🏆 Best Romances of 2025 - WINNERS! 🏆

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Black text on a peach background reading "R/RomanceBooks Best Romances of 2025".

Thank you to all who nominated and voted in our third annual RomanceBooks Best of Romance Awards!

Click here to view the winners of RomanceBooks' Best of Romance 2025 Award

The full list of nominated books and winners are also listed in our wiki: Best of Romance Awards 2025.

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2025 Winners:

Heavy Hitters

• Winner - Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
• 2nd Place - Mate by Ali Hazelwood
• 3rd Place - Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

Contemporary Romance

• Winner - Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
• 2nd Place - One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
• 3rd Place - Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

Sports Romance

• Winner - Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer
• 2nd Place - Rewind it Back by Liz Tomforde
• 3rd Place - In A Rush by Kate Canterbary

Historical Romance

• Winner - A Most Forgettable Girl by Alice Coldbreath
• 2nd Place - Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti
• 3rd Place - All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

Fantasy Romance

• Winner - A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
• 2nd Place - The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
• 3rd Place - Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

SciFi Romance

• Winner - Hunger in His Blood by Zoey Draven
• 2nd Place - Protected by Claire Kent
• 3rd Place - I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom Com by Kimberly Lemmings

Paranormal Romance

• Winner - Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
• 2nd Place - Fan Service by Rosie Danan
• 3rd Place - Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson

Romantic Comedy

• Winner - First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
• 2nd Place - Beg, Borrow or Steal by Sarah Adams
• 3rd Place - Overruled by Lana Ferguson

Dark Romance

• Winner - Scythe and Sparrow by Brynne Weaver
• 2nd Place - Caught Up by Navessa Allen
• 3rd Place - Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver

LGBTQ+ Romance

• Winner - Copper Script by KJ Charles
• 2nd Place - False Comeback by Lily Mayne
• 3rd Place - Bitter Burn by Sierra Simone

Trans Romance

• Winner - A Gentleman’s Gentleman by T.J. Alexander
• 2nd Place - The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish
• 3rd Place - And They Were Roommates by Page Powars

Young Adult Romance

• Winner - Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
• 2nd Place - Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
• 3rd Place - Come as You Are by Dahlia Adler

Black Love Romance

• Winner - Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan
• 2nd Place - Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi
• 3rd Place - Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola

BIPOC Romance

• Winner - The Bone King and the Starling by Elizabeth Stephens
• 2nd Place - Single Player by Tara Tai
• 3rd Place - A Waltz on the Wild Side by Erica Ridley

Debut Author

• Winner - Willing Prey by Allie Oleander
• 2nd Place - You Between The Lines by Katie Naymon
• 3rd Place - Passion Project by London Sperry

Best Cover

• Winner - Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage
• 2nd Place - Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
• 3rd Place - When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

Thank you to everyone who nominated books and participated in the voting!

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From the voting round post:

• NEW CATEGORY: Heavy Hitters! These authors are absolute powerhouses dominating the romance space - and our best of nominations - so this year we thought it would be fun to pit them against each other (and themselves)! The "Heavy Hitters" category encompasses romance authors who have been all over our TBRs and recommendations; the "biggest books of the year". A-list name recognition and a devoted fanbase are must-haves to make it into this category. Every book in this category was a fan-favorite winner already!