Romance novels are arguably the best way to escape reality.
This year, there are hundreds of contemporary romance novels being released and we have somehow rounded up the 10 we are most excited for. From your favourite #BookTok authors, to sequels in your beloved series’, we have something for everyone.
Obsessed with a certain trope? We have that sorted too!
Here are our top 10 contemporary romance book recommendations for 2023!
Final Offer by Lauren Asher
From TikTok sensation, Lauren Asher comes the final book in the Dreamland Billionaires series. Meet the new Dreamland Billionaire . . .
Tropes: single parent; found family.
Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
From Tessa Bailey—#1 New York Times bestselling author and TikTok favorite, comes a spicy small-town rom-com about a grumpy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn…
Tropes: curvy fmc, opposites attract.
Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lucy Score returns to Knockemout, Virginia, following fan-favourite Things We Never Got Over with Knox’s brother Nash’s story.
Tropes: opposites attract; forced proximity; found family.
The Love Wager by Lynn Painter
Will you take a chance on true love. . . ? A laugh-out-loud rom-com from TikTok favourite Lynn Painter, for fans of Ali Hazlewood.
After crawling out of a hotel room, Hallie decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. But when she logs into the dating app to look for new love, she finds none other than Jack- the guy whose hotel room she’d snuck out of. Jack and Hallie realise that they’re each other’s perfect wing-person – and join forces in their searches for The One. They even make a wager to see who can find true love first. But when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. Because as they pretend to be a couple, they struggle to remember why dating for real was a bad idea to begin with…
Tropes: friends to lovers; fake dating.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Dr Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalised, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants . . . ? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s ‘pain in my ass’ scale.
But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter. It’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her ‘sob closet’ and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses.
When Jacob turns out to be the perfect donor for her brother, Bri starts to realise that this quietly sexy new doctor might just be her perfect match, too.
Tropes: fake dating.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Emily Henry is the author of the butterfly-inducing romantic comedies Beach Read, You & Me on Vacation and Book Lovers, all of which were New York Times bestsellers, with Book Lovers being a Sunday Times bestseller. She studied creative writing at Hope College and now lives and writes in the American Midwest. Happy Place is her fourth novel.
The fourth swoon-worthy rom com from New York and Sunday Times bestselling TikTok sensation Emily Henry.
Tropes: second-chance romance; forced proximity.
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
A random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects, in this breathtaking new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After.
Tropes: second chance romance.
King of Pride by Ana Huang
She’s his opposite in every way . . . and the greatest temptation he’s ever known.
Sequel to King of Wrath, and the second book in the Kings of Sin series, this is a steamy billionaire romance.
Tropes: forbidden romance; opposites attract.
Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
From the author of TikTok sensations and global bestsellers The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom.
Tropes: fake dating; enemies-to-lovers.
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Steamy, flirty and utterly hilarious . . . the blistering new rom-com from Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of The Ex Talk and Weather Girl.
When Chandler Cohen accepts her next ghostwriting gig it should be a dream job- penning a memoir for cult actor Finnegan Walsh.
However, Chandler knows him best as something else- her worst-ever one-night stand . . . She’s determined to keep things professional. But when she finally admits that their night together wasn’t as mind-blowing as Finn thought, he’s determined to make amends.
So, they strike a deal. During the day, they’ll work on the book, and at night, she’ll school him in the art of satisfaction. As they grow closer, the line between business and pleasure blurs. Can Chandler and Finn have both, or will they have to choose?
Tropes: one-night-stand; forced proximity.
Looking for more recommendations? Check out our podcast, Tell Me What To Read!
Tell Me What To Read – Australia's Ultimate Guide to Books (May 15, Edition) – Tell Me What To Read
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- Tell Me What To Read – Australia's Weekly Guide to Books (March 6, Edition)
- Tell Me What To Read – Australia's Weekly Guide to Books (February 28, Edition)
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