Romance New Releases from October 2025 (contemporary romance, historical romance)

An Enchanting Kiss by Alexa Aston (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Captivating Kisses series. Semi-tragic prologue for Rupert, an army major and second son of a viscount who was neglected for most of his life. He’s being called home by his brother who is on his deathbed. Left to clean up the mess, Rupert immediately takes on all responsibilities as the new viscount, including the care of his five year old illegitimate niece. The bond between Rupert and his niece is probably the sweetest part of this book, made even better when he meets Lady Lia, the daughter of a duke who is visiting her cousin at the neighboring estate. It’s a really easy going friends to lovers story here, with the only hiccup being Rupert needing to let himself fall in love.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

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The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur (2025)

Paranormal romance. Standalone novel. Samantha is having a rough day after the love of her life Hannah rejects her proposal of marriage and tells her all the reasons why it won’t work. And then Sam comes across a demon named Daphne who is willing to grant Sam six wishes in exchange for her soul. Of course, every wish that Sam makes is in an attempt to win Hannah back. I enjoyed reading all the different scenarios where Hannah is actually kind of terrible and Sam slowly realizing that maybe she shouldn’t be pinning all her dreams on the lady. The romance between Sam and Daphne was a little rushed, even with the instant attraction, and I’m not entirely sure it was true love after only a few days together. Especially when Daphne is an actual demon antagonizing Sam, and Sam being totally in love with Hannah for more than half the book. It was fun to read, even if the romance part was a bit lackluster.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

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Good Spirits by BK Borison (2025)

Paranormal romance. Book 1 of the Ghosted series. A Christmas haunting gone slightly askew. Nolan is a ghost who’s there to haunt Harriet, but she’s not a bad person who even needs the haunting. She’s got a terrible mother and kind of a sad and lonely childhood, but she’s living life on her own terms now. Nolan is a grumpy ghost, having been a ghost with no signs of moving on for the past century. But watching Harriet and Nolan fall in love has got to be the sweetest thing to ever exist. And who knew relations with a ghost could be so steamy. Loved it.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

Mate by Ali Hazelwood (2025)

Paranormal romance. Sequel to Bride. Serena has just found out that she’s not fully human and actually a human-Were hybrid that everyone just wants to study. And the alpha leader Koen has told her that she’s his mate, but that he’s not going to do anything about it. Right. It’s clear that there’s something biological or hormonal happening between these two, but there are some political reasons why it can’t happen. And also, someone’s trying to kidnap Serena for scientific and/or political purposes. It’s all sorts of danger and scent glands, and if you’ve read enough omegaverse fanfiction, you also know what it means when a female wakes up from achy night sweats. Super fun read.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs (2025)

Fantasy romance. Standalone novel. A medieval Legally Blonde retelling with hints of magic and some new creatures we’ve never heard of. Also, super open to all types of romantic pairings and a major nonbinary character as part of the ensemble. Princess Clia has just been rejected by her longtime friend and partner in royal alliances Prince Domhnall, who basically says she’s not warrior queen material. She decides to enroll at the prestigious warrior training program to prove herself. She’s definitely a fish out of water, but she’s determined to work hard. It’s definitely a story with a lot of action and adventure and personal growth for Clia. The romance between her and the prince’s guard Ronan runs throughout the story, but is definitely secondary to the action plot. Lots of intrigue and fighting. A bit of world-building to set things up in the first third of the book, but still an enjoyable read overall.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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.

Her Hired Husband by Caroline Lee (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era Scotland. Book 3 of the Surprise Heirs series. All the chaos and humor that I would expect from a Caroline Lee novel. Helena is a whiskey brewer in Scotland who was afraid she wouldn’t be taken seriously by the big burly Scotsmen, so she makes up a fake husband who has been giving directions on how to brew. And now they want to meet the husband. So Helena decides to hire a fake one. Hunter is tasked for the job and he does absolutely wonderfully, with all sorts of respect for Helena’s expertise, and some careful flirting along the way. Except he thinks she’s truly married and he feels all sorts of guilty for being attracted to her. And then things take a dangerous turn when an assassin boards their train and now they’re on the run together and find an inn with two beds and everything. It’s danger and humor and lots of steam.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Lee.

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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A Curse of Shadows and Ice by Catharina Maura (2025)

Fantasy romance. Book 1 of the Shadowbound series. We’ve got some Beauty and the Beast vibes here with a cursed emperor and a princess who is prophesied to break the curse. Felix is the intimidating fellow known around the land as the Shadow Emperor and he’s come to claim Arabella as his wife. With his dastardly reputation, Arabella is naturally afraid of Felix, but she learns pretty quickly about the curse and her role in stopping it. She uses this as a bargaining chip for her freedom, and Felix agrees to the deal. Except he’s all sorts of lonely and it’s clear that he’s falling for Arabella. She’s also falling for him too, but insecure if his feelings are real or if he’s using her to break the curse on his kingdom. Lots of steam here, since Felix is using those feelings of lust to convince Arabella to stay with him. Interesting to learn how magic is wielded in this story and how the curse is ultimately broken.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

The Marquess Married a Murderess by Michelle McLean (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Belsford Brothers series. Selena is the unluckiest woman ever when it comes to marriage, with four deceased husbands and one groom who jilted her at the altar. She’s swearing off marriage for now, even as she’s re-entering society. She quickly catches the attention of Edward, who originally had no designs on marriage, but something about Selena intrigues him. (Probably her reluctance to dally with him and her penchant for running away). It’s a series of pursuits and mishaps until he finally convinces her to give him a chance.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Books via NetGalley.

Claiming the Princess by Charis Michaels (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Hidden Royals series. Smuggling captain Luke has just been declared a national hero and the Prince Regent has allowed him the prize of marrying exiled princess Danielle. But when he goes to the village to collect his new bride, it turns out that she has no knowledge of her previous identity at all and really is just a village girl. He’s both attracted to her and guilty for needing to marry her, since his only aim is to use her as bait to get his friend released from French captivity. It’s all a huge mess with loads of secrets, but reading them flirt and fall in love was a lot of fun.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Only Rakes Need Apply by Kate Pearce (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Rakes of London series. Widowed Carenza doesn’t miss her husband, but maybe she misses the bedroom aspect a little bit. Her friend puts up a newspaper advertisement looking for a lover for her and her late husband’s friend and her own longtime family friend Julian rises to the challenge. The romance and relations are fairly straightforward here, with Carenza and Julian finding time for frivolity at every turn and lots of instances of activity throughout the book. More drama unfolds with Julian’s messy family dynamics and some stuffy society members who are cruel to Carenza. Considering the setup of the story with Carenza saying she missed the marital bed, it felt a bit inconsistent to learn later on that her late husband was actually not that great to her in that aspect. For having such a steamy set up, I was more interested in Julian’s family issues.

Advance ebook provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.

Overdue by Stephanie Perkins (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Interesting setup here with Ingrid taking a break from her longtime partner Cory to experience dating others before making their own relationship more permanent. She tries and fails to make a move on her coworker and friend Macon, much to her mortification. But she rallies and starts dating around for real, gaining all those experiences that she set out to do. The first half of the book deals with her dating around and the eventual end of her initial relationship. The second half of the book is a lot more positive, with Ingrid finding a new purpose to her life and renewing her friendship with Macon. We end up with a delightfully slow burn friends to lovers romance with a full supporting cast of friends and family.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan (2025)

Young adult fantasy. Book 1 of the Never Ever After series. Lots of action and adventure here. Our main character Yining gets a major upgrade in life after being orphaned and living with her step-aunt to becoming a resident of the palace as a guest of the prince. There’s political maneuvering all around and danger in process. Nothing is quite as it seems and Yining is never quite sure who to trust. We get Cinderella vibes in this loose retelling, but there’s magic and danger lurking ahead. Loved seeing what surprises were in store as I was reading and I enjoyed all the twists and turns.

Advance ebook provided by Little Brown Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters (2025)

Historical mystery romance. 1930s England. Standalone romance. A sleepy little country village has been overrun with a string of mysterious murders, drawing tourists to the town, and a whole lot of suspicion. Georgie is a village native who’s good with plants and solved a handful of the crimes, and now she’s concerned that the latest death isn’t due to natural causes. She writes to some famous detective for help, but his himbo secretary Sebastian comes instead. He’s flirtatious and funny and flusters our dear Georgie. We get to see them get to know each other and solve a crime all at once. Humor and mystery all in one book.

Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.