26 Tried and Tested Romance Novels

Get ready to fall in love

Last summer I started a daily journal.

I was inspired by a friend who shared her own profound experience with writing a few lines to commemorate each day. 

Throughout the summer, I documented the silly, the mundane, the life stuff:

August 9: Peak of the heat advisory. We are all on edge, the slightest provocation sending us spiraling. I decided to tackle wallpaper removal. 

August 22: Upholstered a chair. I am woman etc.

On September 5th I wrote TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

Then I never wrote again.

I don’t know how to do it, you see.

How to work full-time and care for a toddler and still be a human being.

I spend the school year on a treadmill going a pace or two beyond my capabilities, regularly falling off. Regularly feeling bad about it. Other people manage to do this! With multiple children! And less resources!

The point is–I know. I haven’t written a newsletter in a year. I also haven’t journaled. Or meditated. Or, you know, had that much fun? Unless I am completely redefining my definition of fun so I feel less guilty saying that?

What I have done this year, though, is read a whole lot of romance novels. 

They’ve been my joy and escape and giggles through what will surely go down as one of the busier periods of my life. They have made me smile and swoon and believe in happy endings even during Cape Cod winters (in which there is NO SUNLIGHT).

Maybe they can do some of that for you too?

The Ones I liked Enough to Read the Sequels

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

He’s her enemy, but would you believe me if I told you he was madly in love with her this whole time?

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

The founder of a DNA-based dating app meets his 98% match :)

Part of your World by Abby Jimenez

An ER doctor from an insanely wealthy family + a hot carpenter. How will they bridge this enormous, impossible gap?

The Sequels

(The first books were better, but, hey, I enjoyed these too!)

The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

Fake dating + Best friend’s cousin + Only one bed!

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

The star of a reality dating show and…the documentary filmmaker in charge of the whole thing? He’s not an option, OK? Stop thinking about it.

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Bad first impressions. Falling in love through actual letters :) :)

The Ones I Read In Less Than 24 Hours

You with a View by Jessica Joyce

Road trip! With her wildly successful high school nemesis?

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin

JFK Jr., baby.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

The son of a rock star and a buttoned-up barrister fake date! They are British! I love them!

The YA Ones

Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds

This Hanukkah sparks will fly…on Nantucket!

This Time it’s Real by Ann Liang

What do you do when you attend a fancy international high school in Beijing with a famous C-drama actor? You fake date him, OF COURSE.

PS: My favorite YA romance novel in YEARS

The Ones Written by Katherine Center

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Helen is a recently divorced 30-something heading out on her Cheryl Strayed hike. Jake’s her younger brother’s 20-something best friend and has always, always loved her.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

A Hollywood heartthrob and his petite bodyguard.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

An artist with temporary face blindness?!

The Ones Set in Hollywood

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Ben Affleck, after the tragic death of Matt Damon, has gone into hiding, torn up with grief. To restart his career, his agent suggests fake dating a young starlet. Maybe she had a crush on him growing up or whatever, but he’s surly and has problems now!

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Tina Fey + John Mayer

Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder

Co-stars on a Comic-Con favorite TV show actually hate each other in real life. But you know what they say about love and hate…

The Ones You’ve Seen Everywhere (For Good Reason)

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

She’s an erotica writer. He’s a literary darling. But once upon a time, they were teenagers who fell in love during seven days in June…

Happy Place by Emily Henry

They broke up months ago but have to pretend to date for their annual friend vacation in MAINE!

The Ones I’ve Already Recommended, But I’m Reminding You Because I Read The Author’s Next Book, And It Was Fun, But Not On This Level

The recommended books (I still manage to talk about several times a week)

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (original review here)

A hotshot professor and a Ph.D. candidate fake date. He has great abs.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Susan (original review here)

Journalist spends a day with Chris Evans. There is a lot of chemistry! Years later, Chris and I the journalist meet up again. Chemistry remains!

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (original review here)

Divorced mom writes scathing screenplay about her ex. Brad Pitt plays ex in said film!

The author’s next books (I enjoyed, but didn’t like giggle all day or anything)

Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

A theoretical physicist and her fake boyfriend’s very real experimental physicist brother.

Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman

Britney Spears fan fiction set in the theater world. A boy band is, indeed, involved.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

He broke her heart when she was 17. She’s 30 now and totally, completely over it. She is. She’s even engaged.

PS: I’m often asked about the spiciness levels in romance novels. The truth is, I do not keep track of the number of chili peppers in each book. The YA and Katherine Center books are not very spicy, so if you are concerned, maybe start there?

PPS: Have you read any great romance novels lately? I need more! Always more!