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April is a time of growth: flowers start to bloom, people (hopefully) get their tax returns, and what seems like thousands of romance novels release every week. Writing this list was literally painful, as I had to somehow pare down a list of about 40 interesting new releases to something a little more manageable. (If you want to keep track of a larger list of titles, check out Book Riot’s New Release Index, available by subscription!)
Among those thousands, April promises a heckuva lineup of top tier titles, including contemporary, historical, and fantasy romances. Here, we’ve got a smattering of those things (though, per usual, it leans heavily into contemporary). We’ve got retellings and sequels. We’ve got musicians and mermaids. We’ve got multiple adult debuts by popular Young Adult authors, and long-awaited new books by beloved favorites. We’ve got books you don’t need me to tell you about, including new books from Ruby Dixon, Eloisa James, and Emily Henry. We’ve got the sequel to Phantasma, the next Dark Olympus book, and the hilarious follow-up to The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love. Abby Jimenez and Jasmine Guillory are bringing it with the pinks and pastels in their new books, and Brenda Jackson brings us back to the Madaris family with Spilling the Tea, her ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH BOOK.
But as usual, I like to highlight the books you might not find on the front table in your local big box store, or going viral on social media (though we can hope for both of those things to happen for every book here!). So here are 17 new romance books out April 2025 that you should absolutely check out.
The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod
Four years after the events of Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Lucas becomes a widow. When her BFF Elizabeth Darcy can’t come to Hunsford to support her, she sends her younger sister Mary in her stead. Well, Mary has grown up—physically yes, but emotionally more so, and the two women hit it off in a way neither of them expects. I love a good Pride and Prejudice revisit, especially one that queers it up!
Once Upon You and Me by Timothy Janovsky
Taylor’s boss’s kid is having a sweet sixteen party in the Catskills, and she sends Taylor to take care of the final details leading up to it. That’s all fine and dandy, but he can’t help the attraction he feels to the manager of the mountain resort…who is also the father of the birthday girl and Taylor’s boss’s ex. Oh dear.
My Best Friend’s Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner
When Elsie breaks things off with her fiance of a year and a half, she ends up going on a non-refundable honeymoon with her best friend Ginny instead.
(I know, right?)
Ginny has been in love with Elsie forever, but they’ve stood back while Elsie pursued what she thought she wanted. Now, on this vacation, they take their Best Friend role seriously and try to help Elsie figure out how to take what she wants and speak up for herself. But what if what Elsie wants is them?
Darn it. Once again, friends to lovers reels me in like a marlin.
Gold Coast Dilemma by Nana Malone
A Ghanaian heiress bound to duty? Yes, please!
Ofosua and Cole meet at a fancy party and hit it off immediately, but Ofosua’s role in her family draws her back to Ghana and the Gold Coast, where she’s affianced to someone even her mother likes. When Circumstances lead to Things, she and Cole run into each other in a very different setting from their first meeting. But culture and tradition still have their grip on Ofosua, and she’s not sure she is willing to give up something so central to her existence for a man she hardly knows.
When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelly
1910s. Boricua. Blacksmith. Falls in love. With a merman. On Coney Island.
That’s it. That’s the book. It sounds gorgeous and heartbreaking, and I can’t wait to pick it up.
The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide
In a magical Regency world, Lord Nicholas Monterris has to get married. The woman his family chooses is a family rival, and for some reason there’s a Negotiator involved? This guy is a former flame of Nic’s, and they still have chemistry, but socially they’re not allowed to be together, for more reasons than one.
And then the murders began.
The Duke and Lady Scandal by Christy Carlyle
I mean, I can write anything over here, because you’re too busy drooling over that cover. I’m right, aren’t I?
This is a series opener “inspired by National Treasure” and there aren’t many four word phrases that could work harder for me. When Alexandra overhears some shady fellows talking about a plot to steal the Crown Jewels, she goes to Detective Inspector Benedict Drake to enlist his help in stopping them. He turns her away, but she keeps popping up where he doesn’t expect. I know where this is going.
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Ms. V’s Hot Girl Summer by AH Cunningham
We’ve got a “single” mom. We’ve got Carnival in Trinidad. We’ve got an age gap romance with the hot guy she’s staying with. We’ve got AH Cunningham’s brilliant writing. We’ve got that absolutely amazing cover. All that adds up to something I’m ready to pick up immediately!
All Fired Up by MK England
MK England might be a familiar name if you’re into books about queer nerdy teens, but this is their first adult romance.
In All Fired Up, we meet Nicole, who left Seattle to start fires—aka learn “fire dynamics”—and get over a crush on one of her best friends. But now she’s back, and Skylar is moving across the world. When she and a new friend, Kira, work together to get Skylar to change her mind, sparks fly between the firestarter and the firefighter.
Marriage Bargain with the Comte by Parker J. Cole
Talk about another cover you can just stare at for hours at a time! This is a friends to lovers, marriage of convenience romance set in the Court of Louis XVI and on the island of Saint Domingue (which I discovered reading reviews, as the description doesn’t mention it). Dieudonné, Comte de Montreau, ends up in a sticky situation when he rescues a friend from a ruination plot only to be caught in a compromising situation with her himself! So they get married.
Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa
This is another adult debut by an amazing YA author! If you’ve read any of Jonny’s other work, you know they’re amazing with putting together words and making their plots Angsty But Fun. I expect nothing different from Futbolista.
Gabi is a freshman soccer football player, with dreams of playing for La Liga or MLS. He’s also pretty sure he’s straight. But when a new friend offers to tutor him, the time they spend together leads Gabi to ask a few questions about himself. I’m sat, and I’m ready to cry. Bring it.
Hooked on You by Ada Barume
I was unfamiliar with Ada Barume before coming across this book, but the cover drew me in—the Sexy Boat Doctor Show has definitely made me more interested in maritime romance! This one involves a reporter trying to get her dream job and the yacht captain whose next big move relies on keeping his crew in line instead of letting the reporter trying to get the scoop on the billionaire chartering the yacht distract them. But apparently there’s something shady going on with this CEO…
Unlikely Neighbors by Renee Daniel Flagler
When Holland inherits a Brooklyn brownstone, she takes the leap to change everything about her life. Leaving her southern small town, she takes on the challenge of restoring the brownstone and starting a new job. And then it turns out her handsome next door neighbor is also on the board at her new job.
The Last Guy You Kiss by Carla de Guzman
This is a retelling of a Pinoy romcom that I’m going to have to check out, Got 2 Believe. A wedding guest, tired of the lonely life, decides to try something different. Rumor has it that Jay, another guest at the wedding, is a romantic good luck charm—if you kiss him, you’ll find your true love next. But Mara might find a new twist on this charm, because she might just be catching feelings for Jay instead.
No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel
Pop star Ella is ready for independence. She is tired of her husband’s bad acting and will do whatever it takes to successfully divorce him, regardless of the ironclad prenup between them. But when she’s saved from a “wardrobe snafu” by a MLB hotshot, the pair’s PR teams come up with a plan to benefit everyone involved. This was apparently inspired by Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter?!
Beast by Jade Linwood
Jean-Marc Charming Arundel is a former con artist. When he gets lost in an enchanted wood and finds himself in front of a beautiful mansion, he takes a chance. The house is, of course, inhabited by a cursed noblewoman—the Beast in this story, if you haven’t figured that part out. Charming would love to figure out how to get out of this place, because he’s got an appointment to keep…but that’s not how this story works, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this all resolves itself. (This is the second book in a series and it looks like it might be worthwhile to read Charming before this.)
Takes One to Know One by Lissette Decos
Several weeks ago, a trusted social media mutual mentioned that this was a reggaeton romance. And I have been waiting for it ever since.
Dani has just gotten a coveted job with a record label, but it was through a Little White Lie: she hates reggaeton, but said that she loved it. So now she’s on her way to Puerto Rico to help clean up the image of big reggaeton star Rene Rodriguez. But their initial head-butting gives way to each learning things about the other and about themselves, all underneath the gorgeous Puerto Rican sun.
As I mentioned, this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to April romances. And of course I always leave with questions based on people’s unclear descriptions when it comes to romantic stories. Where the Jasmine Blooms, for example: is it a romance? It sounds pretty romantic, but who’s to say?
If you’re looking for more to read, make sure you saw the March releases. And subscribe to Kissing Books for all the best romance content!