The premise of this novel is irresistibly cute as two writers find themselves living and writing about endless romance tropes, but the tone shift and the story's veering into poignant tragedy surprised me and felt out of synch with the beginning of the book. Katie and Tyler were childhood neighbors and friends, on the verge of young love, then devastated, bound together, and pushed apart by a shared tragedy. Years later, they are completely estranged. Katie is a ghostwriter f

Rabid middle-aged fans of the 90s boy band Boy Talk converge on a ship for meet and greets, photo ops, and collective love for their idols. Annie's own trip down memory lane is unexpectedly hedonistic, joyful, and full of chance encounters as she considers her life. Maybe that was nostalgia after all, the music a direct vein to her childhood, the least complicated part of her life. A shortcut to happiness. The American Fantasy ship is headed out on a four-day voyage, and its

This charming British-set novel takes a fortysomething widow facing empty nesting, hormonal changes, and professional uncertainty and opens up friendship, competition, and a new path forward through a recreational tennis league, new and old friends, a supportive brother, and an old crush. Jules is a fortysomething widow, single mom, and a busy buyer for a chain of lifestyle stores. She's lived next to the local Liverpool tennis club for years but hasn't played since she was a

Fortune delivers another entertaining summer read in this story of best friends, being jilted at the altar, a revamped honeymoon, miscommunication, second chances, and satisfying resolutions to all emotional, romantic, and professional challenges. Frankie and George, her best friend since childhood, were once so close they tattooed each other's names on their bodies. But they've been on the outs for a year or so. After Frankie’s wedding is called off, the two of them go on Fr

Center's newest rom-com involves a ship full of potential romance and heartbreak, a destination wedding, childhood crushes, long-term misunderstandings, zany moments, and the possibility of fresh starts for multiple couples. In Katherine Center's newest romance, JoJo Burton is finding her way from being in love with the idea of love to finding a real relationship. The reappearance of her childhood best friend Cooper helps JoJo begin to get more centered, but she moves from a

I love the way Fortune builds a summer tableau, but the reasoning for this forbidden love didn't hold up for me, and I was frustrated by...

I loved the love for books in this novel, but I ultimately couldn't get past my issue with the premise, in which an actress plays the...

More Funny and Sweet Light Fiction Adorable rom-coms can be perfect summertime reading. These Bossy favorites from a summer past stand...

The main male protagonist was off-putting to me in his arrogance at first, but Carley Fortune is the best at developing a lakeside...

I loved Sunny's body positivity and her self-made-woman status. I didn't fully buy into one of her love interests but was hooked on the...

I loved the premise, in which a golden girl and barrel-racer returns home to small-town Wyoming to figure out her future. I was looking...

Katherine Center's sweet rom-com about a video producer and her reluctant hero of a subject is set against the colorful backdrop of Key...

In Ava Robinson's debut novel, she offers an appealingly imperfect main character making missteps and forging a path forward while...

Abby Jimenez layers tough situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and here, her main protagonists must face and overcome...

Henry's story-within-a-story adds a historical fiction element to her signature big-hearted, banter-driven, steamy, intriguingly...

Pony Confidential is a cute story of a bond between a pony and its long-ago owner. It's nominally a mystery, but it's mainly a...

More of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads This is my second favorites lists of rom-coms and romantic reads from the past year. In my last list I...

In Kristy Boyce's young-adult charmer, high schoolers Riley and Nathan, coworkers who have nothing in common, end up in a fake-dating...

Lula Dean focuses on the incredible power of books and truth-telling as characters discover their bravest selves and confront difficult...

My Favorite Rom-Com Reads This is my first of two favorites lists of rom-coms and romantic reads. I was just talking to my friend Martha...