I’m not gonna get in a trope-battle with romance readers, but friends to lovers has to be in my top 3 (only one bed and second chance romance are the other best tropes, for those interested). I particularly love when the dummy in the relationship who didn’t realize they were in love realizes it and basically loses their mind. So this season of Bridgerton was made for me — Colin’s face when he sees Penelope eating cake? Art!
If you’re itching for more friends (idiots) to lovers with the HEAs they deserve, check out these book recs!
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Hazel knows she’s a lot to take — and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. Their loss. Josh has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air. Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Poppy and Alex have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has an insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart, but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since. Now Poppy is stuck in a rut. So she convinces her best friend to take one more vacation together. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own. Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan, a longtime friend of the family. Only lately, her “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance. But Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted — until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel.
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson
Jesse Strong is known for his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hearts. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans for what to do with Strong Knits, their knitting store. Part-time employee Kerry Fuller overhears Jesse’s impassioned plea to his brothers to keep the shop open, and volunteers to help. Together they make plans to reinvent Strong Knits. But the more time they spend together, the stronger the chemistry builds between them.
Girl Gone Viral by Alisah Rai
After a stranger live-tweets Katrina King’s innocent conversation at a coffee shop, #CafeBae has the world swooning. Going viral isn’t easy for anyone, but Katrina has painstakingly built a private world for herself, far from her traumatic past. With the internet on the hunt for her identity, her bodyguard, Jas, offers his family’s farm as a refuge. Alone with her unrequited crush, Katrina is resigned to being just friends with Jas — until they share a single electrifying kiss.
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams
Bree Camden is helplessly in love with her longtime best friend and extremely hot NFL legend, Nathan Donelson. But he clearly sees her as a best friend with no romantic potential, and the last thing Bree wants is to ruin their relationship. But after a few tequila shots, Bree spills her deepest, darkest secret to a reporter, and now the world thinks Nathan and Bree are the perfect couple.
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, Stella enters a contest with a $100,000 cash prize. But to make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on her application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only…there is no boyfriend. Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just stopped by for some hot chocolate and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process. But fake dating his best friend might be the best Christmas present he’s ever received.
Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
Alexis Carlisle and her cat café shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer claims they’re sisters, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts — her best friend, Noah Logan. The computer genius has a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. Noah’s pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he’s ever had.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
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