12 Canadian romance books to swoon over this summer
From YA young love to romantic trips, these romance books are the perfect match for your summer reading list.
Love From Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
In the sequel to the YA novel Love from A to Z, Adam and Zayneb must find their way back to one another. Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and Zayneb is in school in Chicago. When the pair get a chance to reunite for Thanksgiving week on the Umrah in Saudi Arabia, the trip goes nothing like what they expect and their love is put to the test.
S.K. Ali is a writer and teacher from Toronto, best known for her debut YA novel, Saints and Misfits. She is also the author of Love from A to Z.
The Comeback by Lily Chu
The Comeback is a rom-com that follows Ariadne Hui, a type-A lawyer intent on making partner at her exclusive law firm. Her priorities quickly shift when she arrives home to find an attractive man sitting on her couch. Her roommate's cousin, Choi Jihoon, will be staying with them while he gets over a breakup. Quickly, Ariadne falls hard for Jihoon, but the bubble around their apartment romance soon bursts when Ariadne realizes that being Jihoon's partner means being thrown into the spotlight for the world's consumption. Can their relationship stand up to public scrutiny? Ariadne may not be able to make a simple case to appeal to the masses.
Lily Chu writes romantic comedies set in Toronto with strong Asian characters. Chu's debut rom-com novel was The Stand-In.
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
Meet Me at the Lake finds Fern Brookbanks, a 32-year-old hotel manager, stuck: she can't quite stop thinking about one perfect day she spent in her twenties. By chance, she met a man named Will Baxter and the two spent a romantic 24-hours in Toronto, after which they promised to meet up one year later, but Will never showed up.
Now, instead of living in the city like she thought she would, Fern manages her mother's Muskoka resort by the lake, a role she promised herself she'd never take on. Disillusioned with her life, Fern is shocked when Will shows up at her door, suitcase in hand, asking to help. Why is he here after all this time and more importantly, can she trust him to stay? It's clear Will has a secret, but Fern isn't sure if she's ready to hear it all these years later.
Carley Fortune is a Toronto-based journalist who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and Toronto Life. Meet Me at the Lake is her second novel following her debut, Every Summer After.
Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo
In Where We End & Begin, two star-crossed lovers named Obinna and Dunni reunite at a wedding, rekindling their old high school romance. They had broken up when Dunni left Nigeria to go to college in America. While things have changed, they are still drawn to each other. However, as they rediscover each other — bringing up secrets, and incidents from the past, Dunni must figure out if their love from their younger days is enough to keep them together.
Jane Igharo immigrated to Canada from Nigeria when she was 12 years old. She currently lives in Toronto. Her debut novel was Ties That Tether.
Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin
Much Ado About Nada is about Nada Syed, who is almost 30 and still living at home with her parents. She dreams of making her app Ask Apa into a tech success, but her parents are focused on her finding a partner and getting married. Her best friend Haleema wants things to turn around for Nada and thinks there's no better place to do that than at a large Muslim conference downtown. But when Nada finds out Haleema's fiance Zayn and his brother Baz will be there, she knows she can't go. No matter what. Why? Because her and Baz have history.
Uzma Jalaluddin is a teacher, parenting columnist and author based in Ontario. She is also the author of Ayesha At Last and Hana Khan Carries On.
Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat by Sonya Lalli
When Jasmine Randhawa agreed to go on an Alaskan cruise with her parents, she did not think to ask if she'd be the only person her age there. Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat is a humourous romance novel about Jasmine and the unexpected companionship she finds in her childhood friend Jake Dhillon — who happens to be the other only young person on this seniors cruise. Over the course of ten days, Jasmine and Jake learn more about themselves and their communities, but can their closeness be maintained on land?
Sonya Lalli is a Punjabi and Bengali romance fiction author based in Vancouver. She's written the novels A Holly Jolly Diwali, Serena Singh Flips the Script, Grown-Up Pose and The Matchmaker's List. Her books have been spotlighted in publications including Entertainment Weekly, NPR, the Washington Post, the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. Lalli was a reader for the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize.
The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau
The Stand-Up Groomsman is a rom-com set against the most romantic event of all: a wedding. When Vivian Liao's roommate gets engaged to her favourite actor's costar, she finds herself planning wedding cake and karaoke parties with actor and stand-up comedian Melvin Lee. The only problem? He thinks she's a snob and a sellout. Over time, united by their desire to help the wedding go smoothly, they might just be able to put aside their differences and find some romance of their own.
Jackie Lau is a Toronto-based author of over a dozen romantic comedies, including Donut Fall in Love, the Holidays with the Wongs series and the There's Only One Bed at Christmas novella anthology. She went to school for engineering and worked as a geophysicist before writing romance novels.
Exes and O's by Amy Lea
Exes and O's is a rom-com about Tara Chen, a social media influencer and romance book connoisseur. Though she's had ten exes break her heart, she's still looking to find her special someone. Fed up with dating apps, she decides to revisit her exes with the reluctant help of her firefighter roommate. But the more time they spend together, they realize they might actually fit well together.
Amy Lea is a bestselling romance author and bureaucrat based in Ottawa. Some of her other books include Set on You and Woke Up Like This.
Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim
Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club is about professional matchmaker Sophie Go. Sophie has just moved back to her hometown of Toronto. When a scandal is set to destroy her career, Sophie takes on her most challenging clients yet: a group of seven elderly Chinese men who never married. Is she up for the professional and personal challenges she's about to face?
Roselle Lim is a writer who lives on Lake Erie. She is also the author of the novels Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune and Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop.
24 Hours in Italy by Romi Moondi
24 Hours in Italy is a second-chance romance set in Italy. Two years after a whirlwind 24 hours in Paris, Mira and Jake are reunited on the Amalfi coast for a friend's destination wedding. While their lives and careers took them in different directions, their spark is still strong — but it won't be all that simple to get their happy ending.
Romi Moondi is a Toronto-based author of rom-coms, including 24 Hours in Paris.
Girlfriend Material by Katia Rose
Girlfriend Material is a rom-com about an accidential romance. Both star students in their fashion school, they couldn't be more different when it comes to relationships. But when Allison enlists Kate to help her get a girlfriend, things don't go as planned and the two find themselves falling hard — for one another.
Katia Rose is a Canadian author of romance novels. She is also the writer of Catch and Cradle.
Bookworm by Robin Yeatman
In Bookworm, a woman named Victoria begins to fantasize about a romanticized life when she sees an attractive man reading the same book that she was reading, at her favourite café. She believes that he is her soul mate.
However, there's just one catch. Victoria is already married, albeit unhappily, to a controlling and zealous lawyer. In an attempt to seek happiness, she makes up scenarios in her mind — they're harmless, until one night, when fantasy and reality collide.
Robin Yeatman is a Vancouver-based broadcast journalist who has worked in radio for about a decade. Bookworm is her debut book.
