I love the new year, the chance to pause and reflect on the year before, the opportunity to set intentions and goals for the year ahead. This was the year I got serious about writing my romance novel, and assigned myself a whole bunch of new-to-me romances to read and deconstruct. Below are my top ten favorite reads of the year (in no particular order — choosing just ten was hard enough!), and what I found so incredibly fun about each of them.
The Hating Game
Sally Thorne’s 2016 debut novel was new to me this year and I immediately fell in love. A workplace romance featuring enemies-to-lovers vying for that big promotion? Big opposites-attract energy from the thrift-store-shopping heroine and the Brooks-Brothers-drone hero? A not-so-friendly competition and fake dating and forced proximity and only one bed? Be still, my trope-loving heart. I have now read Sally Thorne’s entire backlist and every single book is sheer delight. I cannot say enough good things about her writing.
The Ex Talk
Another enemies-to-lovers workplace romance (hey, I like what I like.) Only this one is also a love letter to NPR, the Pacific Northwest, and Korean food. I loved the pretension of the male main character, who never stops talking about his master’s degree, and the way the female main character deals with her setbacks with humor and grace. I read two more of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books (Weather Girl and Business Or Pleasure) and loved every minute of them, too. Definitely putting more of her work on my TBR for 2025!
When In Rome
As a Kentuckian, I was especially delighted to find that this series is set in the fictional small town of Rome, KY. Again we have grumpy/sunshine dynamics, but with so many of the lovely, cozy elements that people want in a small town romance. I also really loved how this book twisted all those Hallmark tropes — Big City Girl doesn’t completely abandon her fast-paced life for Small Town Boy, but she does learn to accept her limits and redefine her career on her own terms, and he supports her every step on the way. The story continues in 2025 with Beg, Borrow, or Steal.
Red, White & Royal Blue
This was my first read of the year and boy, did it set the bar high. Again we have that opposites-attract energy, but this time it’s more culture clash than grumpy/sunshine. Alex is the charismatic, outgoing First Son (US president’s son) and Henry is the aloof, reticent Prince of Wales. Their love is so sweet and so steamy, which is just how I like my romances. Watching them peel back those protective outer layers of themselves to reveal the gooey, vulnerable mess inside was just so charming, and so much fun.
Get A Life, Chloe Brown
So much to love about this book, and the other two in the series! Talia Hibbert gives a view of life in England that has nothing to do with fancy balls or handsome dukes or even London monuments — her characters live in the Midlands and are dealing with all the perfectly ordinary things that I might deal with in the Midwest. Chloe is buttoned-up and high-functioning as a way to cope with her chronic pain, while Red is an artsy biker dude; again, seeing them learn to be vulnerable and to look after each other is so damn sweet.
Mrs. Nash’s Ashes
Grumpy/sunshine AND road trip AND only one bed tropes? Sign. Me. Up! Millie and Hollis are stuck on a journey together after their flights are cancelled. She’s got to get Mrs. Nash’s ashes to Key West to scatter in the ocean, and her relentless, ridiculous optimism is so unbearably painful for someone as private as Hollis. There’s little I love more than a female agent of chaos pitted against a stoic gentleman, and I loved the overlay of Mrs. Nash’s story with theirs. I’m so looking forward to reading Sarah Adler’s 2025 new release, Finders Keepers!
The True Love Experiment
I wanted to love the first book in this series, The Soulmate Equation, but for some reason it fell flat for me. The part of that book that I loved, though, was the quirky best friend Fizzy, who gets her own love story in this delightful book. She’s a romance writer who suddenly stops believing in love, but she has to fake it for the cameras when she’s tapped to be the lead in a dating reality show. I cried at the end of this book because it was so moving, but it was also incredibly hilarious and sexy too. Just perfect.
Trouble
Lex Croucher is one of my absolute favorite writers, witty and irreverent and creative. I read their whole backlist in 2024 but this was my favorite — a Jane Eyr story if the governess hated children and Mr. Rochester was secretly bisexual and didn’t have a wife in the attic, just a trans son. Again, there’s the chaos/tidy opposites-attract element I love, and the female main character manages to be both a mess AND a grump in the most endearing sort of way. I laughed through this entire book, and I love these characters so so much.
Once Upon a Broken Heart
I loved Stephanie Garber’s Caravel series and was thrilled to discover that Jacks had his own trilogy, too. There were so many ups and downs in this series, so many times I thought there would be no way that Jacks and Evangeline could end up together… and that happily-ever-after was oh-so-rewarding. And through it all, Evangeline stays doggedly determined, pure goodness and faith in all the stories. Beautiful, emotional, powerful storytelling from one of my favorite fantasy writers.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Another grumpy/sunshine story with a grumpy female main character. This one gets bonus points for also featuring academics, particularly of the variety that couldn’t tell if someone was in love with them if they came right out and said, “Em, I’m in love with you.” There’s magic and adventure and a fairy prince who is baffled by all of Emily’s silly human problems, but indulges her anyway. Their academic-rivals-to-lovers story was such a delightful slow burn, and I can’t wait to see how it ends in the Compendium of Lost Tales in 2025!
Aimee Moineaux 
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