With less than a week until the New Year, I’ve been thinking, like I often do, about books. Whether I can get a couple more books in before January 1 and what I will set my 2025 reading goals to.

Then I reviewed what I have read this year, checking out my 2024 stats (and pie charts!) on StoryGraph. No surprise that out of 151* books I’ve read this year nearly 60% are classified as romance. That number is probably a little higher depending on how you classify the books. Because some paranormal books also include romance but tend to be categorized first as fantasy.

*This number does include DNFs but doesn’t include all the re-reads. And I’ve done a lot of comfort re-reads this year. I find that when life is stressful or I’m in a funk I either turn to an old favorite or a romance. (Total bonus of it’s an old favorite romance.)

Since romance has clearly been the primary theme of this year (it’s also the genre of the new story that I’m currently writing), I wanted to share some of my fave romance books. To make it more fun, I decided to make my list by my favorite romance tropes. In fairness, some of these books cover more than one trope, but I only listed my favorite trope.

Enemies to Lovers

Enemies to lovers always starts out with the two MCs (main characters) at odds, often hating each other. But as they say, there is a fine line between hate and love.

Dear Enemy by Kristen Callihan has Delilah facing her childhood nemesis Macon Saint. Macon comes back into Delilah’s life when Delilah’s sister Samantha, who dated Macon in high school, steals one of his family heirlooms. Reluctant to engage with her old enemy, Delilah does so only to protect her mother and to help her sister.

One of my favorite book boyfriends. Macon Saint is absolutely adorable. Told through dual POVs (points of view), the story unfolds the history of Macon and Delilah as they learn to deal with each other as adults.

I also love Kristen Callihan’s other books including Make It Sweet (a grumpy/sunshine trope and where Macon and Delilah have a cameo), her VIP Series (Shane East reading Gabriel Scott is so yum), and her Game On series.

Fake Dating

The fake dating trope is always a fun one. A MC needs a date to something or needs a significant other because of some reason and talks the other MC (main character) into fake dating. Eventually, fake turns into real, but one, or usually both, try to deny their feelings.

Text Appeal by Kylie Scott starts off with Riley Cooper receiving a text meant for the previous owner of the phone number. Riley, an author, has moved to a small, seaside town in the Pacific Northwest and got a new phone number. A number that a previously belonged to Connor. A misunderstanding occurs and the town believes Riley and Connor are dating when they haven’t even met. Connor shows up to apologize to Riley for the confusion and then hatches a plan for them to actually fake date to get everyone to stop assuming that he and his ex Ava are destined to be together.

Although only told from Riley’s POV, this was a delightfully fun story. I especially loved that Ava was not the typical shrewish OW (other woman). She had her own character arc and development, which I thought added to the story.

Marriage of Convenience

The MCs have to get married for some external reason(s), such as to receive an inheritance, to escape a situation, to save a reputation. This trope happens a lot in Regency and Victorian romance where a woman’s reputation could easily be ruined and she would have to marry in order to save herself and her family.

Devil in Winter, Wallflowers Book 3, by Lisa Kleypas is set in the 1830s. Shy, stammering wallflower Evangeline “Evie” Jenner needs to marry to escape her scheming family. Titled, broke rouge Sebastian St. Vincent needs a wealthy wife to maintain his lifestyle. Evie makes Sebastian a Faustian bargain he can’t refuse—he marries her so she can escape and she will give him a good portion of her inheritance, saving him from destitution.

Lisa Kleypas is another fabulous author. I love all her books both in the Wallflowers and Ravenels series. She is the queen of Regency/Victorian romance. But I also love a bad boy and Sebastian is oh so deliciously wicked.

Friends to Lovers

Just as it sounds, the two MCs start off as friends and then become more. This trope is always fun because I love to see the journey of how they navigate from friendship to lovers, and what that transition might mean for their friendship, as well as their friend group.

Isn’t It Bromantic, Book 4 in the Bromance Book Club series by Lyssa Kay Adams, features all around romance lover and Nashville hockey star Vlad who finally gets his HEA (happily ever after). Vlad is in the first three books and is definitely a romantic. He married his childhood friend Elena to help her move to the United States. So happy double trope. But after she immigrated, their marriage seemed to be on paper only, and Vlad would love to change his status from friend to lover.

Really, the entire Bromance Book Club series is a must-read. First, I love it because it’s told primarily through the male POV. Andrew Eiden (aka Teddy Hamilton) narrates the series and does a fantastic job. Second, this series completely fights toxic masculinity, showing how men (1) can and should read romance without shame, (2) can show up and support each other and their feelings, and (3) can become better versions of themselves.

I mean, who doesn’t want to read a series about a group of men joining a romance book club to help them become better lovers and husbands?

The Sibling

With the sibling trope, someone falls for someone else’s sibling. Often the sibling is the MC’s best friend sibling but not always. It can also be the sibling of a rival or a boss. Like the Friends to Lovers, it gets a little complicated because of the sibling’s relationship with both MCs.

Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter introduces Olivia Marshall. Bad luck tends to follow Olivia, who has to move home to Omaha after she gets dumped and her apartment building burns down. Worse, she has to stay with her older brother Jack and his annoying best friend and roommate, Colin Beck. One night Olivia gets a misdialed text number and then hilarity ensues.

This was a book I randomly picked up one day while browsing around a bookstore. I read the first page and laughed out loud. I bought it, enjoyed every page, and became a Lynn Painter fan.

Jack has his HEA (happily ever after) in the second book, The Love Wager, which is also just as fun. (It really isn’t a series as each book can be read as stand-alones.) Another sibling trope fave story is Dirty Secret by Mira Lyn Kelly, which also features a grumpy hockey player Vaughn Vassar, who is another one of my favorite book boyfriends. Plus bonus, he’s a hot hockey player.

Time Travel/Portal

With time travel trope, one of the MCs is out of time. This often overlaps with the portal trope, which is most often used in fantasy, where a MC is transported to another world through a portal, like the wardrobe in the Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. In romance stories, this trope also puts the book under the magical realism genre, which is one of my fave genres.

Seven Year Slip by Ashley Posten has Clementine, who lost her beloved aunt six months ago, finding Iwan, an aspiring chef, in the kitchen of her aunt’s apartment. Then Clementine finds present-day chef Iwan, and some confusion ensues until she realizes that right time and place means something.

I absolutely adored Clementine and Iwan’s story. Clementine is really at a crossroads in life. Her aunt’s “magical” apartment gives her a chance not only to deal with her grief, but figure out what’s important to her.

I also enjoyed Poston’s other magical realism romance books, The Dead Romantics and A Novel Love Story (all stand alones).

Grumpy/Sunshine

The grumpy/sunshine trope features one MC who is a grump and one who is more sunshine. I love grumpy hot male MCs. They often have hearts of gold. I particularly love when said grumpy hot male MCs are also sports players. I never considered myself a sports fan but I love me some grumpy hot hockey players or football players or baseball players.

The Grumpy Player Next Door, Copper Valley Fireballs book 3 by Pippa Grant, has “the grouchiest of grouchy bears” Max Cole, a professional baseball player staying in a small mountain town to rest before spring training begins. Tillie Jean “TJ” Rock is an up-beat prankster who works at her family’s restaurant. Oh, and she just happens to be the sister of Max’s teammate. So another double trope story.

Now Pippa Grant’s books tend to be a little over-the-top, which I tend to love. Sometimes I need a bit of ridiculous fun and I just enjoy the ride. Although this book, felt a bit more down-to-earth (or as much as Pippa gets). Max is adorable and felt real, and TJ wasn’t completely over-the-top like the previous two heroines.

The rest of the series is equally as fun, as are all of Pippa’s books, and all can be read as stand alones. I loved The Last Eligible Billionaire (another great grumpy/sunshine romance), Three BFFs and a Wedding series, and the Copper Valley Thrusters series (seriously, I love hockey, or at least I love hockey romance books since I’ve never actually been to a real hockey game).

Second Chances

The second chance trope is about two people who were involved, maybe even married, but for reasons, separated or divorced. The reasons for their separation vary widely from misunderstandings to physically separate because of jobs to interference by a third party.

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley finds romance novelist Kara coming face to face with Ryan, her first love, at her best friend’s wedding. Ryan inspired her first book and now he’s inspiring her current book that she’s been stuck on. But she doesn’t know whether Ryan is her true love or just a muse.

While the second chance trope can be hit or miss for me, this one hit the spot with witty and clever dialogue, well written characters, and just enough tension to make it oh so real. I laughed, I (nearly) cried, I wanted to throw things. Plus, there’s an adorable bulldog. Bonus, there’s a book within a book. And extra fun, she goes to Italy a la Under the Tuscan Sun.

Some other favorite second chance trope romances include Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras, The Bodyguard by Katherine Center, and Letters to Molly by Denvey Perry.

Mistaken Identity

Yep, just as it sounds, one MC mistakes the other MC for someone else. Often then shenanigans and hilarity ensue. Sometimes the mistake is due to an item (like a suitcase), sometimes it’s identical twins, or sometimes it’s mistaking one person for another, who’s often famous or the boss.

The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter features a woman who wakes up with amnesia and finds out she might be a spy and people are trying to kill her. Sawyer, who has found her, tells her to run. Hilarity ensues.

Yes, this was a bit over the top but the story was also fun & fast-paced. I thought the mistaken identity, while predictable was done well. I laughed. I might have swooned. I definitely need a Sawyer. This was my first Ally Carter book, but it won’t be my last.

Other fun mistaken identity books include Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas and The Girl with the Make Believe Husband by Julia Quinn (yep, the same Julia Quinn who wrote the Bridgerton series, but I dare say this series is even better).

Opposites Attract

The broader category that includes grumpy/sunshine, this trope involves two people who have opposite personalities, or come from vastly different backgrounds, or have seemingly incompatible lifestyles. Yin and yang. Day and night. Left and right. You get the picture.

Singles Table by Sara Desai finds independent, creative lawyer Zara put together with a control freak, workaholic security expert Jay. I loved Zara—she was so amazing and wonderful, full of joy. Someone I’d love to be friends with. Jay was adorably in need of a hug and Zara’s joy. This was an easy read and a lot of fun.

While I prefer the subset grumpy/sunshine (love me a grumpy hot male hero), this can be a fun trope. Seeing how two disparate personalities find common ground and make it work. Another fun opposites attract story is It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey where a big city socialite falls for a small town fisherman.

Final Thoughts

There are so many other tropes, like the unexpected pregnancy, stuck together/one bed, rivals, kidnapping, or forced proximity. And there are so many other amazing romance books. I didn’t even mention Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura, Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher, or Blind Date with a Book Boyfriend by Lucy Eden, which celebrates the romance genre and everyone who loves it.

For this list, I also stuck with books that are on the lighter side, that don’t have any heavy themes. For example, I absolutely adore Abby Jimenez’s books. She is an auto-buy author for me, but her books often deal with heavy topics like infertility, death and grief, incurable diseases. Same with many of Katherine Center’s books. I loved How to Walk Away, but the female MC deals with a tragic and traumatic accident.

As a bonus, here is a list of some of my favorite romance audiobook narrators:

• Teddy Hamilton, aka Andrew Elden
• Jacob Morgan, aka Zachary Webber
• Christian Fox
• Jeremy York
• Shane East
• Oliver Hunt
• Lee Samuels
• Steve West
• Elena Wolfe
• Savannah Peachwood
• Maxine Mitchell
• Erin Mallon
• Joy Nash
• Andi Arndt
• C.J. Bloom
• Samantha Cook
• Mary Jane Wells

Share your favorite tropes, romance books, or audiobook narrators in the comments below.

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