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108 New Romance Recommendations for (Nearly) Every Kind of Reader
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, it’s that magical season when people’s thoughts turn to love and romance…and also to the romance genre! While we think romances make for great reading year-round, it's undeniable that some readers go hunting for them especially now.
Well, we're here to help, with this specially curated guide to romance for (nearly) every kind of reader. Yes, even those who think they might not be romance readers at all! On offer, you'll find some classic tropes, sustained subgenres, and wacky premises from new arrivals to the genre and old flames alike. The idea is to help you find something new, or exciting, or just plain great.
The 108 books featured in the categories below are relatively recent, published within the last few years or upcoming later in 2024. We hope that you find the categorizations useful…or at least entertaining. Click on the book cover images for more details about each book, add any good new leads to your Want to Read shelf, and feel free to let us know what kind of romance reader YOU are in the comments section below.
I go weak in the knees for second-chance romance
I love a romance where the complication is TIME ITSELF
I'd like to read a historical romance NOT set in Regency or Victorian England
OK, but don't leave us Regency/Victorian romance readers hanging!
I'm a sucker for a contemporary Jane Austen retelling!
Falling in love for the first time is THE BEST—show me some of this year's debut romances!
Is there a Himbo Hall of Fame?
I'm really into neighbors who bang
Give me some great marriage-of-convenience plots
And don't forget about those of us who love fake dating!
Show me some protagonists in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond, please!
Whisper in my ear about forbidden love…
Oh hi, dark romance
Reality-TV romances really get to me
![The [Fake] Dating Game](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1689346240l/146610841._SY475_.jpg)
I'm ready to dip a toe into romantasy and spicy paranormal…
Can you recommend some romantic literary fiction?
I love young love! Show me some great YA reads.
Have a great romance recommendation? Be sure to share it with your fellow readers in the comments below.
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Comments Showing 101-149 of 149 (149 new)
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What if I want to read a romance with the vibe of Elemental (yes the Pixar movie) (yes this is very specific)
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"YA is closed door
Thanks for the list, added a few to my--to read--shelf
Lamar wrote: "Is it just me, or is there only one male author on this list?"It's just you! (:
I'm so excited to read Love at 350° by Lisa Peters!!
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"Agreed!!!!!
Melanie wrote: "Maybe next time a section with minimal spice? I usually avoid the genre because of that. Lately I've read a few that I quite enjoyed though that weren't spicy and I'd love to know of more like that!"Yes! I don't like "spice", more closed-door romance please! Also, I'd love to see more suspense romance novels - kind of like the Love Inspired Suspense series but not necessarily with the Christian aspect. The hero falls in love with a dude/damsel in distress type thing.
Why all the options for Show me some protagonists in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond are LGBT?
Lyra wrote: "Aw, how about a category for poly romances? I will gladly make a love triangle sacrifice to the trope gods in exchange!"yes please
and while I'm here, a category for asexual romances would be radical also
Thanks for the lists! I'd also love to see an enemies to lovers section :)
Maja wrote: "the covers... why are they ALL so horribleeee ahhh"no, fr, they couldn't be any uglier
Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?" please, that would be great
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"YES!
Jody Hedlund is a master of closed-door, but SPICY, romances. She often does marriages of convenience (A Bride of Convenience, Love Unexpected, A Cowboy for Keeps, Searching for You, Finally His Bride [my favorite]...) and is slow-burn, too.
Josie wrote: "I would love to see recs for people who don't typically read romance!"That's a great idea!
Diginaut wrote: "And here I was just rejoicing over the fact that queer stories were mixed throughout in the various categories and not put in a separate bin.."
I agree Diginaut.....how awesome is it that gay romance is now seen as "normal" enough to be mixed in with straight romance, instead of needing its own category, so as not to accidentally offend or confuse someone. Well done, Goodreads.
Ripsy wrote: "I would love some mafia/ MC romance recs next time"Totally agree!
Where is the dirty nasty monster smut romance? Asking for a friend...
yes 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond, please! It feels very rare to find this genre
Saphira wrote: "Could we get some childhood friends to lovers? I do love some good childhood friends to lovers. Please. CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS. NOW. PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU!"Ditto!
Would also love to see a sibling's best friend/secret-crush type romance please!
Does anyone have any clean romance recs?
I agree with the many people above saying closed door romance reads would be appreciated. I loved Sarah Adams books and would love to find more books like hers with sex of the page, although I love authors like Jimenez and Henry with minimal sex on the page too ❤️
Diginaut wrote: "To be fair, they did include at least one or more queer books in most of those categories. It's just a bit sad that queer romances didn't get their own highlight as well."
And here I was just re..."
Ahah touché! I think I mostly meant that one highlight for poly romances I wished for in an earlier comment. I find them especially tricky to pinpoint because of how the blurb often leaves it open to interpretation whether what you'll be getting is a poly romance or a love triangle with endgame couple. Very often it's the latter, and while I guess that can have its own appeal, it's not what I'm looking for.
Though I'm not gonna lie, yeah, that ended up sounding less "the more rep, the better" and more "let's put queerness on the spot" of me. I should freaking know better!
Same old authors over and over again. The best romance book out there is
How about romances with people with realistic problems that they have to heal from?
Neighbours Who Bang has got to be the most out-of-pocket subtitle I've seen yet
Lyra wrote: "Aw, how about a category for poly romances? I will gladly make a love triangle sacrifice to the trope gods in exchange!"Yessss!!!
Diginaut wrote: "To be fair, they did include at least one or more queer books in most of those categories. It's just a bit sad that queer romances didn't get their own highlight as well."
And here I was just re..."
Honestly tho
NavyTechHeart wrote: "Would love to see some sport romances...."Yes me too, need some alternatives for work which is a bit more "uncommon".
Lamar wrote: "Is it just me, or is there only one male author on this list?"While I get the point that there are not very many male authors who write main stream published romance, I am going to point out that there are 7 male authors and at least 2 gender nonconforming authors. I do not believe that romance is the realm of women, but publishing is still working to overcome some of the biases of our culture.
What about a love story that never died? Even though the couple never married, the love was so deep, even 50 years later.
Emilia wrote: "What about enemies to lovers romance pleaseeee"yes yes yes
Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"yesss pleaseee
Never even knew dark romance was a thing. Looks interesting.
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"Oh yes please!
I would love to see MM romance get its own section or at the very least as many offered in each subsection as there are hetero romances. They are out there. One just needs to look.
Does anyone know why so many romance novels, in recent times, have such colorful, bright, almost graphic novel elements in their covers? I see this as an industry trend and I am hoping to better understand it from a reader psychology perspective. Is this something readers want? Does it sell more books? Is this part of a marketing strategy to perhaps attract GenZ readers?
Lene wrote: "Lamar wrote: "Is it just me, or is there only one male author on this list?"There are five unequivocally male authors on this list (Matt Cain, Timothy Janovsky, Alexis Hall, TJ Klune, and Max Gla..."
Also KT Hoffman and Justinian Huang
Stella wrote: "Lyra wrote: "Aw, how about a category for poly romances? I will gladly make a love triangle sacrifice to the trope gods in exchange!"yes please
and while I'm here, a category for asexual romances would be radical also..."
His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto has an ace/demi couple.
Unboxed by Amy Crook (fantasy, vaguely steampunk/historical) and Changes Coming Down by Kaje Harper are two of my favorite poly mmm romances, or Unprincely by Eden Finley for mmf.
Alexandra wrote: "Where is the dirty nasty monster smut romance? Asking for a friend..."Have you tried Lily Mayne?
Marlyn wrote: "Why all the options for Show me some protagonists in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond are LGBT?"I understand that Role Playing has an LGBT tag, but the MCs are mf, so I'm seeing 2 mf, 1 ff, and 1 mm option...
Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"Where There's Smoke and Ten Simple Tips for Surviving the Apocalypse by Cari Z.
I would love that too !