Romance New Releases from May 2026 (contemporary romance, historical romance)

Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. The romance plot here is secondary to the personal growth that Phoebe has to undergo to deal with her anxiety. It’s a great setup: the ever-anxious Phoebe has a list to embolden herself to lose her virginity by age 30. She’s our pre-K teacher, list-loving, panic attack having heroine of the story, but we actually don’t know the hero of the story. There’s three potential guys to root for: Hinge-match and ex-classmate Matthew, best friend and roommate Jonathan, and new teacher co-worker Finn. It’s kind of a mess of Phoebe getting caught in awkward situations and embarrassing herself. And since we really don’t know the guy very well, the book falls a little flat on the relationship-building part of a romance novel. Still great to read, loved the big friend group dynamics, but not enough romance.

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

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Libro.fm

Double Happiness by Heather Eng (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. We start a bit with a messy love triangle situation because workaholic Mei is already engaged to Joey, when she re-meets Alexandre and feels an instant connection to him. Making things messier is that Alexandre is the brother of Mei’s sister’s husband, so they keep running into each other at family events. But see, when you read the interactions between Mei and Alexandre, it’s so so good. They just get each other so well and they’re clearly absolutely perfect for each other, plus the tingly sparks and all. I loved this book so much.

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

The Daisy Chain Flower Shop by Laurie Gilmore (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 6 of the Dream Harbor series. Daisy runs the local flower shop and is skittish about love after having been ditched by her fiance last year. It doesn’t help that the town thinks that she and the flower shop are cursed, meaning that she’s losing business. And when her ex-fiance comes to her shop with his new fiance, she quickly grabs Elliot and pretends they’re in a relationship. He’s also slighting dinged from love after his wife left him, but he’s got a huge crush on Daisy, so he quickly plays along. And then we start a full-blown fake relationship in hopes that the town will think Daisy isn’t cursed anymore and actually start buying flowers from her shop. Cute and a little messy, plus we get a fun little mystery of a great aunt who looks just like Daisy.

Advance ebook provided by Harper 360 via NetGalley.

The Last Lady B by Eloisa James (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era Scotland. Standalone novel. Chaos and ghosts and a terribly husband here. Genevieve has married a much older wealthy man so that she can pay for her younger sister’s dowry. She plans a marriage of mutual respect and companionship, but absolutely no romance or consummation. But after seven months of marriage, she’s off to the wintry hunting lodge where she meets her husband’s mistress, the ghosts of his previous wives, and a whole cast of other misfit characters. It’s basically a whole comedy of errors type of story, which is very entertaining, and then somehow she falls in love with Sir Godric, a friend of her new stepson, and actually more age-appropriate for her. Some gothic mystery vibes here and delightfully entertaining.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Starlight Ridge series. Luna uproots her entire life after the death of her mother, moving to a tiny ranch town in Texas to buy a fixer upper and bring her Pinterest boards to life. And then she meets the town grump Tate and sparks are flying. Lots of fun flirting in this small town, but with lots of generational trauma from both of these people. The small town friend group is a nice touch, and I’m glad that Luna has such a good girl group support system. Fairly predictable, in a good way, and I’m looking forward to reading more in this series.

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

The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley by Lindz McLeod (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Austentatious series. After Mr. Darcy marries Elizabeth Bennett, Caroline Bingley is wondering why it wasn’t her instead. And it turns out, she’s a pretty selfish, cold, and harsh social climber who needs some assistance in learning to be kind. Luckily, Georgiana Darcy is the paragon of perfection, so she enlists her help in being nicer with the ultimate goal of attracting a suitor. Except Caroline is totally distracted by how beautiful Georgiana is and not at all looking forward to spending time with gentlemen. This whole book is told from Caroline’s point of view, and we get to see her transformation from someone totally self-absorbed and judgmental, to someone with a bit more heart and caring.

Advance ebook provided by Carina Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Harper Collins Audio.

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Snuck this one into my reading list for the week because 1. It was on Amazon’s best romance of the month list, 2. I saw someone review it on IG, and 3. It was available on Libby as Skip the Line. Totally worth it. Emotional and endearing and wow these two people from very different life circumstances are totally perfect for each other. Dolly grew up in the beach town of Whitfield with a social climbing mother who idolized that wealthy Whitfield family. A chance encounter and a tabloid photo with Stewart Whitfield sets up a fake dating scheme so Stewart can advance his chances at being the next family business CEO. She only goes along with it because she really needs the money to fix her family home. But you know, as they spend more time together, it’s clear the attraction and affection is real. Dolly’s just waiting for the fairytale to end though. Ugh, this book was so good, I don’t even have words. Just read it.

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

Earl on Fire by Felicity Niven (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. Henry is a stodgy old earl who ends up caring for his young granddaughter after his son passes away. Lucky for him (and her), little Mina is sweet and affectionate and Henry pretty much dotes on her. She tasks him with finding the author of some storybooks and to get married so she can have a grandmother. He tracks the author to some small village and encounters a delightful woman there instead. Susannah has been a bit of a village pariah (for reasons to be revealed later) and is wary of the handsome stranger. But when her circumstances change, she owns up to the fact that she’s the author he’s been looking for and she needs the employment. The romance here between people in middle age is sweet and fairly direct. No one has time to waste anymore. Definitely steamy and full of love, even with the social class differences between Henry and Susannah.

Advance ebook provided by Felicity Niven.

Running Home to You by Samantha Saldivar (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super emotional story, spanning many years. Abby and Kate are thrown together junior year of college as softball teammates competing for the same position. They’re pitted against each other from the start, but there’s a simmering attraction between them that’s totally forbidden. Abby is clearly in a poor mental state due to the recent death of her mother, and her insecurities bubble up repeatedly throughout the book. Kate grew up in a very religious environment and the expectation that she marries her longtime boyfriend and give up her own career goals. And while Abby and Kate grow close, they end up breaking each others’ hearts repeatedly. Each of them has to do a lot of growing and dealing with their issues separately before any sort of healthy relationship can happen. And we get to see them tackle that over the many years. I also loved their other softball teammates, being supportive and tight-knit.

Advance ebook provided by Ballentine Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

The Dove and the Rogue by Harper St. George (2026)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Doves of New York series. Starting with the marriage proposition that ends the previous book, Jenny promises David a night in his bed in exchange for a marriage of convenience as a way to allow her sister to marry someone unsuitable. But of course Jenny and David actually have feelings for each other, even though they spend most of the book denying it. And trying very hard not to get attached. They flirt, they marry, they bed down, and then they go their separate ways. But really, both of them need to admit that they really just want each other. Steamy and angsty in all the best ways.

Advance ebook provided by Harper St. George via NetGalley.