Most of us read romance novels year-round, but it seems even more appropriate to pick up a good romance around mid-February, right? If you’re looking to heat up your Valentine’s Day, we’ve got books with every range of spice — from bell pepper mild to ghost pepper hot. Want extra steamy? Then scroll down to the bottom of the list. Whatever your mood or favorite trope, check out this genre expert’s assessment of the heat level you can expect with these romance titles.
Romance Novel Spice-meter
Mild Heat
Five sweet, fun stories set around one memorable Vegas wedding. From a runaway bride to an accidental elopement, these charming books will leave a warmth in your heart and a smile on your face.
It’s a dark, gritty book with a surprisingly sweet-and closed door-romance. Don’t forget to read to the end for the surprising reveal!
This second-chance romance pairs a cheerful klutz heroine with a scandal-tinged hero in need of redemption.
It’s a sweet small town romance, but the characters’ stakes are surprisingly high; she needs to escape her past, and he needs to let love into his life.
Medium Spicy
A no strings attached relationship at a summer retreat gets complicated when feelings start getting in the way.
If you watched the miniseries “North & South,” based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novel of the same name, and wished there had been more smut (and not the kind emitted by the factories), then The Lord of Lost Causes is for you.
Set in mid-19th-century New York, this romance between a Black doctor and a trans man is delicately, achingly lovely, with immaculately researched historical detail.
Imagine if “Bull Durham” was a romance novel, and if the author knew baseball as thoroughly as Crash Davis does, and you’ve got Pitch Perfect.
Hot, Hot, Hot
Compellingly written (and shockingly explicit), Governor is the first book in Richardson’s BDSM polyamorous trilogy. Richardson herself practices BDSM, and her knowledge shines through every page.
What if Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw wrote an actual sex diary? And the heroine was unapologetically fierce in her desires? That’s In Her Closet, the first book in Harrison’s “Lust Diaries” series.
Hardcore begins with a very explicit moment during an office Christmas party. There is plenty of dirty talk, some desk-banging, and then a bit of truth-telling. Gray’s writing is boldly direct, as are her characters.
“Menage…but in space!” The first book in Pearce’s “Triad” series presents the world, where the beings are only complete when they’ve found their two other mates.
More reading lists from Scribd Editors:
About the Author: Megan Frampton
Megan Frampton is the Content Acquisitions Manager for Everand. She also writes historical romance under her own name and romantic women’s fiction as Megan Caldwell. She likes the color black, gin, dark-haired British men, and huge earrings, not in that order. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and kid.
