In the world of fiction, one genre resonates with readers the most. One that transfixes audiences as they wish to experience the same adrenalin rush of excitement, feel the butterflies in their stomachs, and find their soulmate among a crowd. Yes, it's none other than romance fiction, which captures the complexities of love.
With numerous authors penning happily-ever-afters and the-one-that-got-aways, the influx of romance stories has created tropes and repetition of themes.
Luckily, here, we've enlisted five not-so-typical romance stories of 2024 for you to indulge in.
Pictures Don't Lie by Ace Bryann
On top of the list is Pictures Don't Lie by Ace Bryann. This page-turning thriller features Derek Landino, a famous, successful billionaire whose eyes are only for business. That is until he falls in love with Christine Dayne, a university art director and unsuccessful painter.
Derek is compelled to do anything to capture her heart; however, his past threatens to consume him and keep them apart. At the same time, an obsessed and deranged ex-lover plans on setting Derek up and making him hers. She will not relent and resort to any measure if it means she has the billionaire. Before Derek can uncover her vicious plot to destroy Christine, other events begin to spin out of control, and Derek discovers that he has been implicated.
The question remains: will the truth be discovered in time to save their love and future?
Pictures Don't Lie hits all the right notes for fans of contemporary romance, according to Kirkus Reviews, and is certainly one of the most innovative reads of 2024.
Get your copy now. It's available on Amazon.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
If you're an avid fan of romance novels, you know about the "opposites attract" trope, but it's not executed quite like this. Meet Daphne, someone who has always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story: how they met, fell in love, and moved back to his lakeside hometown to commence their life together. He was terrific at describing it right when he realized he was in love with his childhood best friend, Petra.
Thus, Daphne begins her new story stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without family or friends but with a dream job as a children's librarian who can barely pay the bills. She proposes to be roommates with the one person who could understand her predicament: Petra's ex, Miles Nowak.
Chaotic and scruffy, Miles is the complete opposite of practical Daphne. The roommates avoid each other until, one day, as they drown in their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan that involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together.
No way would Daphne start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé's new fiancée's ex… right?
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Justin is cursed, thanks to a Reddit thread; it's all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find her soul mate the moment they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the exact same problem, they manage to come up with a plan. They will date each other and, eventually, break up. The idea is that their curses will cancel each other out, and they will ultimately find the love of their lives. A rather far-fetched plan, but worth a shot, right?
Emma did not plan for her next assignment as a traveling nurse to be in Minnesota. However, she and her best friend agreed that dating Justin would be too good of an opportunity to let go. It's supposed to be a quick fling, but when Emma's toxic mother enters the narrative, Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings. And the next thing you know, they're navigating much more than they expected, catching real feelings for each other.
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Rue Siebert may not have it all, but she has enough: the financial stability she yearned for as a child, a few friends she can always lean on, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising food science start-ups. Rue's world is pleasant and stable until a hostile takeover and its super-attractive frontman threaten to make it all crumble.
Eli Killgore, along with his business partners, wants Kline, and Eli has his reasons for pushing this deal. Disclaimer: Eli is a man who gets what he wants, with one exception: Rue, the woman he cannot stop thinking about, is also off-limits to him.
Thus begins a steamy affair as Rue and Eli throw caution out the laboratory and boardroom windows. Their affair is entirely secret, no strings attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will become successful.
It's Complicated by Camilla Isley
Since college, Lori has been heads-over-heels in love with her best friend, Aiden. And now, Aiden is getting married, and Lori desperately needs a date for the wedding. And, so, she asks the best man, Jace, to pretend their platonic friendship is something more, just so she doesn't have to confront the worst day of her life alone.
One may think fake dating a best friend to forget the other should be easy, but it certainly isn't. Jace eventually starts acting like the sweetest boyfriend, and Lori starts to wonder if she has been seeing him wrong all this time.
It's certainly complicated with three friends, two secret crushes, and one wedding.
