Best Romance books

The 200 highest-rated Romance books, scored from 104.2K reader ratings.

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Sort byDecadeMinimum ratingsAdaptation200 results

By year of first publication, 1811–2026. The busiest stretch is 2020–2039, with 68. Select a bar to narrow the list.

1
8.88.8 / 10
Empire of StormsSarah J. Maas1.3K ratingsWith “Empire of Storms” the Throne of Glass series moves into open war between kingdoms, told with tension and a strong sense of adventure.Our view
2
8.88.8 / 10
Queen of ShadowsSarah J. Maas1.5K ratingsIn “Queen of Shadows” Sarah J. Maas sets Aelin Galathynius on the road to her crown, in a volume as dark as it is tense.Our view
3
8.78.7 / 10
A Court of Mist and FurySarah J. Maas2.9K ratings“A Court of Mist and Fury” is, for some readers, a clear step up from its predecessor.Our view

Why Empire of Storms is #1

Empire of Storms (Sarah J. Maas) scores 8.8/10 from 1.3K ratings — level with Queen of Shadows at one decimal, and ahead on the exact score.

The score is a weighted average across 3 independent rating sources. A title with few ratings is pulled toward the category average, so a handful of enthusiastic reviews cannot outrank a book that thousands of readers have judged. To keep the list varied, the top 20 holds at most two books from one series and three by one author; the rest follow further down. Method →

The ending is given. The road isn’t

A happy ending is the genre’s promise, not a spoiler. Choose by what keeps these two apart and why you’d root for them.

The obstacle lives in themThink Pride and Prejudice: they are the obstacle. If one honest talk fixes it, the book is stalling.
Contemporary or romantasy?Two different reads: in romantasy, the love story shares the stage with war and magic.
Is it book one?Romance often runs in series; a middle volume read cold loses half its tension.

Frequently asked questions

Which title here has the most ratings?

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) — 4.4K ratings and 8.3/10, which puts it at #11 on this list.

What is the best book of recent years in Romance?

Of the books here published since 2022, The Long Game (2022) ranks highest: #6, 8.5/10.