15 New Romance Books Out in November to Light Your Fire
Hey there, romance readers. Happy November! In Southern Arizona, the temperature is (hopefully) finally dipping into the 70s, and we can break out the chunky sweaters and start collecting wood for the fireplace. The crisp fall air is making the evenings cool, and the leaves are finally those golden hues that make life interesting. It’s Pumpkin Spice Season (or if you’re me, you’ve skipped right on over to peppermint mocha). And it’s the perfect time to read a new romance book out in November—or five!
November is another stacked month, so of course I couldn’t pull all the new romance books I’m excited about into this list. I got it down to 15! As usual, we’re leaning pretty heavily into contemporary romances: we’ve got sports, we’ve got adventure, and of course, since it’s November, we’ve got some winter holiday goodness. We’ve also got a few time travel romances, with a balance between those set in the present and a couple of others set mostly in the past. They make a nice bridge to the historicals that are coming out. The majority of these are traditionally published, but there are a few indie published ones here, too. And of course, there are the ones you don’t need me to tell you about, like the debut Pickleballers by Ilana Long and Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage. And then there are the rereleases: Kennedy Ryan’s Reel is getting not just a new cover, but several thousand new words in the paperback release. And Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series is getting a whole new set of illustrated covers.
If you’re looking for something nice to cozy up with under a flannel blanket, here are a bunch of new romance books out in November that I’m looking forward to.
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny
Let’s start at the very beginning—or at least, at the earliest point in history for this list. This medieval romance is the second book in Emma Denny’s series that began with One Night in Hartswood. In 1300s Oxfordshire, Lily and Jo are best friends. When Jo’s hand is offered as a tournament prize, Lily enters the contest to save the day. When something happens and the women both escape, they find joy in each other on the road. But of course, there’s still the lives they left behind.
The Viscount and the Thief by Emma Orchard
Let’s jump forward to the Regency era! It’s my favorite setup: Sophie has come to work as a companion to the Dowager Marchioness, and Lord Drake has come to visit his beloved grandmother. They have an instant connection, but they can’t! Because Sophie has come to Do Revenge!
Time and Tide by J.M. Frey
Regency, but make it time travel!
Okay, y’all. This is my most anticipated book of the rest of the year. You have Sam, a bisexual woman living in the modern day, who is the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Atlantic. Never fear, for she is rescued…in 1805! When some kind of betrayal happens upon the ship on which she’s rescued, she’s taken in by the ship captain’s sisters, one of whom will go on to write the first lesbian kiss in British literature. You see where this one is going, right?
Puck & Prejudice by Lia Riley
Apparently I get an embarrassment of riches this year because this is yet another “person gets in deadly water-related accident and ends up in the Regency with a writer” story, except this time you can also throw in hockey! The man who accidentally ends up in the past is an American hockey player who was in England on vacation and knows just enough to know that the woman into whose hands he places his life and future is BFFs with Jane Austen. THEE Jane Austen.
Her Knight at the Museum by Bryn Donovan
Not only did we get time travel this month, but we also get what basically boils down to a human version of Gargoyles! (I loved Gargoyles as a kid, and a teen, and an adult…) We have Emily, newly divorced and a conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago. And we have Griffin—Sir Griffin de Beauford, a knight cursed to live forever, able to see, hear, and think, but never to move. Until Emily kisses him, anyway!
Church Girl by Naima Simone
Every time I see this cover, I immediately continue the line “Don’t hurt nobody” and start bouncing to my internal Beyoncé record. And honestly, it totally fits.
Aaliyah skips out on her wedding, along with her family and the life she was going to have. Running off to Chicago to complete her degree, she needs a job that will fit with her schedule. Enter Von Howard, a tattoo artist looking for a live-in nanny. The two don’t always see eye to eye, and goodness knows Aaliyah has no clue what she’s doing half the time, but they support each other and Von’s daughter loves her. But what happens when both of their pasts come back to bite them?
The Jewel of the Isle by Kerry Rea
I am loving the slew of adventure rom-coms that we’ve been getting over the past year or two, and this one promises to be tons of fun! The official blurb of this one references “two very indoor people” ending up together on a remote island, and if that doesn’t immediately make you hit the buy button, I don’t know what will. Emily (another Emily!) intends to complete her late father’s “national park bucket list” and needs a guide for the remote island that’s up next. She finds a small guide service to help her out, but the guy who comes is no better at the outdoors than she is, because his late brother was the outdoorsy one. (Okay, looks like we might have to deal with some grief with these two, let’s all prepare.) There’s also murder and a jewel hunt involved!
A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley
This is not the first book that’s come out this year with a guy hiring his best friend’s younger sister to be his social media manager, but I think it’s the only one in which the guy is a baker who went viral for being awesome. The two work together well, despite lots of undercurrents of chemistry. Except that kind of thing can be explosive, right? They find out the hard way.
Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao
Y’all. This cover. I honestly don’t even care what this book is about because I want it just as a trophy.
But it doesn’t matter, because the plot! The PLOT! Mira, a trans woman who is pretty sure she’s only into men, winds up staying with a gorgeous butch named Isabel after an incident with her ex in a club. The pair make great roommates, but Mira doesn’t understand what these feelings are that she’s developing for Isabel. And she really doesn’t want to get hurt again. I love a good roommates slow-burn!
Wake Up, Nat & Darcy by Kate Cochrane
It’s a US/Canada match-up for the ages! Former hockey players Natalie and Darcy both have their own reasons for working on Wake Up, the winter games show for the US. The pair have a long history, very little of it good, but lean into their chemistry for the ratings. The amount of time they spend together between work and play brings back some of the good stuff of old, and they have to navigate this new thing between them.
Love in Bloom by Lucy Eden
Lucy Eden’s traditional debut takes us down on the farm—but not the kind you might expect! When Emma discovers that she’s inherited a farm from her estranged grandparents, the last thing she wants to do is move away from her big city PR job. But when that ends up not working out anyway, she winds up moving out to Green Acres (yes) to learn how to run it from the hot farm manager, Danesh. They have to spend a lot of time together, for Emma’s sake, but the one thing he doesn’t tell her? It’s actually a medical marijuana farm! Which wouldn’t be a problem if they weren’t facing some kind of threat from external forces…
Luv (Un)Arranged by N.M. Patel
There have been a lot of books by South Asian authors that touch on arranged marriages, but it seems like most of the time, the main characters are working to avoid them, or are in them and trying to get out of them. Here, Kriti and Aakar are arranged into a marriage, deal with courtship, and do actually get married! And from what I can tell, there’s a lot of evolution of their relationship both before and after the marriage, which is interesting to see in contemporary romance. (Does an arranged marriage count as a marriage of convenience? Somebody tell me the difference!)
A Homemade Hanukkah by Eliana West
Physical therapist Noah finds himself wandering into the wilderness as a favor. He’s asked to check in on injured soccer player Gideon at his remote mountain cabin, only to end up being snowed in with him right on the brink of Hanukkah. The last thing Gideon wants is company, but he can’t resist this cheerful physical therapist who went out of his way to help him. This grumpy/sunshine pairing promises to delight readers who love a good snowed-in story! (Me. It promises to delight me.)
Deadline for Love by Candi Tab
Jess and Olivia meet in a bar and date. That’s what this book is. They have to deal with their own issues in their work and school, and with life in general. One is a rising star in television, the other an ambitious law student. They have a quiet courtship, but have to deal with the issues that only spark with an interracial couple. This is the first book (that I’m aware of) by this author, and I’m looking forward to another romance set in D.C.!
Love Across the Tabletop by Kait Disney-Leugers
It’s another DC book! This time, we’ve got Mika, who is dealing with a bad breakup and just wants to be able to play Bargains & Battles with her friends every week. And then there’s Ash, who’s new in town and looking to rebuild his life. An invitation to his cousin’s regular B&B game leads him to Mika, and they hit it off. As friends, at least. This one is another slow-burn story that allows the characters’ relationship to breathe while the two deal with their own lives.
That’s it for this month! If you’re looking for more to read, you can always check out October’s new romance books, or find what’s new on the Romance page.
