Summer may be winding down, but the best romance books of August 2026 are keeping the heat turned up! The coming month features highly-anticipated new titles from Bal Khabra, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Liana de la Rosa, and plenty more, along with a couple of debuts you’ll want to catch before they trend.
Wind down your summer reading with these great picks — see how many are already on your TBR!
Embrace by Bal Khabra
Release date: August 4
Read it if: You’re in your Off Campus era and want more study-buddies-turned-lovers in your best romance books of August 2026. A hockey player joins a study group run by his coach’s daughter to finish his last few credits.
Publisher’s synopsis: Kian Ishida is all about parties, hockey, and living in the moment. But when he realizes he’s headed to the NHL without his degree, his late dad’s one wish for him, he’s determined to make up those last few credits. Desperate for help, he joins a study group led by none other than Scarlett Kilner. She’s as gorgeous as she is smart. Too bad he doesn’t know yet that she’s his coach’s daughter.
After making a reputation for herself, all Scarlett wants for her senior year is to prove she’s more than her mistakes and graduate without tarnishing her well-respected father’s name. But when Kian Ishida, one of her dad’s star hockey players, joins her study group, things get complicated.
As Scarlett helps Kian, their study sessions turn into something more—stolen glances, lingering touches, and a connection neither of them expected. Kian has to decide what’s more important: the dream he’s worked for his whole life or the girl he never saw coming.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
International Relations by Zac Hammett
Release date: August 4
Read it if: You love The Proposal or Boyfriend Material. A young diplomat hires an actor to play his partner, only for visa issues to force them to marry for real.
Publisher’s synopsis: Max has never had time for a relationship working in the high-stakes world of international diplomacy. But when a high-profile ambassadorial position opens up in Athens, Max is discreetly advised that his single status isn’t helping his chances. In this line of work, appearances matter. And Max’s rival Quentin has an advantage in the form of his charming and accomplished girlfriend.
Determined not to lose out, Max hires Hunter, a charismatic actor, to play the perfect boyfriend. Hunter dazzles on the diplomatic circuit, but soon the charade takes on a life of its own. When visa complications force Max and Hunter to make their relationship official, they find themselves trapped in a marriage of convenience that is anything but convenient. There’s only one thing that could make all this even more complicated—if Max and Hunter’s feelings for each other start becoming real.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
You’ll Be the Death of Me by Holly Michelle
Release date: August 11
Read it if: You want some whimsical magic in the best romance books of August 2026. An afterlife clerk claims the soul of the wrong woman, then works with her to uncover both their secrets.
Publisher’s synopsis: Verdella “Dell” Rodgers is at the top of her game. As the chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s hottest new restaurant and on the cusp of marrying the mayor’s son in the social event of the season, her life is perfect. That is until the week before her wedding when she wakes up and finds herself very much dead.
Enter Cole, a charming but bumbling entry-level clerk in the Afterlife Administration who accidentally confuses Dell for a 95-year-old woman in Kansas with the same name, claiming the wrong soul. When Cole tries to fix his mistake, their worlds collide in life- and death-changing ways.
Now walking the city as a ghost only visible to Cole, Dell is frantic to get back to her perfect life but soon learns that it wasn’t what it appeared to be, particularly when it came to the man she was about to marry and his high-profile family.
Meanwhile, Cole has no memory of who he was before working for the Afterlife Administration. As they try to uncover Cole’s past and remedy Dell’s future, they realize the mistake that brought them together might just be a twist of fate. With time running out to bring Dell back to the land of the living, she’ll have to decide if the life she left behind is truly what she wants, or if Cole’s untimely appearance could lead to an unexpected change that she didn’t know she needed.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
In What World by Bridget Morrissey
Release date: August 11
Read it if: You still secretly hold a teenage grudge. Two high school rivals reunite decades later, journeying through alternate realities in search of their beloved former teacher.
Publisher’s synopsis: Total opposites, Marlowe Jenkins and Priscilla Covington-French hated each other in high school. Now in their thirties, Marlowe is barely scraping by while Priscilla is wildly successful. Their rivalry should be long dead, yet both women remain connected through their mutual mentor, drama teacher Dallas Winthrop. Their unending tension has nothing to do with the fact that they’ve kissed. More than once.
When Dallas goes missing, each woman believes she can figure out where he is. Except this is no ordinary disappearance. Dallas has found a way to explore alternate versions of reality. While trying to follow him, Marlowe and Priscilla find other versions of themselves instead, surprised to learn not all Marlowes and Priscillas are fueled by hate. In fact, some Marlowes and Priscillas have very different strong feelings for one another. . .
The more Marlowe and Priscilla are forced to rely on each other, the harder it becomes to ignore their simmering attraction. But with every alternate reality they search, they only get further from their real life and responsibilities. Do they play it safe and hide behind their rivalry, or take a chance on each other that could permanently change the world as they know it?
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore by Brittanée Nicole
Release date: August 11
Read it if: You want some early-fall vibes in the best romance books of August 2026. A bookstore owner strikes a deal when her high school BFF turned romance author returns to town.
Publisher’s synopsis: For Penny Darling, love is best enjoyed between the pages of a book. After a very public failed engagement, she’d rather cozy up by the fire with a book boyfriend than a real one any day. And as the owner of Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore, she has her pick.
Then Jake “Monty” Montgomery returns home. Her high school best friend, now a struggling author with inked forearms and wicked green eyes. And he needs her help.
His proposal is simple: She’ll teach him to write the perfect book boyfriend and he’ll pose as her real boyfriend, keeping Hope Harbor’s busybodies—and their obsession with Penny’s love life—at bay.
But when their lessons begin, the line between fiction and reality grows dangerously thin. As pretend kisses in the apple orchard turn into searing ones beneath the autumn moon, Penny begins to wonder if Monty could really love her, or if she’s destined for another broken heart.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
A Summer of Stars by Liana Cincotti
Release date: August 11
Read it if: You want to combine the fake-dating and haters-to-lovers tropes. A tennis star and an actor — who loathe each other — agree to a fake PR relationship.
Publisher’s synopsis: Fake relationship terms and conditions: do not fall in love.
After a messy breakup, it feels like the entire world hates tennis superstar Luna Aldridge. With her reputation ruined and her career at risk, the only way to repair it is a PR stunt: fake-dating Hollywood’s golden boy, Kieran Alexander. There’s just one problem … Luna can’t stand him.
For Kieran, the feeling is mutual. He’s about to lead a big-screen love story, but his dating history is jeopardizing the film’s success. His team believes the world needs to see him wildly in love. And who better than Luna, the person he loathes most?
Soon, Luna and Kieran spend the summer posing for cameras, sharing red carpets and flying around the world for the tennis circuit. But the more they pretend, the more they question if they can keep their hearts, and their careers, together. Especially with everyone watching.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
Mutual Discord by Liana de La Rosa
Release date: August 18
Read it if: You want forbidden romance in the best romance books of August 2026. A viral content creator falls for a frequent commenter, only to discover his IRL identity that seemingly complicates their connection.
Publisher’s synopsis: Sofia Mendoza has had enough. She’s done watching male co-workers steal credit for her talent, and now she’s going to do something about it. No one knows she’s the brains behind a popular video series highlighting and celebrating women in history who’ve been erased from their own inventions and discoveries. Her family and friends still think she has a successful corporate job. And if they discover she is supporting herself by creating social media content, they’d be stunned.
Keeping her online persona a secret is lonely. But when she sparks a virtual friendship with an anonymous follower—A—first in her comment section with his insightful perspective, then in their private video chats, where he proves to be witty and catfish level good looking, the chemistry between them ignites.
But when her old friend, Caitlin, arrives for a visit, Sofia’s lies threaten to unravel. A is Alex Castillo, her best friend’s boyfriend. Alex doesn’t reveal that he knows her, and Sofia realizes he may be keeping secrets, too. With their friendship now in real life, can they keep their attraction in check?
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
The Cozy Nook Bookshop by Jeannie Chin
Release date: August 25
Read it if: You love small towns, frequent indie bookstores, and believe in a hint of fate. A small-town bookseller bumps (literally) into a gruff forest ranger, sparking rumors about town lore.
Publisher’s synopsis: Emma Rogers-Li is having her worst chapter yet. She’s lost her friends, her apartment in Manhattan, and a jerk of an ex. When a job opens to run a bookshop in the quirky small town of Heart’s Hope Crossing, Vermont, Emma jumps at the chance to start over. For the first time in years, she feels like she’s finally calling the shots in her own life … until she runs smack into Hunter Hall.
According to town legend, it’s fate—couples who meet (or collide) at that corner are meant to be. And while Emma doesn’t believe the town gossips now convinced she and Hunter are meant for each other, something about the tall, gruff forest ranger sends her completely off-balance. Falling in love with Heart’s Hope Crossing might be the best thing to happen to Emma.
But Hunter has a complicated past of his own when it comes to love. Can they both take one last chance on a perfect happily-ever-after?
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
A Taste of Magic by Tricia O’Malley
Release date: August 25
Read it if: You wish the best romance books of August 2026 (or at least one of them) could take place in the Bake-Off tent. An unlikely duo face misfiring magic and mismatched skills on the set of a magical baking show.
Publisher’s synopsis: She’s hexed. He’s her ex. And if they can’t bake in harmony, Briarhaven’s big cooking competition might just go up in smoke.
Lyra MacGregor’s magic is as unpredictable as her love life—especially when her spellwork starts misfiring during the filming of Briarhaven’s favorite reality TV show: Bewitching Bake Off. Even worse? She’s paired with Rabbie Barclay, her high school sweetheart turned heartbreak.
He’s never baked a thing in his life. She turns spoons into hedgehogs when he’s nearby. But with the cameras rolling, the curse deepening, and old sparks reigniting, they’ll have to cook up more than just a winning cake to survive. Because in Briarhaven, baking is spellwork, and love is the trickiest recipe of all.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
Love Me Like a Rock Song by Shelly Jay Shore
Release date: August 25
Read it if: You’ve ever wanted to write a song about all those feelings inside. A struggling songwriter gives a lift to a stranger, only to find out he’s got his own painful past.
Publisher’s synopsis: When Delilah Cohen’s much more famous fiancée leaves her at the altar right before Delilah is supposed to start recording her first solo album, she’s left with a notebook of unusable love songs and a honeymoon road trip that’s now a last-chance search for new inspiration. She doesn’t expect to fall for the mysterious passenger she picks up two hours in, but what’s more inspiring than a rebound with a built-in expiration date?
But there’s more to Emmett than meets the eye. Emmett is a golem, a human-ish being of Jewish folklore, created from clay to serve a now-deceased master, who gave them one final, fatal task. Road-tripping with Delilah is the first thing they’ve ever chosen for themself. It’s not supposed to change their destination . . . but the longer Emmett spends with Delilah, who has plenty of secrets of her own, the more their ending feels like something to fight, rather than something set in stone.
As the California coast brings Delilah’s writing deadline—and Emmett’s fate—closer with every passing mile, Delilah has to decide whether making an unforgettable album is worth losing a love she never expected to find.
Get it on Amazon or support local bookstores through Bookshop.org.
