With cold weather and dark nights, there’s nothing I enjoy more than curling up with a warm romance book. If you’re new to the genre, you may be overwhelmed with all of the settings, tropes, and pairings, but here’s a small selection of some of my favorites to sample!
Fake Dating
One of the most prevalent tropes in romances these days is “fake dating,” when circumstances (often meddling family, seeing an ex, or a publicity stunt) require a character to be partnered.
In Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date, Alexa and Drew end up stuck in an elevator together just before a wedding weekend where he’ll be forced to see his ex-best friend marry his ex-girlfriend. The chemistry is instantaneous, and Alexa agrees to pretend to be Drew’s girlfriend. What starts out as fake and no-strings-attached turns out to be something genuine, but can they manage the distance between them and transitioning to real life?
Also try Written in the Stars, I’m So Not Over You, and The Soulmate Equation.
Food and Kitchen Romances
Given my love of all things Great British Bake Off, it’s not surprising that I love a kitchen romance, especially when it has a competition component.
The titular Rosaline Palmer of Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis
Hall is a single mom desperate for a change. When the opportunity arises to go on Bake Expectations, which comes with a hefty prize for the winner, Rosaline decides she’s ready to try. What she doesn’t expect is an immediate attraction to fellow contestant Alain, or for other contestant Harry to start making his way into her heart. Aside from the fun setting, the sharp critiques of British classism and stereotypes of bisexuality make this a compelling read.
Also check out Fake It Till You Bake It, Love and Other Disasters, and For Butter or Worse.
Forced Proximity
Now, I’m on TikTok enough to know that I wasn’t the only one reacting to the “only one bed” scene in A Court of Mist and Fury, so despite the unrealistic chances of this ever happening in real life, I’ll offer some options where the characters are stranded for the night with… *gasp* only one bed.
Christina Lauren’s The Unhoneymooners features a fun mashup of enemies-to-lovers, fake dating (fake marriage?), and forced proximity. When food poisoning takes down nearly the entire guest list of a wedding, including the bride and groom, maid of honor Olive and best man Ethan are gifted their all-expenses-paid, nonrefundable honeymoon. There’s only one catch: despite their mutual dislike of each other, they have to pretend to be the newlywed couple to cash in on the vacation. Welcome to an onslaught of romantic dinners, beachside activities for two, and of course, only one bed.
You might also enjoy Two Rogues Make a Right, All the Feels, and The Worst Best Man.
~ posted by Jane S.
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