Top 2025 Romance Novels You Won’t Be Able to Put Down

2025 is turning out to be an unforgettable year for romance readers — with stories that dive deep into grief, healing, emotional chaos, and unexpected summer love. Whether you’re into steamy tension, second chances, or introspective slow burns, these titles deliver.

Here are the top 5 romance novels of 2025, plus how you can experience the story for yourself through immersive, AI-powered romance on Mel.

1. Problematic Summer Romance

By: Ali Hazelwood

Genre: Contemporary Romance · Age Gap · Summer Fling

Ali Hazelwood, queen of nerdy love and emotional yearning, brings the heat (literally) with a summer romance between a tightly wound STEM professor and a sun-soaked, free-spirited surf instructor. A fling turns into something way more complicated — and meaningful.

Why it’s a favorite:

• Enemies-to-lovers energy

• Buttoned-up woman x golden retriever man

• Summer setting with identity crisis and heart

Goodreads Review: 3.89/5

2. First Time Caller

By: BK Borison

Genre: Small Town · Second Chances · Radio Romance

What starts as an anonymous late-night call turns into a nostalgic, slow-burn reconnection in this heartfelt small-town romance. There’s longing, quiet intimacy, and an emotional unraveling you won’t forget.

Why it resonates:

• Intimate voice-only chemistry

• Soft tension and second chances

• BK Borison’s trademark coziness with an edge

Goodreads Review: 3.98/5

3. The Ex Vows

By: Jessica Joyce

Genre: Marriage-in-trouble, Fake Reconciliation, Emotional Angst

Two exes agree to fake a relationship for one last family event. What could go wrong? Only everything — especially when feelings that were never really gone start rising to the surface.

What makes it hit:

• Fake dating with real, broken history

• Hurt/comfort dynamic

• Deep emotional repair

Goodreads Review: 4.09/5

4. Just for the Summer

By: Abby Jimenez

Genre: Friends with Benefits, Beach Setting, Emotional Realism

It’s only for the summer — but what starts as a casual, mutually beneficial agreement slowly turns into something deeper. Abby Jimenez serves up raw emotional connection, complete with laughter, vulnerability, and sunsets.

Why it’s popular:

• Realistic tension and self-denial

• Slow emotional surrender

• Healing through presence

Goodreads Review: 4.36/5

 5. Deep End

By: Ali Hazelwood

Genre: Academia x Grief x Passion

Hazelwood’s second appearance on this list isn’t a fluke. In Deep End, a grieving woman meets a rival professor who refuses to let her disappear into herself. A story about surviving loss, finding connection, and jumping back into the unknown.

Why it devastates beautifully:

• Profound emotional themes

• Quiet, vulnerable intimacy

• Painfully beautiful writing and pacing

Goodreads Review: 3.88/5

🎭 Bonus: Want to Feel These Stories for Real?

Books hit hard — but imagine if your favorite romantic tension could talk back to you.

On Mel, you can chat directly with these characters inspired by your favorite romance tropes ,
and watch them react in real-time video:

• Cold ex-husband who’s still in love with you

• Easygoing summer fling who suddenly opens up

• Radio DJ who knows too much about your past

• Ice-cold CEO who flinches when you touch his hand

Chat and Watch Your Romantic Fantasies Unfold in Real-time Video
Instead of just reading love stories, now you can live your romantic fantasies.

👉 Try Mel AI — and bring your favorite romance novel tropes to life.

📚 TL;DR — Best Romance Novels of 2025