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Colleen Hoover's Sweet-to-Scorching Must-Read Romances
Beloved writer (and BookTok sensation) Colleen Hoover is the bestselling author of several novels, including It Ends with Us, Verity, and Ugly Love. She won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—from 2015 to 2017—for Confess, It Ends with Us, and Without Merit. Last month, her latest novel, Reminders of Him, hit the shelves.
We asked her to share her favorite romances, and we got back three lists that are sweet, simmering, and scorching. Check out this must-read roundup of romance!
We asked her to share her favorite romances, and we got back three lists that are sweet, simmering, and scorching. Check out this must-read roundup of romance!
I’m not quite sure how I completely evaded romance novels throughout my teens and 20s, but I have a former coworker, Brenda, to thank for introducing me to the world that would eventually change my life.
It started with her recommendation of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Brenda loaned me the first book, and I was…pun intended…sucked in. I was intrigued by the paranormal aspect, but I stayed for Vampire Bill.
From there, Brenda and I read Twilight, The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey, and anything else we could get our hands on. We’d come to work each day swapping book recommendations and discussing whether we were #TeamJacob or #TeamEdward. It didn’t matter if the book was a sweet young adult or a scorching erotic romance—we’d read it if the other recommended it. Bonus points if it had a love triangle we could discuss.
The only drawback to our reading addiction was that we worked in a busy office frequented by a lot of people, many of whom would see the books stacked up in our offices and ask for reading recommendations. Which is why the books we would read at work and keep out on our desks were vastly different from the books we kept on our nightstands at home.
"Scorching" was our literary version of NSFW before the acronym came about. We saved those books for the readers who preferred more mature content.
I eventually put down the books and picked up a pen and began working on my own novel. Now that I’m an author and am completely immersed in the book world, hardly a day goes by that I’m not asked for book recommendations from people who are either brand-new to romance or those who feel they’ve read everything under the sun and are looking for something more daring. Thanks to my days working with Brenda and her exposing me to a genre I never knew I needed, I have an extensive list of recommendations I like to fall back on.
I’ve broken down some of my favorites by categories.
The sweet books are the ones I’d recommend to just about anyone new to romance. They’ve all got great story lines and captivating characters who will more than likely make any non-romance reader a fan.
The simmering recommendations are the books I find have a good balance of sweet and scorching. These are the books I find myself recommending the most often.
The scorching list I reserve for the seasoned romance reader—those who are looking for a bit more heat. The nightstand books.
Sweet
Simmering
Scorching
Comments Showing 1-50 of 59 (59 new)
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Gaëlle
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Feb 14, 2022 12:59AM
In scorching, I'd recommend this book! 
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Scorching., I'd recommend turbulence by Whitney G..Simmering...Atheists who kneel and pray by Tarryn Fisher
I never hear anybody talk about The Neighborly Affection series. It seems pretty hot to me.
I can read anything Colleen writes. Interesting blog post!
I am absolutely obsessed with Serena Akeroyd's Five points mafia series. Those Feckers make me swoon every time I read them. Though, Brennan will always be my favorite 🖤
I love the The Don/The Lady in the Oath Duet duet by Serena Akeroyd! It's absolutely scorching!
I absolutely love The Sinners MC Series by Serena Akeroyd! Just simply amazing! Nyx, is booknone and is unbelievable!!
wow this list is super white and not diverse.
I would argue that Red, White and Royal Blue does NOT belong in the sweet category…lots of steamy scenes!
Nomadic Librarian wrote: "I would argue that Red, White and Royal Blue does NOT belong in the sweet category…lots of steamy scenes!"And I would argue it's definitely NOT steamy, it's all pretty much fade to black.
I was thinking simmering. I reserve sweet for books that have kissing, then fade to black. There’s alot more going on in R, W & RB.
I love the Five Points Mob collection by Serena Akeroyd. I feel that it contains all of the above in each book.
Here is my top 20The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
The Accidental Beauty Queen by Terri Wilson
The Mostly Real McCoy by Julie Christianson
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
No Judgement by Meg Cabot
No Offense by Meg Cabot
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
One Day in December by Josie Silver
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Soloman
The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand
Back in the Burbs by Avery Flynn
Meet Cute by Helena Hunting
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
Accidental Tryst by Natasha Boyd
The Idea of You is still one of my all time favorite books. I sometimes catch myself just staring into space thinking about it. And bonus that it's written by a Black woman (for the person above who was mentioning a lack of diversity on this list). But uhhhh is the Rumi and Friends book listed under scorching a mistake or.... what's going on there lol
Haley wrote: "The Idea of You is still one of my all time favorite books. I sometimes catch myself just staring into space thinking about it. And bonus that it's written by a Black woman (for the person above wh..."Lol Haley YESS! To your whole comment. I miss the feelings that come from reading The Idea of You the first time. My sister and I mention Hayes all the time like he's a real person. Lol
If you put the Idea of You in simmering, I can’t imagine what scorching is like! Dang
So very honored and flattered to have made this list!! Thank you, Colleen!!! xoxoxoxo
Full tilt by Emma Scott for sad romance!!!All your perfects- Colleen Hoover
Confess- Colleen Hoover
my absolute faves!!! :))
Aside from Colllen Hoover’s books,if you like these type of books you must read Aleatha Romig’s , Tiffany Reid’s all books and Kristen Asleys’s most books . İs you have not read them yet you will thank me
Currently reading the Priest series by Sierra Simone!! I would definitely put those in the scorching category. Plus has some great diversity and representation in the series!!
Who is the author of “The Idea of You”? I’m a huge Colleen H. fan; however, I, too, would love to see more diversity among the recommendations (that includes WOC authors and content, e.g., interracial featuring black heroines). For those readers that are giving their lists, would you please indicate the “heat” designation. Thank you!
Jamie wrote: "If you put the Idea of You in simmering, I can’t imagine what scorching is like! Dang"That's what I was thinking lol... That book had me like
Alicia wrote: "Not one diverse recommendation?"
I know it's not as much as it should be, but for what it's worth... The Idea of You, Wanting Mr. Cane, and The Air He Breathes on this list are all written by Black women. Anna Dressed in Blood is written by an Asian woman. I can't speak on the others as I've only read The Idea of You, but that book is FANTASTIC (and supposedly being made into a film with Anne Hathaway, through Gabrielle Union's production company). Hopefully future lists will have even more diverse recs!
Charity wrote: "Lol Haley YESS! To your whole comment. I miss the feelings that come from reading The Idea of You the first time. My sister and I mention Hayes all the time like he's a real person. Lol"
Omg SERIOUSLY. It was the *perfect* book. I keep going back and forth between wanting a sequel and thinking it needs to just stay the way it is. Supposedly it's being developed into a movie... 👀
SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Who is the author of “The Idea of You”? I’m a huge Colleen H. fan; however, I, too, would love to see more diversity among the recommendations (that includes WOC authors and content, e.g., interrac..."Robinne Lee!!
Haley wrote: "But uhhhh is the Rumi and Friends book listed under scorching a mistake or.... what's going on there lol"Thanks for catching our error, which we've corrected above. Colleen's pick was the Falling for a Rose series!
When you don’t know what to read & wanted to read some Colleen Hoover & instead this is what you get 🤣😂. & FML I’m single … well I guess let’s see how steamy these are
Shannon wrote: "Nomadic Librarian wrote: "I would argue that Red, White and Royal Blue does NOT belong in the sweet category…lots of steamy scenes!"And I would argue it's definitely NOT steamy, it's all pretty m..."
And I would argue that it is most definitely NOT fade to black, but the steamy scenes aren't as intense as some people say they are. I'd say it would go into Simmering.
Thanks Colleen and Sharon . Some of these books have been sitting on my TBR list since 2015. Thanks for the reminder!Listed below are some of my favorite "scorchers":
Whispered Promises by Brenda Jackson
It's Not Me, It's You by Elle Wright
Seducing The Wolf by Maureen Smith
The Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day
Raw Deal by Cherrie Lynn
Bachelor UnLeashed by Brenda Jackson
Taste of Lacey by Linden Hughes
Reel by Kennedy Ryan
The Mixtape by Brittainy C. Cherry
Bad Blood by Mary Monroe
Sweet As Sin (Series) J. T. Geissinger
Not to mention all of the awesome books by Sheryl Lister, Kristen Proby, Bella Andre, Sharon C. Cooper, Angie Daniels, and Monica Walters!
Enjoy! So many books! So little time! lol!!!!!
"Not one diverse recommendation--" Right???!
No Tessa Dare? REALLY?? When A Scott Ties The Knot? The Wallflower Wager? Interracial romance, like The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon, Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai, The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada & Holly Lörincz--anything by Talia Hibbert?? NO??
Oh where, do I begin?!?! Never ask an advocate reader to recommend books as the list can go on and on and on....I have too many favorite authors and books, but to name a few as I could be here forever typing.
Penelope Douglas - Devils Night series & Fall Away Series (she's coming out with a follow-up series now -Hellbent Series.
Sylvain Reynard - Gabriel's inferno & The Florentine series
L.J. Shen - All her books
Ella James, Tarryn Fisher, Jamie McGuire, the list goes on and on...
Bianca wrote: "Currently reading the Priest series by Sierra Simone!! I would definitely put those in the scorching category. Plus has some great diversity and representation in the series!!"This series was amazing. Aside from the "scorching" parts of it ;), it had some real depth and excellent discussions about the intersection of faith and sexuality.
I love anything by Chloe Liesse, Talia Hibbert, Helen Hoang, Rosie Danon, Alisha Rai and Abby Jimenez. They do a great job of writing characters that show the diversity of real women (both in size and color). I especially appreciate some of their representations of neuro-diverse characters!
Anything by Elena Aitken. My favorite series is the forever after series.
The Empire State Series by Louise Bay is SCORTCHING!! And reading the two first books that lead into this series are just as sizzling!!The Empire State Series
I just received a recommendation for In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks for a scorching read. I specifically said romantic porn..so the is probably scorching! It's the first in a series too....
I love this and I love how many of these I have actually read, but there are quite a few I have not also. I can't wait to try some more of these recommendations.
Some authors who are POC or write characters who are POC I've liked have beenAlyssa Cole (simmer), Alisha Rai (sweet), Sara Desai (sweet), Farah Heron (sweet).
message by Sandra.I have just started reading Colleen's books and I love them. I just purchased 2 new ones from Barnes and Noble yesterday.
Haley wrote: "The Idea of You is still one of my all time favorite books. I sometimes catch myself just staring into space thinking about it. And bonus that it's written by a Black woman (for the person above wh..."I feel the same way about The Idea of You. It really stays with you (not many books can do that when I read so many). I'll be in the middle of doing something totally normal and I pause and think back to something that happened in the book. Or I'll think about Haye's unaccounted for moments. Or what actually went down with Oliver and what that's all about. Or Japan. Or their Twitter exchange.
Dee wrote: "No Tessa Dare? REALLY?? When A Scott Ties The Knot? The Wallflower Wager? Interracial romance, like The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon, Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai..."I was a little surprised by the lack of Talia Hibbert.
Anything by Stephanie Hudson, Gemma Weir, Sloane Murphy.
Talia Hibbert's series about Chloe, Dani and Eve Brown are sizzling masterpieces imo!
Katy wrote: "I feel the same way about The Idea of You. It really stays with you (not many books can do that when I read so many). I'll be in the middle of doing something totally normal and I pause and think back to something that happened in the book. Or I'll think about Haye's unaccounted for moments. Or what actually went down with Oliver and what that's all about. Or Japan. Or their Twitter exchange."Yes, I totally understand you! Can you feel homesick for a book? Because TIOY just triggers such a sense of longing and nostalgia for me for some reason. I recall exactly how I felt when I was reading it for the first time. And I read a LOT of books (especially romance novels), as does my friend - but this is the only book she and I constantly go back and refer to. I always go back and forth between wanting a sequel so badly versus feeling that the book ended exactly the way it was supposed to. Nice to know others feel the same about this one! If not a sequel, I really hope we get more from Robinne! I can't believe that was her debut novel.
For those of you complaining about the lack of diversity, why don't you make some suggestions?
Haley wrote: "Katy wrote: "I feel the same way about The Idea of You. It really stays with you (not many books can do that when I read so many). I'll be in the middle of doing something totally normal and I paus..."Haley wrote: "The Idea of You is still one of my all time favorite books. I sometimes catch myself just staring into space thinking about it. And bonus that it's written by a Black woman (for the person above wh..."
I read a LOT too.... and this book was amazing!!!!
Simmering:-Enemies by Tijan
-Dirty Headlines by LJ Shen
-The Naked/Lost Fisherman Duet by Jewel E. Ann
-Rebellious by Kristy Marie
-Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
-The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori
-Suddenly Forbidden by Ella Fields
Scorching:
-Credence by Penelope Douglas
-Ravenhood Trilogy by Kate Stewart
-Crowned by Hate Duet by Amo Jones
-The Villain by LJ Shen
-Things I Wanted to Say by Monica Murphy
-The Stopover by TL Swan
-Turbulence by Whitney G.
