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20 October Romances to Warm Up To

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Jessica Pryde

Contributing Editor

Jessica Pryde is a member of that (some might call) rare breed that grew up in Washington, DC, but is happily enjoying the warmer weather of the desert Southwest. While she is still working on what she wants to be when she grows up, she’s enjoying dabbling in librarianship and writing all the things. She can be found drowning in her ever-growing TBR and exclaiming about romance in the Book Riot podcast (When in Romance), as well as on social media. Find her exclamations about books and pho on twitter (JessIsReading) and instagram (jess_is_reading).

Hey, guess what? It’s OCTOBER. For some of us, the temperature and leaves are both turning crisp, and the sights and sounds have switched from summer anthems to “The Monster Mash.” Alas, for me, it’s still 90 degrees and gross outside and I have to put on a Sights Of New England screensaver on my television if I want to enjoy some autumn colors in the Fall. I’ll take not freezing in winter over wearing seven layers any day, but boy do I miss deciduous trees!

October is an interesting time for romance. Publishing is amping up for the gift season, so there are dozens of books coming out every week! Alas, I can’t put them all on this list, but I grabbed a fresh 20 for you (don’t get used to it, but it was hard to narrow down this month)! There are traditionally published books and independently published ones; debuts and sequels. You want rom-coms? We got ‘em. You want some darkness? Of course! We’re a little light on romantasy this month, partly because I can’t tell which ones are definitely Capital R Romances with happy endings. But! Tis the season—for some magic and witchcraft! September might have started out the cozy fall season, but the Halloween paranormals continue!

And that’s the other thing about October in Romancelandia: we’ve got some books coming out that embrace the cozy, witchy season, but it’s also time for Winter Holiday Romance! October is the time we start seeing family Christmas novels, with a dash of Hanukkah. Every once in a while we might see other Fall and Winter holidays, but really, it’s just Christmas Plus. Romance publishing is starting to diversify the Christmas experience, though—not just by including historically and systemically excluded people in the discussion, but also by how the Christmas holiday is experienced and celebrated. So I’ve pulled together some fun books for that, too.

As usual, there are books you might be looking for that I don’t need to officially include in this list, because you know they’re coming out—books like Ali Hazelwood’s upcoming audio-only romance, Two Can Play, and Ruby Dixon’s Bull Moon Rising. So peruse this list and cozy up with a witches’ brew of your own. 

cover of Showman by Chad Beguelin

Showmance by Chad Beguelin

Don’t let the title fool you—this is not the story of two people fake-dating for the sake of their audience, as many showmances are considered to be. No, buds, this is a theater book! Noah has been humiliated on Broadway with a terrible run on his first go-out as a playwright. A family emergency draws him back to rural Illinois to lick his wounds, but oh no, it turns out he’s been volunteered by his boyfriend/agent to direct a version of the show with a community theater in town! And to top it all off, he can’t throw a rock without hitting his high school nemesis, who is much more attractive and way nicer than he was in high school. 

cover of How to Help a Hungry Werewolf

How to Help a Hungry Werewolf by Charlotte Stein

Like Ali Hazelwood’s Bride, this paranormal rom-com gives off nothing but the best vibes! The first book in a new series, How to Help a Hungry Werewolf also includes someone going back to their hometown and encountering someone who made their high school experience terrible—but in this case, Cassandra’s former friend Seth needs her help. He’s a werewolf, and she is the witch who can help him. She calls bullshit, of course, but with things like mating bonds getting in the way, she can’t help but do what she can to help both of them. 

cover of Remember Me Tomorrow by Farah Heron

Remember Me Tomorrow by Farah Heron

If you opted not to get this one as your Amazon Prime First Read, you’ll definitely want to check it out now that it’s been widely released! Aspiring investigative journalist Aleeza ends up in the least desirable dorm after a falling out with her expected roommate. She’s intrigued by the case of the missing student who once lived in the same room…only to end up getting texts from him—in the past! That’s right, friends, we’ve got some timey wimey stuff in this new adult mystery romance. Aleeza and Jay work together to try to keep him from going missing (!) and in the process, there are definitely some feelings getting caught. I love a good Farah Heron novel, so I’m excited to check this one out. 

Cover of If I Stopped Haunting You

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens

Two feuding writers. Stuck together at a writers’ retreat. In a haunted castle. IN SCOTLAND.

I mean seriously. Do I need to say anything else?

In case your answer was “Yes, please!”—here you go: Pen and Neil are two horror writers who have differing views on the craft; to the point that a heated argument ended in Pen throwing a book at Neil. Now they’re in this castle dealing with their own writing issues, but also there are apparently real ghosts, and their tension is shifting from enemies to lovers to maybe something else. What’s the worst that could happen?

cover of Swordcrossed

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

Freya Marske dropped onto the scene with a bang with A Marvellous Light and the other two books in the Last Binding series, and now she’s bringing us into a whole new universe with Swordcrossed.

In a fantasy world in which dueling is a possibility at weddings (?!), Matti needs to hire someone skilled at swordplay to be his best man. His wedding is arranged, and the last thing he wants is his own lack of skill to mess up any potential business deals. But what he gets is Luca, a con artist who is just trying to escape his own past (both physically and emotionally). The time they spend together leading up to the wedding is full of fencing lessons and banter, and (from what they’re saying)…the swords do indeed cross. This book sounds like a great leaping-off point for someone who has been thinking of joining the romantasy party but doesn’t want to dive into multi-volume tomes. 

cover of Deja Brew

Deja Brew by Celestine Martin

If you want something a little cozier, Celestine Martin’s witchy books are definitely a great place to start. In this third book set in Freya Grove, Sirena makes a wish to get her life back on track, and ends up reliving the month of October! As she tries to fix everything that went wrong the first time, she runs into Gus, another magic-maker, and the pair find themselves offering to help each other with some magical issues they’re having. It’s quiet and sweet, but also delightfully rich in detail.  

cover of Make the Season Bright

Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake

Ring in the Christmas season with ex-fiancées who end up stuck on the same Christmas vacation together!

Charlotte and Brighton were engaged once, until Brighton dumped her at the altar. Now, five years later, Charlotte has a great life in New York, including being part of a musical ensemble. When one of the members invites the whole group out to her family’s farm in Colorado to get some quiet practice in over the holiday, Charlotte is happy to get away from Manhattan—only to discover that one of the other guests has brought Brighton along!

cover of Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi

Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi

Dina is a kitchen witch with a hot new London bakery, where she infuses magic into every morsel. Unfortunately, she’s also dealing with a hex: any person who starts to have feelings for her will immediately develop a string of bad luck. This hasn’t been a huge issue before, but now that she’s met the best man at the wedding where she’s the maid of honor, she would do anything to stop the hex before it destroys the man who could be The One!

cover of The Merriest Misters

The Merriest Misters by Timothy Janovsky

When newly married but incredibly harried Patrick and Quinn accidentally incapacitate Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, they are corralled by a pushy elf into finishing the Christmas Job. But when they’re done, they find that they have to assume the role of Santa and his Spouse if they want Christmas to survive! I don’t know about you, but I think this sounds like a blast. 

The Soulmate Project by Reese Ryan

Reese Ryan’s third Holly Island Grove book gives us Emerie and Nick, best friends who definitely are just best friends. When Emerie gets tired of waiting for Nick to realize that they would be perfect for each other romantically, she shoots her shot—only to be shot down instead. Determined not to let her life pass her by, she sets out to find her soulmate, with or without Nick, and he has to come to grips with the fact that his feelings might not be as nonexistent as he thought. 

I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War

Freelance journalist Khin wants more than anything to get out of the city where she’s been floundering since her divorce. When she’s sent to Myanmar to get a scoop on a bigshot Hollywood actor, she’s determined to do a good job. But when his help turns into a really bad situation for both of them one night, the pair have to work together to cover up what happened. And of course, they grow closer in the meantime. But what does this mean for Khin’s work? 

cover of Double Apex by Josie Juniper

Double Apex by Josie Juniper

Yes, folks, the Formula One romance trend continues! This time, we’ve got Phaedra, a crackshot race engineer who just wants to keep her cars going and get her job done, and Cosmin, the frustratingly cocky driver who keeps getting in her way. The pair butt heads constantly, but come up with a solution that will help them with communication. That is, if by solution you mean casual banging—since that doesn’t count as a relationship when it comes to fraternization? I dunno. I’m intrigued.

cover of I'll be Gone For Christmas

I’ll Be Gone For Christmas by Georgia K. Boone

Everyone loves a good life-swap romance, right? In this one, two women use the Vacate app (I love that name) to switch homes for a bit, only to potentially find romance where they were just looking for a change. This debut has been compared to The Holiday and a queer Hallmark movie, so be prepared to swoon, giggle, and cry—potentially all at the same time. 

cover of The Most Wonderful Time

The Most Wonderful Time by Jayne Allen

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you—there are two Black life-swap Christmas romances coming your way! This one is by the author of Black Girls Must Die Exhausted, and is a little more sturdy and earnest in comparison to I’ll Be Gone For Christmas. Ramona and Chelsea trade Chicago for Malibu (and vice versa) to get their lives in order, only to potentially find new things to want instead. 

cover of Love You a Latke

Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot

I might have had to dump my head into my hands when the logline used the phrase “challah-days” in the description, but I got over it. Mostly. 

What do you do when you’re the only Jew in a small Vermont town, and you’ve been asked to spearhead the town’s first Hanukkah celebration? You hope like hell you can find anyone nearby to help. Turns out Seth, the sparkly sunshine guy who’s been coming into Abby’s bakery, is that someone, and he’d be happy to help her out…as long as she pretends to be his girlfriend when he goes to visit his nagging parents in Manhattan. We all know how that kind of thing goes, especially around the Winter Holidays. 

cover of Lightning in Her Hands

Lightning in Her Hands by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

What happens when you’re basically Pepa from Encanto, but you don’t really have control over it? You hope it doesn’t get worse, of course. But when Teal is asked to be Carlos’s fake wife for an inheritance scheme, it turns out their intense attraction can turn into literal lightning strikes.  

This is the second book in a series, so you might want to read Witch of Wild Things first to get your bearings on the universe, but you definitely don’t have to!

Sleeping With the Frenemy by Natalie Caña

Leo has spent the last year recovering from a gunshot wound that has kept him from his work with the fire department, but now it’s time to go back to work. It’s also time to try to get his life back, and that includes figuring out his relationship with Sofi, his sister’s best friend and his secret lover. Life has ended their relationship, but a surprise roommate situation throws them back together. And when meddling family members get involved, who knows what might happen next. This is one of those that might be best experienced after reading the first two in the series, but it does still manage to stand alone. 

In on the Action by Elle Diaz

Retired stuntwoman Ivy has had the career and even has the second one. Now all she wants is the right partner. She has a list of spousal requirements to challenge that of Jeremy Malcolm, but really only has eyes for Ana, the 25-year-old owner of Besos Bakery. When they meet outside of their expected haunts, a situation with an overzealous suitor leads Ana to ask Ivy for self-defense lessons, and their time together leads to…other things. But with each at different points in their lives, is either of them ready for the relationship the other one is looking for? 

Miles Apart by Tanvier Peart

When Miles and Emma are around each other, neither one is happy. They’re basically frenemies; people who only hang out for the sake of the friends they share. But they also have scorching chemistry, and when they decide to pursue that element of their relationship…well, we know what happens when people start denying that they have real feelings for each other. 

Bad At Love by Tara Pammi

Forty-three-year-old Chaaru is pretty settled into her life. She has a great job, a great kid, and no romantic relationships to deal with. And she would love to keep it that way. Romance is terrible. But when she starts to develop the hots for her years-long BFF right before they’re about to share a room and a bed for a weeklong vacation, she has to figure out both what she really wants and whether what she wants and what DP wants can become something great for both of them. (Especially since he’s been in love with her for half their lives.) Note: according to the author, this one is Hella Spicy. 


There’s so much goodness coming out this month, no matter what vibes you’re looking for! But if that doesn’t slake your thirst, make sure to check out September’s releases. And of course, you can always find more in our romance archives.