Romance readers are living in a golden age: the romcoms are sharper, the small towns are warmer and the villains are more tempting than they have any right to be. We pulled the 10 romance books generating the loudest swooning this year, from beach-read royalty to the dark romance your group chat pretends it has not finished twice. Every pick below links to our full preview, where you can watch an original thirty-second cinematic trailer before you commit your heart.
Quick picks:
- Funny Story by Emily Henry: our preview + trailer
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: our preview + trailer
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach: our preview + trailer
How we picked
Every book here lives on the Curatsy Bookshelf, our library of the 120 most talked-about new books, each with a full preview and an original thirty-second cinematic trailer. For this list we weighed reader buzz, author track record and how hard the premise refuses to leave your head. We only feature books we would hand to a friend.
1. Funny Story by Emily Henry
One fake summer romance. What could possibly stay fake?
The fake-dating setup is a classic for a reason and nobody runs it better than Emily Henry. Lake town, wounded hearts, jokes that land.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon2. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Two rival writers. One island. The story of the century.
Two writers, one island, one heiress with the story of the century. The competition is professional. The tension is not.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon3. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
The guest nobody planned for became the one nobody could forget.
Not a traditional romance, but the most romantic thing we read about second chances at life. Bring tissues to the grand hotel.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon4. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
In 1980, she traded the classroom for the stars.
A love story inside NASA's 1980 shuttle program, where the wrong word ends two careers. Reid at her most sweeping.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon5. Don't Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon
The title is a warning. Nobody listens.
Toon builds romances that hurt in the best way. The title is a warning. Nobody listens.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon6. Chasing the Fire by Paisley Hope
Small town. Old flame. Bad idea. Perfect.
Small town, old flame, terrible idea, perfect execution. Silver Pines keeps delivering.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon7. The Project by Annie Lord
The project was strictly professional. For about a week.
The romcom pick of the year: strictly professional for about a week.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon8. Hunt the Villain by Rina Kent
The villain is the prize. Hunting him is the game.
The dark romance headliner of 2026. The villain is the prize. Hunting him is the game.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon9. Riftborne by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lyle
The rift chose her. The enemy commander chose her too.
The romantasy sitting on top of the bestseller lists: a rift that chose her and an enemy commander who chose her too.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on Amazon10. Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen
Bound to a fury. Neither of them is sorry.
Bound to a fury, neither of them sorry. Fantasy romance with real series momentum.
Read our full preview and watch the trailer →
→ Get it on AmazonKeep browsing
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- Browse the full Curatsy Bookshelf: every book, every trailer
