Romance
January 2026

Recent Releases
And Then There Was You
by Sophie Cousens

Hoping to impress her more accomplished classmates (including her former best friend, film director Sean Adler) at her ten-year college reunion, stuck-in-a-rut Chloe Fairway joins an exclusive dating service to secure her perfect plus-one. Rob is everything she could have dreamed of…but he’s a robot. Will her fake romance lead to real love? For another witty and heartfelt romance with speculative elements, try Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer.
Daddy Issues
by Kate Goldbeck

When 26-year-old bartender and aspiring art historian Sam Pulaski meets divorced dad Nick Martino at a bar, their chemistry is immediate -- but she'll have to decide if she's ready to risk her career prospects to settle down with him and his nine-year-old daughter in small-town Ohio. For fans of: slow-burn age-gap romances like Ali Hazelwood's Problematic Summer Romance.
Sparks Fly
by Zakiya N. Jamal

Ready to lose her virginity, 27-year-old journalist Stella Johnson tags along with her best friend to a sex club, where she has a sizzling meet-cute with Max Williams. After she gets cold feet and flees, Stella is shocked to learn that Max is none other than the CEO of a tech company her workplace is partnering with -- and that his penchant for using AI means Stella's job may be on the chopping block. Try this next: How to Sell a Romance by Alexa Martin.
The Bodyguard Affair
by Amy Lea

When Andi Ziegler, the personal assistant to the wife of Canada's Prime Minister, is accused of having an affair with the Prime Minister, she enlists Nolan Crosby, the PM's new bodyguard (and her failed one-night stand from three years ago) to be her fake boyfriend. For another steamy fake-dating bodyguard romance featuring well-developed characters, check out The Bodyguard by Katherine Center.
The Marriage Method
by Mimi Matthews

Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies teacher Penelope "Nell" Trewlove agrees to meet with newspaper editor Miles Quincy, who's determined to expose the school's "subversive" aims. When a clumsy moment puts them in a compromising position, they're forced into a marriage of convenience that quickly throws them into the middle of a murder mystery. This fast-paced 2nd in the Crinoline Academy Victorian romance series will appeal to fans of Manda Collins' Ladies Most Scandalous novels and Evie Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women series.
For Fans Of: Emily Henry
With Netflix's long-awaited adaptation of Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation dropping on January 9th (and additional adaptations currently in the works), fans of the author will be eager to dive into some similarly heartfelt and witty romances. Try one of these!
 
In a Not So Perfect World
by Neely Tubati Alexander

In exchange for a free trip to Turks and Caicos, overworked video game designer Sloane Cooper is more than willing to pose as her neighbor Charlie's new girlfriend as part of his ill-advised plan to win back his ex. For fans of: Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation.
Secretly Yours
by Tessa Bailey

Reuniting with her teenage crush Julian Vos while redoing the gardens at his family's Napa Valley vineyard, Hallie Welch is shocked when he doesn't remember her, channeling her confusion into drunk-writing a secret admirer letter. While Julian puzzles out the mysterious missive, he finds himself increasingly drawn to Hallie, whose freewheeling ways threaten to upend his buttoned-up lifestyle. For fans of: Emily Henry's Beach Read.
The Next Best Fling
by Gabriella Gamez

Librarian Marcela Ortiz, heartbroken over her best friend’s engagement, and ex-NFL player Theo Young, secretly in love with his brother's fiancée, agree to a no-strings-attached relationship. Pretending to be together, they discover unexpected chemistry, navigating complicated feelings and family dynamics, while realizing their rebound might be something more. For fans of: Emily Henry's Funny Story.
One-Star Romance
by Laura Hankin

The maid of honor at her best friend's wedding, struggling writer Natalie Shapiro is stunned to discover that best man Robert Kapinsky, a college professor with whom she's shared some flirty chemistry, panned her book on Goodreads. Over the course of a decade, the two repeatedly cross paths to celebrate their friends' milestones and possibly inch closer to their own happy ending. For fans of: Emily Henry's Happy Place.
How to End a Love Story
by Yulin Kuang

In this heart-wrenching but hopeful debut by director and People We Meet on Vacation screenwriter Yulin Kuang, author Helen Zhang moves to Los Angeles to write for the TV adaptation of her bestselling YA series and encounters producer Grant Shepard, who played a role in the death of her younger sister. For fans of: Emily Henry's Book Lovers.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
JACKSONVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
303 N. Laura St.
Jacksonville, FL 32202
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jaxpubliclibrary.org
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