Whether your prefer your romances dreamy, angsty, or downright thrilling, the best romance books of April 2026 have it covered! This month’s romances will take you along for road trips, European adventures, risky cons, and more. The one thing they all have in common? A commitment to swoony love stories and characters you’ll fall in love with, too!
Here are our picks for the best romance books of April 2026, plus the release dates to mark on your calendar!
Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai
Release date: April 7
Read it if: You love mismatched duos and religiously watch Wild Cards. A con artist teams up with a missing FBI agent’s brother on a wild search across the country.
Publisher’s synopsis: Sejal Chaudhary inherited her mama’s calculating brain, her daddy’s quick fingers, and the boatload of trauma that comes with being the eldest daughter of criminals. Although Sejal has never claimed to be a good girl, she’s spent the last couple years laying low and going (mostly) straight. That is, until a con gone wrong sends her into the arms of a handsome stranger who’s set on dragging her back into her messy family drama.
Krish Anand never mastered the fine art of being a bad boy…he would take a book over bullets any day. But when his FBI agent brother goes missing, he has no choice but to suit up for the adventure of a lifetime. Certain that someone in Sejal’s little crime family is behind the disappearance, a desperate Krish manages to convince the beautiful thief that his brother’s badge is actually his.
The deal is simple: help him find his brother, and Krish and the law will leave Sejal be. With an up-to-no-good ex also hot on her trail, Sejal reluctantly agrees. As they wind their way across the country on planes, buses, and automobiles, sparks ignite, and what began as a fragile temporary truce starts to look more and more like a partnership.
Falling for the enemy? So cliche, but so good…if only they can survive long enough to chance a happily ever after.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
Release date: April 7
Read it if: You’re in the mood for some dreamy European romance in the best romance books of April 2026! A divorced woman must save a wedding with the help of the mysterious best man.
Publisher’s synopsis: Physician Layla Bailey has spent over a year telling herself she’s moved on from a painful but amicable divorce from her college sweetheart. Staying friends with her ex seemed like the mature thing to do. But when Layla is invited to her former sister-in-law’s destination wedding in Paris—where Layla once spent her own romantic honeymoon—she knows her commitment to maturity might be her worst enemy. Especially since her ex isn’t attending alone.
The only thing that could make the week more difficult is getting through it without the distraction of the wedding. But what Layla thought was a harmless conversation about the choices of her younger self leads to the bride getting cold feet. Layla finds herself facing down the groom’s mysterious, taciturn best man, Griffin, who will do anything to make sure this wedding happens.
Since she broke it, Griff demands she help him fix it. Going along with his plan to alleviate the engaged couple’s doubts seems like Layla’s best chance at maintaining a good relationship with a family she once called her own. But as she learns more about the past heartbreak that’s driving Griff to help his friend, she gets closer and closer to confronting the true depth of her own pain…while finding herself more and more willing to risk it all again for Griff.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Write Off by Kara McDowell
Release date: April 7
Read it if: You love books about books, second chances, and pulling creative inspiration from real life. At a book festival, an author comes face-to-face with the man who inspired her famous character — and betrayed her.
Publisher’s synopsis: It’s been thirteen years since Mars Darling first met West Emerson on a bench outside their writing class. What started out as a friendly rivalry turned into a best friendship and then, for a brief time, a romance. Now over a decade later, as Mars stands at their college campus as a once-esteemed YA fantasy author, ready to take on a book festival, she comes face to face with West—the muse behind her infamous trilogy’s heartthrob hero, the man who betrayed her in the worst way.
Mars is determined not to let her comeback tour be ruined by the fact that West is also at the festival as an author. But the longer they are on the campus that holds so many shared memories, the more time they have to untangle their past, and Mars starts to question if maybe it’s not only her writing career that deserves a second chance.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
Unbound by Peyton Corrine
Release date: April 7
Read it if: You want dual timelines and angst in the best romance books of April 2026. Two first loves find their way back together when no one else can understand them.
Publisher’s synopsis: Paloma Blake is, at best, antagonistic. But beneath the hairspray, attitude, and promiscuity is a scared girl whose trauma runs deep. Still, the walls she’s built are strong, ensuring everyone only sees Paloma’s sexy façade. Everyone except for Bennett.
Bennett Reiner, the carefully controlled, neurodivergent goalie, has his routines and sticks to them, which helps him keep a hold on his OCD compulsions and the crippling anxiety that comes with them. The quiet and meticulous Bennett sees everything, especially the girl beneath Paloma’s ever-present masks. And he always has.
Unbeknownst to their friends, Bennett and Paloma were each other’s first real love, which ended in crippling heartbreak. Bennett still doesn’t know what happened, and Paloma is determined to stay away from the comfort she used to find only in his arms. For years, Bennett has remained her protective shadow, coming to Paloma’s rescue whenever she asked, keeping her as close and safe as she’ll let him. But, like a tumultuous sea to a constant shore, Bennett and Paloma find each other once more.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
Happy Ending by Chloe Liese
Release date: April 14
Read it if: You enjoy opposites-attract romances and have fantasized about revenge on an ex. After faking a past relationship to spite their exes, two very different BFFs realize their story has gone further than they planned.
Publisher’s synopsis: Thea and Alex have three things in common—they love food, they hate where they live, and they’re both divorced. Otherwise, they couldn’t be more different.
Thea’s never cooked a day in her life. Alex is a world-class chef. Alex resents feeling stuck in his hometown. Thea resents the town for not feeling more like home. Thea and her ex are in a contentious custody battle for their dog. Alex and his ex amicably coparent their daughter. Beyond a few friends in common, a couple small-world connections (welcome to life in a mid-size city), their lives look nothing alike. Fast forward two years, and they’re truly the best of friends. No one would ever know their friendship began as a lie.
Two years ago, their exes got together immediately following their divorces, and somehow, Thea and Alex found themselves spinning a spite-fueled story about being old friends and first loves. Two years later, what began as a ruse has grown into real friendship—just friendship, despite what friends and family seem to think. But when their exes invite them on a two-week, “two family” beach vacation—daughter and dog included—Alex and Thea start to wonder if this story they’ve spun might have gotten away from them, and if it’s led them to the last place they ever thought it could: a happy ending.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Art of Loving You by Natasha Bishop
Release date: April 14
Read it if: You’re in the mood for big emotions and second chances in the best romance books of April 2026. An influencer must reconnect with her ex to fulfill her late mentor’s last wish.
Publisher’s synopsis: Dani Jenkins is a boss. A model turned influencer, she doesn’t have time for taking a risk on romance. She prefers to keep things casual, but when her mentor Tanya dies, she is brought face-to-face with the man who broke her heart.
Artist Micah Wright is a protector who loves fiercely. He’s known as the man everyone can count on, but he’s never forgiven himself for letting down the woman he loves. With Tanya’s dying wish forcing Dani and Micah back together to complete a scavenger hunt road trip, Micah sees a second chance for them to get things right.
Tensions are high as their undeniable connection reignites, but Dani refuses to let her guard down. As they continue their journey, Micah is determined to prove to Dani that love is worth fighting for, but can she release her fears and relearn the art of loving?
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire by India Holton
Release date: April 21
Read it if: You prefer a touch of whimsy and flipping tropes on their heads. Two professors (and best friends) fake a rivalry to protect their reputations.
Publisher’s synopsis: Magical-antique experts Amelia Tarrant and Caleb Sterling have been best friends forever, although lately each has begun secretly wishing for more than friendship. But when rumors about their relationship spread, they’re forced to fake being enemies to protect their reputations and keep their jobs.
The resulting arguments spark havoc across Oxford University, and when they cause an explosion while fighting over a magical antique, it’s the final straw for their exasperated faculty head. He dispatches them to a job in Cumbria where even they can’t get into trouble.
Which proves just how wrong one man can be. In a stormbound old manor house, Amelia and Caleb face magical mayhem and rampaging ghosts that make the previous havoc look mild in comparison. Most troublesome of all, though, is the secret of how they feel about each other. When it comes to tackling deadly antiques, hiding the truth in their hearts could destroy them for real.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
How to Fake It in Society by K.J. Charles
Release date: April 28
Read it if: You want wild heists, royal intrigue, and forbidden love in the best romance books of April 2026. In this Regency rom-com, a scammer falls in love with his mark amidst a jewelry scheme.
Publisher’s synopsis: It is 1821 and Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte is making a splash in London Society. The son of Jeanne de Valois de La Motte, infamous for stealing a priceless diamond necklace meant for Marie Antoinette, Nico hopes to restore his wronged mother’s reputation, if only he can raise the funds. But he must operate with great secrecy, because the Bourbon dynasty murdered his mother, and he fears for his life.
At least, that’s what he tells Titus Pilcrow. Titus was a simple shopkeeper, making and selling artists’ paints, when he found himself suddenly married to an immensely wealthy woman who wanted to disinherit her nephew on her deathbed. As word spreads of his fortune, Titus finds himself a target of every scammer and beggar in London…including one Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte.
Nico is on his last legs, out of money, and on the run from some terrifying gangsters. When Titus offers Nico a space in his household, it’s the perfect chance for him to exploit London’s newest golden purse–until he falls in love with the man he needs to cheat. Still, Nico is sure they can have a happy ending together. If he can just find his way out of his own web of lies.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Duke by Anna Cowan
Release date: April 28
Read it if: You want the best romance books of April 2026 to turn tropes on their head. In an alternate history where women hold their own titles, a courtesan blackmails a calculating female duke.
Publisher’s synopsis: Kate, Duke of Howard, is known throughout Europe as a merciless autocrat not to be crossed. Consumed by a bitter rivalry, she avoids society and has vowed never to trap a woman into marriage with a monster like herself.
The beautiful, ambitious courtesan Celine Genet once threw herself on the mercy of the visiting Duke of Howard. She was desperate to escape the guillotine. But after a night of searing passion, the duke left her to the ravages of Revolutionary Paris and didn’t look back. Now Celine is in London and in possession of a dangerous letter that proves the Duke of Howard committed treason as a child – and possibly even murder.
Celine wants a titled husband in return for keeping the duke’s secret, leaving Kate no choice but to parade her around the most fashionable ballrooms. But as Celine takes society by storm, Kate finds herself growing fond of the woman set on destroying her. And as their attraction mounts, Kate faces an impossible choice: keep her childhood secret, or win the woman she loves.
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Duke’s Got Mail by Samira Parish
Release date: April 28
Read it if: You’re here for rom-com retellings in the best romance books of April 2026. Amidst the printing revolution, two anonymous pen pals have no idea they’re each other’s real-life foes.
Publisher’s synopsis: Eleanor Wright is the best compositor in London and in high demand with every printing press in town. But when whispers spread of a new machine that could put her out of a job, writing to a mysterious pen pal quickly becomes her only relief from a life that’s coming apart like a badly bound book.
Peter Montgomery, Duke of Strafford, has spent years trying to get his estate out of debt. Now he finally has the solution in a machine set to revolutionize the publishing industry. If only finding a wife was as straightforward. Peter wants a lady who cares about him, not his title. Someone like his charming, witty pen pal—the only person in London who knows his most intimate secrets but not his real name. But when Peter’s invention makes them bitter rivals in person, can the bond they’ve created on paper survive the test?
Get it on Amazon or support your local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
