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Enemies-to-lovers is the internet’s favourite romance trope – 7 books to read now
By Amy Beecham
9 days ago
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5 min read
There’s nothing more satisfying than a romance plot that sees sworn enemies turn to lovers. From Emily Henry to Sara Desai, we’ve rounded up seven of the best novels to read now.
If you’re a fan of the romance genre, you’ll know that a book is only as good as its tropes. From slow-burn and forced proximity to fake relationship and just one bed, these familiar ‘beats’ are what keep us invested in the characters as the story moves along. Yet if you were to ask me, I’d say that there is one trope that reigns supreme: enemies-to-lovers.
Truly, there is little more satisfying than a story that sees two protagonists go from sworn enemies to soulmates, and authors like Emily Henry, Sara Desai and Sally Thorne are the absolute masters when it comes to pulling it off.
Looking for your next romance read? Here are seven (sometimes spicy) novels to add to your TBR immediately.
The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator
Grace Hastings is in a rut. Her career is stagnating, her boss is a leech and she feels like a fraud working for Fate, a dating app whose ethos she no longer believes in. And don’t even get her started on the state of her love life.
So when the company’s CEO offers her an opportunity for a big promotion and the chance to work on the launch of a dating app that she actually cares about, Grace can’t believe her luck. That is, until she discovers that she must test drive a series of ‘first dates’ with her competition for the job: notorious socialite playboy and Grace’s biggest work rival, Eric Bancroft.
But Grace refuses to give up her dream job because of a man. And besides, how romantic can a handful of fake dates with your biggest rival really be?
Shop The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator (Penguin) at Bookshop.org, £8.99
Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams
Meet Flo Greenberg: a highly strung over-achiever who’s desperate for a relaxing Greek holiday with her family. Meet Jamie Kramer: her brother’s best friend. A pain in the arse. And somehow on Flo’s relaxing Greek holiday too…
With two surprise weeks of sharing meals, boat trips and sun-loungers, Flo must endure the company of this irksomely chiselled Lothario. But after what happened last year, she’s determined not to let him get the better of her. In fact, spending time with the enemy will be the perfect cure for Flo’s all-consuming anger towards Jamie, right?
Shop Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams (Penguin) at Bookshop.org, £9.99
Summer In The City by Alex Aster
Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter, Elle, has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due by the end of the summer.
Desperate for inspiration, Elle returns to NYC and tries to throw herself into her writing. But then she meets her new neighbour, Parker Warren. He’s the city’s favourite handsome tech billionaire and also the guy Elle hooked up with in a stairwell two years ago. When seeing him again turns into a night of hate-fuelled writing, Elle realises Parker might just be her twisted muse.
So, when Parker needs to fake a steady relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition and Elle needs to research a list of classic date spots in the city for her screenplay, they suddenly find they might just be exactly what each other needs.
Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Until it isn’t.
Shop Summer in the City by Alex Aster (Bloomsbury) at Bookshop.org, £16.99
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
Daisy Patel has her life all planned out, and no interest in love. Her family, however, expect a marriage. Liam Murphy is a venture capitalist with something to prove. Until he realises his inheritance is contingent on being married.
A fake marriage will get Daisy’s matchmaking relatives off her back and fulfil the terms of Liam’s late grandfather’s will. If only he hadn’t broken her tender teenage heart nine years ago …
Sparks fly when Daisy and Liam go on a series of dates to legitimise their fake relationship. Too late, they realise that this might not be the perfect plan.
Shop The Dating Plan by Sara Desai (Dialogue) at Bookshop.org, £9.99
You, With A View by Jessica Joyce
Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her grandma’s past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information – and it goes viral.
Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother’s secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on.
Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There’s just one problem: Paul’s grandson is Noelle’s frustratingly handsome high-school rival, Theo. And Theo has to come, too.
Shop You, With a View by Jessica Joyce (HarperCollins) at Bookshop.org, £9.99
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman sit across from each other every day … and they hate each other.
Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight approach to his job and refusal to smile. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness and desire to be liked.
Now they’re up for the same promotion, and Lucy, usually a determined people-pleaser, has had enough: it’s time to take him down. But as the tension between Lucy and Joshua reaches its boiling point, it’s clear that the real battle has only just begun.
Shop The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (Little Brown) at Bookshop.org, £9.99
Beach Read by Emily Henry
January is a hopeless romantic who narrates her life like she’s the lead in a blockbuster movie. Gus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale. But January and Gus have more in common than you’d think.
They’re both broke.
They’ve got terrible writer’s block.
And they need to write bestsellers before summer ends.
The result? A bet to swap genres and see who gets published first. The risk? In telling each other’s stories, their worlds might be changed entirely…
Shop Beach Read by Emily Henry (Penguin) at Bookshop.org, £9.99
Images: courtesy of publishers
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