Brothers of the Vine
Forever Evermore
Women of W.A.R.
Nobody Wants This, Netflix’s latest rom-com TV show, just landed on our screens and suffice to say I am OBSESSED! It’s a romantic comedy with a heart of gold, that sees an agnostic ‘hot mess’ sex podcaster (played by Kristen Bell) and a newly single rabbi (Adam Brody *swoons*) fall in love; discovering if their relationship can survive their wildly different lives and meddling families.
If, like me, you’ve recently binged Nobody Wants This on Netflix and are craving more heartwarming romance and cheeky humor, we’ve got you covered. The show’s blend of love, laughter, and real-life dilemmas has left many of us yearning for similar tales.
Here’s a list of must-read romance novels that capture the essence and mood of everyone’s new favorite show.
Matzah Ball Blues by Jennifer Wilck
Why is this night different from all other nights?
For starters, Jared Leiman is home for the holidays. Because though he and Caroline Weiss were high school sweethearts, their post-college lives took them in different directions. Jared became a big-time entertainment lawyer in LA, while Caroline became a fitness instructor and stayed in town to care for her sick mother. And though her mother passed away three years ago, Caroline is finally free to go where she chooses. Meanwhile Jared, who inherited custody of his baby niece after a tragic accident, is suddenly a family man.
So now Caroline wants to leave her hometown in the dust, whereas Jared might just set up roots there. Because there is one thing that Browerville, New Jersey, offers the two of them that no other place does…each other!
Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young
Two bickering strangers trying to foster their younger siblings team up to create a stable home, but the undeniable chemistry between them threatens to ruin everything.
‘Funny and huge-hearted and romantic and real.’ – New York Times bestselling author Talia Hibbert
When she discovers her biological mother has had a new baby, Chloe doesn’t hesitate to provide a home for her. Failing to meet social services’ financial evaluation, she’s forced into a new initiative: joining households with another prospective guardian.
Surly garage mechanic Warren, who is trying to gain custody of his deaf teenage brother, does not make a great first impression. But as their lives intertwine, Chloe and Warren discover they have more in common than they thought. So much so that the chemistry between them threatens everything they’ve fought for…
The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
All of the fun, none of the heartache…as long as they stick to the agreement.
The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father…
Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock-climbing accident — and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping ‘for now’ from turning into ‘forever’ isn’t as easy as they’d planned.
Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead
In this fierce and funny battle of the exes, Ashley Winstead’s Fool Me Once explores the chaos of wanting something you used to have.
Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you), and after work she is ‘Stoner,’ drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…
That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school — who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.
Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated — and competitive — as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.
The Anti-Social Season by Adele Buck
Relationship Status: Doesn’t Get More Complicated Than This
In this offbeat holiday romantic comedy, an overworked firefighter-turned-social media coordinator and a librarian with an unrequited crush break a few rules in the company handbook…
For Thea Martinelli, burnout is real. After working as a firefighter for the Emergency Services Department over the last ten years, she can’t stomach anymore close calls. Just when she’s ready to hang up the hose for good, she’s offered an out: stay on as the station’s new social media manager. It’s a move that would keep her in the squad and off the truck — if she makes it through the probation period.
Basically, she needs to learn everything there is to know about social media…fast.
Librarian and social media coordinator Simon Osman is shocked to learn his new responsibilities include showing Thea Martinelli — his high school crush — the ins and outs of digital engagement. And the fact that she doesn’t even remember him? Not helpful. Still, this could be his chance to finally turn his part-time role into something long-term.
But as the chaos of the holiday season unfolds, Thea and Simon find that the closer they work together, the hotter their attraction burns. Yet giving in to these feelings could mean giving up their careers. Are they willing to risk everything they’ve worked toward…for each other?
Meet Me In A Mile by Elizabeth Hrib
Elizabeth Hrib will have readers racing to the finish line when a Manhattan architect’s attempts to win over her office crush set her on a collision course with a personal trainer who’s got all the right moves.
Lydia McKenzie is not a runner. Not even close. But in her quest to be taken seriously at work — and catch the eye of her office crush — she signs up for the New York City Marathon as part of her architectural firm’s outreach program. Now she just needs to avoid making a fool of herself. Thankfully, she knows how to outsource.
Personal trainer Luke Townsend is definitely a runner, and he’s exactly what Lydia needs to get in shape: experienced, motivational, funny, kind, well-muscled…and when he and Lydia bond over her redesign of the Manhattan Youth Center, a place near and dear to Luke’s heart, their training time intensifies from hitting the pavement to hitting the sheets. Still counts as a workout, right?
Suddenly, everything Lydia thought she wanted feels less clear, but she’s determined not to let a little unplanned indiscretion derail her goals. There’s no reason she and Luke can’t keep training as if they don’t share mind-blowing chemistry; they’re professionals. But when her project proposal suddenly hangs in the balance, and her office crush offers some awfully tempting one-on-one help, she’ll have to decide which direction her heart wants to run.
Add it to your TBR… Unromance by Erin Connor
UNROMANCE: A story in which two characters absolutely, categorically do not fall in love … right?
‘A love letter to romance and its readers’ – Anita Kelly
‘Sparkles with classic Hollywood rom-com magic’ – Andi Burke
♥️♥️♥️
Sawyer Greene is done with romance.
Once a bestselling author of the genre, she’s been left with nothing but heartbreak and bitterness.
Mason West is a hopeless romantic.
He has a habit of falling in love with all the wrong people. So when the two find themselves stuck in a lift together, Sawyer is determined this will not be their meet cute.
But the universe has other plans.
Sawyer and Mason make a plan to cure him of his hopeless romanticism, her of her writer’s block. It’s simple. Sawyer will become the romcom love interest of Mason’s dreams and ruin romance for him one trope at a time…
There’s just one rule: do not fall in love.
What could go wrong?