Every year, romance readers face the same beautiful problem: too many incredible new romance books and not enough hours to read them all. 2026 is shaping up to be one of the strongest years for the genre in recent memory, with beloved authors delivering fresh stories and debut voices making the kind of entrance that reshapes your entire reading list.
Whether you’re hunting for your next emotional gutpunch or a slow-building love story that leaves you staring at the ceiling at 2 AM, these new romance novels deserve a spot on your shelf. Here are 10 of the best new romance books worth reading right now.
1. The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
Abby Jimenez has built a reputation for writing romances that make you laugh on one page and completely fall apart on the next. The Night We Met continues her Say You’ll Remember Me series with the emotional precision readers have come to expect. Jimenez never takes the easy route with her characters. She gives them real obstacles, real flaws, and the kind of chemistry that feels earned rather than manufactured. If you’ve been following her work since Part of Your World, you already know this is an automatic pre-order. If you haven’t, start here and work backwards.
Read this if: you want a romance that respects your intelligence while still making you cry in public.
2. The Love I Lost by Emilly Carter
Elena Reyes returns to the coastal town she swore she’d left behind, only to find that Marcus Sullivan is still there, still running the restaurant where they fell in love a decade ago. What makes The Love I Lost hit differently from most second chance romances is the specificity of its emotional landscape. Carter doesn’t just tell you these two people loved each other once. She shows you the weight of ten years of silence in every loaded glance and half-finished sentence. The forced proximity of their small town makes avoidance impossible, and the slow burn between them builds with the kind of restraint that makes the eventual payoff devastating. This is the first book in a trilogy, and it earns every page of the story that follows.
Read this if: you believe some loves are worth the wait, even when the wait nearly breaks you.
3. Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey does two things better than almost anyone writing romance today: banter and tension. Catch Her If You Can pairs a baseball catcher with a burlesque club owner in a friends-to-lovers setup wrapped inside a marriage of convenience. Bailey’s signature blend of humor, heat, and genuine emotional vulnerability is on full display here. The sports romance elements never feel like wallpaper. They matter to the characters and to the story, which is what separates good genre writing from great.
Read this if: you want a romance that’s equal parts funny and steamy with characters who feel like actual people.
4. How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev
Sonali Dev writes romances that are as culturally rich as they are emotionally layered. When Simi’s sister shows up at her door in small-town Kentucky trying to outrun trouble, the solution is obvious (at least in romance novel logic): a fake marriage to the man Simi is secretly dating. Dev handles the collision of family obligation, cultural identity, and romantic desire with the kind of warmth and nuance that makes every page feel lived-in. The sibling relationship at the heart of this story is just as compelling as the love story.
Read this if: you love romances where family drama and cultural richness are woven into every chapter.
5. The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. Neilson
For readers who love deeply emotional second chance romances in the vein of Kate Clayborn and Kennedy Ryan, Riss M. Neilson deserves a permanent spot on your radar. When the owner of Celia’s Place leaves the restaurant to both his son Carmello and former chef Olivia, two people with a complicated history are forced to confront everything they left unresolved. The culinary setting gives this romance a sensory richness that most contemporary novels lack. You can practically smell the kitchen.
Read this if: you want a second chance romance that’s as much about personal growth as it is about getting back together.
6. The First Time I Met You by Emilly Carter
Where The Love I Lost showed you the aftermath, The First Time I Met You takes you back to where Elena and Marcus began. This prequel is a masterclass in dramatic irony. You already know how their story fractures, which makes watching them fall in love for the first time almost unbearably tender. Carter captures the recklessness of first love with remarkable precision. The coastal setting practically becomes a character, and the supporting cast adds depth without ever stealing focus. Reading this after Book 1 transforms both stories. You understand not just what was lost, but exactly how much it was worth.
Read this if: you need to understand how a love this powerful could ever come undone.
7. In My Tudor Era by Kate Bromley
Sometimes romance needs to take a hard left turn into the unexpected. Kate Bromley delivers exactly that with a time travel premise that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. Lily visits Hampton Court Palace and accidentally ends up in Tudor England, trapped in the body of Catherine Howard. Given what history tells us about Catherine Howard’s fate, the stakes here are genuinely terrifying. And yet Bromley manages to weave a love story with the king’s champion jouster that feels both epic and intimate. It’s bold, original, and the kind of new romance novel that reminds you the genre has no limits.
Read this if: you want something completely different from every other romance on your shelf.
8. Last First Kiss by Julian Winters
Julian Winters brings his signature warmth to this second chance romance about an unlucky-in-love event planner who discovers the man-of-honor at the high-profile wedding he’s organizing is the same person who broke his heart. The setup is peak romantic comedy, but Winters never lets the humor undercut the emotional stakes. The wedding backdrop creates natural forced proximity and deadline pressure, which keeps the pacing tight. This is one of the best new romance books for readers looking for a love story that’s funny, heartfelt, and refreshingly modern.
Read this if: you believe exes at weddings is the most chaotic and delicious premise in romance.
9. The 10 Years We Were Apart by Emilly Carter
The conclusion to the Love I Lost trilogy answers every question the first two books planted in your chest. Elena and Marcus have spent a decade building separate lives, and Carter refuses to pretend that coming back together is simple. The emotional maturity of this final installment is what elevates the entire series. These aren’t the same people who fell in love in Book 2 or shattered in Book 1. They’re older, more guarded, and the forgiveness they’re reaching for costs them something real. Carter sticks the landing in a genre where final books often disappoint, delivering an ending that feels both inevitable and hard-won. The complete trilogy is available as a bundle for readers who want the full experience.
Read this if: you started this trilogy and need the closure you’ve been holding your breath for.
The complete Love I Lost trilogy — available now
10. Our Ex’s Wedding by Taleen Voskuni
Taleen Voskuni takes the enemies-to-lovers trope and gives it one of the most delightfully chaotic setups in recent romance: two people who can’t stand each other must plan their mutual ex’s wedding together. The premise alone is worth the price of admission, but Voskuni elevates it with sharp writing, genuine character development, and the kind of slow-building tension that makes you want to scream at the page. If you loved her debut Lavash at First Sight, this is a confident, ambitious follow-up that proves she’s just getting started.
Read this if: you want an enemies-to-lovers romance with a premise that makes you laugh before it makes you feel things.
What Makes New Romance Books in 2026 So Exciting?
The romance genre has never been more diverse, more adventurous, or more willing to push boundaries. What makes this year’s crop of new romance releases particularly compelling is the range. You have time travel sitting next to small-town second chances, fake marriages next to deeply emotional reunion stories, and debut authors publishing alongside titans of the genre.
The best new romance books aren’t just love stories anymore. They’re explorations of identity, family, ambition, and what it means to be vulnerable with another person. Authors like Abby Jimenez and Emilly Carter are writing romances with the emotional complexity of literary fiction while keeping the heart-pounding tension that makes the genre addictive.
What’s also worth noting is how many of these latest romance books feature protagonists who aren’t starting from scratch. Second chances, reunions, and marriages of convenience dominate the landscape because readers are hungry for stories about people who’ve already been through something and are choosing love anyway, with all the scar tissue that entails.
Frequently Asked Questions
What new romance books are coming out in 2026?
2026 is packed with highly anticipated new romance releases from both established and debut authors. Major titles include The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez, Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey, The Love I Lost trilogy by Emilly Carter, and In My Tudor Era by Kate Bromley. The year features strong representation across contemporary, historical, and genre-bending romance.
What is the best new romance series to start in 2026?
The Love I Lost trilogy by Emilly Carter is one of the most compelling new romance series available right now. The three-book arc follows Elena and Marcus through first love, heartbreak, and a decade-long second chance that reshapes both their lives. For readers who love binge-reading a complete story, the trilogy bundle is the way to go.
Are there any good new romance books with second chance tropes?
Several of the best new romance books in 2026 feature second chance storylines. The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. Neilson delivers an emotional culinary-set reunion, Last First Kiss by Julian Winters explores reconnection at a wedding, and The Love I Lost by Emilly Carter is widely considered one of the strongest second chance romances to come out this year.
What are hot new romance books for readers who like slow burn?
If you prefer your romances to build gradually, look for The Love I Lost by Emilly Carter, which features a slow burn between former lovers forced into proximity in a small coastal town. The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. Neilson also delivers measured, emotionally complex pacing. Both novels reward patient readers with deeply satisfying payoffs.
Where can I find upcoming romance books and new releases?
Goodreads maintains monthly lists of upcoming romance books, and sites like Book Riot and She Reads Romance Books publish regular roundups of new romance releases. For curated recommendations with purchase links, author websites often announce new titles months in advance. Emilly Carter’s latest releases are available at emillycarter.com/shop.
Ready to start your 2026 reading list? The Love I Lost trilogy is available now at emillycarter.com.
Emilly Carter is the author of The Love I Lost trilogy, available now.
