Contemporary romance books

1. 

   After

   Anna Todd · Book 1 of 5 in After

   Spice 3/5 · Steamy

   A good girl, a tattooed college bad boy and the toxic love story that started on Wattpad.

   • Enemies to lovers
   • Bad boy
   • College / university
2. 

   Beach Read

   Emily Henry

   Spice 3/5 · Steamy

   Two blocked writers, side-by-side lake houses and a genre-swap bet. Grief, banter and a slow-burn payoff.

   • Rivals to lovers
   • Grumpy x sunshine
   • Forced proximity
3. 

   Binding 13

   Chloe Walsh · Book 1 of 6 in Boys of Tommen

   Spice 2/5 · Simmer

   An abused girl and the golden-boy rugby star who sees her. Heavy, huge and impossible to put down.

   • Hurt / comfort
   • He falls first
   • Touch her and die
4. 

   Book Lovers

   Emily Henry

   Spice 3/5 · Steamy

   The cutthroat literary agent is not the heroine who gets the small-town hottie. Except this time she is.

   • Rivals to lovers
   • Workplace romance
   • Grumpy hero
5. 

   Done and Dusted

   Lyla Sage · Book 1 in Rebel Blue Ranch

   Spice 3/5 · Steamy

   A rodeo queen comes home after an accident to her brother's best friend, the cowboy she swore she would never touch.

   • Brother's best friend
   • Second chance
   • Cowboy
6. 

   Fifty Shades of Grey

   E.L. James · Book 1 of 3 in Fifty Shades

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   The book that put BDSM romance on every nightstand. A billionaire with a contract and a red room.

   • Billionaire
   • Possessive MMC
   • Virgin heroine
7. 

   Funny Story

   Emily Henry

   Spice 3/5 · Steamy

   Her fiancé left her for his best friend, so she moves in with the best friend's ex. Revenge fake-dating at its finest.

   • Fake dating
   • Roommates
   • Cinnamon roll hero
8. 

   Icebreaker

   Hannah Grace · Book 1 of 3 in Maple Hills

   Spice 4/5 · Spicy

   A figure skater has to share the ice with the hockey captain. BookTok's favourite college hockey romance.

   • Forced proximity
   • He falls first
   • Hockey player
9. 

   It Ends with Us

   Colleen Hoover · Book 1 of 2 in It Ends with Us

   Spice 3/5 · Steamy

   Not really a romance, and it will wreck you. A story about love, abuse and leaving. Read the warnings.

   • Second chance
10. 

    People We Meet on Vacation

    Emily Henry

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Best friends, ten summer trips and the one that went wrong. Peak friends-to-lovers yearning.

    • Friends to lovers
    • Road trip / vacation
    • Opposites attract
11. 

    Red, White & Royal Blue

    Casey McQuiston

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    The First Son and a British prince fake a friendship after a cake disaster. The emails alone.

    • Enemies to lovers
    • Secret relationship
    • Royalty
12. 

    The Deal

    Elle Kennedy · Book 1 of 5 in Off-Campus

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    She tutors him, he fake-dates her to make her crush jealous. The OG college hockey romance.

    • Fake dating
    • He falls first
    • Hockey player
13. 

    The Hating Game

    Sally Thorne

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Two executive assistants who hate each other compete for the same promotion. The office enemies-to-lovers blueprint.

    • Enemies to lovers
    • Workplace romance
    • Rivals to lovers
14. 

    The Love Hypothesis

    Ali Hazelwood

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A grad student fake-dates the scariest professor in the department. STEM rom-com that started a Hazelwood obsession.

    • Fake dating
    • Grumpy x sunshine
    • He falls first
15. 

    Things We Never Got Over

    Lucy Score · Book 1 in Knockemout

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A runaway bride gets stuck in a small town with her surprise niece and the grumpiest barber alive. Small-town gold.

    • Grumpy x sunshine
    • Found family
    • Touch her and die
16. 

    Twisted Love

    Ana Huang · Book 1 of 4 in Twisted

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    Her brother's best friend, a cold billionaire who "does not feel anything" except extremely possessive about her.

    • Brother's best friend
    • He falls first
    • Grumpy hero
17. 

    Ugly Love

    Colleen Hoover

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A pilot with rules: no past, no future. She agrees. She should not have agreed. Ugly-cry guaranteed.

    • Friends with benefits
    • Hurt / comfort
    • Age gap
18. 

    Archer's Voice

    Mia Sheridan

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A grieving woman and the mute, isolated man next door. Tender, heartbreaking, very swoony.

    • Hurt / comfort
    • Cinnamon roll hero
    • Virgin hero
19. 

    Beautiful Disaster

    Jamie McGuire · Book 1 in Beautiful

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A good girl makes a bet with an underground fighter. If she loses, she has to live with him for a month.

    • Possessive MMC
    • Bad boy
    • College / university
20. 

    Behind the Net

    Stephanie Archer · Book 1 in Vancouver Storm

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A goalie with a twenty-year crush and the team physical therapist who has no idea. Pining hero supremacy.

    • Workplace romance
    • Roommates
    • He falls first
21. 

    Birthday Girl

    Penelope Douglas

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    She moves in with her boyfriend's dad. It goes how you think. Age-gap forbidden fruit.

    • Age gap
    • Forbidden love
    • Forced proximity
22. 

    Boyfriend Material

    Alexis Hall · Book 1 in London Calling

    Spice 2/5 · Simmer

    A tabloid-disaster rock-star son needs a respectable fake boyfriend: an uptight barrister. Hilarious.

    • Fake dating
    • Opposites attract
    • Grumpy x sunshine
23. 

    Consider Me

    Becka Mack · Book 1 in Playing for Keeps

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A hockey star bets he can win her over. He actually means it. Golden retriever hero, big yearning.

    • He falls first
    • Hurt / comfort
    • Hockey player
24. 

    Deep End

    Ali Hazelwood

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A college diver and a swimmer agree to a no-strings arrangement with a dom/sub-lite twist. Spice starts around 30% and does not get old.

    • Friends with benefits
    • Athlete
    • Smart / nerdy heroine
25. 

    Every Summer After

    Carley Fortune

    Spice 2/5 · Simmer

    Six summers on a lake and the one terrible mistake that ended everything. Dual timeline, big nostalgia.

    • Second chance
    • Friends to lovers
    • Small town
26. 

    Flawless

    Elsie Silver · Book 1 of 5 in Chestnut Springs

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A bull rider with a reputation and the sharp-tongued woman hired to babysit his image. Cowboy summer, any season.

    • Bodyguard
    • Grumpy x sunshine
    • Cowboy
27. 

    Get a Life, Chloe Brown

    Talia Hibbert · Book 1 of 3 in The Brown Sisters

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A chronically ill woman makes a list to get a life, and hires her tattooed building superintendent to help.

    • Grumpy x sunshine
    • Opposites attract
    • Bad boy
28. 

    Great Big Beautiful Life

    Emily Henry

    Spice 2/5 · Simmer

    Two rival writers compete to tell an heiress's life story on a sleepy island. More slow burn than spice.

    • Rivals to lovers
    • Workplace romance
    • Forced proximity
29. 

    Happy Place

    Emily Henry

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Exes pretending they are still engaged for one last friends' trip. Sweet, sad, very swoony.

    • Second chance
    • Fake dating
    • Found family
30. 

    Him

    Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy · Book 1 of 2 in Him

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    Two former best friends, one summer hockey camp and a lot of unresolved feelings.

    • Friends to lovers
    • Second chance
    • Hockey player
31. 

    It Happened One Summer

    Tessa Bailey · Book 1 of 2 in Bellinger Sisters

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A Hollywood party girl is exiled to a fishing town and a very grumpy bearded sea captain. Schitt's Creek with spice.

    • Opposites attract
    • Grumpy hero
    • Cinnamon roll hero
32. 

    King of Wrath

    Ana Huang · Book 1 in Kings of Sin

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    An arranged marriage between a cold-blooded CEO and a socialite with secrets. Possessive billionaire bingo.

    • Arranged marriage
    • Revenge plot
    • Billionaire
33. 

    Love on the Brain

    Ali Hazelwood

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A neuroscientist at NASA has to co-lead a project with her grad-school nemesis. He is suspiciously helpful.

    • Rivals to lovers
    • Workplace romance
    • He falls first
34. 

    Mile High

    Liz Tomforde · Book 1 of 5 in Windy City

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A cocky hockey defenceman and the flight attendant on his team's charter plane. Fraternizing is very against the rules.

    • Workplace romance
    • Forbidden love
    • He falls first
35. 

    Not in Love

    Ali Hazelwood

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    Hazelwood's spiciest yet: two rival biotech people agree to sex and nothing else. It does not stay nothing else.

    • Friends with benefits
    • Workplace romance
    • Grumpy hero
36. 

    November 9

    Colleen Hoover

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    They meet once a year, on the same date, for five years. Then a big twist.

    • Secret identity
    • Second chance
37. 

    One Last Stop

    Casey McQuiston

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    She falls for the girl on her subway train, who turns out to be stuck there from the 1970s.

    • Found family
    • Time travel
    • BIPOC main character
38. Part of Your WorldAbby Jimenez

    Part of Your World

    Abby Jimenez · Book 1 of 3 in Part of Your World

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A big-city doctor falls for a younger small-town carpenter-mayor who treats her right. Green flags everywhere.

    • Opposites attract
    • Age gap
    • Cinnamon roll hero
39. 

    Praise

    Sara Cate · Book 1 in Salacious Players' Club

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    Her best friend's dad runs a sex club and offers to teach her. Praise kink, front and centre.

    • Age gap
    • Forbidden love
    • BDSM / dom-sub
40. 

    Punk 57

    Penelope Douglas

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    Pen pals for seven years who promised never to meet. They have been meeting. They are enemies.

    • Bully romance
    • Secret identity
    • Enemies to lovers
41. 

    Reminders of Him

    Colleen Hoover

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A woman out of prison tries to reunite with the daughter she has never met and falls for one of the few people still on her side.

    • Forbidden love
    • Hurt / comfort
    • Small town
42. 

    The Fine Print

    Lauren Asher · Book 1 of 3 in Dreamland Billionaires

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A billionaire heir has to work at his family's theme park to claim his inheritance. She becomes his problem.

    • Boss x employee
    • Workplace romance
    • Billionaire
43. 

    The Flatshare

    Beth O'Leary

    Spice 2/5 · Simmer

    They share a bed, at different times: he works nights, she works days. Post-it note romance.

    • Roommates
    • Only one bed
    • Cinnamon roll hero
44. 

    The Kiss Quotient

    Helen Hoang · Book 1 of 3 in The Kiss Quotient

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    An autistic econometrician hires an escort to give her practice. Sweet, sexy and very kind.

    • Opposites attract
    • Cinnamon roll hero
    • Smart / nerdy heroine
45. 

    The Spanish Love Deception

    Elena Armas · Book 1 of 2 in The Spanish Love Deception

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    She needs a date to her sister's wedding in Spain. Her irritating coworker volunteers.

    • Fake dating
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Workplace romance
46. 

    The Unhoneymooners

    Christina Lauren

    Spice 2/5 · Simmer

    The whole wedding gets food poisoning except the bride's sister and the groom's grumpy brother. Free honeymoon, one bed.

    • Enemies to lovers
    • Fake dating
    • Road trip / vacation
47. 

    Vicious

    L.J. Shen · Book 1 of 4 in Sinners of Saint

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    The boy who tormented her in high school is now a ruthless lawyer, and she needs his help.

    • Bully romance
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Second chance
48. 

    Bared to You

    Sylvia Day · Book 1 of 5 in Crossfire

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    Two broken people with explosive chemistry and a lot of trauma. Steamier than Fifty Shades.

    • Hurt / comfort
    • Billionaire
    • Possessive MMC
49. 

    Beautiful Bastard

    Christina Lauren · Book 1 in Beautiful Bastard

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    An intern and her infuriating boss hate-hook-up in every room of the office. Started life as Twilight fanfic.

    • Boss x employee
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Workplace romance
50. 

    Before I Let Go

    Kennedy Ryan · Book 1 of 3 in Skyland

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    Divorced high-school sweethearts try again after grief tore them apart. Beautifully written, very emotional.

    • Second chance
    • BIPOC main character
51. 

    Bully

    Penelope Douglas · Book 1 in Fall Away

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Her childhood best friend turned on her overnight. Now she is back and fighting back.

    • Bully romance
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Second chance
52. 

    Collide

    Bal Khabra · Book 1 in Spiral

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A psychology student has to interview the hockey captain for her internship application. Sparks.

    • Hockey player
    • Grumpy hero
    • College / university
53. 

    Delilah Green Doesn't Care

    Ashley Herring Blake · Book 1 of 3 in Bright Falls

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A New York photographer comes home for her stepsister's wedding and falls for the bridesmaid.

    • Single parent
    • Forbidden love
    • Small town
54. 

    Fix Her Up

    Tessa Bailey · Book 1 of 3 in Hot & Hammered

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A party clown fake-dates her brother's best friend, a former pro baseball player having a crisis.

    • Brother's best friend
    • Fake dating
    • Athlete
55. 

    Funny Feelings

    Tarah DeWitt

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A comedian and her best friend go on tour together. Years of pining in a car.

    • Friends to lovers
    • Road trip / vacation
56. 

    Game Changer

    Rachel Reid · Book 1 of 6 in Game Changers

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A closeted hockey star and the smoothie-shop guy who makes him brave. Sweet start to the series.

    • Secret relationship
    • Hockey player
    • Athlete
57. 

    In a Holidaze

    Christina Lauren

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A Christmas time loop that keeps sending her back to the cabin with her secret crush. Holiday comfort food.

    • Friends to lovers
    • Holiday romance
    • Time travel
58. 

    Losers: Part One

    Harley Laroux · Book 1 of 2 in Losers

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    The rich girl who made their lives hell in high school, and the four "losers" who now own her. Divisive and delicious.

    • Revenge plot
    • Morally grey MMC
    • Small town
59. 

    Love, Theoretically

    Ali Hazelwood

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A theoretical physicist with a side gig as a fake girlfriend runs into the man who ruined her mentor.

    • Rivals to lovers
    • Fake dating
    • Workplace romance
60. 

    Lovelight Farms

    B.K. Borison · Book 1 of 3 in Lovelight

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A Christmas tree farm owner fake-dates her best friend for a contest. Holiday cozy with real heat.

    • Fake dating
    • Friends to lovers
    • Holiday romance
61. 

    Mistakes Were Made

    Meryl Wilsner

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A college senior hooks up with a hot older woman at a bar. It is her best friend's mom. Oops.

    • Age gap
    • Forbidden love
    • Secret relationship
62. 

    Secretly Yours

    Tessa Bailey · Book 1 of 2 in Vine Mess

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A grumpy professor and a sunny wine-country girl have a secret kiss neither can forget.

    • Grumpy x sunshine
    • Secret identity
    • Smart / nerdy heroine
63. 

    Seven Days in June

    Tia Williams

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Two famous Black writers who had a week-long teenage romance meet again, fifteen years later.

    • Second chance
    • BIPOC main character
64. 

    Spoiler Alert

    Olivia Dade · Book 1 of 3 in Spoiler Alert

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A TV star and a fanfic writer are internet friends who do not know each other's identities. Then they meet.

    • Secret identity
    • Rockstar / celebrity
    • Cinnamon roll hero
65. 

    The Friend Zone

    Abby Jimenez · Book 1 of 3 in The Friend Zone

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    She cannot have kids. He wants a big family. Very funny, very sad, very good.

    • Friends to lovers
    • Single parent
    • Cinnamon roll hero
66. 

    The Kiss Thief

    L.J. Shen

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    One stolen kiss, one ruthless senator and a forced engagement. Angsty and sharp.

    • Arranged marriage
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Age gap
67. 

    The Soulmate Equation

    Christina Lauren

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A DNA matchmaking app says her soulmate is the arrogant scientist who founded it. Data does not lie.

    • Enemies to lovers
    • Fake dating
    • Single parent
68. 

    The Wedding Date

    Jasmine Guillory

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Stuck in a hotel elevator with a stranger who then needs a date to his ex's wedding.

    • Fake dating
    • Opposites attract
    • BIPOC main character
69. 

    Throttled

    Lauren Asher · Book 1 of 4 in Dirty Air

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    The F1 bad boy fake-dates the team principal's daughter. Formula 1 romance with a big heart.

    • Fake dating
    • Opposites attract
    • Racing driver

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