Recently arrived romance fiction
Escape into tales of summer flings, lifelong loves, and unexpected connections. Our roundup of the best new romance novels is here to put a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.
Madeleine has worked tirelessly to escape her working-class roots and build a successful life as an interior designer and is now on the verge of achieving her dream, with a new job in Los Angeles and a promising new relationship. However, her life is turned upside down when her mother becomes ill, forcing Madeleine to return to the world she had tried so hard to leave behind and she must confront a life-altering decision she made seven years ago. Readers of Claudia Carroll and Linda Green will enjoy this heartfelt story of ambition, motherhood, and whether it's possible for a woman to truly 'have it all'.
Broken country - Clare Leslie Hall
Beth is a teenager when she falls for Gabriel, a wealthy boy from a neighbouring estate. Their intense summer romance ends abruptly, and Beth goes on to marry the kind, steadfast farmer, Frank. Years later, a tragedy forces Beth and Frank to confront their buried grief and the secrets of the past and when Gabriel returns to the village, his reappearance reignites old feelings and tensions, leading to a fateful series of events. One of our biggest reads of the year, Broken Country mixes gripping historical fiction, and a decades spanning romance with fast paced thrills.
Lexi, a 31-year-old bar manager who has put her life on hold to help her best friend raise a daughter, is looking for a no-strings-attached escape. Zeke, a 23-year-old who has recently been in therapy to address his history of casual relationships, is looking for something more meaningful. After a passionate night together on a houseboat, they awaken, hungover and intending to go their separate ways, to discover they are adrift in the vast expanse of the North Sea. With no cell service, limited supplies, and a slow leak in the boat, they are forced to rely on each other for survival. With tropes of forced proximity and survival romance, this is a fun twist on a classic love affair.
In a life shaped by a series of significant house moves, from her hometown to Galway and London, marks a new chapter for Ellen Sheehan. Each move is defined by a different relationship - with Ben, a gentle bookseller; with Leo, a charismatic banker; and with Danny, her loyal childhood friend. As Ellen navigates the complexities of love, heartbreak, and loss, she discovers that true "moving on" isn't about changing her physical location but about finding a way to heal from the past. Meaney weaves her usual powerful narrative about self-discovery, forgiveness, and the timeless search for where one's heart truly belongs.
The bad bridesmaid - Rachael Johns
Commitment-phobic journalist Winifred "Fred" Darling is writing a book on her rules for not catching feelings. When her mother gets married for the sixth time and Fred is asked to be the maid of honour, she teams up with Leo, the groom's charming son, to sabotage the wedding. But their plot brings them closer than they ever expected and Fred's carefully constructed rules start to fall apart. A charming and heart felt story of finding love in the least expected places.
Close protection - Eden Victoria
When the life of privileged heiress Daphne Green is disrupted by a security threat to her family’s company, her father hires Milosh Petrov, a highly skilled and unexpectedly young protector. To keep their professional arrangement discreet and to avoid scrutiny from her friends, Daphne and Milosh concoct a plan to fake a romantic relationship. However, as they navigate this deception, their on-paper romance begins to blur the lines of reality, igniting an undeniable connection. This newfound closeness puts them both at risk as the threat to Daphne's life becomes more real and immediate. Lovers of the 'forced proximity' and 'bodyguard' tropes will enjoy this young adult outing!
May all your skies be blue - Fiona Scarlett
Dublin, 1991, Shauna and Dean meet as teenagers and form an instant, deep connection that evolves into a romance. But just as she and Dean were planning to move to New York, her mother's diagnosis of early onset dementia forced her to choose familial responsibility over her romantic relationship and dreams of a different life. Thirty years later Shauna is running her hair salon and caring for her mother and as she interacts with clients and friends, she is forced to confront memories of her past with Dean. A raw and authentic look at working-class Irish life, the burdens of caregiving, the effects of generational trauma, and the complexities of friendship.
Cover story - Mhairi McFarlane
Investigative journalist Bel finds herself at odds with her new colleague and intern, Connor, at a national newspaper in Manchester. When Bel gets a tip about a major scandal involving a local politician, she goes undercover to get the scoop but a chance encounter forces her to improvise, pulling Connor into her scheme by pretending he's her boyfriend. Readers of Emily Henry and Paige Toon will enjoy this enemies-to-lovers story uses the fake dating trope to explore a high-stakes journalistic investigation.
