What’s the best contemporary romance you’ve read lately?
I’ve read, according to my Goodreads profile, 47 books this year. Six of them have been contemporary romances and while I’ve enjoyed a few of them, none of them wowed. Two, I could barely get through. It’s possible I’m too old and cranky for modern romance, but, heavens, I hope not.
I used to love contemporary romance so, hit me up. What are the best contemporary romances you’ve read recently?
This might be totally out of the box for some of you, but I absolutely adore Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow trilogy, and the last book, Any Way the Wind Blows, came out recently. It is a YA contemporary fantasy, a swoony m/m romance, a hilarious homage to the Harry Potter series, and the upturning of so many tropes, I can’t count them all. The romance is an extreme slow burn, but it is all paying off in the final book. There is a large, delightful cast of characters, and the plots are little crazy, but they are meant to be, and it’s all in good fun. The audio for all 3 books is read by the amazing Euan Morton (currently playing King George in Hamilton on Broadway,) and they all won Audiophile Earphones awards. I am not quite done listening to the last book, but I’m feeling good about it, and I think Simon and Baz will get their HEA.
For me personally my contemporary romance reading cliff dived when the authors started writing in first person. Sometimes I’ll be interested in a plot but the first person POV just makes it harder for me to switch off and enjoy the story. Harlequin romances seem to be the most reliable space for me to find good contemporaries, and I do find the occasional gem but nothing remarkable comes to mind for the past 6 months.
First person is so in vogue. When it’s well done, it’s fine but it really limits storytelling in the hands of many.
I’ve rarely enjoyed first person POV. It can be well done, but in so many contemporary romances it makes the books feel shallow.
I’m very unhappy with the many first person POV books. I’ve read very few that I could enjoy. I really hope this fashion will soon abate.
This sounds like a good topic for the next ask@AAR!
First- or third-person doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is when the two MCs (whether in first- or third-person) have essentially the same POV and narrate different chapters but basically say the same thing or proceed from the same fund of knowledge. Sometimes that sort of back-and-forth is just like watching an extremely long volley in tennis. I like it when the characters know different things about the situation they’re in, which I think makes more sense in first-person narration. I thought Winter Henshaw did a great job of this in her THE BEST MAN: the hero knows some things about the circumstances of a car accident in which he was badly injured, the heroine knows other things about that accident. Through the course of the book, the two grow closer and the reader has to pay attention to who knows what.
I read mostly m/m when it comes to contemporary romances.
The spring I read the entire Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara and I loved them. Perhaps they don’t quite fit if you’re looking for contemporary romances without any fantasy elements. All solid B’s and A’s for the series.
Roommate by Sarina Bowen 4.5 (A-)
I loved Glitterland by Alexis Hall on audio. Also Pansies. (both A or A-)
The Thomas Elkins trilogy (novellas) by N.K. Walker got 5 stars from me. Great narration.
I thought Barrel Proof, book three in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series by Layla Reyne was fantastic. A near perfect blend of relationship drama and suspense. The series needs to be read in order.
Infamous by Jenny Holiday was a 4.5 (A-) star book for me. Really good.
I gave Beautifully Unexpected by Lily Morton 4.5 stars, too.
Unfortunately, none of the m/f contemporary books I’ve read this year have warranted more than a B/B-. I find I’m not a fan of most of the popular m/f writers.
I don’t read a ton of straight contemporary romance (if I get on a roll it’s normally romantic suspense, or sci-if romance or some genre) but one I really loved was Penny Reid’s “Marriage and Murder”.
Cletus and Jenn are still fantastic and I enjoyed it so much more than “Engagement and Espionage”. I finally finished up the Winston brother series around the same time so I am sure that enhanced my enjoyment as well.
I also enjoyed Marriage and Murder but liked Penny Reid’s latest release Totally Folked just a little bit more. Jackson from Totally Folked was a really yummy hero.
Just got my copy, can’t wait to start it!
These are the contemporaries I’ve read so far this year (though they weren’t all published this year) that had enough humor for me to recommend:
Fall – Callihan, Kristen
The Hot Shot – Callihan, Kristen
Ruff and Tumble – Gilmore, Lucy
I Pucking Love You – Grant, Pippa
The Hot Mess and the Heartthrob – Grant, Pippa
Nerdy – Heller, J. B.
Everly Dalton’s Dating Disasters – Kingsley, Claire
Hot Pickle – Knight, J. J.
Spicy Pickle – Knight, J. J.
The Unhoneymooners – Lauren, Christina
Hot Stuff – Monroe, Max
Oops, I’ve Fallen – Monroe, Max
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not – Morland, Iris
Oopsie Daisy – Morland, Iris
Gimme S’more – Nicholas, Erin
Oh, Fudge – Nicholas, Erin
Semi-Sweet on You – Nicholas, Erin
Sugar Rush – Nicholas, Erin
Sugarcoated – Nicholas, Erin
The Worst Best Man – Score, Lucy
Whiskey Chaser – Score, Lucy & Kingsley, Claire
Claire Kingsley is one of my favorite “discoveries” this year—I read all of her Miles Family and Bailey Brothers books back-to-back and loved them! I usually don’t care for too much humor in my romances, but I found the humor in Kingsley books was leavened by some more serious themes and plot points. My favorites were PROTECTING YOU and FIGHTING FOR US, a duet in the Bailey Brothers series about a couple whose future seemed happy and assured until the hero goes to prison for accidentally killing the man who was assaulting the heroine; the second book focuses on the adjustments the couple have to make when the hero is released from prison.
I am happy to see some love for Claire Kingsley! I discovered her last year and have read a lot of her backlist. I started with Book Boyfriend, whose hero is a M/F romance novelist! My favorite of that trilogy was Cocky Roommate. My favorites of the Bailey Brothers series are the same as yours and for the Miles family series I liked Hidden Miles the best. For her Dirty Martini Running Club rom-com series, I liked the first one Faking Ms. Right the best. She is a consistently good author. I was very sorry to hear that her husband passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. It was good to see the support she got from her romance author friends.
Oh no—I had not heard about her husband. What a tragic thing to happen. I’m so sorry to hear about that.
I actually found Claire Kingley and Lucy Score last year through a multi-author series (Bluewater Billionaires, 4 female billionaire heroines) they did with Pippa Grant and one other author. I’m still slowly working through their backlists, since they have to compete with so many other books already tbr.
I also discovered Claire Kingsley recently and have been reading her blacklist, and have enjoyed both the Miles Family and Bailey Brothers books.
Other contemporaries I have liked this year are PAUSED by Kylie Scott (she is on my auto buy list) and EXPOSED by Kristen Callihan
Isn’t “The Worst Best Man” by Mia Sosa, or is there another book with the same title (you can’t copyright titles, so it’s possible)?
Same title, different books. It happens quite a bit in Romancelandia!
My favorite contemporaries I’ve read recently are Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle, The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary, Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella, and Fake by Kylie Scott.
Twice Shy took a little bit before I was hooked in but I enjoyed the story and humor, especially once the characters were both at the Falling Stars mansion.
The Road Trip was fun because it was the adventures of 5 twenty-somethings squished into a little car on a trip to a wedding. It had some sad moments at the end and was sometimes hard to follow when the view point flipped from present to past between the H and h, but I liked the humor.
My favorite part of Love Your Life was the first part when the h goes to a writers retreat in Italy. I like Kinsella’s humor and the message of the story.
Fake is about a waitress that gets to be the fake girlfriend of a gorgeous movie star. It has some witty dialogue and fun times when Norah gets to dress up for glamour events and travel to Malibu.
I haven’t seen a lot of reviews at AAR for Kylie Scott and she’s a writer whose books I consistently enjoy. I liked both of her releases this year (Fake and Pause) but not as much as some of her other recent books such as Lies or Repeat. She also wrote a really great YA novel called Trust whose main couple are survivors of a hostage situation during a mini-mart robbery.
Many of my favorite contemporary M/F romances so far this year are parts of series:
Exposed by Kristin Callihan – 4th in her series about members of a famous rock band; glamorous settings; been waiting for this hero and heroine’s story throughout the previous books
Ever After Always by Chloe Liese – 3rd in her Bergman Brothers series; really outstanding and thoughtful look at a marriage in trouble (no cheating) and what it takes to come back together
Totally Folked by Penny Reid – small town setting; start of a new series but with recurring characters from her Winston Brothers series so I feel it is not truly a standalone
There were a few M/F standalones that stood out for me:
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon – I agree with Em’s recommendation on this one. I have enjoyed YA books by this author and this one has an interesting setting of a public radio station
Meet You In The Middle by Devon Daniels – features a couple who belong to opposite political parties
Most of the contemporary that I have read this year is M/M and some of my favorites so far are:
Beautifully Unexpected by Lily Morton – not my favorite of hers but still high quality
The Dating Experiment by Briar Prescott – nothing about this felt really new but it was so charming done with humor and emotion. I really like this author.
The Jock by Tal Bauer – NA sports romance; the first fifth of the book takes place in Paris and is utterly romantic
I haven’t read Forbidden by Karla Sorenson but plan to do so and I agree with DiscoDollyDeb that the previous books in the Ward sisters series were all very good. I also plan to get to Charles: Learning to Love by Con Riley – I just started the His series and want to read His Haven first. I am hugely looking forward to Rachel Reid’s Role Model.
I just downloaded Briar Prescott’s The Dating Experiment on your recommendation and can’t wait to dig in. The sample is SO good!
Oh, I hope you like it! It is actually the 2nd in a series with the 1st being The Happy List. The heroes of The Happy List make appearances in The Dating Experiment but you don’t need to read The Happy List first. I liked The Happy List but the Dating Experiment was better. If you like The Dating Experiment, I recommend reading her first book Project Hero – it has much the same tone and is also both sweet and funny.
I’m adding Project Hero to my TBR right now. Thanks!!
I’m adding Project Hero to my TBR right now. Thank you!!
Thank you for all the recommendations! Just finished Meet You in the Middle by Devon Daniels and have The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon on my nightstand.
I hope you like them!
I’m generally not a big fan of CR on the grounds that stories of modern life often feel too topical to be entertaining. I read fiction to get away from modern life, not to wallow in it!
Having said that, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the two Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense titles I picked up at my local public library in the last week: Undercover Jeopardy by Kathleen Tailer and Tactical Rescue by Maggie K. Black. They both remind me of 1970s made-for-TV movies in the best possible way: good pacing, lots of action, and interesting premises. Are they “great” romances or suspenses? Eh, it depends on what you’re looking for. What they are more than anything is good, clean fun.
Not too long ago, the idea of contemporary romantic suspense sans sex and swearing plus “a Christian worldview” would have made me roll my eyes. But I’ve discovered there can actually be an advantage to leaving out the naughty bits that might otherwise drag down a thriller’s pacing or force the characters to engage in what Wendy the librarian calls “danger banging.” Plus, I have to say that the plot descriptions and character professions tend to vary a bit more than the ones in the Romantic Suspense Line. Right now, I have a hold on Christmas Captive by Liz Johnson, which involves the hero and heroine navigating a hostage situation on a cruise ship during what was supposed to be a wedding. Intriguing…
This isn’t a contemporary but a sci-fi romance, however based on your liking Heat by R. Lee Smith I would recommend Homebound by Lydia Hope. I’m hoping to write a review of it soon.
Huh. It’s only 2.99 on Amazon. I think I’ll bite!
Hope you like it!
I really liked Homebound! I still go back and re-read my favorite parts.
I love the last scene in the book and am so excited that she plans to do Cricket’s story sometime in the future.
I have bought it and, when I finish the Rockton books, it’s next up!
I loved Heat. I can’t wait to try your recommendation of Homebound.
This is similar in tone and violence but there is less sex. The whole thing reminded me of a Smith book, though, with its setting in a dystopian world and a hero/heroine tackling serious issues. I know AAR has a review of it coming soon which would give you more details.
Yay!!! I just recommended this recently on here, so I’m glad to see other people enjoying it. Homebound is such an interesting book! :)
Did you find it based on Ruby Dixon’s recommendation when it first came out too? I don’t think I ever would have discovered it otherwise.
No, I don’t think so? Where did she recommend it?? I remember stumbling across it — I tend to download the samples of a lot of sci fi romances and only get them through KU or buy them if I’m intrigued enough to continue reading, which was the case for Homebound. Quality for independently published romance is so all over the place and I’ve found covers aren’t really an indication of what I’ll enjoy, so that’s been the best way I’ve found of discovering stuff I like.
She puts up quite a few recommendations up on Facebook. A lot of them are written by her friends and are titled things like “The Alien’s Sassy Nanny” or stuff that I am not really interested in.
For Homebound she had posted how impressed she was and was eagerly waiting for the author to write more. I got it from KU and was immediately sucked into the world building and the story. I blew through it in one sitting. I’m glad to see it’s getting some traction and coverage as I think it’s very imaginative and out of the ordinary.
I did just finish Steph’s Outcast last night though, and you were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT — it’s so, so good!! Five out of five stars for me.
I know right!? Ruby has such a deft way of handling dialogue and topics other authors really can stumble over. I loved Steph’s personality and her ownership of exactly who she was, including her analysis of her own personality traits. I love a thoughtful, mature (if not in years) heroine.
Confession: I really struggled with Bridget and A’tam and their selfishness. Steph and Juth both just seemed like such good people it was easy to like them.
It took me this long to realize what book this is. I read “Homebound’ when it first came out due to a recommendation by Ruby Dixon.
It definitely isn’t a “warm and fuzzy” romance like many of the IPB books are but it was original and gripping. I’m really interested to read your review of it because it definitely doesn’t have the typical alien romance hero and it’s very, very gritty.
Looking forward to it!
Caroline will be reviewing it, although I’ve read and loved it. I totally agree regarding the hero – he turned this book into a thinker. He reminded me of Azrael from R Lee Smith’s Land of the Beautiful Dead. The heroic aspect of his persona is very blurred. Or some of the biker gang heroes. And I agree – it’s very, very gritty.
Interesting recommendation and look forward to the review. Others here are clearly enjoying it. The world-building and “amoral” characters give one lots to think about but the quality of the writing in this IPB got in the way for me.
Love this query. It’s been a tough contemporary year for me, too.
Just peeking at my shelved Best 2021, and it’s slim pickings in the CR department if I exclude M/M. I’ve shelved Love at First by Kate Clayborn, Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto, and the audio version of The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary (think I would have shelved the novel, too), and The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon. Have you read all of these?
I also (obv) love everything Gregory Ashe writes & all of his 2021 novels make an appearance, and so does the newest book coming from Rachel Reid, Role Model – but all of these are m/m.
The upcoming Rachel Reid is titled ROLE MODEL. Then in 2022 comes LONG GAME, where Shane & Ilya get their HEA. Can’t wait! (I read HEATED RIVALRY and THROWN OFF THE ICE back-to-back last week as “comfort rereads.” I know TOTI is not actually a capital-R-Romance, but I love it just the same.)
Oops! Thanks DDD. I haven’t come back to Thrown off the Ice – I sobbed when it ended & I’m not sure I’m ready to come back to it. I finished Role Model and promptly re-read the whole series again! So good! So fun!
Yes! I can’t believe I didn’t mention Role Model – it’s fantastic. (And GA of course – more Hazard and Somerset is coming in October!)
Why would you automatically “exclude m/m”? Books can be CR and have LGBTQ protagonists, or British settings, or kisses heat ratings. . .
That’s for me. I’m not a queer romance reader these days.
Thanks for clarifying.
I wasn’t excluding m/m – these days, I probably review more of it than anything else! I just forgot it (Role Model) because although I’ve read it, it’s not out yet!
I misunderstood Em’s comment. I know you both read a lot of m/m novels. Dabney clarified the recs were specific to her. ;-)
If “recently” can refer to something I read back in May, I’d say Karla Sorensen’s FORBIDDEN is the best contemporary I’ve read recently—it’s certainly on my list of favorite books of 2021. FORBIDDEN is the fourth and final book in Sorensen’s Ward Sisters series and it’s a slow-burn age-gap romance between a widowed MMA fighter and the decade-younger woman who manages the gym he owns (and, yes, his being her employer is addressed, not minimized). A lot of times a slow-burn just exists in a book to allow the writer to string out the story, but in FORBIDDEN there are legitimate reasons for the slow pace of the love affair: the heroine is extremely cagey about emotional entanglements and she’s also a virgin—a fact she hasn’t even shared with her sisters; meanwhile, the hero is still mourning the death of his first wife who died of cancer three years before and is focused on raising their young daughter and on developing the gym business. So the couple try to ignore their growing attraction. There are scenes with amazing levels of sexual tension where absolutely nothing of a sexual nature is happening—such as when the h&h stand side-by-side in a small utility closet to switch out a broken electrical fuse. Tension turned up to 11! Highly recommended. (Also, you don’t have to read the previous books in the Ward Sisters series—FOCUSED, FAKED, and FLOORED—but they’re all really good, especially FAKED, which features the “wrong twin” trope and, because it was published in 2020, made my list of favorites read in 2021 but published in a prior year.)
The one I would recommend is How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams. Read it in February and still remember it without reading the back cover.
I really liked that one, too. I also enjoyed The Rules of Arrangement by Anisha Bhatia and While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory
I’ve read some good ones this year (mostly m/m, which I know isn’t your thing) – but the best is easily the Con Riley book I reviewed last week – Charles: Learning to Love.. The new Lucy Parker (out in Aug) is excellent, too.