Best Friends to Lovers Romance Novels
Best Friends to Lovers Romance Novels
Best friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. It’s just so sweet. There’s something about this trope that gets me every single time. Perhaps it’s the slow burning chemistry, the already established relationship. Maybe it’s when they finally give in decide to give a relationship a shot.
Surely, I’m not alone in my addiction to best friends to lovers romance novels. They wouldn’t be so popular if I were. It’s a familiar story, to a certain extent anyone who has had a best friend can relate to it. The question of “should you date your best friend?” Is always a bit prickly.
Is a relationship worth potentially losing a friendship? This question has been asked over and over again for generations. Obviously in these books, the relationship works out. They’re romance novels with customary happy endings, I’m not spoiling anything just stating a fact. If you’ve been on the blog for more than a few minutes you know I only read books with happy endings.
It makes sense that these relationships would be primed for success. Afterall, best friends know everything about each other. Sometimes it’s like watching a train wreck, you know there’s the potential for epic romance, but there is also the potential for equally epic drama. Honestly, who has had a relationship without at least a little bit of drama?
Books aren’t that different from real life. Falling in love with your best friend is the stuff fairy tales are made of. So here are some amazing best friends to lovers romance novels. I hope you enjoy them.
Best Friends to Lovers Romance Novels
*** This list is in alphabetical order. You can’t expect me to pick favorites!
A THOUSAND BOY KISSES
by Tillie Cole
316 pages | March 15, 2016
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You will need the tissues for this book. A story of love and heart-break and pain. This story will rip your heart out and put it all back together again, it will leave you feeling raw and vulnerable. I can’t recommend this book enough but be warned, you’re not going to want to put it down and you’re going to experience all the feelings between these pages.
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One kiss lasts a moment. But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime. One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe.
When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway … Read More
Related: Best New Adult Romance Novels
ALWAYS YOU
by Kirsty Moseley
329 Pages | October 31, 2012
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A high school romance full of immature antics. I enjoyed this read even though it felt as though the author asked me to suspend disbelief on a number of occasions. The story made me happy and in the end, that’s all that mattered. This isn’t going to be a book for everyone, but if you enjoy young adult romance novels, you’ll love this.
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Clay Preston is the most desirable guy in school, and boy does he know it!
Movie star looks paired with a quarterback’s body, he’s every girl’s dream guy–but not mine. To me, he’s simply my best friend, the one who has been there as far back as I can remember. Read More
BEAUTIFUL DISASTER
319 Pages | May 26, 2011
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There’s always something really special about seeing the boy who doesn’t have female friends let someone in and realize maybe a relationship wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Both Abby and Maddox have terrible secrets they’re trying to run from and painful pasts they would rather forget. Can they get through it together?
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The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.
Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. Read More
Related: Most Anticipated Books of 2019
FOR EMERY
by J. Nathan
210 Pages | February 4, 2019
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It’s not often you find a second chance romance targeted to the new adult audience so this was a wonderful treat. I adore when childhood friends realize they’re in love with each other. This story had the added angst of Emery disappearing for 4 years. On top of all that, Jordan plays football and we all know football players make great book boyfriends. The author did a wonderful job of weaving the very complicated and scary topic of domestic violence through a sweet, feel good story.
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Emery
I’ve loved Jordan Grady since I was eight.
Since he became my protector.
Since he became my safe haven each night.
But I was younger.
Off limits…
Until high school when he finally kissed me.
And for a few fleeting moments, everything was right in the world.
Then I was forced to do the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do…
Disappear from his life without a trace.
Grady
I’m Alabama’s star right tackle—and a real prick.
I live my life by a few solid truths.
Life isn’t fair.Read More
Review: For Crosby by J. Nathan
HIM
by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
360 Pages | July 28, 2015
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This book, oh my gosh, this was one of the best book I’ve ever read. I felt everything the characters were going through all the emotional turmoil, the triumphs and struggles. It’s one of my most favorite books of all time. If you’re looking for a couple of hockey players to snuggle up with this winter, this book is perfect for you.
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They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?
Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.
Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Read More
Related: Best Loves Stories Ever Written
HOPELESS
410 Pages | December 19, 2012
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If you’re looking for a beautiful story about the power of love, trust and moving on after a painful past, this is the book for you. It’s not often I’ll include a book that made me cry on a list of recommendations but this story is worth every single tear.
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Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried. Read More
Review: All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover
JOSH AND HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING
by Christina Lauren
309 Pages | September 4, 2018
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So, there’s this outgoing, happy-go-lucky girl and a serious, shy guy. They’re the best of friends but the thought of dating each other… well, that’s ridiculous. As neither are especially lucky in love they set each other up on blind dates. What could possibly go wrong? This book is a ray of sunshine that will have you laughing out loud. It’s the perfect companion for a long cold day.
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Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.
Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. Read More
Related: The Pros and Cons of Dating Your Best Friend
LEO
by Mia Sheridan
214 Pages | November 27, 2013
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If you’re looking for a book with heart breaking twists and a happy ending, this one is for you. Childhood friends, separated by circumstances. Painful secrets, and lives they were forced to endure alone. When they come together, when they forgive each other and themselves, it’s a beautiful story of resiliency and love.
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Evie and Leo met in foster care as children and formed a bond of friendship. As they grew, their bond turned to love, and they vowed to make a life together when they turned 18 and were no longer a part of the system.
When Leo unexpectedly gets adopted as a teen and moves to another city, he promises Evie that he will contact her as soon as he gets there and come back for her in a few short years. She never hears from him again. Read More
PUNK 57
by Penelope Douglas
343 Pages | October 21, 2016
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Remember having a pen pal when you were younger? That’s how these two met and there’s something so sweet and romantic about that in itself. Years of talking through letters, they became best friends even though they never met. It’s that just the sweetest? Problem is when you finally meet, things never go as expected.
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“We were perfect together. Until we met.”
Misha
I can’t help but smile at the words in her letter. She misses me.
In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed.
It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Read More
Review: My Enemy Next door by Whitney G.
SINCERELY, CARTER
by Whitney G.
246 Pages | May 1, 2015
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This is an amazing choice for people looking for a slow burn friends to lovers romance. There is something special about childhood best friends realizing they can be more, an intense connection that simply can’t be captured any other way. You’re sure to fall in love with Carter and Arizona, it won’t take long before you’re cheering for their relationship.
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Just friends.
We’re just friends.
No, really. She’s just my best friend…
Arizona Turner has been my best friend since fourth grade, even when we “hated” each other. We’ve been there for one another through first kisses, first “times,” and we’ve been each other’s constant when good relationships turned bad. (We even went to colleges that were minutes away from each other…) Read More
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One Comment
DaisyGal @ DG Book Blog
Great selections! I agree with you on so many – Sarina Bowen, Mia Sheridan, LJ Shen, and loved The Pact by Karina Halle too! I’ll have to check your others out! ❤️