I’m still reading romance novels on my kindle, and when people ask me what I recommend, it’s always Paul Murray or Ted Chiang or “Oh, I’ve just reread Siri Hustvedt’s What I Loved.” I have got to stop being ashamed of reading them, though, because some of the most fun I’ve had this year has been reading romances.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of the top 4 romance novels I’ve read this year – it’s just the top 4 most recently read on the kindle that were actually good. Because I have also read some CLANGERS this year. Most of these are series starters, so if you decide to give them a go, be aware that there’s a risk of getting hooked.
I read Assistant To The Villain on holidays mid year, in a rainforest retreat at the top of a mountain, with some of the best panoramic views I’ve seen in ages. That’s not why I enjoyed the book so much, but talking about it makes me want to go back.
Evie Sage needs a job. She’s unfortunately allergic to men taking liberties, so her last one didn’t pan out.
When she runs into a bit of a situation with the realm’s most famous Villain, and he offers her a job, she’s not exactly in a place to say no. He’s grumpy, and, well, a Villain, but Evie is an exceptional assistant, and there’s actually a lot to like about working for The Villain.
I personally loved the workplace part of this fantasy workplace romance. It tickles me to consider villainy a business, that needs to be run like any other – there’s paperwork, and procedure, and if you mount a head on a pike, someone has to deal with that when it gets squishy, and there’s health and safety regulations involved. I’m in!
The only criticism I had of the book – and trust me, I already devoured book 2 and I’m waiting on book 3 so it’s not a deal breaker – is that there’s a late swing towards “is he actually a villain, or is he just being painted that way by a king hiding behind a veneer of benevolence?” territory. I don’t know. I just wondered, what if he actually was a villain, as advertised? How then to drive the story, and justify Evie’s loyalty and the romance? Just thought it might add some fun complexity and turmoil.
The Next Best Fling was recommended by Vulture or The Mary Sue as one of the best romances of the year. I honestly can’t remember why I picked it up, but hat-tip to whichever listicle recommended it, as it was a good call.
This is another librarian romance, with our protagonist Marcela secretly in love with her best friend lo these many years. When he gets engaged, she knows she needs to let it go. At the engagement party, she runs into the object of her (initial) affection(could it be more obvious that I have forgotten his name?)’s brother, Theo, who is in love with the fiance (name also lost to the mists of time). Ah, a convoluted classic!
Marcela rescues Theo from his impulse to confess, and when they arrive at a family breakfast together the next morning, everyone assumes they’ve hooked up – and another fake-to-real romance cherub gets his wings. The chemistry is great, the misdirected yearning is realistic (and later, realistically frustrating), and the Happily Ever After feels earned. Also, did I mention, librarian?
Enemies with Benefits is the first of the Loveless Brothers books. I read all of them in the space of a week, then moved to the spin offs. Am I easily pleased? Probably, but I liked these.
There are five Loveless brothers, and they each get a Happily Ever After over the course of the series. They are all really well drawn, and each distinct from the other. The family dynamic is fun to be a part of, and made me feel like I got my money’s worth on the series overall.
This first book is an enemies-turned-lovers story. Violet and Eli went to school together, and were nemeses over the course of their education. Ten years after graduation, Eli is back in town, and Violet never left. When Eli lands a job at the same function space, they realise their enmity has turned to chemistry – and enter into a strict friends-with-benefits agreement.
Matters progress as reliably as you’d expect, and while the novel hits all the expected beats, it does so with good humour, heat, and real heart.
Dear Grumpy Boss came to me as a freebie, and kicked off a series that improved as it progressed. This recommendation probably owes more to the later books in the series than it does to this first installment, so if you’re — I want to say “a bit picky,” but it would be more accurate to say “if you’re less totally indiscriminate than I,” you might want to skip to books two or three.
Elise is a copy writer who has just started working for the company owned by her brother’s best friend, Weston. She’s just moved back to town and plans to avoid him, but he’s got other ideas.
This is a steamy one, not gonna lie. The whole series is body positive, with a couple of fuller figured heroines that find their true loves despite – gasp! – not being sample sized. It’s all very well played, if, again, conforming to the rules of the genre pretty exactly.
Bananapants! I was never going to let the year end without a Penny Reid review, and this latest release, as usual, didn’t disappoint.
If you have not read any Penny Reid at all, please do yourself a favour and make a start. You can start anywhere in the Knitting in the City series – I started with Beauty & The Mustache, which is Book 4, but I highly recommend Neanderthal Seeks Human, the first in the series.
You can read Bananapants as a standalone, for sure, but it’s worth a mention that this is actually a second generation Knitting in the City spin off. Penny Reid deals in found families and neurodivergence, and she does it in a way that strikes a chord for me – I recognise myself and others of my close acquaintance in her characters, and appreciate the matter of fact, non judgemental takes she’s offering.
Ava and Des are our OTP in this one. Ava is a tax attorney, and Des is, well, a bit of a criminal mastermind, actually (not a spoiler, this is on the back of the book). The stakes are crazy, the contrivances contrived, and the unlikelihood of any of the set up actually happening in the real world? Not high, in my experience. But that’s all window dressing. The central romance is estranged-childhood-friends-reconnect, and it’s really well played out. There are challenges, but Reid avoids falling into the “if these two just had a CONVERSATION, this would be SORTED!” trap that can plague contemporary romances.
There are a few shout outs for the long time fans, but Bananapants stands on its own merits, and I couldn’t recommend it or Penny Reid more highly. Please read it, and tell my sister. She won’t listen.