The ultimate list of the best contemporary romance books

Written by Silke, updated 08 Jun 2021

We have compiled a list of some of the most amazing contemporary romance books for your pleasure. Guaranteed no werewolves, aliens, or time travelling highlanders...

  • #1 Ride Steady - Kristen Ashley

    Ride Steady - Kristen Ashley

    suspense contemporary bad boys alpha male bikers

    Once upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. Money, marriage, motherhood: everything came easy---until she woke up to the ugly truth about her Prince Charming. Now a struggling, single mom and stranded by a flat tire, Carissa's pondering her mistakes when a vaguely familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower. In high school, Carson Steele was a bad boy loner who put Carissa on a pedestal where she stayed far beyond his reach. Today, he's the hard-bodied biker known only as Joker, and from the way Carissa's acting, it's clear she's falling fast. While catching her is irresistible, knowing what to do with her is a different story. more

  • #2 Fatal Affair - Marie Force

    Fatal Affair - Marie Force

    contemporary suspense second chances men in uniform alpha male

    Washington, D.C., Metro Police Detective Sergeant Sam Holland needs a big win to salvage her career--and her confidence--after a disastrous investigation. The perfect opportunity arises when Senator John O'Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case. Matters get complicated when Sam has to team up with Nick Cappuano, O'Connor's friend and chief of staff...and the man Sam had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier. Their sexual chemistry still sizzles, and Sam has to fight to stay focused on the case. Sleeping with a material witness is another mistake she can't afford--especially when the bodies keep piling up. more

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  • #3 Give Me Grace - Kate McCarthy

    Give Me Grace - Kate  McCarthy

    contemporary bikers mystery abuse suspense

    Casey Daniels has a past forged in Hell. Despite the friends, the endless supply of women, and the muscle car he spent years restoring, it still eats away at him. Grace Paterson is in Sydney as a temporary bassist for Jamieson, the band Casey handles security for. She’s also infuriating, off-limits, and completely irresistible. A deal is struck, and despite their intense and powerful connection, both think it will be easy to walk away. But life can be more ruthless than either of them ever imagined. Not only does Grace have a secret she’s desperate to keep, Casey has questions from his past that he’s willing to do anything to get answers for. more

  • #4 Cut & Run - Abigail Roux,Madeleine Urban

    Cut & Run - Abigail Roux,Madeleine Urban

    contemporary suspense alpha male men in uniform military

    A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case. Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He's cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he's paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it's hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliche: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. more

  • #5 Driven - K. Bromberg

    Driven - K. Bromberg

    contemporary erotic romance tortured hero billionaire athletes

    Rylee Thomas is used to being in control. But she’s about to meet the one man that just might make her enjoy losing it…

    I am the exception to the rule. In a world full of willing women, I’m a challenge to the roguish and achingly handsome Colton Donavan. A man used to getting exactly what he wants in all aspects of life. He’s the reckless bad boy constantly skating that razor thin edge toward out of control, on and off of the track.

    Colton crashes into my life like a tornado: sapping my control, testing my vulnerabilities beyond their limits, and unintentionally penetrating the protective wall around my healing heart. more

  • #6 A Forever Love - Kelly Elliott

    A Forever Love - Kelly Elliott

    contemporary cowboys

    The moment Garrett Mathews sees the woman of his dreams, he vows to fight with everything he has to win Emma Birk’s heart. Garrett will embark on the longest, hardest struggle of his life to make his dreams a reality. Emma Birk has every intention of focusing on her last year of high school with no interruptions—until she lays eyes on the one person who will end up turning her whole world upside down. Emma attempts to avoid the feelings she quickly develops for Garrett, only to start slowly giving in to his endless pursuit of her. As life throws twists and turns at Garrett and Emma, their commitment to each other is tested as they determine if they have a forever love. more

  • #7 Debt - Nina G. Jones

    Debt - Nina G. Jones

    suspense enemies to lovers billionaire pregnancy tortured hero

    I don’t know what I was thinking when I hired someone to attack me. Maybe I was bored, or lonely, or there was a void so deep inside of me that I needed something explosive to fill it. It was supposed to be safe. A thrill. A way to break through the monotony of everyday life. It was an illusion of danger that I could walk away from as soon as it was over. Except that it wasn’t. Because I had been in danger long before I ever invited it into my life.

    My mission is almost complete. The bubbling boil of vengeance that heats my blood might finally simmer. She is the last piece of the puzzle. Once I destroy her, everyone who ever hurt me will have paid their debt. more

  • #8 Rock Redemption - Nalini Singh

    Rock Redemption - Nalini Singh

    contemporary tortured hero rockstars friends to lovers billionaire

    Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart. Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation. more

  • #9 Midnight Fire - Lisa Marie Rice

    Midnight Fire - Lisa Marie Rice

    suspense contemporary military men in uniform strong heroine

    Jack Delvaux is alive

    Summer Redding thought the blindingly handsome jock who'd loved and left her years ago had died in the Washington Massacre. She grieved for her lost golden boy as the rest of the country mourned their dead—until she comes home to find a very alive Jack Delvaux waiting for her with a devastating secret that turns her life upside down.

    No longer the carefree man he was in his youth, this Jack is dark, hard and dangerous; a fifteen-year veteran of the CIA hungry for answers…and hungry for her. The rich, good-looking charmer who broke her heart once before would have been easy to resist, but this man, this powerful man? Summer needs him, and he knows it... more

  • #10 Full Disclosure - Kindle Alexander

    Full Disclosure - Kindle Alexander

    contemporary friends to lovers military alpha male men in uniform

    Deputy United States Marshal Mitch Knox apprehends fugitives for a living. His calm, cool, collected attitude and devastatingly handsome good looks earn him a well-deserved bad boy reputation, both in the field and out. While away on an assignment, he blows off some steam at a notorious Dallas nightclub. Solving the case that has plagued him for months takes a sudden backseat to finding out all there is to know about the gorgeous, shy blond sitting alone at the bar. Texas State Trooper Cody Turner is moving up the ranks, well on his way to his dream of being a Texas Ranger. While on a two-week mandatory vacation, he plans to relax and help out on his family’s farm. more

  • #11 Hunter's Way - Gerri Hill

    Hunter's Way - Gerri Hill

    contemporary heroine sleuth f-f (lesbian) mystery suspense

    Homicide detective Tori Hunter was used to doing things her way. But even after having six different partners in seven years, Tori isn't prepared when she's forced to team up with the hot-tempered Samantha Kennedy.

    Samantha, on the other hand, is trying to juggle a new job, a demanding boyfriend, and now finds herself with an even greater challenge -- being partnered with the most difficult detective in the entire squad.

    After a brief terrorist scare disrupts their serial killer investigation, the two women find themselves growing closer. more

  • #12 Wicked Fall - Sawyer Bennett

    Wicked Fall - Sawyer Bennett

    suspense contemporary bad boys alpha male cowboys

    Never in your wildest dreams could you begin to imagine all the filthy and depraved things that go on inside The Wicked Horse. Step inside and Woolf Jennings will make every one of your dirty fantasies come true. He's covered in a facade of deception. An enticing blend of multi-millionaire and hot-as-hell Wyoming rancher, those that think they know Woolf Jennings admire his abilities to preside as CEO of his family's cattle and oil empire. But only a privileged few truly understand what fuels the glitter of depravity in those gorgeous blue eyes. more

  • #13 On Dublin Street - Samantha Young

    On Dublin Street - Samantha Young

    contemporary strong heroine possessive hero billionaire friends to lovers

    Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare…

    Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well—until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core. Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. more

  • #14 Silver Bastard - Joanna Wylde

    Silver Bastard - Joanna Wylde

    contemporary bad boys abuse dark romance alpha male

    Fourteen months. For fourteen months, Puck Redhouse sat in a cell and kept his mouth shut, protecting the Silver Bastards MC from their enemies. Then he was free and it was time for his reward—full membership in the club, along with a party to celebrate. That’s when he saw Becca Jones for the first time and set everything in motion. Before the night ended he’d violated his parole and stolen her away from everything she knew.

    Five years. It was five years ago that Puck destroyed Becca and saved her all in one night. She’s been terrified of him ever since, but she’s even more terrified of the monsters he still protects her from... But Becca refuses to let fear control her. more

  • #15 Time Served - Julianna Keyes

    Time Served - Julianna Keyes

    contemporary anal sex erotic romance bdsm bad boys

    Dean Barclay had nothing to do with my decision to flee my old life, but he is 100 percent of the reason I vowed to never look back. I've never forgotten how it felt to follow Dean—dangerous, daring, determined—away from the crowd and climb into his beat-up old Trans Am. I was sixteen and gloriously alive for the first time. When I felt his hand cover my leg and move upward, it was over. I was his. Forever.Until I left. Him, my mom, and the trailer park. Without so much as a goodbye. Now Dean's back, crashing uninvited into my carefully cultivated, neat little lawyerly life. Eight years behind bars have turned him rougher and bigger—and more sexually demanding than any man I've ever met. more

  • #16 The Master - Kresley Cole

    The Master - Kresley Cole

    suspense contemporary erotic romance bdsm strong heroine

    Rich, irresistible politician/Mafiya boss Maksimilian Sevastyan prefers tall, obedient blondes to fulfill his…complicated desires. That is, until the icy Russian encounters a dis obedient brunette whose exquisite little body threatens his legendary restraint. Catarina Marín was a well-off young wife until her world fell apart. Now she’s hiding out, forced to start working as an escort in Miami. Her very first client is beyond gorgeous, but when he tells her what he plans to do to her, Cat almost walks out of the door. After their mind-blowing encounter burns out of control, the lovers crave more. more


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