Ten contemporary romance novels are lined up across 2026, and the calendar is generous in a way that rarely happens twice. Carley Fortune returns to the Canadian coast in May, Abby Jimenez continues the Say You'll Remember Me series in April, and Liz Tomforde takes the Windy City universe into a spinoff in March. Here's the whole slate, dates and publishers included.

Every 2026 contemporary romance release on the slate

Which 2026 romance arrives first?

Janisha Boswell's *Unravelling* opens the year on January 13, 2026 from Amazon Publishing. Scarlett Voss is forced to work alongside her academic nemesis Evan Branson on a high-stakes class project while her family's fashion empire teeters on ruin — academic rivals, forced proximity and a wealthy-elite backdrop in one go.

Elsie Silver follows on February 17, 2026 with *Fever Dream*, the first book in the new *Emerald Lake* series, published by Slow Burn / Hachette. A brooding local craftsman, a woman starting over, and the forbidden-romance tension Silver builds a small town around. The cover leans blue and pink, all cactus silhouette and a saddled horse under a setting sun.

If you like to start a series at the beginning, February is where you plant your flag.

What are the biggest names on the 2026 list?

Carley Fortune's *Our Perfect Storm* is the one with the most obvious summer-shelf gravity: Penguin Books / Viking publishes it on May 7, 2026. Frankie is left at the altar and ends up stranded in Tofino, British Columbia with George, which is the kind of premise that writes its own weekend plans. Friends-to-lovers, second chance, vacation romance and forced proximity, stacked.

Abby Jimenez returns on April 7, 2026 with *The Night We Met*, book two in the *Say You'll Remember Me* series from Forever. It's a dual-timeline, emotional slow-burn about two people drawn together again and again at life-altering moments — and the cover puts the couple on a dock under fireworks, small dog included.

Annabel Monaghan takes June with *Dolly All the Time*, out June 2, 2026 from G.P. Putnam's Sons. Country-music vibes, southern charm, unexpected family roots and the sort of witty banter that makes a rom-com go down easy.

What's new for series readers?

Liz Tomforde's *In Her Own League* is a Windy City series spinoff, arriving March 24, 2026 via Liz Tomforde / Atria. A fierce sports executive and a star professional athlete collide over a workplace rivalry with real professional stakes — grumpy meets sunshine, with a Chicago skyline on the cover in blistering pink.

Elle Kennedy's *Love Song* lands May 19, 2026 from Bloom Books as the fourth novel in the viral *Campus Diaries* universe, pairing an ambitious student with an intoxicating musician. B.K. Borison's *And Now, Back to You* follows on June 16, 2026 from Berkley, the second standalone in the *Heartstrings* series, reuniting childhood sweethearts who have old wounds to reopen first.

Catherine Cowles opens a new one entirely: *Across the Vanishing Sky*, out April 21, 2026 from The PageSmith LLC, begins the *Starlight Grove* series with a guarded woman in hiding and the rancher who appoints himself her protection.

Anything for readers who want a rom-com with a different setting?

Shameez Patel's *Next Level Love* moves the enemies-to-lovers formula into the video game industry, out March 31, 2026 from St. Martin's Griffin. Two rival developers fall for each other online without realising who's on the other end of the screen.

It's the outlier on this slate in the best way — no ranch, no small town, no stadium, just two people being insufferable at work and tender at a keyboard. If you've been waiting for a gaming rom-com to be treated seriously by a big publisher, March is your month.

At The Bookclub Boutique we keep a running eye on release calendars like this one, because a romance year this full is worth planning around.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to read earlier books before starting any of these?

Several of these 2026 titles are series entries. The Night We Met is book two of Say You'll Remember Me, Love Song is the fourth Campus Diaries novel, and And Now, Back to You is the second Heartstrings standalone. Fever Dream and Across the Vanishing Sky both open brand-new series, so they are the clean starting points.

Which of these books are set outside the United States?

Carley Fortune's Our Perfect Storm is set in Tofino, British Columbia, where Frankie ends up stranded with George after being left at the altar. It is the only title on this 2026 slate with a stated Canadian setting, published by Penguin Books / Viking on May 7, 2026.