The romance genre is as diverse and bold as ever in 2025, blending classic tropes with fresh perspectives and emotionally rich storytelling. Whether you like your love stories with dragons, astronauts or werewolves, this year’s biggest titles are delivering.
Here are eight standout 2025 romance releases worth your time.
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1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
The third instalment in Yarros’ blockbuster Empyrean series became the fastest-selling adult novel in two decades, shifting over 2.7 million copies in its first week. A romantic fantasy filled with dragon-riders, political intrigue and high emotional stakes, Onyx Storm cements romantasy as the genre trend of the year.
2. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo returns with a historical romance set during the early years of NASA’s space program. Atmosphere follows astronaut Joan Goodwin as she navigates ambition, grief and love in orbit. Selected as Good Morning America’s June Book Club pick, it’s Reid’s most anticipated release since Daisy Jones & The Six.
3. Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
Known for her emotionally intelligent rom-coms, Jimenez’s latest explores anxiety, grief and fertility struggles with warmth and humour. It debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and is already being hailed as one of the year’s most tender and truthful romances.
4. Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
Guillory’s ninth novel is her first to centre a queer relationship: a bisexual winery worker and a high-strung event planner, set in California’s Napa Valley. Romantic, witty and full of heart, Flirting Lessons brings fresh flavour to a beloved author’s backlist. As Guillory told The Washington Post, “This book felt more personal than anything I’ve written before.”
5. Fan Service by Rosie Danan
A swoony blend of paranormal romance and fandom meta-fiction, Danan’s latest offers werewolves, convention culture and slow-burn yearning. Highlighted by Entertainment Weekly as a top seasonal pick, Fan Service is one for anyone who’s ever fallen in love with the fanfic before the canon.
6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Emily Henry returns with a story that’s both sweeping and intimate, following a burnt-out screenwriter and a reclusive artist who are forced to share a remote seaside house. With her signature blend of witty dialogue and emotional complexity, Henry explores creativity, loneliness and the messy hope of starting over. Great Big Beautiful Life has already hit the New York Times bestseller list and is being praised as her most mature and moving novel yet.
7. A Showgirl’s Rules for Falling in Love by Talia Hibbert
Bursting with camp, confidence and screwball charm, this rom-com sees a Las Vegas performer and a buttoned-up tax auditor fall unexpectedly in love. Hibbert’s trademark inclusivity and sex-positive storytelling shine in a book that’s equal parts hilarious and heartfelt.
8. Courtroom Drama by Kennedy Ryan
From the author of Before I Let Go, this legal romance dives deep into second chances, systemic racism and healing love. Readers have praised it for its slow burn, powerful prose and complex leads. It’s a romance that dares to interrogate justice alongside joy.
What these 2025 romances reveal
This year’s most talked-about romances share a few powerful traits:
- Genre-blending: From dragons to lawyers, werewolves to astronauts, authors are stretching the limits of romance storytelling.
- Emotional depth: Themes like grief, fertility, mental health and identity are being explored with nuance and care.
- Representation matters: 2025 romance releases show greater diversity than ever, featuring queer love stories, body-positive characters, and protagonists of colour.
- Blockbuster potential: Romance is not just a niche. Onyx Storm proves the genre can dominate sales and cultural conversation.
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