Romance New Releases from June 2026 (contemporary romance, historical romance, magical realism)

Puck by Samantha Allen (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. First of all, the romance plot is a distant secondary plot here and fairly shallow. The main story is really fun and entertaining though. Puck is our favorite nonbinary friend of the old college crew and works on a reality TV show that involves breaking up couples. When two mismatched college friends decide to get married, Puck has a plan to sabotage the whole thing on the week of the wedding. It’s all sorts of messy and there’s a whole cast of characters to play with here, but unfortunately, the maid of honor Robyn is throwing a wrench in all the plans. Robyn is doing her best to make sure that the wedding events go smoothly and is outwardly very stern and dismissive of Puck. Secretly though, she’s showing up in Puck’s room for some extracurricular activities. Why? Not sure. Not totally explored here, since we only get Puck’s POV. Mostly entertaining, but light on the 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

A Promising Kiss by Alexa Aston (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 8 of the Captivating Kisses series. I love books by this author because they are such an easy comfortable read. I know exactly what I’m going to get out of this series. Someone has a tragic backstory, usually the main character who’s not part of the overarching family of the series, they meet their new partner, and it’s pretty much love at first sight. In this case, Matthew becomes a duke at age 12, rescues his mother from an asylum, and then spends his adulthood rescuing other women from the same fate. He meets Verina when she’s visiting her cousin, who’s married to his best friend. Pretty straightforward situation here, made better by the fact that he’s totally impressed by her competence and compassion. I like knowing exactly what I’m getting here with this book and it did not disappoint.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

The Very Definition of Love by Sophia Benoit (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Bancroft Sisters series. Plenty of chaos and humor and slow-growing affection. Bookish Harriet and rakish Alexander are caught in a compromising situation, and there’s no guarantee that Alexander will do the honorable thing. So Harriet ends up kidnapping him for an elopement. The banter and not-quite flirting between these two is so fun to read, plus they’re most definitely attracted to each other, despite agreeing on a marriage in name only. I really couldn’t put it down and I loved watching these two dummies fall in love. Audiobook is duet narration. If you love bluestocking-rake pairings or if you love the humor that’s typically found in Tessa Dare books, you’ll love this one too.

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

You Had Me at Heist by Christina Britton (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Wimpole Street Widows Society series. Tragic prologue for Iris, whose mother passes away, then there’s a fire at her home, covering up the fact that her mother’s plant research journals are stolen. Fast forward five years and Iris overhears that a certain dastardly lord is claiming the work as his own. The widows band together to uncover the man’s plots and find the lost journals. Of course, there’s a guard in the way. Oliver is a disgraced Bow Street Runner who works for the lord and suspects that something isn’t quite right. Despite his attraction for Iris. She’s keeping secrets, he’s distracted by her general forthright nature, and these two people are most definitely falling in love. Most of the book, I was just waiting for them to get it together and team up against the villain, instead of having Oliver being loyal to his employer. Loved this book and this series.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

Shop this book via Amazon // Barnes & Noble

Reasons to Be Loved by You by Hannah Brown (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Loved this one. Nikki is slightly adrift in her LA influencer lifestyle, still sort of recovering after her humiliating experience on a reality TV dating show when she finds out that her fiance had a secret girlfriend back home the whole time. She’s at home in Georgia with her family for her birthday and the 4th of July, when even more drama unfolds. Her younger brother has brought his new girlfriend, who was in fact the secret girlfriend of her own ex-fiance. Messy. Oh, and she comes with her dad and brother Nate, who is super cute and definitely has sparks with Nikki. Oh, and then the brother gets engaged and they’re planning and throwing an impromptu wedding. Nikki and Nate are the only ones questioning the speed of the thing, so they team up for some honest conversations and maybe some minor sabotage. It’s mostly Nikki dealing with her feelings, her family, and how to approach her future and whether that LA life is where she wants to be.

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

The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Heart Beach series. This one was a lot of fun. Jeremiah has told his family that he wasn’t able to visit the family beach house recently because of a new girlfriend, and then his mom invites the new girlfriend to come along, except he doesn’t have a girlfriend at all. He has a chance meeting with Noelle, who is a bridesmaid-for-hire as a side gig, and he proposes a fake dating contract for hire. She needs to money to go back to school, so she goes along with it. Except it’s totally clear that these two are attracted to each other and get along great. Add in some messy family dynamics and it’s the perfect setup for summer drama. Loved seeing Noelle get along with Jeremiah’s family and for him to work out his own issues with them. Dual POV.

Advance ebook provided by Berkley Romance via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Love the banter here in this rivals to lovers romance. Sloane is a wedding photographer and storm chaser dealing with a codependent mother and two slightly unreliable younger brothers. She’s on her annual storm chasing trip, hoping to photograph an image that will win the cover contest of a coveted magazine. But she’s dealing with the annoyingly arrogant Wes along the way. He takes way too many risks on the road, flirts with too many other people, and is generally not reliable enough to tempt Sloane. And then they get stuck together and actually maybe start talking and connecting. The tension here is great, and Wes turns out to be the most supportive person in Sloane’s life. Loved this book so much.

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

A Shop Girl’s Guide to Wooing a Lord by Shana Galen (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Heiress Hunters series. I absolutely love when our two main characters have to team up to solve a problem. Something about the competence of them working together. Delightful. Ok, so we have Tamsin, an impoverished woman who is trying to locate her two younger siblings who have been bought by a chimney sweep. And then we’ve got Garret, who catches her stealing at a ball, chases her down, learns her story, and then decides to help her. Meanwhile, he’s got his own family troubles with his parents being in debt and needing Garret or one of his three brother to marry an heiress for money. (Hence, the Heiress Hunters series). He’s too distracted by Tamsin to pursue an actual heiress seriously, and he’s busy helping her find her siblings anyway. Loads of hijinks and adventure here, even though we never leave London. Loved this book and can’t wait to read more.

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

Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. More about family than the romantic relationship, but a whole mess of chaos during a two-week Indian wedding celebration. Simran and Leo have only just barely gotten together, when she’s called by her cousin home to New Jersey for a family wedding. Simran grew up in India, was orphaned as a teenager, and lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in America. Until she couldn’t handle the overbearing stifling nature of her aunt anymore and moved out. She’s been estranged from her family for five years, and the stress of returning is a lot. And then her new boyfriend Leo accidentally drops by for the engagement party, and chaotic shenanigans ensue. The cousins all decide that they should let Leo pretend to be the groom’s friend and ingratiate himself among the family. Funny, emotional, and all the things I love in a messy family.

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

Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner by Aleese Lin (2026)

Paranormal romance. Standalone novel. The premise of this was a lot of fun, but I think the book slowed down for me somewhere around the middle. The romance is a distant secondary plot to the one where Sabby is embracing her not-so-beige life. So Sabby is taking care of business after her grandmother’s death, but is somehow cursed to be stuck in Salem, and now she’s accidentally a wedding planner for paranormal beings. It’s total chaos with a talking head sidekick and a pixie wedding assistant. And most of the weddings have things that go wrong. The side plot is that she’s sort of dating Hanry, but it’s totally not serious because as soon as she can, Sabby is back to her boring accountant life in New York. Fun and kooky read.

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

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 9 of the Palace of Rogues series. This book is the epitome of yearning. The kind that punches you in the gut, makes you teary, and also makes you believe in love. Guinevere goes to gaming hell owner Gabriel to plead her case to cancel her naive brother’s debts, but it doesn’t go well. And then they both end up boarding at the Grand Palace on the Thames, so continually interact in our cozy boarding house. It’s feisty bickering between these two, which is super humorous to read. But then it turns to care and compassion as they start to learn each other’s motives. Anything between them is impossible due to their social stations, but you can feel every emotion that they eventually feel for each other. The very best sort of romance.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Harper Collins Audio. Final print book provided by Avon Books.

Tropesick by Lauren Okie (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. This book had so much messy angst. The setup reminded me a lot of How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang, except we’re left in suspense for most of the book to learn how Katie’s brother and Tyler’s best friend had died eight years ago. Katie and Tyler were neighbors and friends and maybe more, until her brother died and Tyler walked away from her with no explanation. And now they’re stuck working together to ghost write a romance novel for an eccentric recluse. The push and pull between these two will definitely punch you in the gut, and I was hanging on to find out what ruined their past and how they could possibly build a future. Loved it.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by LibroFM.

The Open Era by Edward Schmit (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Austin has made it to the US Open for the first time and in this universe is the first openly gay player to do so. But he’s just trying to live his life and play good tennis. All of the media attention and stress is not helping his anxiety problem and he’s constantly worried that he’ll end up fainting during a match. Also, not helpful, the really handsome Diego who is running hot and cold with Austin’s friendship and affections. The whole thing is told from Austin’s POV, so we really don’t know what’s going on inside Diego’s head here. When they’re hanging out together, it’s easy to see how Diego is really fun and friendly, but it’s a lot less endearing when he ghosts Austin. I liked this book, but I think I liked Thirty Love by Tom Vellner better for closeted queer tennis romance. See also: Set Point by Meg Jones.

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

Sometime This Century by Samantha Silva (2026)

Speculative romance. Time travel from present day America to Regency-era England. Standalone novel. The main plot here was fun, but it didn’t feel much like a romance book since the romance plot was so secondary. Annabel is a writer who is visiting England to deal with her boss’s inherited estate. She’s got a fixation on all things Austen and Regency period, so she’s looking forward to the experience. There’s even a Regency society that throws events. Except, she’s actually traveling back in time. At some point in present-day, her influencer sister Cassandra and vlogging sidekick Billy show up, and then all three of them travel back in time to a ball and then get stuck there. Most of the plot is these three trying to go back to their own time and trying to blend in with society and not get caught. Oh, and Annabel may have a suitor in the Darcy-like Henry, but like, we barely know the guy, so it’s hard to be invested.

Advance ebook provided by Harper Perennial via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Harper Audio.

In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Jess goes on a bad date on her birthday, gets mugged, and wakes up in Ireland. She spends a whirlwind day with Eamonn and pretty much falls in love with him in a weekend. But she may actually be dreaming or hallucinating or something. The premise is a little magical, but the emotions and the way Jess and Eamonn get to know each other is very real. Loved seeing them connect and care for each other. Can it be a slow burn if it happens in a day? It definitely felt like it.

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

Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Flirty Rotten Scoundrels series. Outspoken Ruby is pretty much a walking scandal, so she and her three friends scheme to visit Cornwall, pretending to be a princess’s ladies in waiting. They find a run-down house instead, filled with a merry band of pirates. One of whom had most recently forged some ancient statues and is hiding his own identity. But Captain Malcolm Archer fails at all his attempts to scare Ruby and her friends out of the house, and falls for her instead. Loved their plotting and scheming and how they were both keeping secrets. I especially love when they start teaming up for a common cause. Funny and steamy and delightful.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.