Tension, swoon-worthy moments, and passion…all these form the template of a great romance read. While the real world can be romantically frustrating, it is never the wrong time to dive into the newest romance novel and let fictional men take over. The Bombay Circle Press has curated a list of recent romance books that we’ve been reading, and think you should explore.
The Shippers by Katherine Center
After a lifetime of losing at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on her first crush and kiss (who happens to be a newly-divorced guest), deciding to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper who left town without a word four years earlier; and who was, honestly, JoJo’s worst heartbreak. Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other, and at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.
Soon by You by Dahlia Adler
If Arielle Becker has to serve as a bridesmaid one more time, she’s going to scream. Between the expense, the Spanx, the bridezillas, and a certain judgmental wedding singer she can’t stop bumping into, she is burned out, and begins to hate romance and its celebrations. Besides, Ari is not the kind of girl a good Jewish boy is looking to marry.
Judah Klein, the tri-state area’s most in-demand Modern Orthodox wedding singer and eligible bachelor, is just about to give up on looking for his own Happily Ever After. Then, an infuriating bridesmaid steps on his foot, and before long, as trading heated barbs turns into trading hotter kisses…he realises that he’s finally ready to step into a romance. But it’s thanks to the one woman with no interest in settling down—especially not with someone who lives in the spotlight and has a reputation to uphold. But when neither seems able to move on from a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere, they’ll have to figure out whether there’s a possible future for two people given up on love.
Score by Kennedy Ryan
You never forget your first love. Isn’t that what they say? Verity Hill knows this truth intimately. She didn’t simply miss Wright “Monk” Bellamy when they parted ways in college. She’s haunted by his touch.
Time heals all wounds. Isn’t that what they say? Monk doesn’t believe that for a second. He wasn’t simply betrayed when he and Verity split, he was devastated.
More than a decade after their disastrous breakup, Verity and Monk must work together on the set of an epic Harlem Renaissance biopic. With Monk, now a world-class musician, creating the score, and Verity, an award-winning screenwriter, penning the script, there’s Oscar buzz before shooting even begins. This once-in-a-lifetime project could catapult them both to new heights, but can they put the past behind them for the sake of the film…or for something more?
Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick
Meet Phoebe Berman: despite being a hopeless romantic, she’s about to be a thirty-year-old virgin. With one month before her milestone birthday, she’s determined to finally lose it…if her own anxiety doesn’t slow her down.
Is it possible to find true love when going on a date makes you want to throw up? Determined to change this, she drafts up the ultimate “Guide to Losing My Virginity” checklist. Suddenly, she goes from a relatively non-existent dating life to juggling three romantic prospects. There’s the gorgeous new fourth grade teacher at her school, a former high school classmate that resurfaces through Words with Friends, and there will always be her roommate, who might just be the best friends-to-lovers situation of her dreams.
Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It is a brutally honest and completely relatable story for anyone who’s felt stuck between coming of age and coming apart.
These books help their readers indulge in romance, though fictional, and provide some hope, or rather, escape from the bleak reality. For more book recommendations, keep an eye on The Bombay Circle Press’ bulletin.