7 romance books I want to read

A new year means new books. And in 2022, there will be some awesome romance books released. I wanted to share the list of the anticipated romance reads I’m excited to read in 2022. Because romance is the one genre, I always turn to when I’m unsure what to read. While this list isn’t extensive, or all the books I’m planning on filling my shelves with.

So if you’re unsure what books to add to your wish list, here are 7 romance books to keep an eye on to read in 2022.

All release dates are based in the UK (as that’s where I live), unless otherwise specified.

7 romance books I’m desperate to read

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming… Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. This is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls. But instead of picnics in meadows or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times, and it’s never been cute.

Emily Henry, author of Beach Read and You and Me On Vacation (two of my favourite reads) is back again, and I can’t wait to read what her characters get up to this time. Emily has a way of writing romance that just has me in awe and always makes me smile.

For blog post on You + Me On Vacation by Emily Henry, click here.

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted to give Ari the mentorship she wants. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer. In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

After falling head over heels with The Ex Talk, I immediately added it to my list as soon as I heard Rachel was bringing out another book. The fact Rachel is also showing us a workplace romance in the workplace again has me, so naturally, it’s added to the list to read in 2022.

Made in Manhattan by Lauren Layne

Sometimes the best things come from unexpected places . . . Raised in the privileged world of Upper East Side Manhattan, Violet Townsend always says the right things, wears the right clothes, and never rocks the boat. So when a friend of her beloved grandmother asks Violet to teach her newly discovered grandson how to fit in with the city’s elite, Violet immediately agrees. Her task? To prepare Cain Stone to take his place as heir to his family company . . . but he’s not exactly an eager student. But somewhere between antagonistic dinner parties and tortured tux fittings, Cain and Violet begin to find begrudging respect for each other – and perhaps even something more.

I’ll admit the cover on Goodreads is initially what caught my eye, but as soon as I read the blurb, I knew I had to read this. Enemies to lovers? Check. Female teaching the male? Check. And, reading that Lauren Layne has written quite a few well-loved rom-com books, you know your girl is here for this one.

The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa

Just weeks away from ditching DC for greener pastures, Solange Pereira is roped into helping her wedding planner cousin on a random couple’s big day. It’s an easy gig… until Solange stumbles upon a situation that convinces her the pair isn’t meant to be. What’s a true-blue romantic to do? Crash the wedding, of course. And ensure the unsuspecting groom doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life. Now Dean has a whole new item on his to-do list: beg Solange to be his pretend girlfriend. Solange feels a tiny bit bad about ruining Dean’s wedding, so she agrees to play along. Yet as they fake-date their way around town, what started as a performance for Dean’s colleagues turns into a connection that neither he nor Solange can deny.

Author of The Worst Best Man, Mia Sosa is back with another brilliant romance book. With wedding crashing, fake dating, and possibly denying-feelings-even-if-they’re-staring-you-in-the-face, what other tropes do you need? I’m super excited by this one, more so because the premise seems so unique and fun.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most reviled woman in America after turning down a proposal on a reality dating show. When she comes home to lick her wounds, Jada finds herself working at San Diego’s newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. When a reporter mistakenly believes Jada and Donovan are an item, they realize they can use the misunderstanding to their advantage to help the bakery and rehabilitate Jada’s image. Faking a relationship should be simple, but sometimes love is the most unexpected ingredient.

Is there anything sweeter than fake dating in a bakery? This romance book is going to show us. This is another one where I read the blurb, grinned and knew I had to have a slice (ha, puns). I’m so excited for this one, hoping there are lots of baking puns and a scene where flour goes everywhere. Because baking with someone you’re crushing on has to have a flour explosion. Right? Well, guess I’m adding it to the list to read in 2022 to find out.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny. But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes. On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe probably not, but maybe more to Shara, too.

I would never miss having Casey on any of my ‘excited to read’ never mind to read in 2022. As someone who always writes romance books in a way that makes me grin, Casey McQuiston, is an auto-buy author for me. Anyone who knows me knows how much I adored RWRB, it appears in more of my IG than my dog. So when I heard of this latest book, I screamed (just a touch). I’m hoping to update this post when I know there’s a UK release date, but for now, we have to wait. Which kills me. But, we move.

How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan

Interior Design School? Check. Cute house to fix up? Check. Sexy, grumpy neighbour who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately. Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, she’ll get her degree and her dream job. When an opportunity to fix up―and live in―a little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door. With the rules for being neighbourly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.

I’ve recently picked up Sophie’s Ten Rules For Faking It and I’m already super excited for her next book. I hope we get an update on UK publishing soon for it, but for now, enemies-to-lovers has me swooning with excitement.

While I read across a lot of genres, romance is where I always find myself back at. The tropes have me swooning, and the will-they-won’t-they and the will-they-realise have me grinning. With that, I’m usually always on the lookout for new romance books, so creating a list early of books I’m going to read in 2022. Seems about right.

Have any of the books I’ve mentioned caught your eye? Let me know.