Get a YA Book Rec Based on Your Favorite Romance Trope!

Let’s be honest—we all have a favorite YA romance trope we can’t resist. Tell us your romance trope of choice (your secret is safe with us), and discover your next favorite novel! Whether it’s second-chance romance or forbidden love, we’ve got a YA book rec that you’ll adore.

YA Romance Trope: First love
Book Rec: Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett

This book celebrates all the joy and awkwardness of that first young love! Mahalia Harris wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend, Naomi. She also really wants the super-cute new girl Siobhan to like her back. While it’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, she decides to throw herself a big singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating, queer coming out party on her own terms. But with all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia’s party be over before it’s even begun? You’ll fall in love with this story no matter what day of the week it is!

Friday I'm in Love

Friday I'm in Love

It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if Mahalia had a coming-out party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, Black joy, and queer pride.

YA Romance Trope: Dating a royal
Book Rec:
American Royals by Katharine McGee

This series ticks several romance trope boxes, so there’s a good chance it will appeal to you even if you enjoy one of the other tropes on this list. Forbidden romance, love triangles, and royals dating commoners combine into an irresistible trilogy that any YA romance reader will adore.

American Royals

American Royals

What if America had a royal family? If you can’t get enough of Harry and Meghan or Kate and William, meet American princesses Beatrice and Samantha. Crazy Rich Asians meets The Crown. This New York Times bestseller is perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and The Royal We!

YA Romance Trope: Second-chance romance
Book Rec: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

If you love second chances as much as we do, then you’re going to adore Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute! It’s about ex-best friends Bradley and Celine who are forced to work together when they both sign up for a survival course in the woods. These two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship? If you need a story about the ups and downs of love and friendship, you’ll love this book!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors—and each other.

YA Romance Trope: Sworn off dating romance
Book Rec:
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

Would you still fall in love if you knew your relationship would end? Evie Thomas can foresee the ending of every romance, so she swears off dating forever. But when she meets X at a dance class, she must decide if the inevitable heartbreak is worth the joy of finding love.

Instructions for Dancing

Instructions for Dancing

In this romantic page-turner from the author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star, Evie has the power to see other people’s romantic fates—what will happen when she finally sees her own?

YA Romance Trope: Dating on vacation
Book Rec: Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye

When Nate learns his ex-boyfriend will be at his cousin’s lavish destination wedding in South Africa, he asks his best friend (and secret crush) Jai to be his plus-one at the wedding and his travel buddy around Johannesburg. The two leave for Johannesburg as best friends, but will they return from their vacation as something more? This swoony novel gives off plenty of dating-on-vacation vibes with a side of friends-to-lovers.

Nate Plus One

Nate Plus One

Boy plus boy. Two weeks in Johannesburg. A summer of music, adventure, self-discovery . . . and definitely not love. What could go wrong?

Nate needs a date to his cousin’s wedding. Jai is Nate’s best friend and secret crush. Could Jai be Nate’s plus-one—and only?

YA Romance Trope: Missed connections
Book Rec: French Kissing in New York by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

If you’re looking for a story that’s part missed connections and part dating on vacation, this one is for you! Margot can’t stop thinking about Zach, the dreamy American boy she met one magical night in Paris. One year later, she’s in New York City ready to roll up her chef’s-coat sleeves in Manhattan’s bustling restaurant scene, celebrate her father’s upcoming wedding . . . and reconnect with Zach. But a lot can happen in a year, and promises made in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower look different in the neon glow of the Big Apple. Margot is convinced she found her soul mate that night in Paris . . . but what if the universe has a different plan? Anything is possible in New York City.

French Kissing in New York

French Kissing in New York

A charming, high-energy romance in the city that never sleeps about a girl who can’t wait to be a part of Manhattan’s restaurant scene—and find the boy she fell for last summer. Perfect for fans of Emily in Paris!

Welcome to New York. . . . He’s been waiting for you.

YA Romance Trope: Fake dating
Book Rec: Well, That Was Unexpected by Jesse Q. Sutanto

To ensure that their children find the right kind of romantic partner, Sharlot’s mother and George’s father do what any “good” parent would do: they strike up a conversation online, pretending to be their children. When the teens find out about their parents’ actions, they’re horrified. Not even a trip to one of the most romantic places on earth could possibly make Sharlot and George fall for each other. But as the layers peel back and the person they thought they knew from online is revealed, the truth becomes more complicated. As unlikely as it may seem, did their parents manage to find their true match after all? Grab your favorite drink and snuggle up with this laugh-out-loud romance novel about fabricated love turning real.

Well, That Was Unexpected

Well, That Was Unexpected

A laugh-out-loud YA rom-com about a girl who’s whisked from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia to get back to her roots and finds herself fake-dating the son of one of the wealthiest families there, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties and The Obsession

YA Romance Trope: Enemies to lovers
Book Rec: I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre

Looking for a queer enemies-to-lovers romance novel? You’ll fall for I Think I Love You. Arch-nemeses Emma, a die-hard romantic, and more-practical minded Sophia find themselves competing against one another for a coveted first-prize trip to a film festival in Los Angeles . . . what happens if their rivalry turns into a romance?

I Think I Love You

I Think I Love You

A YA contemporary rom com about two girls who start as rivals but after a twist of events, end up falling for one another–at least they think so. A pitch perfect queer romance–and it’s a paperback original!

YA Romance Trope: Opposites attract
Book Rec: The Matchbreaker Summer by Annie Rains

This novel is like The Parent Trap in reverse—summer camp, a devious breakup plot, and an unexpected romance! Paisley’s mom is getting remarried and closing the summer camp they run together. So Paisley teams up with her (cute but annoying) coworker Hayden to plot her mom’s relationship’s demise. But she doesn’t expect to fall in love with him.

The Matchbreaker Summer

The Matchbreaker Summer

A pitch-perfect summer camp rom-com about two teens with nothing in common who come together to help break up a romance and unexpectedly start one of their own . . .

YA Romance Trope: Study buddy romance
Book Rec: Salaam, with Love by Sara Sharaf Beg

The best part of reading a YA romance is the feel-good vibes, and this adorable novel delivers heaps of them. It’s about Dua, a Muslim teen spending Ramadan with her relatives in New York City. She wants to memorize verses from the Quran and enlists the help of Hassan, a cute drummer in a band. This heartwarming novel will keep you smiling the whole way through.

Salaam, with Love

Salaam, with Love

This heartfelt and humorous YA contemporary follows Dua, who spends the month of Ramadan making unexpected discoveries about family, faith, and first love.

YA Romance Trope: Forbidden romance
Book Rec: Sunkissed by Kasie West

Dirty Dancing die-hards, this book is for you! A summer-long family camp at an exclusive resort results in Avery stretching her wings and learning more about herself. From secretly singing in a band to falling for a very off-limits staff member, Avery’s summer turns out far more exciting than she expected.

Sunkissed

Sunkissed

A perfect Valentine’s read for romantics everywhere is this swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn’t as bad as she imagined . . . and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises!

YA Romance Trope: Love triangles and squares
Book Rec: Year on Fire by Julie Buxbaum

There’s nothing better than a love triangle, except maybe a love square. Whatever your desired romance shape, you’ll find plenty of messy friendship and relationship drama in Julie Buxbaum’s latest novel. And if you need more complicated love stories featuring quirky, cute, and adorkable teens, pick up her other novels, too.

Year on Fire

Year on Fire

What secrets will people keep—or reveal—to protect those they love? This novel, set against the frightening backdrop of an encroaching fire season, sparks reflection about friendship, the allure of romantic love, and loyalty to family.

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