The Best Romance Novels to Read Right Now

For those who binged the first two seasons of Bridgerton on Netflix and are looking for more, pick up the books by Julia Quinn. The first follows Daphne Bridgerton, whose straightforward personality has deemed her unsuitable for the aristocracy's love games. Enter Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings who proposes a fake courtship to get the eager mothers foisting their daughters on him off of his back. It's the perfect plan... until true love gets involved.

Did you know that Stacey Abrams moonlights as a romance writer? Spoiler alert: she's also a great author. In Reckless, successful Atlanta lawyer Kell Jameson is dragged back to her troubled past when the head of her childhood orphanage is accused of murder. But when Jameson meets Sheriff Luke Calder and sparks start flying, things get even more complicated.

Spy Annique Villiers has outwitted men all across Europe. She's pretended to be a gypsy, a courtesan, an aristocrat. But when she meets her match in British spymaster Robert Grey who is tasked with capturing her and her secrets, Villiers has to figure out how to save her country—and her heart.

When Quan Diep suddenly becomes CEO of a successful business, women who previously ignored him are suddenly hot on his heels. Meanwhile, when Anna Sun catches Diep going after her engaged younger sister Camilla, she concocts her own plot in an attempt to win his heart and preserve Camilla's relationship.

This romance was on everyone's list for 2019, but it still holds up today. Based on the premise, "What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?" everything that follows is a total delight.

Read More: Modern Royal Romance Novels Show a Darker Side of the Fairytale

Think of this as a telenovela in book form. You Had Me at Hola follows soap opera star Jasmine Lin Rodriguez as she recovers from a messy front-page break-up and swears off men. Of course, Ashton Suárez is cast as the lead in a bilingual romantic comedy and nothing goes to plan.

Legions of fans agree: Outlander is seriously addictive. Claire Randall is happily married in 1945, when she accidentally touches an ancient stone that transports her to the Scottish highlands in 1743. To save her life she must marry Scots warrior James Fraser, and she struggles to reconcile her two lives, and two loves.

What if Meghan Markle wasn't an actress, but a famous rapper? Travey Livesay's American Royalty re-imagines the love story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with Prince Jameson and American rapper Danielle "Duchess" Nelson. As Livesay told Town & Country, she wrote it with the intention of encouraging readers "to think about what it may have been like to be a Black woman in this institution." But it's also a fun, sexy romance.

Akwaeke Emezi is a prolific author, and her venture into romance novels does not disappoint. Five years after an accident killed the love of Feyi Adekola's life, she's ready to date again. When she meets the guy of her dreams, it's thrown into question when she meets (wait for it) his father. How far is Feyi willing to go for her second change at love?

Is there anything more thrilling than teenage love? Relive it all with Eleanor and Park, two high school students in 1986.

If you're not already on the Fourth Wing train, buckle up. This fiery fantasy — deemed "romantasy" by legions of fans — has attracted millions of readers dissecting every glance and touch by the enemies-to-lovers pairing lighting up these pages. An enthralling plot will keep you on the edge of your seat too.

In their last summer at a beloved Maine cottage retreat, exes Harriet and Wyn have a secret they haven't shared with their (once) tight-knit friend group: they've actually broken up, and haven't spoken since. Fake-dating, the author's signature banter, and a refreshing summer setting of crisp white wine and oysters? Yes please.
Better yet, Happy Place is as much a love letter to friendships over time as it is to our two swoon-worthy main characters.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman are work rivals at a publishing company. They battle it out over passive aggressive moves and constant scheming. As their animosity comes to a head over a promotion, suddenly they discover they might not hate each other after all. Or, is it another plot to get ahead?

Isabel Allende's writing is pure magic and this novel sweeps you through the Spanish Civil War with Roser, a young widow, and Victor Dalmau, an army doctor, on a ship bound to Chile chartered by Pablo Neruda with 2,000 other refugees.

Naledi Smith is an overworked graduate student, and keeps deleting emails that declares she's betrothed to an African prince. Turns out: the emails are not a scam, and Prince Thabiso, heir to the fictional Thesolo, is truly searching for her. When Naledi meets Thabiso, he doesn't reveal who he truly is, but will Naledi still trust him when she finds out the truth?

A romance for the Instagram era! When jewelry shop owner Eliza Roth accidentally posts a photo of herself wearing a diamond ring on that finger, she stumbles on social media success. To keep it going she must find a fake fiance. But just as she lands on the perfect ruse, real love threatens to get in the way.

When a shy bookworm strikes up a penpal relationship with one of her favorite authors, she's frankly a little offended when he stops replying. Months later and feeling stuck, Lily eventually puts herself back together to branch out for a date to her sister's upcoming wedding. But when she asks her neighbor from down the hall to set her up with someone, she doesn't realize Nick is an author himself—the same one who wrote to her all those weeks ago. As he realizes Lily's the girl he fell in love with over email months ago, getting her another date sounds less and less like a good idea.

Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's royal romance is inspired by none other than Kate Middleton and Prince William. When American Bex Porter attends Oxford, she has no idea she'll find herself falling for the heir to the British throne.

Author Camille Perri has been compared to Nora Ephron and for good reason. When Katie Daniels is dumped by her fiance and finds herself spending time with Cassidy Price in a lesbian dive bar, everything she thinks about her life—and love—is upended.

We're weak for an excellent Austen retelling, and this remixed Persuasion retelling checks all the boxes. In this effervescent read, Nada Syed is an engineer with big start-up dreams—still living at home after a failed app launch and a startling betrayal. When her best friend forces her to a Muslim conference to meet her fiancé (and his good-looking brother Baz), her friend doesn't realize that she and Baz have a complicated history...