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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wilfrid Laurier chapter.

This year is the perfect year to embark on your reading journey. With summer fast approaching, you may be searching for the perfect vacation or leisurely read. This year there are so many perfect romance novels for you to get your hands on, full of tropes that everyone loves. Here’s  my list of this year’s anticipated romance reads.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

One of the most anticipated vacation-reads is definitely Emily Henry’s new release. Author of People We Meet on Vacation and Book Lovers, her new release will follow the main character, Daphne, whose fiancé leaves her for his childhood best friend. Daphne is stranded in a small lakeside town they would’ve moved to together and ends up moving in with the childhood best friend’s ex-boyfriend. Their relatability on the topic of being left by their significant other brings them closer together, and a new flame is formed. This novel is releasing on April 23, 2024 and will be the perfect lake house summer read.

Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle

By the author of the hilarious You Deserve Each Other, Sarah Hogle’s newest novel takes place in a small town narrated by a fortunist named Romina who is looking to expand her business. In order to do so, she has to fake-date her coworker who he brings to a wedding in order to make the business deal but finds out that the wedding is for the man who broke her heart eleven years prior. The fake-dating scheme becomes a jealous brawl, and Romina finds herself in trouble falling back in love with her fake-boyfriend’s stepbrother who once broke her heart. This novel is bound to have banter and coupled with the fake-dating and second-chance romance trope, is sure to be an amazing read. This book releases on April 23, 2024.

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

One of the greatest romance novelist duos, [CA1] Christina Lauren’s new release is a romance between an ex-couple who are complete opposites. Anna married Liam for financial reasons in college and divorced him right away. However, three years down the road, she’s struggling to make ends meet. This occurs as Liam’s grandfather passes away and his will states that he can’t receive the multi-million dollar fortune until he’s been married for five years. Because of this, he decides to get Anna to become his “wife” again in order to receive the inheritance. As most romance novels go, this isn’t a simple decision. This novel releases on May 14, 2024 and is sure to have people glued to the pages.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

My personal favorite romance novelist, Abby Jimenez, has a new novel releasing April 2, 2024, just in time for a perfect summer read. This novel surrounds Justin, who believes he is cursed as every woman he dates finds their soulmate the second they break up. A woman he meets online when discussing this issue has the same problem, and they think they can cancel out the curse by dating and breaking up with each other. They rent a cottage on a private island for the summer, and plan to have a simple relationship and break up but suddenly real feelings come into play. This novel, which releases on April 2, 2024, is again the perfect summer read.

The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas

This novel, much like the others, is about fake dating and marriage. After four failed engagements, Josie ends up having a fifth with Matthew who is her best friend’s brother. This time around, it’s a fake engagement after a misunderstanding occurs. Matthew goes along with it and Josie ends up falling for him. However, she knows their fake relationship has an end date although she’s hoping that the fifth time around, things are different. This novel releases on July 30, 2024, as a perfect cheesy summer novel.

A Thousand Broken Pieces by Tillie Cole

If you haven’t already read A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole, you need to. The sequel to the heart wrenching novel follows Savanna, who lost her sister in the first novel which takes place three years prior. She decides to travel the world in order to get her mind in a better place. On the same note, Cael is in a tricky place after losing his brother one year prior and his parents sign him up for a trip abroad. Together the two are grieving while also trying to discover how to be themselves again while a new romance sparks. This novel releases on June 20, 2024. 

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter

This marriage-themed novel stars Sophie, whose fiancé cheats on her prior to their wedding. She hires a professional objector, Max, whose job is to show up at the wedding and object, so she doesn’t have to be the one to end it. She then begins working with him once the wedding is over, going from wedding-to-wedding objecting and saving people from hurting each other. This turns into a friends-with-benefits situation, until they end up having to work at Max’s ex-girlfriend’s wedding. This changes everything, and their feelings grow for one another. This book released on March 12, 2024, and can be the perfect first novel for your reading journey.

Whether you love the second-chance romance trope, the fake-dating trope or the best-friend’s brother trope, this year the romance authors have it all. Discover your next romance read and maybe, your new favorite author by reading this year’s anticipated romance novels. They’re guaranteed to have you swooning over a newfound book boyfriend and smiling in awe at the cute and cheesy banter.

Kaileigh Klein

Wilfrid Laurier '25

My name is Kaileigh & I am a communication studies student at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. I am the Vice President of Writing for our Her Campus chapter & love everything there is about writing. My career goals range from journalism to marketing, with interests in all creative fields as I love reading, writing and content creating. I love reality TV & am a huge gym rat, as the gym is my favourite place to be. I am also quite obsessed with Taylor Swift & true crime podcasts.