Must Read Romance For January 2026

Love. Secrets. Second chances.

Nivashni Nair Sukdhev is back with another enchanting story set in the little town of Rally in KwaZulu-Natal. 

After walking away from the big city and an international modelling career, Kaavi Archary is beginning to find an inner peace. She is making friends, volunteering in a programme for troubled teenage girls and relishing a fresh start in life. But she has a secret: her estranged husband, Neel.

So when Neel shows up in Rally with divorce papers, Kaavi’s life is thrown into chaos. He says he’s here to end things — but what he really wants is to win her back. Beneath the heartbreak lies a chemistry that neither of them can resist. 

As Kaavi faces the truth about her past and her family, she and Neel must decide if they can trust each other again.

It’s Complicated is a heartwarming tale about finding your way home — and discovering the quiet miracle of true love. This is the second book in the Rally romance series and can be read as a stand-alone story.

When two people find out their online crushes are actually their IRL enemies, they must figure out a way to work with each other in this charming and geeky enemies-to-lovers romcom perfect for fans of Olivia Dade.

When your favorite player turns out to be your very real boss, the rules are a lot more complicated.

Elizabeth Gordon-Bettencourt is rebuilding her life on her own terms, starting with a new internship, a shot at her dream job as a civil engineer, and a whole lot of distance from her family’s drama. With her life full of change, the one constant is @theanswerisno, a charming gamer who seems to just . . . get her. Even if he has no interest in meeting her in real life.

Elizabeth would feel a lot more confident about her job if her new boss wasn’t so hard to read. Lincoln Carden is quiet, demanding, and adamant about avoiding small talk-especially in the office. What she doesn’t know is that online, he’s someone else entirely: quick, confident, and a little bit flirty. And his favorite player to team up with is @pancakesareelite, the one person who never makes him feel like he has to try so hard. As their two worlds start to collide, Elizabeth and Lincoln start to wonder: with their careers on the line and their online friendship at risk, is a romance IRL worth it?

‘𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒐.’

On the outside, it looks like I’ve got it all together. I’m killing it on the football field, pushing harder than ever before and breaking league records.

But on the inside, I’m drowning and there’s no one to pull me up.

Until her.

I tried to stay away, to keep my distance so I wouldn’t ruin us both, but I was powerless against her.

She’s everything I didn’t know I wanted and more than I could ever deserve.

Just when I think maybe I’m becoming the man I want to be, my world comes crashing down around me, and I’m faced with a choice that has the power to break us both.

Suddenly, I’m right back where I started. I’m the guy with nothing to give―and she’s the girl who deserves the world.

💕When a mistaken obituary reunites two old crushes, sparks fly and a second chance at love ignites. But will the one that got away finally stay?

Karl and Molly were never together. There was a time, right after high school, where it seemed like they might finally cross the line from friends to lovers . . . but instead, a foolish misunderstanding meant they never spoke again. Molly went to LA and got married. Karl stayed in Harlot’s Bay and bought a bakery.

The only connection the pair has shared over the years is painfully one-sided: Now divorced, Molly narrates monster romance audiobooks, and Karl is an ever-diligent listener, clinging to his only piece of the one that got away.

Still, Molly hasn’t totally left Harlot’s Bay behind. When she hears that Karl’s obituary has run in the local paper, unexpected grief prompts her to hop on the next flight to Maryland . . . where she finds Karl very much alive, the victim of nothing but an accidental obituary.

As the pair reunite, they finally hash out their missed connection. True, Molly isn’t quite ready to trust again, but Karl is determined to prove himself worthy of her faith and devotion. And as her remaining time in Harlot’s Bay ticks down, Molly, the habitual cynic, just might find that Karl, the cranky town curmudgeon, is impossible to leave behind a second time.

This hilarious grumpy/grumpy romance, second in the Harlot’s Bay series, is packed with Dade’s signature body positivity and a delicious amount of spice ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Before the Coffee Gets Cold meets KPop Demon Hunters in this cosy YA timeslip romance with a gorgeous Korean setting, cute cheesecake dates and a rogue time traveller you can’t help but fall for.

Here’s one thing I know for certain: if I never see you again, the world will end.

Yang Mina was born with the power to travel through time and has spent her life training to be an agent for the Descendants, a secret organisation which protects our timeline.

But when she discovers that the Descendants are corrupt – and erased her sister from existence – her whole world unravels.

Her only hope is Yejun, an irritatingly handsome but illegal agent. Can she ignore his charms long enough to restore the timeline, save her sister and pass her Calculus class?