Show notes
Jess and Trisha offer romance recommendations for characters with diabetes, characters who are immigrants, characters who are dinosaurs (or dinosaur adjacent) and more!
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Send us your favorite romances of 2025, your most anticipated of 2026, and/or your book club suggestions!!
Check out Book Riot’s amazing list of the Best Books of 2025!
Trisha mentioned the podcast Maintenance Phase and also the book What We Don’t Talk about When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon - check them both out.
Trisha also mentioned Book Riot’s Grumpy/Grumpy romance list pulled together by R. Nassor.
Books Discussed:
Never Cross a Highlander by Lisa Rayne
The Companion by EE Ottoman
They Ain’t Proper by M.B. Guel
Any romance written by Diana Quincy
The Heart of the Blade duology by Sherry Thomas
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
Give Me A Reason by Stephanie Nicole Norris
Pulling Doubles by Christina C. Jones
Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
Loving Queen by Saffron Brooks
Captured by Siren Crow
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
His Convenient Husband by Robin Covington
Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa
The Broposal by Sonora Reyes
Trade Me by Courtney Milan
When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
Romance Class authors, including Carla de Guzman, Tara Frejas, and Mina V. Esguerra
The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish by Xue Shan Fei Hu
The Anatomy of Magic by J.C. Cervantes
Anything by Therese Beharrie (one option is Single Dads Club)
Nalini Singh’s contemporary romances (one series starts with Rock Addiction)
Love in Color by Bobu Babalola
Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Something About You by Julie James
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan
Office Hours by Katrina Jackson
White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter
Digging Up Love by Chandra Blumberg
Anger Bang by Avery Flynn
A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane
Play You For It by Samantha Saldivar
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
The Long Game by Elena Armas
The Hate Project by Kris Ripper
After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian
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Let us know what you’re reading, what you’re thinking, and what you’re thinking about what you’re reading! As always, you can find Jess and Trisha at the WIR email address (wheninromance@bookriot.com). You can also find us on Twitter (@jessisreading), or Instagram (@jess_is_reading and @trishahaleybrown), and Jess is even on TikTok (@jess_isreading).
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