I won’t lie to you, I am a sucker for books with pastel covers and cartoon-drawn characters. They get me every time. These are 15 of those novels that span the wide genre of contemporary romance and rom-coms, from royalty to workplace romance to fake dating schemes. They are delicious, fun reads to make you laugh out loud and wish for your own enemy to fall in love with.
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Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Scandal + The Crown = This forbidden love story between Alex, the US President’s son, and Henry, the Prince of England. Now imagine you have to explain the plot of this story to your Beginner’s French class…in French…while studying in Switzerland. It was worth it though because this book is absolutely hilarious and gave me an amazing couple to cheer for.
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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Emily Henry is a master of the contemporary romance, evidenced in this novel about two friends, Alex and Poppy, experiencing the highs and lows of friendship and romance over a decade of summer vacations. I devoured this book in a day and loved every second of it.
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Beach Read by Emily Henry
See my raving about Emily Henry above. She does it again with this novel about Augustus and January, two authors who have been enemies since college that just happen to be spending the summer as next-door neighbors…and both experiencing a rut in their writing careers. Now sprinkle in some family drama and relationship trauma and you have your perfect summer beach read ;).
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Well Met (Book 2: Well Played, Book 3: Well Matched, Book 4: Well Traveled) by Jen DeLuca
Renaissance fair meets enemies to lovers rom-com in this first novel by Jen DeLuca. Emily is still reeling from her breakup when she moves in with her sister and niece to help them recover from a major car wreck. One of her tasks: act as her niece’s guardian volunteer at the local Renaissance Fair. While she’s just looking to have some fun, tensions rise with Simon, her niece’s English teacher who takes RenFair a little too seriously.
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The Cheat Sheet by Sara Adams
Nathan and Bree have been best friends since high school. They share everything with each other except for one major secret, they’re both secretly in love with the other. When a situation arises resulting in a fake dating scenario, Nathan is convinced this is his opportunity to move out of the friendzone.
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The Royal We (Book 2: The Heir Affair) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
This book is the embodiment of the American Dream: Falling in love with British royalty. Bex meets Prince Nick during her semester abroad at Oxford and thus begins a 10ish year long journey as a princess-to-be. This book made me laugh at times and cry at others and I may have thrown the book across the room once or twice in anger, but it is a solid story of two people who are meant to be together. It’s a bit longer than the rest on this list, and less rom-com-esque as well, but it will make you believe in a love worth fighting for.
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American Royals (Book 2: Majesty, Book 3: Rivals) by Katherine McGee
What if George Washington hadn’t been made president, but king instead? This novel reimagines modern America as a monarchy following four women in and around the royal family. Beatrice is heir to the throne, but with a forbidden love for a commoner; Samantha has spent her whole life in her sister’s shadow, so she makes a name for herself with mischief and law-breaking; Nina is Samantha’s best friend and holds a secret love for Sam’s twin brother, Jefferson; and Daphne is Jefferson’s ex-girlfriend looking for her way back into the royal family and princess-hood.
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The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
This is probably my favorite book on this list. The main character is a woman in STEM (girl power!) with the added fake dating and he fell first tropes. PhD student Olive is trying to convince her best friend to after the guy she wants, and to prove that Olive has moved on from him, she kisses a random man in the lab’s hallway in front of her friend. The man: Adam, a dark and broody and, of course, attractive young professor. Thus begins their fake dating scheme and eventual path to love.
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The Kiss Quotient (Book 2: The Bride Test, Book 3: The Heart Principle) by Helen Hoang
Stella is a brilliant econometrician, but her autism has led to troubles in romance and sex. In order to overcome these challenges, she enlists the help of Michael, a male escort, to teach her about intimacy and finally satisfy her parents plea for a marriage. This book is a wild ride, but it taught me a lot about the perspective of a person living with autism and their struggles in romance.
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The Worst Best Man (Book 2: The Wedding Crasher) by Mia Sosa
When Lina is offered a wonderful job opportunity, it comes with one catch: team up with the man she loathes, her ex-fiancé’s brother Max, and put together a presentation that proves she’s the best person for the job. Once they’re done at each other’s throats, Max and Lina discover they actually work quite well together, both in marketing and in life.
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The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
If you’re a connoisseur of fine rom-coms like myself, I would be genuinely surprised if you’ve never heard of this one. It is the quintessential enemies-to-lovers workplace romance. Lucy and Joshua hate each other. Her cute quirkiness and his compassionless rigidity are like oil and water. But there’s a thin line between love and hate.
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The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
Lina has been telling a lie: that she has a perfect American boyfriend an ocean away from her family in Spain. But as her sister’s wedding draws close, and the expectation that she bring this boyfriend with her, Lina is only left with one option: Aaron, her workplace nemesis. So, they hatch their fake-dating scheme in Europe and, of course, there’s only one bed. You know the rest.
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The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Olive has terrible luck. That is, until an unfortunate fiasco at her sister’s wedding gives her the opportunity to travel to Hawaii and enjoy her sister’s abandoned honeymoon. There’s only one catch: She has to travel with the groom’s brother, Ethan, whom she despises, and pretend they are newlyweds. This novel had me laughing out loud, but also learning from the themes of finding yourself and not settling for a life that leaves you unfulfilled.
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You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
This novel’s a little different from the rest. It’s an enemies-to-lovers, but the couple is already engaged. Naomi and Nicholas both want out of their engagement, but neither wants to be left on the hook for the nonrefundable wedding expenses. Thus begins a series of pranks and mischief that prove maybe neither of them were marrying who they thought they were.
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Birds of California by Katie Cotugno
This is my most recently finished book, and I devoured it quick. Fiona and Sam were teenage co-stars back in the day, but fell out of touch when Sam left the show and Fiona went off the rails. Now the producers want a reboot and Sam is tasked with bringing Fiona onboard if he wants to make it a reality. This novel is sexy, with hilarious banter, and a powerful message about how we perceive celebrities. Make sure to check content warnings before reading.
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