I have always been drawn to the idea of a friendship turning into lasting love. When two people are friends first, they can be vulnerable with each other, support each other, and develop a tender intimacy before the fireworks. My young adult years as a tomboy and outdoor education instructor meant I was often the only girl among many guys, and I developed some very deep and meaningful friendships. My first love was also a tender friend first, and I’ll never forget the power of our bond. Writing friends to lovers stories always feels like home to me. Enjoy these five friends to lovers “must-reads”!
I am a sucker for lifelong friends to lovers with a bit of the taboo, and this book delivered!
Our hero is a sexy hockey player with a dark past, and our heroine is a dancer with an overprotective and controlling family. When, on her wedding day, she learns the jerk she’s being forced to marry has been cheating on her, she runs right into the arms of her childhood crush and friend Jasper, who offers to whisk her away so she can figure out what to do and how to face her parents.
Jasper and Sloane were made for each other from page one, and I loved rooting for them! Add in the delightful small-town vibes, the belonging that comes from being part of an amazing, tight-knit family, and some steamy times, and it’s a recipe for an all-nighter (reading, that is).
Though this story is part of a series, it can be read without the others, another plus for mood readers like me. I truly enjoyed watching these two close friends with such a beautiful friendship realize there was more and allow it to grow.
Two childhood friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything. That's all this was supposed to be.
To Jasper Gervais's fans, he's the handsome, talented hockey heartthrob on TV. But to Sloane, he'll always be the lost boy with the sad eyes and a heart of gold.
The man she's loved in secret all her life.
So when her life falls apart on the day she's supposed to marry someone else, it only makes sense that he's the one to swoop in and save her. And when his world comes crashing down around him, she's…
I absolutely loved this friends to lovers romance! Always Have is well-crafted, with great characters and a sweet complication between the pair of twins and their best friend.
I found the angsty “will they/won’t they” tension between the MC and the FMC to be perfectly crafted and utterly delightful. The buildup to the moment everything came together had me on the edge of my seat! Loved the bit of humor, too. Overall a very enjoyable story. I hear there is another book coming in this series, and I can’t wait to read it.
Kylie's best friend Braxton is the hottest man she's ever known, with a rock hard body and a smile that melts the panties off every woman he meets. Except Kylie. Mostly.
Kylie is anxious to get off the dating carousel and find something real. Despite the way Braxton tends to suck the air from her lungs, she knows he's trouble. He's just another player, and she's tired of the game.
But Braxton isn't the man she thinks. The real reason he's sh*t with women is simple. None of the women he's with are the one he wants. None of them…
I'm a sucker for angsty romance stories between two first loves who get a second chance, so this book hit all my GO buttons. Our main character is an ex-con and recovered addict who's trying to get back on his feet by working on the Shipley's farm. He never forgot the woman he fell for before his world crumbled to pieces, a girl who was his friend first and his first love. But that same woman is at the center of the tragedy that put him on his path to addiction and a fateful car accident that sent him to prison.
Watching these two reconnect, first as friends and allies, then later, when their chemistry leaps off the pages, and they learn to trust again, was insanely powerful. I rooted for these two with my whole heart. I mourned these characters when the story ended, but the burn was 100% worth it.
She’s the only one who ever loved him—and the only girl he can never win back... Includes the bonus love letter!
Jude lost everything one spring day when he crashed his car into an apple tree on the side of the road. A man is dead, and there's no way he can ever right that wrong. He’d steer clear of Colebury, Vermont forever if he could. But an ex-con in recovery for his drug addiction can’t find a job just anywhere.
Sophie Haines is stunned by his reappearance. After a three year absence, the man who killed her brother and…
An excellent friends to lovers romance with all the feels! This is the book that made me a die-hard fan of both Melanie Harlow and the friends to lovers trope.
Local deputy sheriff Noah and big city girl Meg have been burning some serious chemistry since they were teens and Noah saved Meg from drowning one summer when he was a lifeguard. What I loved was how their chemistry ignited when Meg comes home for her sister's wedding. She’s newly single and still heartbroken…and Noah happens to be the perfect fix.
I loved the close friendship they had from when they were younger, and once Meg came home, Noah realized that his crush on her never died. The delicious agony of push/pull from friends to lovers was so well orchestrated, making their HEA top-notch!
I didn’t mean to see him naked--it was an accident.It had to be, right?Because Noah McCormick and I have never been anything more than friends. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never once laid a finger on me. And even though he was a cute lifeguard at 16 and a hotter-than-hell sheriff’s deputy at 34, he's always been that protective guy I could trust to keep his hands to himself. I never wanted to mess with that.Until I walked in on him getting out of the shower and saw his hard, muscular body totally bare and dripping wet.…
This story had so much unique and charismatic personality! The characters leapt off the pages, and their “dilemma” created an irresistible hook.
Davis is about to graduate from college and has yet to lose her virginity. She turns to the one man she’s wanted for the job, her childhood crush, lifelong family friend, best friend to her brother, and bad boy extreme, Crew Taylor. These two have an intense history together that involved Davis’s older brother Memphis, and this relationship and how Memphis fell into addiction, dragging Crew down with him, was beautifully crafted by the author and the highlight of the story for me.
The angsty buildup between these two people who clearly were destined for each other was incredibly satisfying! I was on the edge of my seat, rooting so hard for Crew to overcome the demons of his past and just let Davis into his heart. I so loved that these two knew each other and had been through so much individually and together. In a way, it made them ready to fall for each other, and each other only. The moments of intimacy and vulnerability felt so visceral and real, with a HEA that resonated deep into my heart.
'The chemistry they have is amazing and the steaming moments are HOT' 'It's one of the best romance books/best friends sister relationship books I've EVER read! And I read A LOT!'
I want her. She wants to feel wanted. Those are two very different things...
I never expected my best friend's little sister to become the one I craved, but it happened anyway. In the beginning, we were both young, then she was too young, and then suddenly...she wasn't.
Unfortunately for me, things got complicated, so I took off, but this girl? She followed.
Firefighter and soon-to-be medic Grady Dole is in love with his best friend’s younger sister, Annika Morgan, but there is no way he can cross that line with her. Not only did the Morgan family take him in when his life fell apart, Caleb has been his best friend since 4th grade. And Annika deserves someone good and whole, not a broken warrior with dark secrets.
At the yearly firefighter auction for charity, Annika comes to Grady's rescue by bidding on him, keeping him from the clutches of a notorious cougar. To repay her, Grady plans a special date for Annika, which turns out both memorable and disastrous because Annika has been harboring a secret crush of her own.
From the time I was a girl, I’ve loved stories that put a lump in my throat even as I’m laughing. As a fiction writer, that funny-sad tone is the one I go for in my own work. I gravitate toward female protagonists of all ages who break the mold—women who are intelligent and strong but who also have unconventional, quirky personalities. Women who can be hilarious, infuriating, and heartbreaking—sometimes all at once. Because they are complex and unique, these women tend to struggle with life’s challenges more than their contemporaries. That’s what makes their stories so interesting, and why I have chosen the books on this list.
When Mar’s husband divorces her, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy starting over, she’s ready for new adventures—as long as she can keep things casual. Each month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next: a fellow gym member down on her luck, a flirty hip-hop instructor, a bossy but comical consultant. . . and a handsome novelist who wants more than she can give. Mar learns from each encounter. But can she open herself up to true connection?
Surrounded by quirky, endearing characters, Mar navigates her…
"A fun, entertaining novel! I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book as much as I did." -Leslie A. Rasmussen, award-winning author
When Mar Meyer's husband divorces her for another woman, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy to start over, Mar is young-looking, fit, and ready for new adventures-as long as she can keep things casual.
With each passing month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next. Among them: a fellow gym member down on her luck, a flirty hip-hop instructor, a bossy but comical…
