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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](http://web.archive.org/web/20240222063838im_/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.
Check out more romance coverage here:
Check out more romance coverage here:
Comments Showing 1-50 of 129 (129 new)
message 1:
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annabelle
(new)
Feb 01, 2024 12:13AM
thank you for adding a young adult section!! i would really love to see more lists that are specifically for that age group :)
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Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!
the covers... why are they ALL so horribleeee ahhh
Maja wrote: "the covers... why are they ALL so horribleeee ahhh" Except for one: This Time it's real. I lowkey agree tho
Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?
Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"Yeeeeeessssss
One Star Romance by Laura Hankin is really good and there are lots of upcoming romances featuring books/authors!
What about enemies to lovers romance pleaseeee
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"Thats what I was looking for!
Aw, how about a category for poly romances? I will gladly make a love triangle sacrifice to the trope gods in exchange!
Is it just me, or is there only one male author on this list?
annabelle border wrote: "thank you for adding a young adult section!! i would really love to see more lists that are specifically for that age group :)"YESSSSSSSSS
annabelle border wrote: "thank you for adding a young adult section!! i would really love to see more lists that are specifically for that age group :)"definitely : )
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 Gladstone) and one that uses they/them pronouns but presents as masculine (Jonny Garza Villa). Were there a larger selection of YA and LGBT romances featured the proportion would likely rise, but this is actually pretty good representation for this genre which is traditionally written for and by women. Also, in the past, male romance writers for bigger traditional publishers like Mills and Boon were asked to use female pseudonyms, much as female writers of science fiction and crime often used male pseuds. It's unlikely any of these particular authors are men using a female pseudonym but you never know.
Lyra wrote: "Aw, how about a category for poly romances? I will gladly make a love triangle sacrifice to the trope gods in exchange!"yesssss we need that!!
could there be a section just for queer romance?? thanks!
annabelle wrote: "thank you for adding a young adult section!! i would really love to see more lists that are specifically for that age group :)" yaaaas!!
Marina wrote: "Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"Yeeeeeessssss"
Read Nora Roberts, Year One series. It's great dystopian/romance
Jasmine wrote: "Marina wrote: "Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"Yeeeeeessssss"
Read Nora Roberts, Year One series. It's great dystopian/romance"
Nice! Thanks for the recommendation!
Emilia wrote: "What about enemies to lovers romance pleaseeee"Would so love an enemies to lovers
I would love some mafia/ MC romance recs next time
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"Soo true
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"I agree!
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"Me too!
annabelle wrote: "thank you for adding a young adult section!! i would really love to see more lists that are specifically for that age group :)"You should check out "Well, That was Unexpected" by Jesse Q. Sutanto. An amazing YA romance!
I was hoping for something a little bit gayer.
Maja wrote: "the covers... why are they ALL so horribleeee ahhh"I KNOWWW RIGHTTTT?!
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!
Would love to see some sport romances....
hrn wrote: "I was hoping for something a little bit gayer."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.
I'm adding my vote for more polyamory romance.Also unapologetic BDSM & kink romances. Nothing against vanilla for those who like it but it's very rarely satisfying to me emotionally.
So many illustrated covers... what a way to sanitize the genre...
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!
A clean/cleaner romance section would be appreciated.
Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"check out 'reboot' by amy tintera!!
Why not fantasy romance?? I love the Throne Of Glass series, it’s so good
shocked that they put "Credence" on this list considering the amount of SA on page in it. I understand the appeal of a "dark romance" but this book I think has extremely problematic depictions for goodreads to promote
What about some sweet, clean romances, not necessarily Christian, just closed door romances. We can all use our imaginations!
celestina_stan wrote: "could there be a section just for queer romance?? thanks!"There were a ton of queer romances sprinkled into almost each section. I kinda love that the plot was the driving factor, not the pairings.
Caroline wrote: "Can we have Dystopian romance recommendations?"yessss pleassse!!
Elizabeth wrote: "celestina_stan wrote: "could there be a section just for queer romance?? thanks!"There were a ton of queer romances sprinkled into almost each section. I kinda love that the plot was the driving ..."
Also yesss pleasssse!
I would love to see recs for people who don't typically read romance!
Emilia wrote: "What about enemies to lovers romance pleaseeee"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Why are all the fat chicks on these covers with really fit guys? I don’t get it. Doesn’t seem like ‘healthy at every size’ applies to men 🤷🏻♀️
Sarah wrote: "Would love to also see a list of closed-door romances in the future!"Good suggestion!
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!"Have you tried any Denise Hunter books?
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 rejoicing over the fact that queer stories were mixed throughout in the various categories and not put in a separate bin.
