My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine (2023)

Paranormal romance. Standalone novel. Cassie is an artist in Chicago working too many jobs for not enough money and comes across an apartment listing for a ridiculously low price. Having few other options, she ends up taking the apartment and finds that her new roommate Frederick is a little eccentric. His manner, dress, and penmanship are completely out of this century and he seems to have trouble navigating technology and basic errands. When Cassie eventually finds out that Frederick is a vampire, she’s horrified at first, but then agrees to tutor him in the ways of modern age since he was in a coma for the last century. While most of the text is from Cassie’s perspective, we get glimpses into Frederick’s perspective at the start of every chapter with letters, text messages, and diary entries that Frederick composes. This book is super funny and delightful to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine (2024)

Paranormal romance. Book 2 of the My Vampires series. Fun and hilarious story. Please don’t take this book too seriously. Amelia’s got a very pushy family that has made her resort to making up a fake boyfriend to bring to her cousin’s wedding. Luckily, she has just happened to run into a random stranger who owes her a favor. Reginald has major golden retriever vibes and he’s basically the best fake boyfriend ever, while Amelia totally thought he was joking about being a vampire. There’s a lot of comedic miscommunication here, but Amelia soon warms up to the idea of real-dating a real-vampire. We also get to revisit Frederick and Cassie from Book 1 and see where they are relationship-wise. Oh, and Reginald is sort of on the run from a group who is seeking vengeance for something that Reginald didn’t even do a hundred years ago.

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

Road Trip with a Vampire by Jenna Levine (2025)

Paranormal romance. Book 3 of the My Vampires series. Witch Zelda is just trying to live her yoga studio life without magic, but her old friend Reggie sends the amnesiac vampire Peter to her door. He needs help finding his memories and she needs to let some magical steam off, so they go off on a road trip to meet at a mystery location in a threatening note he received. It’s chaos and humor as they try real hard not to hook up with each other. I loved this soft and funny approach to interacting with vampires. And Zelda’s backstory is loads of fun to learn about. Fun and easy read.

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

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I Will Light Your Way Home by Alivia Fleur (2026)

Historical romance. Georgian-era England. Book 2 of the Before Honeysuckle Street series. Widowed duchess Lorelei learns that her fourteen year old son Arley has run away from school. Luckily her man of business Tillman is always ready to assist. He’s clearly not of her class and a former schoolmate of her late husband, but he’s clearly been pining for her for years. Sweet and steamy romance here and I loved how they were able to rely on each other. Well, her mostly relying on him.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Hoopla.

The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter by Mimi Matthews (2018)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novel. Rakish viscount Tristan meets the innocent and angelic Valentine and pretty much falls in love at first sight. It’s sweet and romantic and he totally saves the day and changes himself for the better to be with her. All the soft romance you’d expect from Mimi Matthews, in a shorter novella length. I loved this book.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young (2026)

Contemporary romance. Part of the Improbable Meet Cutes series. Super short novella. Upon the death of Georgia’s grandmother, she is given a letter revealing the truth of a secret long lost love and a time capsule. Georgia makes contact with her grandmother’s lost love’s grandson Callum and they begin an email correspondence. We can see how the third generation here is fated to meet and fall in love for themselves. Cute and endearing set up.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Delay of Game by Ari Baran (2023)

Contemporary romance. Book 2 of the Penalty Box series. Friends to friends with benefits situation here, with pretty boy screw up Zach and the all-around good guy captain Nate. They’ve been buddies for years, with possible deeper feelings, but no one makes a move until one drunken night. And then they keep doing it, but tell themselves it’s for good luck so they keep winning hockey games. But like, Zach is the total golden retriever who thinks he’s doing a great job at wooing Nate, but also not verbalizing his feelings. Emotional angst all around when things fall apart because both of these dummies are too scared of ruining the friendship to say out loud what they really want.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Here’s a round up of a bunch of my favorite romance books narrated by Kate Reading. Click on the image to go to the Libro.fm listing page to check it out. (Affiliate links used, so if you make a purchase, I get a small commission)

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Remember That Day by Mary Balogh (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Ravenswood series. I love the slow and quiet romance of Mary Balogh’s books. Two people who are total opposites end up falling in love here, even when they’re supposedly courting other people. Winnie was an orphan who was adopted at the age of nine and now visiting London with her famous painter father. Her aunt, who happens to be a duchess, throws her a debut ball and pretty much pushes her into society a bit. She’s not quite courting Owen, who is a friend of her step uncle and waffles between being hopeful of a true courtship and just being happy being friends with him. The real romance here is between Winnie and Owen’s older brother Nicholas though. They’ve got a 13 year age gap and totally unsuited for each other. Except Nicholas can’t stop thinking of Winnie either. It all gets even more muddled when everyone is invited to Nicholas’ country estate for a few weeks in the Summer. Agh, I loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Lost Letter by Mimi Matthews (2017)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Standalone novel. Second chance romance here between Sylvia, a baron’s daughter turned governess, and Sebastian, earl’s second son turned earl. Sebastian’s meddlesome sister pretty much finds and coerces Sylvia to come visit Sebastian, after he had been injured in battle and come home scarred and surly. She’s not expecting much here, thinking he hates her having never replied to her letters three years ago. But you can predict that their letters had been tampered with, leaving them both thinking the other person heartlessly rejected the other. We just need to get to the point where they tell each other the truth of their feelings and resentment, rather than holding onto their pride. I always love reading Mimi Matthews, and this was another one I really enjoyed.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (2026)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Academic Affairs series. Just to be clear, even though this is an age-gap romance, it is NOT a professor-student romance. Brom and Maddie meet at a bar on her 26th birthday and have a one night stand. And of course, she shows up at his house the next day as the potential nanny for his kids. It’s a huge conflict of interest, especially when he finds out that she’s adjuncting at the same university where he works (totally different department though), but he desperately needs the childcare and she also desperately needs the money. Clearly, it’s a matter of time before they give into their attraction. But along the way, we have Brom’s amazing friend group and family to learn about, and this lovely little small university town. Maddie is also connected to the Christmas Notch series, so we get some fun cameos throughout the book. Loved it. Can’t wait to read more of this series.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Time to Shine by Rachel Reid (2023)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Mostly fluffy and super cute. Landon is the newbie on the Calgary team and the very outgoing Casey invites him to stay at his house instead of finding his own place because he’s got the room anyway. Well, actually Casey is afraid of the dark and living alone, but no one talks about that. We’ve got a grumpy-sunshine romance here that is an absolute delight to read. Teammates to friends to roommates to lovers and they fit so perfectly together. Loved it.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian (2025)

Historical romance. 1960s New York City. Standalone novel. Slow burn romance here between Patrick, bookstore manager, and Nathaniel, the lost soul who needs a place to stay. Basically, at the generosity of the kind and caring bookstore owner, Patrick was saved once upon a time, and is mostly the kind of guy who saves other. Nathaniel gets dropped off at the bookstore steps by the nice old lady before she heads out of state. He’s a total mystery and maybe sort of panics every time he has to go outside. And then Patrick’s sister-in-law shows up with a newborn baby after her husband (and Patrick’s brother) dies in Vietnam. It’s a messy depressing sort of time, but this group quickly forms a family, along with the other neighbors who live in the building. There’s no dramatic external plot, just the quiet everyday lives of this family, and I absolutely loved it.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Say Yes to the Princess by Charis Michaels (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Hidden Royals series. Elise is an exiled French princess being housed by the royal family and being redirected and managed after asking too many questions about a possible sighting of her lost younger brother. The royal family has hired Killian, the second son of an earl and all-around fixer, to distract Elise from her goals and to keep her from being nosy. While Elise and Killian start off at odds, they are instantly attracted to each other and want to know more about the other person’s background. Elise has her own issues of loneliness and despair, while Killian has also suffered from ostracism due to his mother’s background. It was so interesting to find out more about Killian’s backstory, especially in meeting his family at the estate where he grew up. And just like Elise, we start to fall in love with Killian in seeing his kindness towards his nephew. With all the mysteries to unravel, this book will keep the pages turning. The structure reminds me a lot of Michaels’ other work, A Duchess a Day, with a noblewoman falling in love a fixer/huntsman type of fellow who she recruits to assist with her own goals, which is also a wonderful book.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

The Prince’s Bride by Charis Michaels (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Hidden Royals series. Gabriel is a French prince who’s been hiding away in a cave in the forest for the past fifteen years and basically a hermit. He very much does not want to rescue a lady who he thinks might be a victim of highwaymen, but the screaming finally get to him and he does. Ryan is the daughter of an earl traipsing through the forest to find her long-lost betrothed (Prince Gabriel) because the prince’s horrible cousin has claimed the title and the betrothal for himself and she does not want to marry him. Lucky for her, she’s stumbled right into the man she’s looking for. Except Gabriel is not interested at all in reclaiming his identity or leaving the forest, which leaves Ryan right where she started. The plus side here is that they’re clearly very attracted to each other and Gabriel can’t seem to stay away from Ryan, even as he’s sending her away. This was a lot of fun to read, especially as we slowly see Gabriel leave his comfort zone.

Advance ebook provided by Avon 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.

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Read more about getting the most out of your library card

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Game Misconduct by Ari Baran (2023)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Penalty Box series. Another strong start to an MM hockey romance series. Mike is pretty lonely and used to getting into fights on the ice, most often with rival player Danny. They meet unexpectedly in an alley in a queer neighborhood in Mike’s town and have an angry backalley hookup. Only to be repeated when they see each other again after a game. This is a super slow burn romance, with the progression from Twitter DMs, to Snapchat convos, to exchanging real numbers. But once they actually realize they like each other and not hate each other, the connection between them is so much fun to read. Content warnings for Danny’s alcoholism and depression.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren (2026)

Contemporary romance. Part of Improbable Meet Cute series. Cute little novella. Veronica tries to go to a Zoom job interview, joins a totally different meeting full of tech bros, and gives some constructive criticism in the chat before leaving. Jude, the CEO of the company, decides to hire her, sight unseen and over email. And then it turns out they’re neighbors. It’s sweet and flirty and fun.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

How to Get Away with Scandal by Caroline Linden (2026)

Historical romance. Part of the Scandals series. Evangeline is a bit of an outcast after being widowed twice, the second time with her husband being shot in another married woman’s bed by her husband. She has a one night stand with a famous explorer Richard, but she leaves him without saying goodbye and he tries to track her down, but no one will help him. He’s got to set sail for his next trip, so off he goes. Only to find her again four years later. An affair resumes, but on Evangeline’s terms: no falling in love and no marriage. But we all know Richard is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to stay in Evangeline’s life.

Advance ebook provided by Caroline Linden via NetGalley.

The Ex-Perimento by Maria J. Morillo (2026)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. We spend most of the book with Marianto being sad her boyfriend needed a break from her and trying to figure out how to win him back. She loses her boyfriend and her job and needs to re-evaluate her life, but she just wants all of it back. She comes up with a scheme to win her boyfriend and her job back, but her new boss Simon is pretty skeptical. He’s pretty much perfect, being the lead singer of her favorite band and being an awesome relationship coach. But how long will it take for Marianto to realize that Simon is a better fit for her? The romance part here between our endgame couple is a little light considering we spend so much time hung up on the ex-boyfriend.

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

The Duke Deal by Valerie Bowman (2023)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Whitmorelands series. Veronica’s grandfather is super sick and has a dying wish of seeing his whole family happily together at Christmas. And he doesn’t know that Veronica is estranged from her husband, so she has to go ask him to play pretend with her for the holiday. Sebastian was left by his wife when she caught him visiting a former mistress, but they’ve both stubbornly decided to neither communicate nor listen to each other. So it’s angsty heartbreak all around. Oh, and Sebastian wants access to Veronica’s bed in exchange for the playacting, so it’s angrily steamy too.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Since the Marquess Demands by Darcy Burke (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Rogue Rules series. Look, Ellis is still reeling from the revelations of her true parentage, so she’s hiding from her friends and family. She takes up a position as the Marquess of Keele’s secretary, but she’s disguised as a man to get the job. Roman catches on pretty quick though, but lets her keep the job because she’s just so darn competent. And of course, the attraction between these two starts to simmer and they eventually start an affair. Except Ellis is keeping secrets and just generally in hiding, so definitely not a suitable long term partner for Roman, or so she thinks. Loved seeing how all the characters are entangled in each other’s backstories.

Advance ebook provided by Darcy Burke.

Second Act Romance by Julie Soto (2026)

Contemporary romance. Part of Improbable Meet Cute series. Cute little novella. Bex and CJ get a chance to meet again after eight years when her entire co-cast is down with food poisoning. Humorous little story here, with both Bex and CJ holding onto a crush on each other all this time.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Read more about getting the most out of your library card

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Learn more about Kindle Unlimited

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Read an introduction to fanfiction

Learn more about sources for reading fanfiction

Follow me on Instagram at @randomolive

Shop my handmade bookmarks on Etsy

Support this page with a donation

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.