If You're Looking For The Perfect Rom-Com To Read This Summer, Try These 17 Rom-Coms Releasing This Year
Imagine it’s the dead hot middle of summer. The heat is unbearable, so a good romantic-comedy-shaped escape is an immediate requirement. If only we could leap into another world, where romantic comedies can take us away for a breezy summer dip.
Below, you’ll find a list of all the amazing rom-coms this year has to offer. Escape to contemporary or fantastical romantic comedies, where witches kiss their enemy, cupcake bakers fake date, an extravagant gothic lady demands her own love story, sapphics eat some really tasty cake in Seattle, weddings end in chaos, Black lesbians enter a dating reality TV show, and a bodyguard protects a hottie.
If you're intrigued, read on to learn more about these most excellent rom-coms releasing this year.
1.The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa
What it's about: It’s a well-oiled tradition for rom-coms to be all about weddings. You know the ones: Kissing in wine cellars, champagne towers on the edge of crashing, absent father(s) popping up for the big day, Jane Fonda in the ugliest hat you’ve ever seen. The Wedding Crasher takes on that time-honored tradition. There’s nothing ordinary about Mia Sosa’s rom-coms. A marriage of convenience crashes and burns into fake dating between the crasher and the former groom. When his marriage of convenience crashes and burns, Dean asks the woman that ruined his wedding to be his fake girlfriend. In Mia Sosa’s newest, you'll find fun parties (some very R-rated ones in fact), beautifully tuned comedic timing, and honest-to-god prose that made me scream, “This is actually a rom-com.” Mia Sosa gave me all the warm, gooey-centered feelings that made me sad when I turned that last page.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
2.Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
What it's about: Tessa Bailey writes a coastal friends-to-lovers rom-com in Hook, Line, and Sinker. Get a beach towel, a comfy chair, a summer drink, and sink your whole self into this breezy rom-com for an hour or two of total relaxation. A crab fisherman falls for his friend in this flirty, beachy rom-com. City girl, Hannah Bellinger, finds a text buddy in Fox Thornton through their shared love of music. When Hannah’s work leads her back to the small coastal town he's from, she asks Fox for a bit of matchmaking help. Hannah has a thing for goth boy directors, but she’s no flirting expert. Her only hope is to ask her bestie for a little Casanova assistance. They’ve always been long-distance friends, but close proximity develops into a romance full of feelings, sweaty chests, and fake dating. Tessa Bailey’s writing stands out in all the right sexy ways. It is truly nice to find a funny romance that sinks into complicated feelings about self-worth, giving way to a heartfelt story about the love we give ourselves. Fox's inner conflict gives plenty of complex characterization, Hannah’s determination to convince Fox that he’s deserving of absolutely everything is a tearjerker, and the tension is to die for. Tessa Bailey’s writing made every little scream I inflicted on my blanket worth it.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
3.Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
What it's about: Weather Girl is an excellent rom-com about a meteorologist and a sports reporter who team up in order to reunite their prickly bosses. Where Ari is all about sunshine, Russell hides behind the clouds. Ari’s boss, a famed Seattle weatherwoman, is constantly distracted by her ex-husband, the news director. If you love it when two employees come together to set up their bosses but then fall for each other instead, this rom-com is all that and more. Rachel Lynn Solomon writes a Jewish heroine dealing with depression, going against the usual sunshine character stereotypes. I had the biggest smile on my face reading about a plus-size hero in a profession known for excluding marginalized body types. Put this on your summer list for some unexpected heat. Weather Girl is a book that summons sunshine when the weather turns into a complete storm.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
4.Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
What it's about: Alexandria Bellefleur's writing is as sparkling as champagne, bubbling with taste in every word. From the author of Written in the Stars and Hang the Moon, Alexandria Bellefleur continues her Seattle-set, astrology-inspired series with a sapphic estranged friends-to-lovers rom-com. Margot doesn’t expect her best friend’s wedding planner to be the girl that broke her heart, but after some unfortunate circumstances leave Olivia without a place to stay in Seattle, Margot invites her to stay at her apartment. But Olivia’s proximity to Margot makes her question their relationship, their past, and the possibility of second chances. I fell in love with Count Your Lucky Stars. I loved Margot, Olivia, and their queer ally, Cat. Bellefleur provides sweet, bubbly romance, each romantic moment providing depth, excitement, and balance. Upon finishing, I found myself wearing a huge goofy grin on my face.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
5.Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
What it's about: If you’re looking for a small town romance but sapphic, add Ashley Herring Blake’s romantic comedy featuring a photographer and a single-mom bookseller to your summer reading list. When Delilah Green reluctantly returns to her hometown from New York City for her stepsister’s wedding, sparks fly when she meets a former mean girl. When circumstances force Claire Sutherland and Delilah Green together, they discover they can't resist each other. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is a romance that will sweep readers off their feet. It's funny and vulnerable, and Ashley Herring Blake writes about identity with honesty. The characters’ identities are written with depth in mind, digging into the impacts of day-to-day queer experiences.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
6.A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings
What it's about: Pretty much everyone hates going to the dentist, but a rom-com “teeth” cute absolutely breaks that ice. Two student dentists crash into each other in an unbelievably cute and funny debut about friendship, the expectations of family, and mental health. A Brush with Love fills that itch for a STEMinist rom-com with laughter, slow-burn romance, and toothy puns. Harper is an anxious dentistry dreamer. Dan is continuing (see: trying) his family’s legacy, even if it’s against his own. Eddings writes a minty fresh romance with a softer, fluffier tone. I connected with Mazey’s anxiety, bringing this romance into such a cozy yet vulnerable experience. Seeing how Harper felt but also how Dan is there for her? I’d fare any toothache for that type of sweetness.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
7.Book Lovers by Emily Henry
What it's about: Summer exists entirely for reading Emily Henry rom-coms. In Book Lovers, Henry gives voice to a much-maligned archetype: the big city woman. Set in a summer town during the height of summer, two literary sharks fall in love. A literary agent, Nora Stephens, is exhausted by romantic relationships. Acquisition editor, Charlie Lastra, is the grump who turned down her client's work. When they both end up vacationing in the same town, their rivalry melts the more they meet. Instead of seeking out the cute townies, Nora falls for the ambitious literary boy. This isn't an average breezy summer romance. Readers follow a heroine who works in an industry known for creating burnout in employees. The ambitious literary characters in this breezy romance subvert expectations about bossy women, ambitious characters, and city people. Romance should not exclude the clawed, sharp-toothed, ambitious couples. In sunshine or rain, I obsess about hate-to-love — but especially if it’s in a literary package. With Henry's bubbly dialogue, I swooned in all the best ways. Henry makes the most cynical part of me believe that rom-coms that start in “once upon a city” will truthfully end with “they lived happily ever after.”
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
8.D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins
What it's about: Plan on swooning at the beach with this joyful, Black queer rom-com. Higgins makes room for Black queer people in a rom-com about how heterosexual reality TV dating shows rarely, or ever, put the camera on a diverse queer cast. Behind Higgin's camera, we watch the characters as they figure out love and relationships. Written like a comedic reality TV show, we get to read “Jitter Cam” thoughts from D’Vaughn and Kris as wedding plans develop into a sweet romance. Going against reality shows like the Bachelor, Instant I Do has queer contestants fake a marriage plot for their unknowing families. I related to the awkward situations in this soft lesbian romance about human connection. D’Vaughn’s awkwardness plays off Kris’ suave, cool girl attitude. I found myself curling up into a ball, wrapping up around each of them.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
9.Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
What it's about: If your idea of the perfect summer is binging The Great British Bake-Off, read Love & Other Disasters for the gayest cooking competition romance of your dreams. Grumpy/sunshine lovers should take note of this one. Two bakers get their meet-cute on the set of America’s favorite cooking show, Chef’s Special. Dahlia is recently divorced from her husband, and she hopes winning this competition will bring her success. London is the show’s first non-binary contestant. The added pressure of a transphobic contestant is an overwhelming reminder for them to be an example of success. I love a pop culture backdrop to a rom-com. It provides that upbeat, buzzy media flavor I’m looking for in a book. I found myself connecting with the messy characters, their honest talks about queerness, and the vulnerability within. London and Dahlia’s romance is a fun, adventurous rom-com.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
10.In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer
What it's about: New York City is a sparkly, romantic, dancing-beneath-the-city-lights type of rom-com setting. All those old films set in this great city spark a wish-fulfillment for me. The food, the night lights, the shopping, and all the noisy liveliness of the city seems like a great vacation spot. A New York City meet-cute can happen at any moment. When Franny Doyle rips her dress on the subway doors, a stranger in a fancy suit comes to her aid. But after their very sweet meet-cute gets posted online, Franny and Hayes become a romantic sensation. In a New York Minute feels like all those Nora Ephron-esque rom-coms. I fell in love with the slow burn between this sunshine/stoic couple. The high-octane, intense looks add the perfect amount of sizzle and a big oomph of angst. A pure rom-com.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
11.She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
What it's about: Like the charming florals climbing up those roller-skates on the cover, Lippincott and Derrick blossom with this college-set sapphic YA rom-com. If you want a YA that reminds you of all those classic teen rom-coms, She Gets the Girl will bring back those nostalgic summer movie nights. Molly is a shy, socially awkward college student determined to finally get the girl she’s always liked. Flirty, confident Alex is the cool girl trying to hide her home life and all her deep-set feelings. In a lesbian She’s All That twist, Alex agrees to be the matchmaker so she and Molly can win some hearts. A totally welcome disaster hits as they begin to see that their hearts belong to each other. The characters, and their complexities, grew on me. Their messy, inner wildness caused me to have such an unexpected emotional response. Knowing that She Gets the Girl is inspired by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick’s real-life romance gave this story an emotional truth that only comes from real love.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
12.The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton
What it's about: With the heat of summer comes the desperation for cool witchy things in our future. Summer summons that scene between Sally Owens and her witchy aunts making margaritas in the summer night. Lately, publishing is boiling with that special blend of fantasy and rom-com banter. India Holton’s incredibly unique voice is just one of them. In the companion to The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, India Holton tells an alternate Victorian witchy rom-com tale of true enemies-to-lovers, curses, English manners, kissing in the rain, banter-isms, and scandalous flirtations. When Charlotte Pettifer — a witch — steals and then plots against Alex O’Riley’s designs, they end up sworn enemies. Pick this up if you love a witchy enemies-to-lovers romance.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
13.Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu
Release date: July 12th, 2022
What it's about: Who doesn't love an office romance? The Office, Parks and Recreation, or my latest romance obsession, Business Proposal. In this grumpy-meets-sunshine and unrequited friends-to-lovers romance, Tieu takes us back to those classic office rom-coms with awkward Christmas parties, close proximity romance mishaps, and a meddling family. Cadence keeps her unrequited relationship with Matt at a distance. Emotionally withdrawn since her mother’s death, she finds it difficult to open up to him or anyone else in the office. When Matt is up for a promotion at work, Cadence joins him on a trip to LA. But their close proximity leads to them confessing feelings for each other. Like many disrespected employees, Cadence feels like she’s stuck in a role without any promise of a promotion. But when Matt introduces her to his meddling family as his fake girlfriend, the antics of his large family of aunties and cousins change things. Matt’s sweet, sunshine attitude balances well with Cadence’s grumpy quietness.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
14.The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Release date: July 19, 2022
What it's about: The Bodyguard gives those classic rom-com summer feels. Katherine Center mixes bubbly rom-com banter with a blockbuster action film plot in this laugh-out-loud twist on The Bodyguard meets Archer adventure. By day, Hannah Brooks is an international agent, traveling to foreign countries and preventing clients from danger. When she’s assigned to protect superstar hottie Jack Stapleton, she’s suddenly roped into a fake dating agreement. Center welcomes us into a world of laughs and real conflict. Characters confront deeply complicated feelings about depression, loss, self-image, and neurodivergence. Center writes intelligently by inviting readers to realize that a funny, fluffy, wonderfully fun rom-com can include dark themes. The author understands that real people use comedy to shield themselves from pain. The laughter that comes from pain makes this perfect rom-com balance of fluffy tones and deep themes a vulnerable read.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
15.Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley
Release date: July 21st, 2022
What it's about: Summer seems like the right time for a cupcake twist on fake dating, sugary treats, and romance book clubs. Wesley introduces a gentle football star and a bubbly former reality TV star into a well frost-covered, multi-layered rom-com. When three football star friends come together, they spin a dream away from the football field and into a sweet cupcake bakery. Jada can't seem to figure out her life. After her disgraceful exit from a popular Bachelorette-esque reality show, the nation labeled her a villain. Against all odds, Jada starts working at Sugar Blitz for the curmudgeonly owner. One very unwelcome reporter later, Jada and Donovan end up fake dating to save his struggling bakery. Fake dating, burning tension, and repressed feelings made me obsessed with this cute rom-com. Through faking dating, Jada and Donovan's real anxieties about their lives reveal true depth underneath this rom-com. Jamie Wesley writes romantic tension like a sweet taste that uncovers an explosion of flavor.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound.
16.The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy by Megan Bannen
Release date: August 23, 2022
What it's about: For those of us that love a unique fantasy in the summer, this rom-com is a warm treat. With the comedic mixture of the gothic world of Beetlejuice and the fantasy rom-com of the Princess Bride, Megan Bannen spins traditional rom-com banter and places it into a secondary wild-west coded fantasy world. Fans of the ‘80s American comedy Beetlejuice will find that blend of fantasy, dead people, and contemporary relationships familiar. Originally home to the Old Gods, humans pick at Tanria's portals for treasure, causing a zombie problem. Irascible demi-god, Hart Ralston, patrols the portals, and brings the dead to funeral parlors. Hart's hatred for mom-and-pop undertakers starts the beginning of Mercy Bridsall and Hart Ralston's long-standing rivalry. His aching loneliness starts getting to him, inspiring him to send an anonymous letter out into the world. In a baffling twist, it ends up delivered to his rival. Starting an epistolary romance, they share their tender, true feelings. Neither ever dreams the kind, loving letters could be from their rival. Bannen charmed me with a disgruntled goth demigod and a bubbly mortician. With green velvet chairs, paintings of dead gods, and gooey cinnamon rolls, Bannen shows how a secondary world where polar opposites fall in love can mimic some of pop culture's favorite films. A crispy, hot-fried, pastel-dipped piece of delicious fantasy fiction wrapped up in a ravenous rom-com. Salt Fucking Sea, this is a unique read!
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound.
17.Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne
Release date: September 6, 2022
Summer goths, take note of Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match. Sally Thorne sews a gothic horror retelling into a rom-com. In a Victorian gothic manor lives the witchy sister of Victor Frankenstein. With her brother newly married, she feels an even larger distance between them. Angelika Frankenstein does good work as his laboratory assistant, sewing a creature into being, but deep down she desires love. Thorne brilliantly pens a hero as the damsel in distress and a heroine as the rich, sheltered suitor of a gothic manor who seduces him. Blending horror with comedy, Thorne begins with a tale about orphans, the death of their parents, and how the wounds within are too painful to acknowledge. I immediately fell for this deadpan goth brother and sister. I loved that they would die for each other, even if they struggled to verbalize their feelings. Thorne's neurodivergent themes made this a tender read. Angelika Frankenstein's desire to dress Will up in her wealth, like a very rich and gallant suitor, shifts the gender roles. It's a very sexy mixture of the Addams Family if written by Young Frankenstein’s Mel Brooks. Sally Thorne writes a bold, seductive gothic heroine.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie bookstore via Indiebound. You can also try the audiobook version through Libro.fm.
