Why it’s the summer of the romcom bestseller

The rom-com books for 2023

Credit: Courtesy of publishers

Books


Why it’s the summer of the romcom bestseller

By Francesca Brown

2 years ago

All products on this page have been selected by the editorial team, however Stylist may make commission on some products purchased through affiliate links in this article

8 min read

Get ready for the summer of love as intelligent romcoms take centre stage with new books from Emily Henry, Mhairi McFarlane and Curtis Sittenfeld. 


This month marks a big books moment as Gen Z’s favourite smart romance author, Emily Henry, releases her much-anticipated fourth book, Happy Place. Having sold 2.4 million books, become a #BookTok legend during lockdown and spent 145 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists, Henry is the latest ‘chick lit’ writer to reinforce that women’s romantic fiction is not a subgenre to be dismissed by the great and literary good but a seriously successful economic and cultural force in itself. 

Marian Keyes, Terry McMillan and JoJo Moyes are the headline names who have always wittily and movingly tapped into the Jane Austen-ness of it all – the emotional connection of sex, friendships, marriage, work and love are explored alongside the everyday fallouts of grief, abuse, depression and addiction – and have led the way in defining the modern romcom. Expanding the genre are Mhairi McFarlane and Curtis Sittenfeld alongside debut writers Taylor-Dior Rumble and Breanne Mc Ivor. 

Inspired by this new wave of romcoms (which range from the seriously offbeat to genre-reinforcing goodness), here is Stylist’s pick of your escapist romantic reads this summer. 

The rom-com books for 2023: Happy Place by Emily Henry

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Henry’s talent lies in creating all-encompassing worlds that allow the reader to lose themselves in stories of love, loss, hope and romance – the book form of a Nancy Meyers movie. Written with a wonderfully knowing love of the romcom genre, Henry’s fourth book sees Harriet meet up with her two best friends from college as they and their partners return to the holiday cottage where so many wonderful memories have been made. The only drawback? Harriet split up with her partner, Wyn, six months ago and the pair now pretending otherwise so they don’t ruin their friends’ last holiday… (out 27 April). 

Shop Happy Place by Emily Henry (Penguin) at Bookshop, £14.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

This salty and sexy romance takes the central conceit of how funny-but-maybe-slightly-less-than-dapper male comedians (cough, Pete Davidson and Eric Andre) seem to effortlessly date some of the world’s most successful and beautiful women and turns it on its head. Set against the high-octane world of a Saturday Night Live-esque TV show, acerbic writer Sally finds herself being wooed by megastar singer Noah in this delightful tale from the always-wonderful Sittenfeld (out now). 

Shop Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (Doubleday) at Bookshop, £16.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Wild Things by Laura Kay

Wild Things by Laura Kay

Laura Kay has made a name for herself with uplifting queer romances featuring joyously messy protagonists and her latest, Wild Things, hits all the right bases. El is in love with her best friend Ray, stuck in a dead-end job and looking to change her life, so she decides to spend a year doing ‘wild things’ and when she’s offered the chance to break out and help do up an old house in the country, it seems just the ticket. Except Ray will be there too (out 25 May). 

Shop Wild Things by Laura Kay (Quercus) at Bookshop, £16.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: London, With Love by Sarra Manning

London, With Love by Sarra Manning

Perceptive, funny and entertaining, you can’t go wrong with Sarra Manning’s winning books. In her latest, it’s an exploration of how sometimes finding the right person for you doesn’t happen overnight – in fact, it could take 20 years. Weaving together major cultural and historical moments from 1986 onwards, Jen and Nick are drawn together, fall out and finally realise what they mean to each other, all set against the highs and lows of living in London (out now in hardback, out in paperback 3 August). 

Shop London, With Love by Sarra Manning (Hodder & Stoughton) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: The Situationship by Taylor-Dior Rumble

The Situationship by Taylor-Dior Rumble

The first romcom from #Merky Books (out 17 August) gives all the excitement, sexual chemistry, innate connection and downright confusion of a situationship. Tia and Nate instantly connect and their sexual and personal chemistry is off the charts but just what are they to each other? And is this really what Tia wants for her life? Capturing a woman finding her real sense of self – surrounded by friends and wrestling with imposter syndrome at work – this is a must-read for 2023. 

Shop The Situationship by Taylor-Dior Rumble (#Merky Books) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk

Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk

A leading lady of the romcom, Lindsey Kelk’s latest (out 20 July) gives Cyrano vibes as greetings card copywriter Phoebe steps in to help her sister’s personal trainer, Bel, woo Ren – the highly attractive carpenter who happens to live next door – via love letters. Embracing Brit-out-of-water comedy and filled with snappy dialogue, Love Me Do is a vitamin D-infused delight.  

Shop Love Me Do by Lindsey Kelk (HarperCollins) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: The God Of Good Looks by Breanne Mc Ivor

The God Of Good Looks by Breanne Mc Ivor

Breanne Mc Ivor’s hero and heroine are flawed, but that’s because they’ve faced some tough moments in life. Bianca has lost her mother and has an empty relationship with her father, which leads her into an affair with an older married government official. Once the scandal gets out, she’s a social pariah in Trinidadian high society – her only option for a job is signing up with the flinty make-up artist Obadiah Cortland as his assistant. And then things begin to change for both of them… (out 22 June). 

Shop The God Of Good Looks by Breanne McIvor (Penguin) at Bookshop, £14.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Best Men by Sidney Karger

Best Men by Sidney Karger

From a former Saturday Night Live writer, Best Men is a comic romance in the vein of My Best Friend’s Wedding. Max is horrified when he realises his lifelong best friend, Paige, is getting married and wants him to be her best man. He’s fed up with his job, his life and himself, and now he’s about to lose the centre of his world. Plus, she’s really connecting with the groom’s best man at the wedding, Chasten – who looks very familiar… Joyous, funny and very sweet, this is one to savour (out 25 May). 

Shop Best Men by Sidney Karger (HarperCollins) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Okay Days by Jenny Mustard

Okay Days by Jenny Mustard

Okay Days opens with the chapter header ‘180 days left’: this is not only a tale of two people coming together but also how they navigate the world with one another. Filled with detail that makes Sam and Lucas’s relationship utterly immersive (texting in-jokes about Bruce Willis films, falling asleep watching octopus videos), it’s reminiscent of Sally Rooney and is a complex and joyous ode to being in love, messing up and finding your way (out 8 June). 

Shop Okay Days by Jenny Mustard (Hodder & Stoughton) at Bookshop, £14.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes

Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes

Actual queen of our hearts Keyes has returned to her heroine Rachel from the 1998 book Rachel’s Holiday and created something wonderful. Catching up with recovered alcoholic Rachel of the infamous Walsh sisters, Keyes slowly unpeels how and why her relationship with her first love, Luke, has fallen by the wayside and the impact life’s tragedies have on us as we grow. With plenty of one-liners, glam mini breaks and online trainer shopping, it’s amazing how Keyes can balance comedy and tragedy with such ease (out now in paperback). 

Shop Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes (Penguin) at Bookshop, £9.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: The Sunrise Sisterhood by Cathy Bramley

The Sunrise Sisterhood by Cathy Bramley

Sun-tinged, funny and feel-good, bickering half-sisters Skye and Clare (mother to baby Ivy) return to Salcombe to spend the summer with their late mother’s best friend, Liz. A gloriously pitched mix of single parenting, unexpected love affairs, a possible drinking problem and beachside yoga work together to create a summer read that is all about escapism with a capital E (out 11 May). 

Shop The Sunrise Sisterhood by Cathy Bramley (Orion) at Bookshop, £9.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Is there anything Emezi can’t do? Having written non-fiction, YA and poetry, this is their first romance novel, which took the genre head-on and gave it a joyous, life-affirming shake that left readers noisily singing its praises. With a title inspired by the lyrics of Florence + The Machine, Emezi’s story centres on Feyi Adekola, a 29-year-old widowed artist who is tentatively trying to find her life again after the car crash that killed her husband. Then love finds her in the most unexpected of ways (out now in hardback, out in paperback 8 June). 

Shop You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (Faber) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

Mhairi McFarlane is excellent at giving us all the best bits of romcom: humour, likeable heroines, a sprinkling of aspirational living and then lacing it with darker themes. Between Us opens innocently enough as a group of friends come together for a weekend in a country house, but just how happy are Róisín and Joe and why is he using her life to plot his heralded new TV show? (11 May)

Shop Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane (HarperCollins) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: In Case Of Emergency by Poorna Bell

In Case Of Emergency by Poorna Bell

A beautiful reminder that love comes in many forms, Poorna Bell’s novel has all the hallmarks of classic romcom but repurposes it to embrace a whole range of other possibilities. Bel is 36 and thinks she’s got life under control – right up until the day she falls down a large hole outside of work and wakes up to find her disgruntled ex (still her next of kin in an emergency). Re-evaluating what really matters in her life, Bel finds a new way of loving (out now).

Shop In Case Of Emergency by Poorna Bell (Cornerstone) at Bookshop, £8.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

Currently being made into a new HBO series starring Jodie Comer, Big Swiss is an offbeat, unhinged and brilliant tale of Big Swiss (Flavia, 28) and Greta (Rebecca, 45), who start an affair but have so many concealed secrets it’s hard to know where to start. This is a funny, sex-filled, entertaining read celebrating women in ways you can’t miss (out 18 May).

Shop Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (Faber) at Bookshop, £16.99

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The rom-com books for 2023: Seven Exes by Lucy Vine

Seven Exes by Lucy Vine

After finding an old 00s women’s mag, Esther has a revelation: apparently there are seven people a woman can date before finding The One. Immediately resonating with her own love life, Esther sets out to discover which of her exes should really still be in her life. What comes next is not only a surprising turnabout but also a rather lovely ode to the power of friends (out 25 May). 

Shop Seven Exes by Lucy Vine (Simon & Schuster) at Bookshop, £8.99

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Images: courtesy of publishers

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