Contemporary Romance

Dream Girl Drama

Tessa Bailey’s ultra-steamy rom-coms don’t shy away from kink or complicated relationship dynamics, but Dream Girl Drama is a first for her: a love story between two step-siblings. And since Sig Gauthie and Chloe Clifford are 1) full-blown adults and 2) very aware of the other’s feelings before they even learn their parents are dating, it sure sounds like Bailey is going to offer readers all of the taboo fun with none of the guilt.

Swept Away

By Beth O'Leary

The author of The Flatshare, The Road Trip and other acclaimed romances returns with a more adventurous, dramatic spin on her character-driven love stories. Swept Away will follow Zeke and Lexi, who hook up on a houseboat, fall asleep and, as you would expect from the title, get literally swept away out to open sea.

Say You’ll Remember Me

By Abby Jimenez

Quick sidebar: Is Say You’ll Remember Me one of the best Taylor Swift lyric-turned-book titles yet? Emma R. Alban’s Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend might still be the champion, but Say You’ll Remember Me is definitely a top-tier TSwift reference. (“Wildest Dreams” is the best song on 1989: Fight me.) Anyhoo, Abby Jimenez’s latest rom-com follows Xavier and Samantha, two people who have an incredible first date, but decide nevertheless to go their separate ways since Samantha’s family is in crisis. But of course, it proves highly difficult to forget each other.

The Love Haters

By Katherine Center

Fake-dating, Key West-style: Katherine Center’s latest rom-com sounds like a totally perfect treat for the summer, following Janie Vaugh, a news producer who pretends to date her coworker in order to profile his brother, Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson. Of course, soon Janie and Hutch discover they have feelings for each other, and poor Hutch is consumed with guilt over wanting to date the woman he thinks is his brother’s girlfriend.

Flirting Lessons

By Jasmine Guillory

One of the authors whose mainstream success heralded the current romance boom, Jasmine Guillory will return this spring with a sequel to Drunk on Love and her first sapphic romance. Avery Jensen is approaching 30 and newly single, but thanks to her relative lack of relationship experience, she feels awkward and insecure at the prospect of entering the Napa Valley dating pool. But luckily for her, the valley’s flirtiest woman-about-town, Taylor Cameron, just made a bet with a friend that she wouldn’t sleep with anyone for two months. Taylor needs to burn off some energy and Avery needs lessons, so voila! Taylor will tutor Avery in flirting. (We all know exactly where this is going.)

Dream On, Ramona Riley

By Ashley Herring Blake

The author of the beloved, critically acclaimed Bright Falls romances will return (and possibly start a whole new series?) with Dream On, Ramona Riley, a small-town love story set in New Hampshire. Aspiring costume designer Ramona is thrilled when a Hollywood production starts filming in town, but her dream of somehow getting her foot in the door hits a snag when she learns that the film’s star is Dylan Monroe—who just so happens to be Ramona’s first kiss.

Can’t Get Enough

By Kennedy Ryan

Kennedy Ryan is one of the genre’s finest purveyors of “book boyfriends,” and it sounds like she has another swoony hero awaiting readers in Can’t Get Enough, her third Skyland romance. Tech mogul Maverick Bell is charming, giving and kind—the type of man capable of making businesswoman Hendrix Barry interested in an actual relationship after a lifetime of disappointment.

Back After This

By Linda Holmes

To know Linda Holmes—whether through her work at NPR as a correspondent and host of the “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast or as the author of warm-hearted, chatty novels Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo—is to love Linda Holmes. Her third novel, Back After This, is a delightful combination of her two fields: a romance novel following podcast producer Cecily Foster, who reluctantly becomes the star of a blind dating podcast. To make matters even worse, she just met a really nice guy . . .

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot

By Alexis Hall

Alexis Hall’s Winner Bakes All series takes place on a fictional version of The Great British Bake Off, and fans have come to love the judges, hosts and especially the show’s terrifying producer Jennifer Hallet, without whom things would absolutely descend into chaos. Based on the book’s adorable cover, it looks like Jennifer will be getting an opposites-attract romance with the titular Audrey, and Hall’s legions of fans can’t wait to meet her.

Totally and Completely Fine

By Elissa Sussman

The author of the BookTok-viral celebrity romance Funny You Should Ask will return to the world of that novel with Totally and Completely Fine. Widow Lauren Parker is the sister of Funny You Should Ask’s movie star Gabe, and when she meets actor Ben Walsh on the set of Gabe’s latest movie, she feels ready to love again for the first time since her husband’s death. But of course, his fame and her life as a small-town single mother are sure to complicate matters.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

By Sangu Mandanna

Sangu Mandanna’s darling debut, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, was one of those books that slowly but surely became omnipresent, recommended for lovers of rom-coms and paranormal romances alike. Her eagerly awaited follow-up stars an innkeeper who was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain on a quest to reclaim her magic with the help of a very hot and very grumpy historian. We can’t wait to check in (sorry).

Great Big Beautiful Life

By Emily Henry

After the joyfully messy, sexy joys of Funny Story, Emily Henry is returning to the meta, “books about book people” vibe of Book Lovers and Beach Read, featuring a grumpy/sunshine pairing. Great Big Beautiful Life will follow aspiring novelist Alice Scott (our sunshine) and acclaimed author Hayden Anderson (our grump) as they compete for the chance to write the life story of infamous heiress Margaret Ives.