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24 Amazing, Modern, Standalone Romance Novels Recommendations (by trope!)

by Pilar

Hello everyone!! β˜€οΈ I hope you’re all having an amazing day, week, and month. As we all know, February is considered as the month of love and friendship πŸ’• by the majority of the world population. Although I’m not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day, I do love romance (ironic, I know πŸ™„). So, I thought that I would share with you guys some of the amazing, wonderful, and adorable romance novels I’ve read! I have indulged in way too many, which means that it was extremely hard for me to narrow it down in this post, but I did it πŸ˜„! I really hope you guys enjoy them and hopefully find some books that you might like to read next!

Now, this technically isn’t a trope (don’t come for me πŸ˜‘), but I know that one of the reasons many people don’t enjoy romance as much is because of the explicit scenes. Because of that, I decided to dedicate a special section of this post to some great, clean romance novels that I really enjoyed! Disclaimer: this does not mean that all the other books in this post have explicit scenes, I’m just saying that these ones for sure don’t.

✨The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen –> Macy planned to spend her summer studying and preparing for her college applications, but then an opportunity comes up and she starts working a catering job, in which she makes new friends and meets Wes, all of which help her realize how sheltered she’s been her entire life. [Goodreads]

✨Room-maid by Sariah Wilson –> After losing her money and inheritance, Madison has to find a new to place, but the only affordable and acceptable place she can find is as a roommate/maid. Besides, Tyler, her new tenant and roommate, isn’t that present, although he is very nice and sweet and cute and… Many other things that Madison should definitely not be thinking about him. [Goodreads]

✨The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West –> After being unexpectedly dumped right before prom, Gia decides to enlist the help of an innocent passerby to avoid the upcoming embarrassment in front of her friends and tells them that he is, in fact, they guy she’s been raving about for some time. [Goodreads]

Rivals, Enemies, Fighting… I mean, isn’t that the perfect basis for a relationship 😍? I think we can all agree that we dream of falling in love with the one person that we cannot stand, because otherwise it doesn’t add up to an interesting and memorable story, right? In all honesty, it obviously isn’t, but it is entertaining to read πŸ˜‰

✨Beach Read by Emily Henry –> Two authors, who don’t like each other (if you didn’t get that), are spending their summer in a small town and decide to dare each other to write something new and completely out of their comfort zones. [Goodreads] [Review]

✨Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting –> When Blair finally opens her bakery, which has been her dream for years, she’s not that happy to discover how uncooperative her next door neighbor is. Suddenly, these two business owners find themselves involved in a rivalry, competing to see who of the two runs the most fun and successful business. [Goodreads] [Review]

✨Fight or Flight by Samantha Young –> They absolutely hated each other when they first met, but after a hookup and an unexpected twist of fate, they find themselves in an… Interesting arrangement, during which they learn that they might not actually hate each other as much as they thought. [Goodreads]

Have you guys ever found yourselves in a situation in which you have literally no other choice but to pretend to be in a relationship with a person that you do not like πŸ€”? You haven’t?? Oh please, get a life! πŸ˜’ This is the most common thing to happen in a normal social environment! And of course, there are many books that include it to, you know, be more realistic and relatable for the average population ☺️

✨Faking Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd –> Olivia loves Christmas, but her boss definitely does not. Still, she doesn’t let that bring her down, specially after she decides to start a pretend relationship between them (completely for his benefit), to help him win back his ex. Or at least, that’s what they’re telling themselves and each other. [Goodreads]

✨The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang –> Stella’s not good at social interactions, and it doesn’t help she has Asperger’s. Being tired of her mom pestering her about settling down leads her to figure out that the best way to gain some experience is to hire a male escort to teach her the ropes of a standard romantic relationship. [Goodreads]

✨Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert –> After rescuing her from a fire drill gone-wrong, Dani agrees to continue a harmless fake relationship charade with Zafir, the security guard. She figures this will be the perfect opportunity to break him down and finally start a friends-with-benefits arrangement, while he is determined to convert her into as much as a romantic as he is… Or at least enough to get her to date him. [Goodreads] [Review]

Isn’t it the most beautiful thing to fall in love with your best friend? I wouldn’t know obviously, but they always say to fall in love with your best friend, so I think it’s an accurate statement πŸ€·πŸ½β€β™€οΈ Of course, that doesn’t always happen, but I do think it would be a beautiful and amazing experience… You know, as long as you don’t break up and are no longer friends and never talk to each other again… Otherwise I bet it would certainly be a gorgeous affair πŸ₯°

✨Much Ado About You by Samantha Young –> Evie realizes that she’s not satisfied with the life she’s leading, so she packs up and moves to small town in England, where she slowly falls in love with everyone there and them with her. [Goodreads] [Review]

✨My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren –> To find dates for an event, Millie and her group of guy friends decide to join an online dating service. However, soon enough she realizes that her lifetime best friend, Reid, has started a somewhat non-platonic relationship with her secret online persona, Catherine, all of which definitely doesn’t help her forget that steamy encounter they shared once upon a half-night stand. [Goodreads]

✨Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins –> Lola loves fashion, and Cricket loves Lola. When he comes back to town, determined to pick up their friendship right where it left off, Lola will have to acknowledge her true feelings for the boy next door. [Goodreads]

There are very few things that are as exciting as falling in love with a co-worker or *GASP* your boss… I mean, how would sparks not fly amongst the paperwork and long hours πŸ˜†? Surely it’s one of the most romantic scenes in this modern world. These books all properly capture the magnificence and class that comes with an office romance 😏

✨The Invitation by Vi Keeland –> Stella wasn’t planning to crash the wedding, but she figured no harm no foul, right? But, when they discover her and she leaves her phone behind, the last thing she expects is to be offered a job opportunity. Specially after knowing that the beautiful man she danced with would be her new business partner. [Goodreads] [Review]

✨The Hating Game by Sally Thorne –> Lucinda Hutton hates Joshua Templeman. 4-life. So, obviously, when a huge promotion is up for grabs, she cannot let him win. But, after an unexpected encounter in an elevator, she’s not sure that Joshua Templeman actually hates her, and maybe she doesn’t hate him either… [Goodreads]

✨Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid –> Janie never expected to lose so much in one day — her apartment, boyfriend, and her job. She’s absolutely devastated, which is why when Quinn Sullivan makes her a tempting offer, she simply can’t afford to refuse it. [Goodreads]

Close proximity is incredibly convenient to spark a romance between two people. I mean, even if you dislike a person, the best way to eventually like each other is to be forced, by circumstances completely out of your reach, to be together for very long periods of time 😳 It’s just logic.

✨Code Name: Genesis by Sawyer Bennett –> Kynan was in love Joslyn Meyers, and he thought she loved him too. But after breaking his heart, he decided he didn’t want to know anything about her again. That is, until she appears on his door step, years later, asking him to protect her from her stalker who already tried to kill her once. [Goodreads]

✨The Bride Test by Helen Hoang –> Esme could not believe the nice woman that just offered to take her to the United States, in exchange of marrying her son. However, Khai doesn’t want to marry, and he certainly does not want to welcome Esme into his home, but he really has no choice, for she’s already there. [Goodreads] [Review]

✨Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer –> It’s annoying when no one understands how hard you need to work for things, or at least, that’s how Prudence feels. Which is why she cannot stand Quint, her lazy lab partner, who is also to blame for their horrible grade on their final project. However, everything starts to look up when the universe grants her a power: to control the karma of those around her. Maybe spending the summer with Quint, redoing their project, won’t be too unbearable after all. [Goodreads]

Isn’t it the most annoying thing when you’re in love, but your significant other is your (ridiculously young) teacher, or your tutor, or a semi-mythological creature πŸ˜ͺ? *SIGH* I know. I get it. So, because we all need to know that we’re not alone in our suffering, here are a few books that will definitely make you realize that your love wasn’t the only one doomed from the very beginning πŸ™‚

✨Slammed by Colleen Hoover –> Layken did not expect to like someone so much from one date, specially after just moving to a whole new town. But things get complicated when they run into each other at school, but while she’s a student, he’s a teacher. [Goodreads]

✨Easy by Tammara Webber –> Lucas saved Jacqueline, and since then, he cannot get her out of his mind. Jacqueline, on the other hand, isn’t too focused on dating (specially after being dumped) but on improving her grades. Though things get complicated when she realizes that the guy who saved her, the one she can’t stop thinking about, reminds her a lot to her online tutor who she’s never met in person before. [Goodreads]

✨The Siren by Kiera Cass –> Kahlen has always served The Ocean without a second thought, but when she meets Akinli the rules don’t seem as important anymore. But she’s a danger to him, and The Ocean a danger to both, so she must find a way to make this work and finally live her life under her own terms. [Goodreads]

It is just great when two people are perfect for each other and there’s absolutely nothing keeping them apart. In fact, most of the time everyone and everything around them is pushing them together 😁 Still, they think it’s best if they’re not together at all and just suffer by themselves, longing for each other πŸ™ƒ

✨From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata –> Jasmine loves skating more than anything in the world, and if she wants to make it big after all these years, her only option is to pair up with the insufferable Ivan Lukov. Unsurprisingly, he’s not very excited to work with her either, but they’re both determined to ignore their differences, as long as they can win the next competition. [Goodreads]

✨The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata –> Vanessa is tired of being treated so poorly by her boss Aiden, specially after everything she’s done for him for years. But, the last thing she expected after quitting was to find him in her doorstep, begging her to come back. [Goodreads]

✨Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover –> The last thing Sydney imagined was to come home early and find her boyfriend amidst a situation she would rather forget. As she moves in with her mysterious neighbor, Ridge, she realizes that it might not be so hard to move on. Slowly they bond through music and the hope that, maybe someday, the universe will line up and they might finally be together. [Goodreads]

After I finished writing this I realized there weren’t any LGBTQ+ books in the list, so watch out for a post exclusively of recommendations from that genre coming soon πŸ˜‰!

Let me know what you guys think of all these! Which ones caught your eye?