The start of the new year is exciting for various reasons, but one of the best is planning your book club reads. Romance books offer so much insight into relatable characters and the complexities behind the idea of love. They are perfect to discuss with a group of friends over a hot cup of coffee or a nice glass of wine. Here are 17 thought-provoking romance books that will offer endless discussions at your next book club meeting!
Don’t miss the most anticipated book club picks of 2023!>>
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
Yasmen and Josiah went their separate ways when life threw blow after blow at them. They’ve slowly settled into their new reality and have a co-parenting routine figured out. But they keep being drawn, thrown, and shoved together and doubt about their decision to separate creeps in. One secret kiss leads to something illicit and passionate until Yasmen and Josiah are reminded of their past. Can they make it work this time? Or is their love bound to be destroyed again?
Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
Olivia Huang Christenson is taking over the family business, which is a matchmaking service based on the Chinese zodiac. Bennett O’Brien is developing a dating app that does something similar. Olivia and Bennett disagree on the importance of compatibility and the specific use of the zodiac in matchmaking. As their businesses go head to head, they make a bet to find each other a match, and who ever falls in love first loses. But what happens if they both fall in love—with each other?
Where We End and Begin by Jane Igharo
Dunni left Nigeria to attend college in America, and she made plans with her high school boyfriend, Obinna, to find their way back to each other soon. Twelve years later, Dunni hasn’t seen or spoken to him since the day she left. Everything is going according to her new plan until she returns to Nigeria for a friend’s wedding and runs into Obinna. He’s sophisticated, confident, and has made a name for himself. The connection between them is as strong as ever, and as days pass, they fall back into the way things used to be. But when secrets come to light and their reckless past reappears, Dunni wonders if this love is worth holding onto, despite the pain and turmoil it brings with it.
Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
Noelle and Sam both find themselves stranded on the road due to a blizzard. They spend eight perfect hours together until the roads are cleared and they head off in different directions. But fate has different plans as Noelle and Sam serendipitously bump into each other on various occasions during the next few months. They both start to wonder if this could be more than coincidence, and if should they start believing in fate, regardless of the circumstances in their individual lives.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Fifteen years ago, Eva and Shane spent one crazy week together madly in love. Now, Eva is a single mom, Shane is a reclusive mystery, and they’re both successful authors who unexpectedly meet again at a literary event. Sparks fly, raising the eyes of everyone around them. While they act as if they’ve never met each other, they can’t deny the chemistry. Not to mention the fact that they’ve been writing to and about each other in their books over these past fifteen years. They reconnect during the next week, and Eva has questions for Shane before he inevitably disappears—or will they get things right this time?
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Nora Stephens is a ruthless literary agent in New York City and definitely not the girl next door love interest in a typical romance story. When her sister Libby begs her for a sisters’ getaway trip to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, she reluctantly agrees. While Libby wants Nora to meet handsome locals and experience the magic of small towns, Nora keeps running into Charlie Lastra, a grumpy book editor from the city. The two have met many times—and it’s never gone well to say the least. But as they’re thrown together again and again, they discover more about themselves and each other than they would’ve expected.
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The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
Georgia Stanton gave up everything in her brutal divorce from a big-time movie producer. Now, she’s starting over back at her great-grandmother’s Colorado home. Scarlett Stanton was a legendary romance author, and she left one unfinished manuscript behind. Georgia wants to see it finished, but the publishing agency sends Noah Harrison, the most smug and arrogant author she’s ever met. Not to mention that his books don’t follow the traditional happily ever after that Scarlett was known for. But Noah is determined to finish the story of his writing idol, and he’s determined that he’s right for the job. Because this unfinished manuscript tells the real life story of Scarlett and and a World War II pilot, and the ending is definitely not a happy one.
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Yinka is a British Nigerian woman in her thirties with an Oxford education, a well-paying job, and good friends. Of course, her mother’s favorite question is “Yinka, where is your huzband?” Yinka’s Nigerian aunties pray for her singleness to end, her work friends think she’s too traditional, and her girlfriends say she has to get over her ex already. But Yinka is a romantic, and she believes that the right person will come along when the time is right. Still, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka sets off on a mission to find a date for the wedding. With a spreadsheet and her best friend, this should be easy, right? And maybe along the way she’ll find herself too.
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Hannah brooks is a bodyguard hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his stalker. Jack is a household name, but a few years ago during a family tragedy, he went off the grid and disappeared from the public eye. When his mom gets sick, he heads back home to help take care of her. But he tells Hannah he doesn’t want his family to know about the stalker thing or the bodyguard thing, so Hannah tags along as Jack’s pretend girlfriend. As they spend time faking it, things start to feel a lot less fake. Hannah is so used to protecting other people, but can she protect her own heart thats been bruised and battered before?
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Sophisticated city-girl Alexis Montgomery is an ER doctor who somehow still manages to be a disappointment to her parents since she isn’t a world-renowned surgeon. When she meets Daniel Grant, a hot, casual carpenter who is ten years younger than her, the chemistry and connection between them is undeniable. Alexis spends more time with Daniel in his small town and starts to realize what really matters to her. But if their relationship turns into something more, she would be turning her back on her family and giving up the chance to help so many people. And she can’t really bring Daniel into her world either. But she doesn’t want to give up this happiness. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis make this decision?
The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch
Frankie and Ezra broke up right before college graduation and haven’t spoken since. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they’re back at the college for mutual friends’ wedding. Frankie is a music manager for a hot band of the late 90s, and Ezra is ready to propose to his girlfriend. But the next day, they wake up in bed together and Frankie has Ezra’s grandmother’s ring on her wedding finger. With no recollection of the previous night’s events, they have to piece together what happened and how they got there. And throughout it all, they can’t help but wonder if they made the wrong decision all those years ago.
Here’s our favorite second-chance romance books>>
Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour
At sixteen-years-old, Sara Foster ran away from home, and the trusting girl she used to be disappeared forever. Now an in-demand bartender living in Los Angeles, Sara is known for her creative cocktails and the mystery that clouds around her. Emilie Dubois is living across the city searching for her purpose among her grandparents’ Creole community. Emilie impulsively takes a job at Yerba Buena, a glamorous restaurant. When Sara and Emilie first meet at Yerba Buena, their connection is undeniable. But both women have pasts that pull them apart time and time again. As Sara’s former life catches up to her and upturns everything, Emilie finally discovers her own purpose, and the two must determine if the love they hold for each other overpowers everything else.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
The love of Feyi Adekola’s life died in an accident five years ago. She wants to learn how to live again after the grief stole her passion for everything. She isn’t ready for any serious dating, but a steamy encounter at a party turns into a whirlwind summer she never could have imagined. But her new relationship is at risk when Feyi’s eye catches the one person that is definitely off limits—her boyfriend’s father. How far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Ten years ago, struggling writer Chani Horowitz was hired to write a profile on Gabe Parker: movie star, the next James Bond, and her celebrity crush. A simple interview turns into a whirlwind weekend and Chani gets closer to Gabe than she ever expected. Now, Chani is back in LA after a tough divorce and working as a successful writer. But no matter what, she’s always asked about The Profile piece. When Gabe’s PR team asks Chani for a reunion and a second interview, she’s fueled by curiosity to say yes. She needs to know if that weekend meant as much to Gabe as it did to her.
Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
Nareh Bedrossian’s mother wants nothing more than for her daughter to find a nice Armenian man and get married. She convinces Nar to attend Explore Armenia, a month-long series of events in San Fransico. Nar agrees but she doesn’t fall for any of the men her mother had pre-approved—she falls for Erebuni, a woman who is equally passionate about witchcraft as she is for preserving Armenian identity. But Nareh isn’t out as bisexual, the Explore Armenia closing banquet is approaching, and her entire extended family, as well as Erebuni, will be there. For once, she wants to be her unapologetic self in every way.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Peston
Florence is a ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry. But she just went through an awful breakup and she firmly believes that romance is dead. Her new editor won’t give her an extension, and then her father passes away, which brings Florence back to the hometown she left ten years ago. She has no plans to stay past the funeral until she sees a ghost at the funeral parlor door—her editor. His unfinished business has Florence questioning everything she ever thought she knew about love stories.
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Kenna has just finished serving five years in prison for a mistake that ended in tragedy. Now she’s back where it all went wrong hoping to reunite with her four-year old daughter. But despite how hard Kenna is working to show that she is bettering herself, everyone in her daughter’s life is shutting her out. The only person who gives her any time of day is Ledger, a local bar owner who has a slight connection to Kenna’s daughter. But as Kenna and Ledger grow closer, they realize that the mistakes of Kenna’s past are irreparably tied to Ledger too.
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