book.
This book is a combined concoction of an enemies-to-lovers and fake dating trope! Olive, the unlucky one, and the maid-of-honor, for the lucky one, her twin Ami’s wedding. Olive has always seemed to have the worst luck in everything in life, from her love life to her career. It seems like Ami’s wedding is something out of a fairy tale, and to make it even worse, Olive has to spend the entire day alongside the best man and her archenemy, Ethan. However, not all fairy tales have a happy ending, and everyone at the wedding gets food poisoning besides Olive and Ethan, with an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii up for grabs. Olive and Ethan put their mutual dislike for one another aside and take the trip. However, during this trip, Olive gets a new job and runs into her new boss at the resort, which ends up in her telling him a lie, that she and Ethan are, in fact, a newlywed couple.
I rated this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads. If you’re looking for something warm to read, while it’s cold outside, I highly recommend you give this tropical getaway of a book a try!
The IDea of you by Robinne Lee
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee is a book I gave a shot after I saw the movie starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. As a former boyband fangirl myself, this book gave me an interesting perspective that I’ve never seen before in a romance book.
The main character in this book, Solène, is a divorced, 39-year-old owner of an art gallery in the city of angels, Los Angeles, C.A. Solène, much to her dismay, is forced to take her daughter and her friends to see her favorite boy band, August Moon, play in Vegas. However, Solène immediately captures the eyes of the 20-year-old member of the band, Hayes Campbell. Throughout the book, their connection grows stronger and stronger, spanning across various getaways like Miami and Paris. Although once the media gets hold of this relationship, Solène begins to realize how it has negatively impacted the ones she loves most.
I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads. I definitely enjoyed the movie more because I felt that in the ending, the author didn’t tie up loose ends as well as they did in the movie. If you have the chance, definitely listen to the soundtrack of the movie as you read!
All in all, each of these books will be the perfect addition to your “TBR” this winter break, for whichever type of romance book you’re itching to delve into. Happy reading!