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Top 10 Romance Reads of 2019

Posted on by Sumedha

2019 was my year of romance reading.

Over the last few years, the number of romance books I read has been slowly increasing. This year, my favourite genre changed from Fantasy to Romance. Or maybe it changed late last year but I only came to terms with it in 2019.

Since I was all into Adult Romance, I gobbled up romance books A LOT. My Goodreads challenge has very few books which are not in the Adult Romance genre. As I read so many of them, I thought I’d share my favourites with y’all.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a freebie, so we’re free to post any top 10 list of ours. And I’m so glad because I can’t join in on any of the Christmas lists haha.

Note: most of these are Adult Romances and contain various degrees of explicit scenes.

[1] Rafe by Rebekan Weatherspoon

Rafe

I read this book only recently and it has SWOOPED into my favourites easily, destroying the chance for any other book. This book was SO GOOD. I’m still reeling from that reading experience.

  • Awesome chemistry.
  • Cute AF six year old.
  • BREAKING GENDER STEREOTYPES.
  • Being understanding and respectable about boundaries!!!
  • ADULTS ACTING LIKE RESPONSIBLE ADULTS.
  • Slow and true relationship growth.

I read that book twice in the span of a month. After my first read, I read two other books, but then this was just too good and nothing else compared so I HAD to reread it.

Click here to read my entire review.

[2] Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan

long shot

This is too good to not be one of the top picks. I knew when I was reading the book that it would make into my top reads of 2019. It deserves more talk and more recognition.

  • SO MUCH MORE THAN ROMANCE.
  • Will definitely break your heart at least once.
  • Domestic abuse rep.
  • HARD TO READ.
  • The romance is so worth it, though.
  • STRONG CHARACTERS.
  • Major trigger warnings!!!! (mentioned in my review)

Click here to read my review.

[3] RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE BY CASEY MCQUISTON

red white and royal blue

Honestly, is there ANY surprise that this is included in my list?

  • HILARIOUS.
  • Very strong characters.
  • T H E R O M A N C E.
  • It’s suuuuuper gay and chaotic.
  • BRITISH PRINCE AND FIRST SON OF AMERICA!
  • Cute as heck.
  • The banter between the characters is highly entertaining.
  • YOU SHOULD READ IT.

Click here to see my full review.

[4] The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

the flatshare

Yoo this book will NOT get out of my head. It’s been so long since I read it, and it still pops up in my thoughts like ?? What is that effect? The plot is ah-mazing.

  • OPPOSITES ATTRACT.
  • They share an apartment, and a bed, but have never met.
  • CUUTE ROMANCE.
  • Conversations via sticky notes around the house!!
  • A+ CHARACTERS.
  • Finding long lost love!!!
  • An adorable meddling 5 year old.
  • GREAT CHEMISTRY.
  • Content warnings mentioned in my review.

Click here to read my review.

[5] The Friend Zone by Abby Jiminez

the friend zone book cover

This. Book. It gave me way too many feels, and broke my heart a little too much before saving me. A really really nice romance book with a well thought-out plot.

  • STRONG FEMALE LEAD.
  • Female lead has uterine fibroids, and we see it affecting her life in detail.
  • FRIENDS TO LOVERS.
  • Open-minded and understanding male lead.
  • AWESOMESAUCE CHEMISTRY.

Click here to read my review.

[6] FUMBLED BY ALEXA MARTIN

fumbled

Alexa Martin is an author whom I discovered this year and am LOVING her work. Fumbled was my first book of hers and I’m sure I’ll read many more.

  • HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS.
  • A super cute 10 year old!
  • Perfect for fans of football.
  • FRIENDS GOALS.
  • Just is a very fun read.

Click here to read my full review.

[7] HEARTACHE & HOPE BY JAY MCLEAN

heartache and hope

Okay so I actually did not write a full review for this because I binge read both the books in this duet in less than two days. After that, I was just reeling from the effects and my heart needed TIME. Then I just couldn’t not form proper sentences for this book.

  • WILL BREAK YOUR HEART. Definitely. For sure.
  • Heartache and Hope. The title says it all. It’ll break you, fix you back, and repeat.
  • HIGH SCHOOL LOVE.
  • A really good plot. And so unique.
  • VAR VETERAN REP. PTSD REP. DISABILITY REP.
  • Honestly, all the representations were brilliant. The female lead’s mum suffers from PTSD after being a PoW. It’s.. a lot to take in.
  • You will need time to heal after this duet.
  • WORTH IT.

Advised to read content warnings before picking up the book.

[8] FAKE IT TILL YOU BREAK IT BY JENN P. NGUYEN

fake it till you break it

This is the only Young Adult book in this list. It’s technically contemporary but it’s pretty much romance so I’m counting it.

  • ENEMIES TO LOVERS TROPE.
  • In a different way, it’s also kind of friends-to-lovers trope.
  • FAKE DATING TROPE.
  • The characters are awesome.
  • ADORABLE AF RELATIONSHIP.
  • It’s a light and very fun read.

Click here to read my review.

[9] THE UNHONEYMOONERS BY CHRISTINA LAUREN

the unhoneymooners

Christina Lauren have smoothed into my favourite Romance authors list. So of course one of their books would be in this list.

  • Perfect vacation read.
  • Or just for a chill afternoon.
  • ENEMIES TO LOVERS TROPE.
  • The plot was really nice.
  • HILARIOUS BANTER.
  • Cool characters.
  • WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH.

[10] FOREVER RIGHT NOW BY EMMA SCOTT

forever right now book cover

When I found and picked up this book, I didn’t have many expectations. I just read it, and it was okay. But by the time I finished the book, it really made an impact on me. I spent days just thinking about it. After a while, I reread it and liked it even more.

This is one of those books which sneaks up on you and you don’t even realise when it becomes one of your favourites.

  • ALCOHOLIC RECOVERY REP.
  • A strong female lead, who I’m honestly inspired by.
  • She’s also very compassionate.
  • SINGLE DAD TROPE.
  • The characters in this book were A+.
  • SLOW-BURN ROMANCE.
  • Emotional and sweet.
  • MAKES A LASTING IMPRESSION.

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And those were my top romance reads of the year! (so far haha)

What were your favourite reads of 2019? Have you read any of these books? If you’ve done today’s Top Ten Tuesday, leave your links below!

Published by Sumedha

Sumedha spends her days reading books, bingeing Kdramas, drawing (amateur) art, and blogging while listening to Lo-Fi music.

47 thoughts on “Top 10 Romance Reads of 2019”

  2. Romance is kind of a tricky genre for me, I very rarely am in the mood for them. But I’m so glad you read so many great romance books 🙂 I read mostly thrillers and some of my favorites were: Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land, The Whisper Man by Alex North, and Lock Every Door by Riley Sager!

    My TTT list, if you’re interested: https://thenightisdarkandfullofbooks.wordpress.com/2019/12/10/top-ten-tuesday-21-my-2020-read-or-unhaul-list/

    Like

  6. I don’t actually read that much romance but I’m glad you do. I’m happy you did not recommend books with a shirtless man on the cover – I hate those covers, they say absolutely nothing about the book. Your #2 – I wouldn’t count that as one since it does half hide his body and there’s a nice face to look at.

    Thank you for visiting to my blog. Have a lovely day.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I totally understand that! I quite dislike them myself, which is why I always look for reviews. Some of those books turn out to be surprisingly nice.

      Thanks for the comment 🙂

      Like

  11. I have to admit that I’m not much of a romance reader, but some of these sound really interesting! I think I’ll have to check out Red, White & Royal Blue. I’ve heard good things about it, but your reasons have definitely sold me on it. xD I do love me some humor and good banter.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Yay! More romances to add to my list 😍 I kinda burned myself out on romances in the last two months but I’m slowly coming back into the romance mood, so I think I’ll definitely check some of these out. I LOVED The Flatshare though–it was like getting warm hugs while reading and it was so perfect 🥰 Great TTT list!

    Liked by 1 person

  20. SUPER excited to read “The Flateshare,” someday. Also, ‘Break It’ SOUNDS and looks darling. Definitely two books I should make time for in 2020!! Thanks so much for the Finding Wonderland visit last week. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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