Feature image @katieneedsabiggerbookshelf

Sometimes, the right person, wrong time is a real situation. Maybe you were too young, or your family didn’t approve, but that doesn’t always mean that one love was the wrong person. We love second chance romances because it can give us hope that maybe, just maybe that one person is really our true love. As fate likes to say: if it’s meant to be it will be. Take a look at our favorite second chance romances that inspire us all to maybe take a second look at that one-night stand …

Don’t miss our favorite fake-partner romance reads! 

PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly

When Maddie’s 29-year-old brother dies before fulfilling his dream of visiting all the destinations on his bucket list, she is given the bittersweet task of completing his journey. But her brother, knowing that misery loves company, also requested that she be joined by his best friend, Dominic- the man who broke her heart. As they travel thousands of miles to scatter her brother’s ashes across eight places, they’re forced to face their complicated past along with their grief. Through their banter and bittersweet memories, this comically heartbreaking journey leaves Maddie wondering if her brother had one final plan: playing matchmaker from the grave.

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch

Ten years ago, college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up right before graduation. Now, on the eve of Y2K, they’re see each other for the first time since for the wedding of a mutual friend on their former snowy New England campus. The next morning they wake up in bed together, hungover, no memory of the night before—and they’re wearing wedding rings. With no idea how they got there, Frankie and Ezra must trace back their steps and piece together the forgotten night, while the reader discovers the reasons behind the relationship’s messy first ending. But what if they got it wrong the first time? This second-chance, dual-perspective, scavenger hunt romance is a laugh-out-loud story of first loves and second chances.

Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo

Two star-crossed lovers reunite at a wedding in the beautiful nation of Nigeria. Dunni’s and her high school sweetheart Obinna’s chemistry may not have changed, but almost everything else has since she left Nigeria to attend college in America 12 years prior. But now Dunni is a Seattle geneticist, and while she may be engaged (yet not in love), her parents approve and all the success she could ever want is on the horizon. But once she sees Obinna, who has turned from a shy teen to a confident successful man, she’s reminded of the wonderful future they’d planned so many years ago, and a passion is stoked within in her—until past secrets of them both are discovered, and more questions than ever before are brought to light.

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

This is totally not the kind of book I’d normally pick up or read, but it came highly recommended from a book-loving friend (thanks Antonia) and it scratched the exact itch I had. It’s a love story about two Black writers who had been in a relationship in high school and then reconnected as adults. The romance is good, but so is the rest of it (single motherhood, chronic illness, publishing drama). The story is well developed, complex and enjoyable. Oh—and the sex writing isn’t cringe-y at all. Thank goodness.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Poppy and Alex have nothing in common besides their decade-long tradition of joint summer beach vacations. However, two years ago they ruined everything and haven’t spoken since. Poppy knows that the last time she was truly happy was the last beach vacation and she decides to take Alex with her on vacation once more. With only a week to fix everything, Poppy doesn’t know if she can face the one big truth that stood quietly in the middle of their relationship.

The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale

Rita Chitniss lives the perfect life with her boyfriend and her furniture restoration career until her mother tries to set her back up with Milan Rao, her high school sweetheart that broke her heart. She agrees to help Milan flip a hard-to-sell house for his realty agency and signs the both of them up for a Desi matchmaking site to prove that she’s over him. When the site suggests that her perfect match is Milan instead of her current boyfriend, Rita attempts to busy herself with work to ignore the results, but how long can she ignore her past feelings when she and Milan are working in close proximity?

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

Bored with her work, Michelle took a chance on leaving her corporate job to trade it in for her own graphic design business. Even though the risk paid off with her career, her love life was lacking, much to the disappointment of her traditional Puerto Rican-Italian family. So when the only guy that’s ever given her butterflies comes to town for a business venture, and she finds herself working on the same campaign, they are forced to reunite. As all the feelings come back, and these two share a steamy reunion, Michelle starts to wonder if this romance is here to stay, or if Gabe will once again say adiós.

First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel

Between the stress of her residency, trying to find a job, and managing her traditional, no-boundaries family, Preeti Patel’s anxiety is through the roof. It also doesn’t help that her new roommate is her ex-boyfriend. If it weren’t for their families, Preeti and Daniel might still be together. Can Preeti and Daniel find a way to stand up and fight for each other one last time, before they lose their second chance?

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

Dating app creator Rhiannon Hunter is ghosted after a steamy night with former pro-athlete Samson Lima. When he returns months later, wanting a second chance, she finds out he’s now working for a competitor. Will Rhiannon be able to overlook their rocky past at the chance for a brighter future?

Here’s our best list of enemies-to-lovers romance reads>>

One Day in December by Josie Silver

One Day in December is a light and fluffy read bound to warm your heart without burying you in too much emotion this winter. Laurie spots a man waiting for the bus in London one Christmas season. Their eyes meet and a spark is lit. Laurie looks for him every day, but when she finally comes face to face with this mysterious man she connected with, he is standing with her best friend, Sarah. Does Laurie and Jack’s first meeting inspire something more, or does it only serve to break apart a friendship?

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

From the outside in, engaged couple Naomi and Nicholas appear to have the perfect relationship, but things aren’t always what they seem. As they both try to get the other to call it off in hopes of not being the one to pay back the deposit, they quickly learn that all is fair in love and war.

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

How would it feel to get hit by the car behind you and then find out that it’s driven by your ex-boyfriend? Addie and her sister just wanted to go on their epic road trip to Scotland to see their friends get married, but things get complicated when they learn Dylan, Addie’s ex, is also going. Seeing as Dylan’s car is now totaled, Addie and her sister feel obligated to offer them a ride to the wedding. These exes come with a lot of baggage, and with a four-hundred-mile drive ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship. Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?

The Devil Wears Black by L.J. Shen

From a perfect NYC apartment to a pediatrician boyfriend, everything seems to be going well for Maddie Goldbloom. That is, until her ex-boyfriend, Chase Black, comes back into her life with a crazy request. Even though Chase broke her heart, she accepts the role of playing his fiancée especially if she gets to see him squirm a little. What comes later is a series of events that leads Maddie to contemplate her life and the feelings she and Chase share.

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley

Kara Sullivan’s best friend is getting married next week and while Kara’s life is full of love, it happens to be fictional compared to the latter. As a romance novelist, her happily-ever-after comes in-between the pages of her books. With big wedding stress coming up and her looming book deadline, the last thing Kara wants to deal with is her first love, Ryan Thompson. However, his unexpected arrival inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. She know that she’s going to have to give her characters the happy ending they deserve, but will Kara be able to embrace her unlikely muse and maybe just write her own happy ending?

One Night Only by Catherine Walsh

One night stands are supposed to remain one night stands, you’re not supposed to see them again and you’re or sure not supposed to be at the same wedding as them in Ireland. Sarah Anderson was very excited to go to her best friends wedding, ecstatic really. However, when Declan Murphy makes an appearance as the best man, Sarah can’t help but be embarrassed by running into the last guy she saw naked half-way across the world. To make matter worse, it just seems like he wants to embarrass her every chance he gets. At least when the wedding’s over she’ll never have to see him again. But, back in New York, Sarah finds the more she tries to forget Declan, the more she can’t shake the thought of that infuriatingly charming smile and the way he wears a tux. Is he really a one-night stand or could he be something more?

Hands Down by Mariana Zapata

Bianca Brannen knew him as “Zac the snack pack”, the skinny kid with a heart of gold. He walked out of her life and never looked back. That is until she gets a call to watch him as the starting quarterback in the National Football Organization. Zac Travis had transformed himself into “Big Texas”. But walking out of Zac’s life should be just as easy as he walked out of hers, right?

Don’t miss these fun sports romance books>>

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

Minnie Cooper is convinced that Quinn Hamilton, a man she has never met, is the reason why all of her New Year’s birthdays get progressively worse each year. Her evidence behind this claim is that he was born minutes before her in the same hospital thirty years prior, receiving the cash prize, and also stole the name she was meant to have. When she finally bumps into him unplanned on their shared birthday, she can’t help to see that life favors him more since he is a successful businessman with a perfect girlfriend, while she is a struggling baker. The two find themselves bumping into each other more and find that they can’t help but be more attracted to each other every time.

Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

When they were eighteen, at a summer hockey camp, Jamie Canning and Ryan Wesley stopped being friends after Ryan managed to coax his straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, four years later, Jamie still can’t figure out why his roommate cut him off. With their college teams about to face off at the national championship, Jamie knows this is his time to get answers to his questions and to discover things about his old friend and even himself.

If you missed it, here are the best steamy romances of 2021>>