ICPL's Favorite Books of 2019: Romance

by Meredith

Every year ICPL staff vote on their top books published that year, identifying their favorite reads in 10 categories: FICTION; YOUNG ADULT; PICTURE BOOKS; MIDDLE GRADE AND CHILDREN'S; MYSTERY; ROMANCE; SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY; BIOGRAPHIES and MEMOIRS; NONFICTION; and GRAPHIC NOVELS.

Join us as we share our favorites in each category, then be sure to check out what titles were named BEST OF THE BEST for 2019. To make our BEST OF THE BEST list, a book had to be nominated by more than one employee. The book with the most staff nominations is ICPL's BEST BOOK of 2019!

We'll announce the BEST OF THE BEST for 2019, and our pick for BEST BOOK of 2019, on December 31. For now, enjoy our favorite ROMANCE books of 2019!

The bromance book club

Lyssa Kay Adams

FICTION/Adams, Lyssa
Romance

When his wife asks for a divorce, Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

This book has been getting pre-release hype for several months now and i'm happy to say that it lives up to its early reviews! I thoroughly enjoyed the story of a man fighting to save his marriage with the help of his all male romance book club crew. The first rule of book club is don't talk about book club -- unless you want other people to read it. In that case, request it now because I expect we'll have a difficult time keeping The Bromance Book Club on our shelves!
- Meredith

Taking the heat

Victoria Dahl

FICTION Dahl, Victoria
Romance

When her writing career in New York City stalls, Veronica Chandler returns home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she takes a job writing a relationship-advice column and catches the attention of the town's handsome librarian, Gabe MacKenzie.

The friend zone

Abby Jimenez

FICTION Jimenez Abby
Romance

"Kristen Peterson doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children. Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen--especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length."--Page 4 of cover

A great end-of-summer read that's exactly what you expect, but also not -- in a good way.
- Meredith

Brazen and the beast

Sarah MacLean

FICTION Maclean Sarah
Fiction, Romance

When Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year her own, she has plans to inherit her father's business, make her own fortune, and live her own life. But first she intends to experience a taste of the pleasure she'll forgo as a confirmed spinster. Everything goes perfectly until she discovers the most beautiful man she's ever seen tied up in her carriage and threatening to ruin the Year of Hattie before it's even begun.

The flatshare : a novel

Beth O'Leary

FICTION Oleary Beth
Fiction, Romance

Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met. After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art. Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet. Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more. But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you've never met.

Take one quirky guy and match him with an equally quirky girl and you have sparks! Leon and Tiffy are perfect for each other. They even share a flat, yet have never met. The premise of this novel made me pick it up and I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint! An ideal summer read.
- Meredith

Red, white & royal blue : a novel

Casey McQuiston

FICTION Mcquisto Casey
Romance

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and proclaim Red, White & Royal Blue my favorite book of 2019! I was immediately captivated by the world newcomer Casey McQuiston created and loved all of her characters, Alex and Henry especially, but also the supporting cast of equally great people. For as long as I can remember, my parenting goals were Myron and Katherine Krupnik (from the Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry), but now I want to be a mom like President Ellen Claremont. The perfect summer read!
- Meredith

The right swipe : a novel

Alisha Rai

FICTION Rai Alisha
Romance

"Two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom. Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career-and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules: - Nude pics are by invitation only - If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice - Protect your heart Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears. Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful-and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that's too high a risk..."--Publisher.

I so love the enemies-to-lovers trope, though Rhi and Samson had one night together before realizing they were enemies.
- Meredith

The Lemon sisters : a novel

Jill Shalvis

FICTION Shalvis Jill
Romance

"When Brooke's older sister, Mindy, shows up at her door with her three kids in tow, she barely recognizes her sibling, who looks like she's on the verge of a total breakdown. While adventurous, wanderlust-filled Brooke was always the problem child, eager to slip free of Wildstone and its small-town constraints, Mindy was the golden child, who never had a hair out of place or a GPA below 4.0. The Mindy who arrives at Brooke's apartment, however, is a far cry from the ever-perfect doctor's wife. Brooke's further stunned when Mindy asks to trade places with her for a few days so she can pick up her pieces and put herself back together. What Mindy doesn't realize is that Brooke is just as broken. Her sister needs her though, so Brooke takes the kids and returns to Wildstone. But how does one go home after seven years away and what feels like a lifetime of secrets? It doesn't take long for Brooke to come face-to-face with her past, in the form of one tall, dark, sexy mistake. But Garrett's no longer interested, or so he says. Only his words don't match his actions, leaving Brooke feeling things she long ago shoved deep. The sisters begin to wonder if the childhood taunts were true: Are they lemons in life? In love? True or not, they know one thing - you can't run far enough to outpace your demons. And when long-dead secrets surface, they'll have to overcome their differences and learn that sometimes the one person who can help you the most is the one you never thought to ask"--FantasticFiction.com.