Top Five Reads of October 2025 – Historical Romance and Contemporary Romance Books

How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries (2011)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. Minerva has had a crush on her brothers’ friend Giles for years but had her heart trampled after a kiss from him at age 19. It’s nine years later and she’s an independent gothic novelist with no need for a husband, except for her grandmother’s pesky ultimatum. She tries to hold husband interviews, but Giles shows up instead, wanting to actually marry her. She decides he will make a very good fake fiance to scare her grandmother off. Except that he really does mean to court her. I love the set up where the guy has a fake rake reputation because he’s secretly a spy, so everyone has the wrong impression of him. We get all sorts of drama and intrigue with Giles’ background and we’re all still investigating what happened to Minerva’s parents all those years ago. Lots of plot and steam here, which makes for an enjoyable read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone romance. Super funny with lots of chaos and a crazy cast of side characters. Laura is about to sublet an apartment from a total stranger who is off to pastry school in Paris, but she ends up walking in on the man totally naked. And then his parents stop by and assume that she’s the girlfriend that he’s been telling them about all year. Callum is basically trying to avoid returning back to his home in Scotland with his overbearing parents and tales of family legacy, so he’s been making up a fake girlfriend named Caroline for the past year. After the parents leave, Laura pitches the idea of traveling with Callum to his home as his fake girlfriend. Lots of mishaps all the way through the book, and so entertaining to read, along with watching Callum and Laura falling in love. Such a great book.

Advance ebook provided by Harper Collins via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Julia Song Is Undateable by Susan Lee (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Fun premise here. Julia is all sorts of successful in her career, but that doesn’t count for her overbearing Korean family. She’s single at 30, so it’s time to buckle down and find a husband, especially when it’s her grandmother’s dying wish. Is her grandmother even sick? Not sure, but that’s a running theme throughout the book. She agrees to be set up on some dates, but she’s socially awkward and a bit too brash, so she asks childhood friend and neighbor Tae to be her dating coach. He’s hesitant and has his own stuff going on, but he’s had a crush on her forever and the all-around nice guy, so he eventually helps her. It’s adorable to see these two practice date and fall for each other for real. Nevermind that all her setups are total jerks. Cute and funny and a smidge steamy. Fulfills all your pre-teen race car bed dreams.

Advance ebook provided by Canary Street Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

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While the Duke Was Sleeping by Samara Parish (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. This book was so funny and all the things that could go wrong do. Adelaide is a lady’s maid to a duke’s daughter who runs away from her own high profile wedding. They swap dresses and run away, hoping to hide out for a bit. Then Adelaide has an awkward first meeting with Rhett, a gentleman returning to England at the request of his ducal brother. They meet, they get into a scuffle, they flirt a bit, and then part ways. But we know that’s not the end for them. The ducal brother somehow discovers a duke’s daughter is renting a cottage in the country from him, comes to propose marriage, and gets injured in the process. And now, we have Adelaide being forced by her employer to pretend to be her and break off the engagement to the duke when he wakes up. But he doesn’t wake up as quickly as everyone would like, and we get to re-meet Rhett and all sorts of chaotic sisters. It’s fate, but worse, since Adelaide is supposedly someone else and engaged to his brother. The yearning here was so good and this book was so much fun to read.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Final print book provided by Forever Books. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Hellion’s Waltz by Olivia Waite (2021)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Feminine Pursuits series. I love a good swindle, especially when combined with some vigilante justice. Sophie is rightly skeptical of anyone being swindled, with her family’s recent downfall at the hands of a con-man. However, Maddie and her band of weavers have a plan for getting back at the local draper who has been taking advantage of them for decades. While Sophie is trying to figure out which side she wants to support, she’s definitely falling for Maddie’s seductions in the process. We have a bit of a fast-burn romance here, with Sophie quickly joining the weavers’ side and bringing her own ideas to the chaos. Loved this little village who support each other and I liked seeing how they were all tied to each other.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.