Today’s article is for all the book lovers out there. Specifically romance book lovers.
On my blog, I write about different ways to make your life more peaceful and fun and romance novels are a HUGE part of that for me.
I’m 1000% obsessed with them to be honest but that’s beside the point.
I’ve been reading romance my entire life and there’s never been a time when I felt stressed or sad and a good romance novel didn’t immediately make me feel better.
That’s why today, I want to share some of my fav romance books from the last few years.
Some of these books I’ve reread a few times. That’s how good they were! The others I’m currently reading but I had to include them because they’ve already touched me in meaningful ways even though I’m not yet done reading them.
Many of the characters from these stories also deal with anxiety and relatable issues such as moving from past mistakes and being kind to yourself. I thought it made perfect sense to mention them since these are topics I cover extensively on this blog.
Also, if you want an easy and affordable way to read all your books, I highly recommend you get a Kindle Unlimited membership. I read most of these books on my Amazon Kindle. Doing this was a lot easier and cheaper for me especially back in college. With the number of books that I read regularly, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy them all in paperback hehe.
So without further ado, curl up with a warm blanket, grab a cup of tea and let’s dive in!
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1. The Deal-Elle Kennedy
This is the book that made me fall in love with the world of Elle Kennedy!!
I’m so grateful for that evening when I randomly came across it and decided to give it a chance.
It was the beginning of a beautiful 7 year love story between me and her work lol. It was also the book that introduced me to the world of college romances.
In this story, Hannah Wells gets roped into making a deal (get it?!) with hockey super star and cocky ladies’ man Garrett Graham. She needs to help him fix his GPA so he can stay on the team and in exchange, he will help her make her crush jealous and FINALLY get his attention. Pretty simple right?
What’s not so simple are the intense feelings that develop between them out of nowhere and their arrangement a lot more interesting
I absolutely loved this book because I LOVE me a good friends to lovers romance. Even though they started out with their differences, Garrett and Hannah developed a wholesome friendship that grew into a beautiful romance. The way Garrett supported Hannah through a previous traumatic experience and helped her come out on top solidified their bond and cemented them as one of (if not THE) top romance couples of all time…at least for me.
2. Take a Hint, Dani Brown-Talia Hibbert
In this book, overachieving PhD student Danika Brown and brooding security guard Zafir Ansari get in a bit of a pickle. A misunderstanding after a viral post following a fire drill gone awry has the world believing that they are an item. In order to leverage his newfound fame to promote his sports charity for children, Zaf asks Dani to keep up the pretense and be his fake girlfriend. What makes this even better? Zaf’s VERY REAL crush on Dani!
This was my first Talia Hibbert book and I loved it. It was the first time I was introduced to a main character (Zaf) explicitly dealing with symptoms of anxiety and I immediately felt so seen. Seeing this sensitive, more humane side of Zaf compared to his tough exterior made his character so much more lovable.
The book also does a great job at highlighting diversity in its characters as it comes to sexual orientation, origin, class and even body types which is something I didn’t see much in the stories I read back then but was pleasantly surprised to find here.
Also! Did I mention that Danika and I share a name?? Her middle name is Alfreda!! AAAAH!
In case you couldn’t tell I was really excited about that! Lmao….onto the next
3. The Rivals- Vi Keeland
Sophia Sterling and Weston Lockwood have some history. After a steamy first encounter 10 years ago that ended on a sour note, they meet again as business rivals for their respective families. After a former business associate (and love interest) of their grandfathers’ dies and leaves each of them equal parts of the hotel they founded together, they each have to find a way to obtain majority ownership for their families while navigating the intense animosity (and chemistry) between them.
I’ve reread this book SOOO many times!
On the surface, it’s the typical boy reconnects with girl, they hate each other but deep down obviously they are very much into each other. Right from the start, I could relate to Sofia’s focused, slightly Type A persona. With Weston though it took me a minute. But this is why I love Vi Keeland so much. The backstories she gives her characters add so much depth to them in a way the reader can’t predict and you can’t help but love them in the end.
I’m not going to lie…Weston’s dirty talk also helped a lot LOL. But I’ll let you decide that for yourself ;).
4. Wildfire-Hannah Grace
College students Aurora and Russ reconnect as summer camp counselors after a one-night stand together that ended on a rather awkward note.
I am currently reading this one but it only took a couple chapters for me to fall in love with the main characters.
I related to each of them in various ways. For example, Russ’s social anxiety and confidence struggles when it comes to dating…that’s literally the story of my life! Also, I have been feeling a strong need for a reset in my life as a way to find myself again, just like Aurora.
5. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton-Julia Quinn
Bridgerton fans put your hands up!
I actually felt like reading after that awesome season 3!!! If you’re not caught up, do it ASAP!
Obviously, they are slightly different from each other, but the book (just like the show), explores how Penelope and Colin’s relationship blossoms from a friendship into a beautiful love story. The only potential obstacles to their happiness are the deep secrets between them that threaten their relationship.
I loved Pen even more after reading this book. Just like her, I’m a socially awkward person who often prefers the company of books to human beings. Also, as someone who has spent practically her whole life fumbling her way through the dating scene, I couldn’t have related to her more.
And let’s be real. Haven’t we all crushed on a friend from afar dreaming that they’d walk up to us one day and tell us they felt the same way???
If this is you and you’re into the series too, I highly recommend you give the book a try.
6. The Dixon Rule-Elle Kennedy
This is from her Campus Diaries series with the children of the characters of The Deal!! If you check out The Deal and want to read about Hannah and Garrett’s kid,Gigi, check out The Graham Effect!
But personally, The Dixon Rule is my favourite because it has my other fav trope: enemies to lovers. Kind of. More like frenemies to lovers.
From the start, there is A LOT of tension between Shane and Diana. She thinks he’s a useless cocky hockey player who’s not worth her time and he sees her as the bossy cheerleading captain he loves to annoy. When he moves into her apartment building and becomes her neighbour, not only does Diana have to manage living literally right next to her nemesis, but they also have to face the growing attraction (and feelings) between them that are becoming harder to ignore.
This book was a 10/10 for me. Touching and absolutely hilarious! The convos between Shane and Diana had me cracking up the whole time. I could also relate to Diana using her tough exterior as a way to not show weakness and vulnerability (often to her detriment) because that is something I have dealt with my whole life and that I am actively working to fix.
This story was a fun read but it also had some heavy, emotional everyday life issues so prepare your tissues!
7. Icebreakers-Hannah Grace
I just had to include this one. Her characters are just so relatable!!
When I first started reading her books, I couldn’t believe how relatable her characters were! It was literally as if someone put specific parts of my personality and life and put them in the book.
College student and competitive figure skater Anastasia Allen has her sights set on the Olympics but her plans are slightly thwarted when she is forced to share a rink with hockey captain Nate Hawkins and his team after a little hiccup leaves the hockey team with no rinkless. What could go wrong? Lots of things! But obviously sparks fly too!
If you’ve ever felt suffocated by the weight of everybody’s expectations and especially the pressure you put on yourself, then you’ll relate to Anastasia. I also really admired her character because of her drive, dedication to her sport and how she takes absolutely no crap from anyone. When it comes to Nate, at first, I thought he’d be a very chill, go with the flow, hockey player but he deals with his own anxiety as well. Nevertheless, he never lets that get in the way of being a good captain for his team OR supporting and loving Anastasia the way she deserves.
Are there any other books you would add to this list? Let me know below! I’m always open to new book recommendations!
