50 All-Time Favorite Romance Books
We love an HEA (happily ever after). We love the feels, and the escapes these stories give us from our troubles. But more than the HEA, we love the journey. Sometimes, those journeys are unforgettable ones that stick with us and become all-time favorites.
The members of NYPL's Romance Committee have chosen what we think are some of the best romance novels, both recently published and classics, that we return to again and again. Somehow we managed to narrow it down to just 50—categorized by classics, contemporary, LGBTQ, historicals, sci-fi/fantasy, and thrillers. These are the books that we can't forget and that still have the power to make us smile or catch our breath.
Classics
Persuasion
By Jane Austen
Available: book, audiobook, e-book, e-audiobook
Anne Elliot, a henpecked spinster at 27, was persuaded, eight years ago, to refuse the proposal of a handsome but penniless naval officer. When Captain Wentworth finally returns to the village, rich and successful, he and Anne must find it in themselves to trust again and try for a second chance at happiness. The last scene where Anne is...no wait, I don't want to spoil it too much. This is Jane Austen at her most hopeful and romantic.
Bridget Jones's Diary
By Helen Fielding
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
A modern update on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice finds our heroine, Bridget Jones, struggling in her thirty-somethings against societal expectations and her attraction to her uninhibited boss, Daniel Cleaver, while also fancying Mr. Mark Darcy, despite his choice in reindeer jumpers. Considered by us to be a new classic, this hilarious, diary-formatted, rom-com was a worldwide phenomenon that kick-started a whole new sub-genre of romance novels.
Contemporary
All Your Perfects
By Colleen Hoover
Available as: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Despite the less than ideal circumstances of their first meeting, Graham and Quinn had the perfect love story. However, their marriage is anything but. With their past mistakes, secrets, fears, and sacrifices threatening to tear them apart, can they find their way back to each other and save the love that still runs deep beneath the imperfections? A raw and beautifully felt romance that will have you reaching for tissues.
Bared to You
By Sylvia Day
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Starting with Bared to You, this 5 volume, compelling erotic series follows the relationship of Eva Tramell and Gideon Cross. Both come with traumatic childhoods that shape the future of their relationship. This global phenomenon is a masterclass of obsession and desire.
Beautiful Disaster
By Jamie McGuire
Available: book, e-book
Good girl, Abby Abernathy, moves across the country to Eastern University to avoid her past, but when she meets bad boy and underground fighter, Travis Maddox, her future and everything she planned are at risk. When Abby loses a bet, she finds herself living with Travis for a month. Driven crazy by her indifference to him, Travis tries to prove to Abby that he can change, but boy, has he met his match! The first in a series, this is a great bad boy romance.
Beyond The Velvet Rope
By Tiffany Ashley
Available: e-book
Public relations exec Thandie temporarily relocates to Miami to work for the famed Club Babylon as a favor for a longtime friend and meets Elliott—the man who inadvertently is connected to her past, present, and future. Readers will be completely enraptured by this alpha male meets independent heroine, no holds barred love story.
Can You Keep a Secret?
By Sophie Kinsella
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
After a disastrous day, Emma Corrigan confesses her most humiliating secrets to a handsome stranger on a turbulent plane. When he reappears in her life as her company’s elusive CEO, she will have to face all the inappropriate things she said to him, and… her growing feelings for him. A hilarious romance full of charm and plenty of swoon.
Cocktail Collection: Wallbanger, Rusty Nailed, Screwdrivered
By Alice Clayton
Available: e-book
If you like your romance with a side of hilarity, sexy puns, and cocktails—look no further! Male/female dynamics are given a satirical spin in this naughty collection of unforgettable, steamy, romantic tales.
The Deal
By Elle Kennedy
Available: book
Star student Hannah makes a deal with Garrett the cocky (and highly annoying) captain of the college hockey team. In exchange for helping him raise his GPA he’ll help her get and keep her crush’s attention but one unexpected kiss will change the whole arrangement. A sexy, unputdownable hockey romance that will have you gasping for more.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
By Talia Hibbert
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Chloe Brown is a homebody. Chronically ill with people in her life who don’t always get it, she decides to start living life to its fullest which includes asking her mysterious and sexy motorcycle-riding neighbor Red to help her experience all the things she’s been missing. A rom-com charmer that is a perfect balance of humor, heat, sweetness, and depth.
Hard Hitter
By Sarina Bowen
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Patrick O’Doul, team captain of the Brooklyn Bruisers hockey team, refuses to show weakness. But when his chronic hip injury becomes impossible to ignore, he’s sent to the team massage therapist Ari Bettini who seems to be able to expose not just his physical weaknesses. As she works to heal Patrick, Ari must decide if she’s willing to open herself up to healing as well. A hockey romance hot enough to melt ice.
The Hating Game
By Sally Thorne
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Lucy Hutton, a quirky Pollyanna, and Joshua Templeman, meticulous and uptight, hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through passive-aggressive maneuvers and games as they sit across from each other at work. Up for the same promotion, their battle of wills is about to explode—proving that sometimes, maybe, hate can feel a lot like its opposite. Or maybe this is just another game. This recent enemies-to-lovers romance is on its way to becoming a beloved classic.
It Happened One Summer
By Tessa Bailey
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
This hilarious, fish-out-of-water, opposites-attract, grumpy-sunshine romance novel will have you swooning as it follows the antics of party girl Piper Bellinger and steady sea captain Captain Brendan Taggart. A contemporary, Schitt’s Creek readalike, romantic comedy.
It Happened One Wedding
By Julia James
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Investment banker Sidney Sinclair has ruled out men after the embarrassing end of her engagement. When her sister becomes engaged, she meets Special Agent Vaughn Roberts, the sexy best man at the wedding. Vaughn Roberts tries his charm on Sidney, but she shuts him down. In a game of hot pursuit, Sidney and Vaughn may be the perfect love match. Fun dialogue and sensual heat make this read well worth it.
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating
By Christina Lauren
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Foul-mouthed, eccentric Hazel scares off most guys, but not mellow college friend Josh. And they're definitely not dating no matter how many times they end up in bed together. I mean, they’re "dating"—just not each other. And setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there's nothing between them...right? A fun-filled, quirky rom-com.
The MacGregor Grooms
By Nora Roberts
Available: book, e-book
D.C., Duncan, and Ian—Daniel MacGregor’s stubbornly, single grandsons—are about to meet their perfect matches whether they want to or not. The women chosen by their matchmaking grandfather will tempt, tease, and torture them all the way to the altar. These three funny, sweet stories make up a very entertaining anthology.
One Day in December
By Josie Silver
Available as: book, e-book, e-audiobook
On a snowy, London evening right before Christmas, Laurie is on a bus on her way home when she locks eyes with a man standing at the bus stop. It feels like love at first sight but, before either of them can do anything about it, the bus pulls away. Laurie will spend the next year looking for her mystery man. When she finally finds him, it turns out he’s her best friend’s new boyfriend. Over the next 10 years, Laurie, Jack, and Sarah will navigate friendship, romance, sex, and what comes next. A perfect romance for the whole year.
The Perfect Play
By Jaci Burton
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Football pro Mitch Riley and Tara Lincoln, a single mom event planner, have a one-night stand that rocks both of their worlds but Tara has already played the game of love and all she got was heartbreak. Now Mitch needs to convince her to give him a chance at love. A football romance full of heart and heat.
Royally Screwed
By Emma Chase
Available: book, e-audiobook
Starting with Royally Screwed, we get the sexy and romantic hijinks of the Pembrooks, the royal family of the principality of Wessco a.k.a “Their Royal Hotnesses.” These heirs are wickedly charming, devastatingly handsome, unabashedly sexy, and arrogant—and they love a challenge. And honestly, what other plot points do you need?
Ten Tiny Breaths
By K.A Tucker
Available: e-book
Kasey Cleary is no stranger to picking up the broken pieces of her life. She did it four years ago when a tragic car accident killed her boyfriend. When her uncle slides into bed with her little sister, Kasey knows that to keep Livie safe they have to get as far away as possible. In survival mode in her new life, the last thing she needs is for her hunky, next-door neighbor, Trent, to make her feel things she is unprepared for. A heartwrenching and steamy romance.
The Wedding Date
By Jasmine Guillory
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Trapped in a stalled elevator, sparks fly between a sweet pediatrician and the sexy chief of staff to the Mayor of Berkley. In town for his ex’s wedding, Drew decides to take a chance and ask Alexa to be his plus-one, no strings attached. But when the night is over, neither one of them can stop thinking about the other. Readers are sure to swoon over this smart and sultry romance.
LGBTQ
Boyfriend Material
By Alexis Hall
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Hot mess son of 80s celebs, Luc once again finds himself on the front page of the London tabloids. He wouldn’t care except that this time his job is at stake. He needs to clean up his reputation and fast. Enter Oliver, a nice normal vegetarian barrister in need of a date to a big event. They have nothing in common but sometimes fake dating can feel like real dating. A snarky, sweet romance that will make you feel like a human heart-eye emoji.
How to Find a Princess
By Alyssa Cole
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Makeda Hicks has no interest in being anyone’s long-lost princess if her grandmother’s story of a past royal fling is to be believed. But, when Bez, the sleek and sexy investigator sent to find her crashes into her life, Makeda suddenly finds herself on a transatlantic adventure complete with a crew of weirdos, a fake marriage, and a ship’s cabin with just one bed. A charming and heartwarming addition to Cole’s Runaway Royals series.
Red, White & Royal Blue
By Casey McQuiston
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
While attending a royal wedding in London, Alex Claremont, son of the first female US President, causes a scuffle with his longtime nemesis, Prince Henry, the heir to the British throne. To fix the PR nightmare, they must fake a friendship for the tabloids but as they get to know each other that fake relationship begins to seem really real. This sexy, unexpectedly sweet, and thoughtful, royal rom-com is a must-read for all romance readers.
The Understatement of the Year
By Sarina Bowen
Available: book, e-book
Five years ago, college hockey player Michael betrayed the only person who really knew him and since then he’s made an art of hiding his sexual identity from everyone, including himself. So it’s a shock when that one person from his past walks into the locker room and becomes his teammate —his unabashedly, openly gay teammate. Now ghosts of the past, panic, and tortured longing haunt them both. If you like your steamy romance with A LOT of angst this one's for you!
Historicals
The Courtesan's Daughter
By Claudia Dain
Available: e-book
Lady Caroline has no intentions of marrying just anybody, but her prospects are severely limited thanks to her mother's past vocation as a courtesan. So, she’s dismayed to learn that her mother plans to get her a husband, specifically the Earl of Ashdon, by settling his gambling debts in exchange for marriage. The path to true love never did run smooth. A smart, witty romance that doesn’t disappoint.
Dreaming of You
By Lisa Kleypas
Available: book, e-book
Fate brings shy and secluded author Sara Fielding together with the most dangerous man in London, Derek Craven, the low-born owner of a notorious gambling club. Sara senses that beneath Derek's cynical exterior, he is capable of true, passionate love but he is determined to protect Sara from himself, no matter what it takes. As Derek and Sara navigate an attraction too powerful to deny, a peril surfaces from his dark past to threaten their happiness. Derek Craven is considered one of the great, modern romantic heroes of all time.
The Duchess
By Bertrice Small
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
A handsome, arrogant, and penniless Duke; a beautiful, independent, and intelligent heiress; a marriage of convenience story as old as time. A steamy, Georgian romance with dynamic characters and plenty of adventure.
An Extraordinary Union
By Alyssa Cole
Available: book , e-book, e-audiobook
Formerly enslaved Elle Burns goes undercover as a slave in a Southern household, hoping to use her eidetic memory to benefit the Union. There she joins forces with Malcolm McCall, a Pinkerton detective trying to infiltrate a Rebel enclave. They are a great team with undeniable chemistry, but with the fate of the Union on the line and the whole world against them, the price of their love might be too high. An unforgettable romance that's also on NYPL's 125 Books We Love list.
The Heiress Effect
By Courtney Milan
Available: book, e-book
Poor, poor Miss Jane Fairfield. Known derisively as the Feather Heiress, she can't do anything right—her dresses are just a bit too garish, her laugh a bit too loud. However, Jane purposely cultivates her nightmarish image to keep her sister safe—and she has no time or need for love. An absorbing, smart, swoony Victorian-era romance.
It Happened One Autumn
By Lisa Kleypas
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook, Spanish Language e-book
Fire meets ice when headstrong, American heiress Lilian, who’s been brought to England for an aristocratic match, meets the Earl of Westcliff, a man renowned for his reserved nature and business acumen. A delightful volume in Kleypas’s fan-favorite Wallflower series.
Lord of Wicked Intentions
By Lorraine Heath
Available: e-book , e-audiobook
Lord Rafe Easton is a loner who loves nor trusts anyone. Rafe sets his sights on Evelyn Chambers, an earl’s illegitimate daughter, and wants her to be his mistress. Evelyn must come to grips with the many secrets Rafe keeps and find love in spite of them. The emotionally satisfying, third book in The Lost Lords of Pembrook series can be read alone.
Loving a Lost Lord
By Mary Jo Putney
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Mariah Clarke, trying to escape the clutches of an unwanted suitor, convinces amnesiac Adam, Duke of Ashton, that he is her husband. The first book in the Lost Lords series is an irresistible strangers-to-lovers tale.
Never a Gentleman
By Eileen Dreyer
Available: e-book
Diccan Hillard is drugged and dumped in Grace Fairchild’s bed forcing them into a whirlwind marriage. Despite their building passion, Diccan is embroiled in misadventures that Grace knows nothing about. Will his lies destroy their relationship just as it's starting? This angsty marriage of convenience is the highly memorable, second book in Dreyer’s Drake’s Rakes series.
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake
By Sarah Maclean
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Plain Jane Lady Calpurnia is tired of following the rules that have left her a wallflower spinster. She vows to make up for all she’s been missing—she just needs a willing partner and teacher. Enter the devastatingly handsome and wicked Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston. If she's not careful, she'll break the most important rule of all—the one that says she shouldn’t fall in love. This forced proximity romance is not only memorable, escapist fun but Maclean’s debut (adult) novel.
The Spinster and the Rake
By Eva Devon
Available: book, e-book
Edward likes things a certain way and Georgina is content to live her life as a spinster. That all changes when they are forced into a whirlwind engagement. A smart and engaging story of opposites attracting and learning to love in spite of differences.
A Summer to Remember
By Mary Balogh
Available: e-book
Ever since Lauren Edgeworth was jilted at the altar—when her fiance's supposed dead wife showed up on their wedding day—she's been in need of some fun. Enter Kit Butler, London’s most notorious bachelor with a plan. Lauren will be Kit’s fiance for the summer and in exchange Kit will show Lauren some adventure. Balogh is a master storyteller who weaves a tantalizing tale full of wit and heart.
To Catch a Bride
By Anne Gracie
Available: e-book
Rafe Ramsey, son of the Earl of Axebridge, will do anything to get out of his arranged marriage and so he agrees to journey to Egypt and track down a mysterious young woman who’s been missing for six years. When he finally tracks her down, he realizes that there’s something in Ayisha’s past that makes it impossible for her to return to England, something far more serious than an unwanted betrothal. A gorgeous and tender romance where the hero falls first.
When a Scot Ties the Knot
By Tessa Dare
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
What happens when the fiancé who you invented—and killed off—shows up at the castle you decided to live at? A Scottish romance is a must for every romance fan! This is an amusing, well-done Regency romp that has many of our favorite tropes. It's book three in the Castles Ever After series.
Whitney, My Love
By Judith McNaught
Available: e-book
Whitney Stone arrives back in England hoping to gain the attention of her childhood love. Unfortunately, her father's mistake changes her plans. In order to save himself from ruin, he makes an arrangement with the haughty Duke of Claymore, and suddenly Whitney finds herself as his wife. Even as her new husband seduces her into a storm of desire, Whitney refuses to give up her dream of a perfect love. McNaught never fails to sweep readers off their feet with her emotional, passionate romances.
Would I Lie to the Duke
By Eva Leigh
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
In the second book in the well-loved Union of Rakes trilogy, farm girl, Jessica McGale poses as Lady Whitfield to secure funding for her family business. Through this subterfuge, she crosses paths with Noel, the Duke of Rotherby, whose influence could save her company. To her surprise, she and the notoriously carefree duke have more in common than she thinks. This delightfully steamy Regency is full of witty banter and intense chemistry.
Sci-Fi/ Fantasy and Thrillers
Belong to Me
By Shayla Black
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
FBI analyst Tara Jacob goes undercover at a Dallas BDSM club only to run into Navy Seal Logan Edgington, the man who left her heartbroken years before. But, Logan only broke her heart to protect her. Fate now has him as her guide with Tara as the submissive and Logan in the role of her dom. As Tara's dangerous mission escalates, Logan once again tries to win her heart. An emotionally searing read that ratchets up the heat to 11.
Dark Lover
By J.R. Ward
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Set in New York, meet Wrath, the only purebred vampire left on earth. During a fight between vampires and their slayers, Wrath’s most trusted fighter gets killed and leaves a half-breed daughter, Beth. A daughter who is unaware of her ancestry or her fate. Now it is Wrath’s duty to guide Beth into the world of the undead. Volume one in the darkly sensual and unputdownable, twenty-volume Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
A Hunger like No Other
By Kresley Cole
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae clan, has been tortured by a vampire horde for years. To his surprise, he finds out that his predestined mate is a vampire, a half-breed vampire at that. Emmaline, half vampire and half Valkyrie sets out to discover the truth of her parentage and is captured by Lachlain and taken to his Scottish castle. There, Lachlan begins a slow, wicked seduction that could bring both of them to their knees. Readers will become melted puddles with this sizzling, first entry in Cole’s famed Immortals After Dark series.
A Knight in Shining Armor
By Jude Deveraux
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
Abandoned by her lover after a quarrel, Dougless Montgomery is stranded in rural England, but with the sudden appearance of Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck—who died centuries ago—a passionate affair begins. A time travel romance in reverse that is witty, steamy, and unforgettable. Perfect for fans of Outlander.
Magic in the Wind
By Christine Feehan
Available: e-book, e-audiobook
Ever since arriving in Sea Haven, Damon Wilder has heard the name Sarah Drake and the whispered (with reverence) “She’s come home” by every local in the small coastal town. Even the wind seems to carry her name until finally, he finds himself at her door. Sarah, the oldest of the magical Drake sisters, has the ability to control weather and precognition. As Damon’s past comes for him, Sarah who is grappling with her own secrets may not be able to save them both. A homey and compelling first volume in the well-loved, witchy Drake Sisters series.
The Midnight Hour
By Brenda Jackson
Available: book, e-book, e-audiobook
CIA agent Drake Warren gave his heart to a woman—a fellow Marine whose death in an explosion had him vowing he would never love again and seeking revenge for her killer. Teamed up with a mysterious, new agent, Tori Green, for a dangerous mission, the tension and desire between them are undeniable. Tori has her own past to reconcile—can they put the pieces of their pasts away before it's too late? A taut, steamy thriller that’s sure to please.
Slave to Sensation
By Nalini Singh
Available: book, e-book , e-audiobook
When several Changeling women are murdered, Lucas Hunter, both human and animal, convinces Sascha Duncan, a member of the Psy, a race that is forbidden to feel emotions, to help him find the killer. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation. The first in the Psy-Changeling series, this is absolute perfection! This title is also on NYPL's 125 Books We Love list.
Tempting the Beast
By Lora Leigh
Available: e-book
Callan Lyons is a genetic experiment: part human, part animal. Merinus Tyler, a reporter who is trying to get his story, will tempt him until “the mating frenzy” takes over and locks them into a sexual heat they can’t escape. However, the evil Genetics Council is on their trail and will do anything to stop them. A scorching hot entry in the popular Breeds series.
The Vampire Queen’s Servant
By Joey W. Hill
Available: e-book
Centuries-old vampire Lady Elyssa Yamato Amaterasu Wentworth finds herself unexpectedly drawn to her new servant, Jacob, an alpha male with an extreme reluctance to submit to any woman's wishes. Warning: keep ice water and a fan handy—you're going to need it! First in a series.
Looking for more romance reading recommendations?
- 2021 Best Romance Books
- Love in a Hopeless Place: Modern Romance Writers' Book Picks
- 30 Historical Mystery Series to Get You Through Any Crisis
- Modern Love: 10 Contemporary Romance Novels
The 2021 NYPL Best Romance Committee: Anne Rouyer and Kate Fais (co-chairs), Annie Lin, Anthony Murisco, Avigail Sharon, Christel Ellis, Danielle Shur, Digna Motta, Emily Small, Emily Valentine, Grace Loiacano, Hannah Spratt, Roxanne Russell, Ruth Guerrier-Pierre, and Stephanie Anderson (advisor).