Rom-Coms for Beginners
These are contemporary romantic comedies built on sharp banter, slow-burn chemistry and heroines who are clever, self-aware and often at odds with their own plans. Rivals, fake relationships, bets and forced proximity recur throughout, making each story easy to step into. This list is for readers new to the genre, or anyone who wants a light, funny and warm place to start, from Sally Thorne's office rivalry to Emily Henry's tender look at friendship and love.
Hating Game
Readers who enjoy witty office rivalries will love this one. Lucy and Joshua's sparring turns into a fizzy enemies-to-lovers story full of banter and corporate tension.
Love Hypothesis
A good pick for anyone who likes clever heroines and academic settings. A fake dating arrangement puts a biology PhD student's tidy assumptions about love to the test, with humour throughout.
Book Lovers
Choose this if you like a sharp, self-aware heroine who is used to controlling the story. A literary agent finds her plans upended by a brooding book editor, with plenty of crackling tension.
Love on the Brain
Pick this for smart characters and forced proximity. A neuroscientist must work alongside a former academic rival at NASA, and the slow-burn chemistry is as entertaining as the science.
Love Theoretically
A lively romantic comedy for readers who enjoy brainy heroines. A struggling physicist takes on an unusual side job as a professional fake girlfriend, blending academic pressure with warm, funny romance.
Happy Place
Ideal for readers who enjoy romantic comedies with emotional depth and an ensemble cast. A couple must keep up appearances in front of friends after their yearly holiday tradition quietly ends.
Love Wager
Perfect for readers who enjoy banter-filled friendships turning into romance. A wager about who will find love first pushes two unlikely partners to examine what commitment and timing really mean.
Better Than the Movies
A good pick for readers who love movie-inspired love stories. A high schooler who measures her life against rom-com tropes learns that real connection can be far more rewarding than any script.
Things We Never Got Over
Ideal for fans of small-town romance with a slow-burn pull. An unexpected move to a rugged Virginia town brings a woman close to a brooding bar owner while she sorts out family troubles and her own past.
Last updated 12 November 2026. More lists