Romance books might not receive the same accolades and critical acclaim as other novels, but they consistently perform as some of the most popular and successful works of literature. This September, a new lineup of amazing projects from a variety of up-and-coming and returning voices offers diverse and engaging love stories that will capture the hearts of audiences. Whether they’re heaving on the spice or simply a feel-good tale for anyone to enjoy, the incoming romance novels provide something for everyone and demonstrate the importance of love in literature.
The new releases in September demonstrate that romance books aren’t one-dimensional and have a lot to offer to their audiences.
While slice-of-life narratives are some of the most popular romance novels today, there are also amazing works that blend genres. There are speculative fiction books like romance book series about aliens that draw readers into the romance genre. Additionally, books that perfectly blend sci-fi and romance thrive in their ability to show that love stories can exist in all settings and have a place in the plots of all types of books. The new releases in September demonstrate that romance books aren’t one-dimensional and have a lot to offer to their audiences.
10 Wild Eyes
Release Date: September 3, 2024
The second book in Elsie Silver’s Rose Hill series, Wild Eyes, transports the reader back to the small town of Rose Hill for a new and equally touching love story. Iconic country singer Skylar is swept off her feet in unexpected ways by the charming and infuriatingly handsome Weston Belmont. Though their connection is obvious and the pair want nothing more than to be together, things are complicated by Skylar’s high-profile celebrity lifestyle and the demands of her career. However, her quiet life in Rose Hill might be exactly what she needs.
Skylar and West don’t try to deny their feelings for each other, but they’re all too aware of the external factors that would complicate their life together.
Silver’s first book in the series, Wild Love, also dealt with a steamy romance between a single dad and a fiery young woman, but Wild Eyes maintains that tension in a new way. Skylar and West don’t try to deny their feelings for each other, but they’re all too aware of the external factors that would complicate their life together. Incorporating the best parts of the friends-to-lovers arc, Wild Eyes transports the reader to a beautiful town with an even more beautiful story.
9 Unbearably Yours
Release Date: September 3, 2024
Set in the Great Bear Rainforest, Unbearably Yours sees its characters, Charlee and Oliver, suddenly reconnect after years of estrangement. Their tense relationship in the present is juxtaposed with the gorgeously written letters they exchanged in the past that forged their initial bond. Brought back together to film a documentary in the forest to save an environmental organization, Charlee and Oliver must put aside their differences for a good cause. However, this proximity forces them to grapple with their lingering feelings.
Unbearably Yours is the coziest installment of Elodie Colliard’s It’s Always Been You Series, and it has all the makings of a spicy romance book BookTok would recommend. However, the chemistry between Charlee and Oliver is also based on a true emotional connection that’s built on trust. This makes it all the more confusing as to why they’ve been estranged for five years and why their past relationship ended on a sour note. Fortunately, there’s plenty of time in the forest to open up about the past and spark hope for the future.
8 Fall For Him
Release Date: September 3, 2024
Once Derek and Dylan begin to open up to each other, everything changes, and they help each other through loss and love.
Andie Burke’s latest romance, Fall for Him, expands upon the author’s style and sense of humor following her previous release, Fly with Me. In Fall for Him, two neighbors, Dylan and Derek, are forced to live together while Dylan fixes the issue that caused him to crash through the ceiling of Derek’s apartment and straight into his bed. Though the pair both have walls up and try to hide their growing attraction behind witty banter, there’s no question that the feelings bubbling beneath the surface are more than fleeting.
Burke has shown through her work that she’s dedicated to including great representation of the LGBTQ+ community and the neurodivergent community. Dylan and Derek both have their struggles, but Burke never makes their problems feel insurmountable, and she makes their relationship a force of goodness and healing in their lives. Once Derek and Dylan begin to open up to each other, everything changes, and they help each other through loss and love.
7 This Is Not A Holiday Romance
Release Date: September 4, 2024
Though it might seem far away, the holidays are right around the corner, and releasing a cozy winter-themed book in September is the perfect time to get readers in the holiday spirit. However, being trapped together and snowed in over Christmas is not the relaxing break that Nina and Tristan had in mind. Tristan has been best friends with Nina’s brother for years, and when he unexpectedly shows up for Christmas, their longstanding prank war and fierce rivalry gets going once again.
Of course, there was a reason that there’s been so much tension between them all these years, and it’s much more than casual. Giving into their desires while trying to keep it a secret from Nina’s family puts them in steamy and awkward situations. However, the biggest issue turns out to be that Nina and Tristan might want more from each other than a holiday fling, but putting aside their differences won’t be easy.
6 Truly, Madly, Deeply
Release Date: September 10, 2024
L.J. Stein’s first outing of the Forbidden Love series, Truly, Madly, Deeply, promises to deliver everything that the best of the enemies-to-lovers trope has to offer. Capitalizing on the grumpy x sunshine dynamic between the two main characters, Truly, Madly, Deeply follows high-powered chef Ambrose and his little sister’s best friend, Cal. Cal has recently blown back into town and Ambrose’s life, and after he caves and gives her a job, being around her all the time proves too difficult to keep his desires buried.
Even though there are a million complications standing in their way, caving to their desires might be what they both really need.
However, Cal has secrets of her own, like the fact that she’s carried a torch for Ambrose since she was young and that his gruff exterior won’t fool her so easily. Witnessing Ambrose slowly melt and do anything for Cal while she learns to let her guard down and lean on him for support, makes it impossible not to root for this pair to get together. Even though there are a million complications standing in their way, caving to their desires might be what they both really need.
5 Can’t Help Falling In Love
Release Date: September 17, 2024
The fake engagement at the heart of Can’t Help Falling in Love is enough to make anyone swoon, but the chemistry between the central couple makes it even better. Set in autumn, making it the perfect book to curl up with while the leaves change, Can’t Help Falling in Love follows the love story of Lexi and Will, who couldn’t be more different. Though Will comes from a high-profile family of Seattle’s elite, and Lexi works as a waitress to pay for school, the pair meet, and sparks fly at once.
However, fate has other plans for the pair, and soon Lexi is pretending to be Will’s financée as the pair just start getting to know each other. Can’t Help Falling in Love evokes classics like When Harry Met Sally and the other best movies from the golden age of rom-coms. Part of this is because of the vivid descriptions of the fall activities and autumnal setting, but also because the connection between Lexi and Will is timeless enough to last.
4 The Christmas Catch
Release Date: September 24, 2024
The Christmas Catch
is a hometown romance that revolves around two high school sweethearts reconnecting in adulthood after their lives start coming apart.
The Christmas Catch is a hometown romance that revolves around two high school sweethearts reconnecting in adulthood after their lives start coming apart. Jaheel comes home to Georgia after an injury ends his NFL career and grapples with what the rest of his life will look like. Still healing from her divorce, Bebe can’t believe her old flame is back in town, and she’s more concerned with raising her daughter and taking care of herself than risking getting hurt by Jaheel again.
However, their sweet hometown Christmas events make the perfect setting for things to thaw between the pair and open the door for a future together. Though she wants to let him back in her life, Bebe is too smart not to worry that he’ll leave their small town again and go looking for more fame and fortune. The author, Toni Shiloh, writes from a faith-based perspective, and this is perfect for readers who are looking for religious themes and messages of goodwill in their romance novels.
3 Pucking Sweet
Release Date: September 24, 2024
Emily Rath’s Jacksonville Rays series consistently checks all the boxes of spicy romance and representation, and Pucking Sweet is no exception. Poppy St. James is the new PR director for the famous hockey team, and she’s a consummate professional until two daring players start to light her heart on fire. Lucas and Colton are two of the best players on the team, but that doesn’t mean they behave themselves off the ice. It’s no surprise that Poppy has to work hard to keep her star players from becoming PR disasters.
Rath interweaves background from the last two books throughout the story, but this only adds to the central dynamic between the three lead characters. As the protagonist, Poppy is a strong and brilliant character who the reader can easily relate to and believe her actions. Like any good romance book, Pucking Sweet has plenty of spice, but it’s effective because the characters are so dynamic. Pucking Sweet transcends the love triangle trope to create an even more compelling relationship dynamic in the story.
2 Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot
Release Date: September 24, 2024
Skewed more toward the YA genre and younger readers, Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot is the debut from Preeti Chhibber, and the novel is fun, fresh, and romantic to the very end. The protagonist, Payal, is a hilarious main character, and the reader will begin to connect with her on page one and be fully on board with her ill-fated quest for revenge in no time. She’s disillusioned with her crush on the archetypal most popular boy in school after he commits a microaggression and tanks her faith in love.
Though they’ve always been rivals, Payal recruits Philip into her scheme to make Jon pay, and the pair start growing closer than Payal ever intended.
However, Jon, the popular guy, was never meant to be her happily-ever-after, as her sworn enemy and partner in revenge, Philip Kim. Though they’ve always been rivals, Payal recruits Philip into her scheme to make Jon pay, and the pair start growing closer than Payal ever intended. Despite his sarcastic comments and biting one-liners, Philip has much more in common with Payal than Jon ever did, and her search for love might end somewhere unexpected.
1 The Wingman
Release Date: September 26, 2024
Stephanie Archer is back and better than ever with the latest installment of her Vancouver Storm series, and The Wingman is a great addition to the hockey romance genre. Though it’s connected to the rest of the books, The Wingman tells a standalone story of a young woman who needs to get back into the dating scene, and her best friend Hayden is more than willing to teach her. What starts as lessons in picking up guys soon leads to her learning much more about love and relationships than she ever knew.
The Wingman is the friends-to-lover trope turned all the way up and includes plenty of spice and jealousy to make the reader hungry for more of Archer’s writing. Though she always thought of Hayden as a player, it turns out he’s just been waiting for the right person, and it’s always been her. Their friendship and roommate dynamic get pretty complicated, but it’s worth it for the romance that’s waiting for them and the true love they obviously share.
