Is your StoryGraph or GoodReads yelling at you to reach your reading goal for this year? Are you looking for a smut book with a little bit of plot to get you through to upcoming holidays? Or are you looking for a love story that will make you believe in it again?
Sometimes navigating the depth of the romance genre can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve got a list of binge-worthy recommendations that will have you weak in the knees. Whether you like heart-shattering declarations of feelings or headboard breaking sessions of makeup sex, we’ve got a list that will have you feeling love in the air. Here are the best romance and smut books to pick up today!
Author's Note: Sometimes romance reads can have intense or sensitive topics so take a look at trigger warnings before you get between the sheets.
Light Smut To “Oh My God” 🥵
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Anastasia Allen worked her whole life for a chance to join Team USA as a figure skater. After securing a spot on the University of California, Maple Hills (UCMH) competitive skating team, she’s one step closer to fulfilling her dreams and nothing stands in her way.
Being the captain of the UCMH ice hockey team was a natural step for Nate Hawkins as he entered his final year of college. He’s ready for the upcoming season and wants nothing more for his team to become champions.
But when a prank gone wrong wrecks one of the rinks, Anastasia and Nate are forced to work together for the benefit of their teams. Which would be easier to do if Anastasia wasn’t uptight and Nate was a bit more grounded. Before the dream they both worked for starts to look like a nightmare, the unlikely pair will have take a shot on each other.
While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory
Who doesn’t love a romance set in Hollywood? Get ready to squeal from cuteness and lots of love.
Ben Stephens doesn’t have time for a serious relationship — he’s busy keeping himself entertained with casual hookups, ignoring ongoing family drama and putting his advertising career first. He’s leading a huge campaign with upcoming movie star Anna Gardiner, who by the way, is sexy and smart and considerate and…are more reasons needed? Flirting with Anna comes too easily and starts to feel a bit too real.
Anna Gardiner needs a distraction while she waits to see if she lands her next big role, an ad campaign seems like the perfect remedy. It helps that one of the workers is handsome, understanding, and has the patience of a saint. She knows she shouldn’t let herself mix business with pleasure, but what’s the harm in a bit of playful banter?
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
No, Elise Hannaway isn’t a sex worker — she’s a dating worker. During academia hours, Elise is an adjunct professor teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of gaining tenure somewhere respectable. By night, she pretends to be people’s girlfriend for a few hours...and honestly she’s pretty good at it. She can give anyone the version of Elise they need.
And all of that was just swell until Jack Smith, the brother of one of her repeat clients, is too attractive for his own good. Oh, and Jack's also one of the most well-known experimental physicist at MIT (HELLO?! Elise’s dream job!). Jack's known for being cold-hearted, and he single handedly ruined the reputation of Elise’s entire field of theorists. Elise has no choice but to be around Jack as she goes through all the steps to land her dream role at MIT, but he sees right through her and all the versions of Elise she’s ever created. As the two get closer, so does their off the chart chemistry.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the brilliance that is Ali Hazelwood. She's the ruler of STEM romance, and we're here for it! Her debut YA novel Check & Mate is out November 7!
Priest by Sierra Simone
Father Tyler Anselm Bell didn’t expect to break his vow of celibacy on the altar of his own church, but when Poppy walked into confessions one day, he couldn’t get the image of her bent over out of his head. And the worse part? He’d do it again. And again. While struggling for the love of his God and now Poppy, Father Bell starts to question everything he’s known.
Priest was published in 2015, but recently shot to fame in the reading world thanks to #BookTok. If you’re a fan of Fleabag and Hot Priest left you saying the Lord’s Prayer, this might be the one for you.
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Get comfortable because once you read the first words about Cassie Klein and Erin Bennett, you won’t be able to stop.
Cassie didn’t plan on finding a hot woman at a bar during her college’s campus weekend, but buying a stranger a drink leads to a tantalizing hookup. She didn’t really plan to see the woman again, but her best friend takes her to breakfast to meet her mom, who just so happens to be the hot brunette from the bar whose mouth left the best kisses.
Erin didn’t think Cassie was a student when they were hooking up in the backseat of her car. Erin definitely didn’t think that her daughter would know the gorgeous blonde who caught her eye as soon as she walked in the door. But it was just one time, it won’t happen again.
Wrong.
Cassie and Erin can’t ignore the heart tugging feelings that turn into more. Sneaky kisses around corners turn into long nights in bed, and as it turns into something real, Cassie and Erin have to face what they both fear the most — honesty.
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Greek mythology is having a comeback (shoutout Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint), and this Hades and Persephone retelling needs to be at the top of your list. Plus, it's got a dual POV? Yes, please!
Persephone Dimitriou has had it with the mind game politics of metropolis Olympus. When her mother Demeter betrays her trust and announces her engagement to Zeus (who's accused of killing his last wife, Hera, by the way), she knows she can’t continue to live this life. Her only saving grace is Hades, the devil himself.
As Hades harbors the woman, he starts to build a revenge plan, one he’s been waiting on for decades. While Hades protects Persephone, he forgets to protect his heart. There’s truly nothing sweeter than a forbidden romance.
After you finish Neon Gods, check out the other books in the Dark Olympus universe!Swoon-Worthy Romance Reads 🥰
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
This was another #BookTok phenomenon that's well worth the hype. Practice Makes Perfect is technically the sequel to When In Rome, but you can totally read the books out of order. And trust me, I never do that, but the world is still turning.
Annie Walker is trying to find her soulmate, but it’s hard to do in her hometown of Rome, Kentucky where every single person knows her. Even when she goes outside her small town’s limits, the guys still suck. On her last date, one even calls her “so unbelievably boring,” but he wasn’t doing anything to carry the conversation either!
When Will Griffin, the super hot, gorgeously tattooed and famous-adjacent bodyguard of Amelia Rose returns to Rome, he knows he can’t get attached to anyone. But when Annie comes to him asking for lessons in flirting and dating, he can’t say no. As they say, practice makes perfect.
All friends think about how their skin tingles at the slightest hand touches, right? And every friend has always wanted to kiss the way too attractive bodyguard, right? Read on as Annie and Will start to blur the lines of friendship and find something along the way.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
When young witch Vivienne Sterling cursed her ex-boyfriend, she didn’t actually think it would work. She was drunk! Vivi was heartbroken! She was crying and in a bubble bath and didn’t think the candle would do anything!
But when Rhys Penhallow, descendant of the town’s ancestors and known ruiner of love returns to town and can’t even conjure a flicker of light, Vivienne’s curse might have been too strong. Vivi and Rhys have to work together to restore the town’s magic before it disappears off the map, with everyone in it.
If Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic had a baby, it would be this. This book is perfect if you’re looking for something with witchy vibes as Halloween approaches — and if you like hot Welsh men.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Looking for something to hold you over while you wait for the new season of Saturday Night Live? Your search is over.
Sally Milz sacrificed a lot to be a kickass writer for The Night Owls, a comedy show that airs every Saturday. She’s given up on love and has settled for the occasional one-night stand with a guy who sends too many dick pics, but at least she’s getting something out of it, right?
When another one of her mediocre coworkers starts dating a gorgeous hostess (think of Pete Davidson with literally anyone), she starts to wonder why hot hosts don’t fall at her feet. Until Noah Brewster, famed singer-songwriter-performer-holycraphe’ssohandsome comes into town to host AND be the musical guest. Sally might drool a little when she sees him (in her defense, she is sleep deprived from working crazy hours), but there’s no way he'd ever be interested in someone like her.
Sally and Noah work through a lot of their own doubts, navigating loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and come to find the best romantic comedy might be everyday life.
First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
Jia Ahmed knows what she wants. She’s determined to be one of the top beauty experts and influencers out there and make a difference in the makeup industry. When Bollywood soap opera star Dev Dixit slides into her DMs, it’s another great piece of the puzzle falling into place.
...Except when Jia and Dev meet in person one night, and he has no idea who she is. Humiliation quickly turns into a plan to keep up the fake dating for a bit to make all parties happy. But as the public eye starts to fall in love with Jia and Dev, they start to feel butterflies themselves. Is it possible to turn a fake online romance into love?
A Little Young Love 🫶
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey Mcquinston
If you’re a fan of Paper Towns, but wanted a better ending — add this to your TBR.
Chloe Green did not expect to be kissed by her high school rival Shara Wheeler, and she definitely didn’t expect for Shara to vanish right after it happened. Shara is so close to being valedictorian, and then she just goes ghost on everything? That’s not fair, and Chloe refuses to win by default.
Angry, Chloe starts a hunt for Shara and finds out she wasn’t the only one who got a goodbye smooch before the perfect daughter disappeared. Smith (Shara’s longtime quarterback high school love) and Rory (Shara’s bad boy class clown neighbor with a crush) also got kissed. The three have never even really had a conversation, and the only thing they have in common is that Shara gave them each a kiss before vanishing, each with an envelope. Chloe, Smith, and Rory start to decipher the cryptic notes, and it will all be worth it if Chloe can beat Shara once and for all, fair and square.
This unlikely alliance will pull at your heart and take you back to walking the halls of high school. It’s funny and it’s messy, but mainly, it teaches you that love can be found in some of the most unexpected places.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Okay, it’s time to finally admit that Romeo and Juliet retellings are SUPERIOR! And no one does it better than Chloe Gong. This book has lovable characters and seriously laugh out loud moments.
Juliette Cai is set to take her place at the head of the Scarlet Gang, and this time there are no distractions. Not even when her first love and heartbreak Roma Montagov steps back into the scene as the heir of the White Flowers.
The Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers have fought each other for generations. Gangsters and spies, trained to steal secrets and kill for less. When mob members on both sides start clawing out their own throats, they quickly learn the gangs aren’t the only monsters on the street.
As the deaths from the mysterious illness continue, Juliette and Roma team up together to try and stop the madness. Because if they don’t, there might not be anyone left in Shanghai.
They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera
When Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emerterio get a phone call on September 5, they know they'll both die that day. On their End Day, Mateo and Rufus meet up to spend their last 24 hours together for one final adventure — and to live today like it's their last. The two are brought together by a sick twist of fate, but create their bucket list nonetheless and vow to do everything they’ve ever wanted.
Mateo and Rufus aren’t the only ones who get a call that day...but to say who else would be a spoiler! With each chapter a countdown, you’ll find yourself checking the clock to see if everyone will make it to the end.
Total Tear-Jerkers ðŸ˜
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Everyone has a five-year plan, and Dannie Kohan lives her life exactly according to hers. In Dannie’s world, there’s no such thing as a surprise or spontaneity. She’s the exact opposite of her best friend Bella who can wake up every morning without a plan in place. So when Dannie gets a work promotion and engaged to her long-term boyfriend on the same day, she’s not surprised — it’s part of the plan after all. When she goes to sleep that night, she knows she’ll wake up in the morning, run around five miles, head into work, come home, and repeat it all the next day.
Except she doesn’t. She wakes up in a different bed, with a different ring on her finger, next to a different man. For one hour, she lives five years into the future. When she wakes up in her apartment, with her diamond sparkling, beside the man she’s known for years, she knows it wasn’t a dream.
Dannie tries to shake the apprehension that follows her, but when she meets the dream man in real life as Bella’s beau, the plan she’s stuck to for years starts to fall apart. This is a love story you won't expect. Before you know it, your heart will be shattered and slowly put back together, so keep the tissues handy.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
Lydia and Freddie were supposed to live together happily ever after. But on his 28th birthday, Freddie dies in a car accident, leaving Lydia to face a life she never even thought would happen. As she’s supported by her friends and family, she starts to put the pieces of her live together, even if there is a Freddie-sized hole.
Lydia's prescribed something to help her sleep, and she’s warned of the side effects, but doesn’t think much of it. When she goes to bed, she’s taken to a world where Freddie still exists. Here, he’s alive and well and none of the terribly tragic events of the past few months have ever happened.
As Lydia steps into her past, she’s living two lives all at once. She knows the world with Freddie isn’t true, but how can it not be when he’s safe in her arms and sleeps in their bed? The real-world continues, and Lydia starts to learn that you can’t be in two different realities. When someone in her new, real life wants her to stay, she’ll have to make a choice.
Reel by Kennedy Ryan
Canon Holt is looking for the leading lady of his latest film, a Harlem Renaissance biopic, and he wants Neevah Saint for the part. Neevah is still reeling from heartbreak that changed her world and Canon is setting boundaries between work and his life. As the two main characters start to spend more time around each other, they learn to love and to be loved is one of life’s most beautiful things.
Ryan is one of the best romance writers of our time — and the premier novel in her A Forbidden Hollywood Romance series proves it. This book will make you laugh, cry, scream, and all the good things!
If you want more books to add to your TBR list, sign up for our email newsletter! We'll send recs right to your inbox!
Brit + Co. may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
Header image via Amazon
0 Commentaires