2020 is flying by, and it’s July at long last. You know what time it is? That’s right: it’s time for another Romance Round-Up of Must Reads!
Let’s dig in and get right to our July line-up.
As always, links shown below are affiliate links, which help keep our site up and running. We’ve used Amazon for books only available in digital format and IndieBound for those with paperback options, so you can continue to support your local independent bookstores.
Ready for some happy endings? Read on!
JULY 1
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
If faking love is this easy… how do you know when it’s real?
When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.
Jamie Carter doesn’t believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about. It’s the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there’s a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend…
JULY 7
You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria
Leading Ladies do not end up on tabloid covers.
After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez.
Leading Ladies don’t need a man to be happy.
After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine. Easier said than done, especially when a disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had.
Leading Ladies do not rebound with their new costars.
With their careers on the line, Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.
JULY 10
Exquisitely Yours by M. Jay Granberry
What happens in Vegas…
Daniel Xu doesn’t take anything too seriously, not himself, the career that has given him fame and fortune, or the neverending string of women that fill his bed. But life has a way of turning on a dime. When the party is over, all the jokes told, and one beautiful face blurs with the next beautiful body reality leaves him underwhelmed and empty.
Enter Jessica Johnson, a sexy complication too intelligent to ignore and too untouchable to keep.
JULY 14
Rate a Date by Monica Murphy
Eleanor Murray is tired.
Tired of going on awkward dates. Tired of meeting men who just aren’t that into her. Tired of being set up on blind dates by her well-meaning friends.
She is a believer of true love, of finding that happily ever after, and she wants it. She deserves it. But at the rate she’s going, she’s pretty sure it’s never going to happen.
Until a friend creates a profile for Eleanor on a new dating app. At first, she’s reluctant. Dating apps aren’t the way to finding true love, are they? But then she makes a connection on Rate a Date, and this gorgeous, confident guy almost seems too good to be true…
Mitch Anderson has a secret.
He’s just moved to Las Vegas for his high profile job and after years of playing the field, he’s looking for a serious relationship. He wants to find a woman who likes him for who he is, not what he does. Meeting Eleanor on the dating app, he’s intrigued. Meeting her in real life while she’s in town for a bachelorette weekend, he completely falls for her. Now he’s in way over his head.
Their chemistry is combustible. They can’t keep their hands off each other. But will Eleanor forgive him when she finds out who he really is?
JULY 20
Dirty Tactics by Emma Salah
His best friend’s little sister never looked so good…
Two weeks.
A trial period, in which hockey superstar Zac Quinn will prove to Reagan Thomas—his best friend’s younger sister and the one woman he can’t seem to keep his hands off of—that they can’t possibly date for real.
After all, the Thomas family is the only family he’s ever had. He can’t risk losing them, no matter how much he wants Reagan. She’s too important to him; he can’t let things get weird.
But Reagan has known they’re meant to be since forever. She’s not about to back down now.
If she has to play dirty to bring him around?
No problem.
JULY 21
Winning My Best Friend’s Girl by Piper Rayne (The Baileys Book 8)
Imagine lying in a hospital bed and the doctor who pulls the curtain back to treat you is the one who got away. Even if you never really had her in the first place. She’s not only your high school crush, she’s the ex-girlfriend of your ex-best friend. The one girl you’ve always wanted.
Here’s a step-by-step list to finally win her over…
Key to win #1: Try not to take offense that she snuck back into town without telling you—six months ago.
Key to win #2: Rekindle the friendship to ease the awkwardness. But… DO NOT enter the friend zone.
Key to win #3: Ignore the fact that she went speed dating the night before. Take it as good a sign—maybe she’s looking for a relationship.
Key to win #4: Attempt to keep the two of you out of the town gossip blog and away from your large family. Make sure you don’t let this last one throw you off your mission.
Key to win #5: Don’t get deterred when you find out the past is about to repeat itself. Because the man she met at the speed dating night is your best buddy from work.
Just remember, you sat back and let her slip away once, you won’t do it a second time. Failure is not an option.
JULY 28
Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor insistent on a wife who meets the strictest of requirements–deserves his comeuppance.
The Honourable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. As the target of matchmaking mothers and desperate debutantes, he’s determined to avoid the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who will meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. But after years of searching, he’s beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. Until Selina Dalton arrives in town.
Selina, a vicar’s daughter of limited means and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend Julia Thistlewaite invites her to London, until she learns it’s all part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr. Malcolm. Selina is reluctant to participate in Julia’s scheme, especially after meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who appears to be very different from the arrogant scoundrel of Julia’s description.
But when Mr. Malcolm begins judging Selina against his unattainable standards, Selina decides that she has some qualifications of her own. And if he is to meet them he must reveal the real man behind…Mr. Malcolm’s List.
BONUS FEATURES
JULY 7:
- Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
- Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey
JULY 21:
- Misadventures With a Sexpert by Elizabeth Hayley
JULY 27:
- High Heat by Annabeth Albert (Hotshots Book 2)
Still need more?
Check out this Goodreads list of Most Anticipated Romances of July 2020, and be sure to check back for our next list in August!