New Romance Books May 2026

What happens when a romance reader obsessed with cowboys sets out to find her own? Shenanigans only Alexa Martin could come up with. Luna is determined to make her own destiny and buys a farm in Celestial, Texas to pursue it. Tate is the local high school football coach, a handyman, and a member of the largest ranching family in Celestial. He hates cowboys, but can’t help but help out the new woman who’s definitely out of her depth with DIY home improvement projects. Neither is what the other expected, but they might be perfect for each other.  

In another book about book people, Katie Holt has brought us to The Last Page, a lovely bookstore with an even lovelier owner. Ella can tell the entire story of her life in the aisles of the store, from the earlier years of shopping and learning to the present, when she works there with the intention of taking it over from the current owner. When he unexpectedly dies, his grandson takes over the store, and all Ella can see is an unlearned usurper coming to take her beloved business away. But when they realize they have to work together if they’re going to save the store, their clashes shift into something a little different. 

When all of the promotional material is like “two heroes, one brain cell” and “what if David Rose got dropped into The Princess Bride?” you know I’m firmly sat, holding out my hand in my best “you have phone? Give” gesture. 

Juniper and Mo have been best friends for as long as either can remember, and now they’re roommates. They look out for each other, but Juniper is certain that wanderlustful Mo is going to leave him one day. Juniper is happy where he is, and doesn’t particularly see himself as a person capable of being out in the world. So when he accidentally volunteers them both for a quest, he’s less than ready to go kill a monster. But going out beyond what he knows with Mo? Well, that sounds like the best thing he’s ever done. 

We all love a good “fake wedding date at a destination wedding” book, and this one promises to deliver! Dean is plenty successful in his own right, but his family worries about him being perpetually single. The only way he can think of getting them off his back is to invent a boyfriend, whom he will, of course, be bringing to his sister’s destination wedding. Enter Tay.

If you’re familiar with Dahlia Adler’s name, you’ve probably either read one of her YA novels or have come across the LGBTQ Reads website or social media accounts. Soon By You isn’t technically her first adult romance, but it’s the first one in a while, and the first that features protagonists with fully formed prefrontal cortexes. Here, we have a Good Friend who is always a bridesmaid and the most popular wedding singer in their Modern Orthodox community, who aren’t looking for the same thing but can’t help their attraction to each other. But neither is particularly good at their relationship—just because their brains are fully formed doesn’t mean they know how to use them.

If you have been looking for your next hockey romance, look no further than this one (and also Lexi’s first book, Shoot Your Shot). Olivia has had it out for Brody’s family for most of her life, and sees a perfect way to get back at them: date Brody—hockey’s golden boy and the son of the man who cost her father his own hockey career—under false pretenses and crush his heart and soul. But when feelings actually get in the way, everybody has to revisit what they want out of this life. Also, when was the last time you read a hockey romance with Indigenous rep by an Indigenous author? 

Two college softball players thrown together to improve their work and their teamwork start with clashing personalities, but soon come to appreciate and eventually love each other. But that’s just the beginning of the story. Saldivar actually takes us through a decade of their unsuccessful relationship efforts until they are once again thrown together at an alumni game. Will this be the time they finally get it right? Or will their HEA continue to evade them?