The Essential Valentine’s Romance Reads

Breaking Point by Mads Rafferty

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Tropes: sports romance, forced proximity, ice hockey captain x personal assistant, fake dating.
Written in: dual P.o.V.

Breaking Point by Mads Rafferty follows hockey star Grayson Crawford as he struggles to keep his career intact while grieving a family loss. With his reputation at risk, he agrees to enter a staged relationship to repair his public image. The only person willing to step into the role is Bella Stratford, his personal assistant, who is working to cover her mother’s growing medical expenses. Although she is reluctant and wary of getting emotionally involved, the arrangement offers a practical solution to both of their problems. As they present themselves as a couple in public, their strictly professional boundaries begin to shift in private, complicating what was meant to be temporary and controlled.

Breaking Point was easily one of the best books I read in the last few months. Lately, I’ve found myself exhausted with romance novels where physical attraction is treated as the entire foundation of a relationship. Yes, of course it’s there, but it shouldn’t be the only reason two characters exist in each other’s orbit. This book was like a breath of fresh air. Grayson’s love for Bella isn’t rooted in obsession or surface-level desire. It’s genuine adoration for the kind of person she is (bare minimum by the way!). The way he looks at her, the way he takes care of her, the way he pays attention, makes you sick to your stomach. It does get sad. Not cute-sad. Actually sad. There were moments that genuinely hurt to read. But the ending is deserved, and it stays with you.

Face Off by Chelsea Curto

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Tropes: sports romance, NHL teammates, black cat x golden retriever, found family, friends with benefits.
Written in: dual P.o.V.

Emmy Hartwell finally gets her long-awaited shot at the NHL with the struggling D.C. Stars, determined to prove she belongs there. Maverick Miller is the league's star player and team captain, desperate for a winning season. They're complete opposites, constantly at odds, until one night the tension snaps and they end up in bed together. It's supposed to be a one-time thing. No dating. No feelings. Just something to get out of their system so they can focus on hockey. But "just once" doesn't exactly stick, and what's meant to stay casual quickly turns into something harder to separate from the game.

Yet another hockey romance, I know. What made this one stand out to me was how alive it felt. The banter actually sounds like two competitive, stubborn people who respect each other just as much as they challenge each other. And the D.C. Stars genuinely feel like a team, a great found family trope. The group chats, the constant teasing, the way they rally around each other, it all adds this layer of warmth that makes the world feel full. I also appreciated that the story doesn't rely on a dramatic third-act breakup to create stakes. The tension comes from the situation itself and from who they are, which makes everything feel more real. And then there's Maverick wearing Emmy's jersey to Heroes and Legends night because she's his hero. There's a level of yearning in the way he loves her that leaves you in awe. A great Valentine's read through and through.

Until I Get You by Claire Contreras

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Tropes: sports romance, dark romance, second chance x fake marriage, college romance.
Written in: dual P.o.V.

Trigger Warnings:

Lachlan Duke has always been the guy at Fairview: projected number-one NHL draft pick, fan favorite, the one everyone watches when he steps onto the ice. He’s used to attention. Used to people wanting something from him. Lyla James Marichal is the only one who doesn’t. She doesn’t chase him, doesn’t soften for him, doesn’t care about the hype. If anything, she keeps her distance. And that distance is exactly what pulls him in. When he finally wins her over, it feels like everything is falling into place: another championship within reach, the draft ahead of him, Lyla beside him. Then she disappears with no explanation. Three years later, he finds her again. The future he once had might still be intact, but the anger never really left. And this time, he isn’t looking at her the same way he used to.

Yes, this is another hockey romance. Please bear with me. But this one is darker (which automatically makes it more interesting). It’s a dark hockey romance, but not in a way that’s overwhelming or hard to get through. If you’ve been wanting to dip into dark romance without jumping straight into the deep end, this is actually a really good place to start. What makes it work is that constant tight feeling while you’re reading. You know it’s a second-chance romance. You know the happiness in the first half isn’t safe. And even while you’re enjoying it, there’s this underlying awareness that it’s going to fall apart before it can come back together. And Lachlan? He is the perfect kind of obsessed anti-hero. The kind of character who is a little unhinged but completely committed. If you’re ready for something slightly darker this Valentine’s Day, this is it.

Loving the Reaper by Lola King

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Tropes: secret society, dark college romance, best friends to lovers.
Written in: dual P.o.V.
Trigger Warnings: Check here

This is the second book in the Silver Falls University series, but it can easily be read on its own. Penelope “Peach” Sanderson-Menacci and Wren Hunter have known each other forever. They grew up side by side, and somewhere along the way, their friendship turned into something more – even if neither of them is willing to fully admit it. At Silver Falls University, their dynamic becomes a constant push and pull. There’s flirting that goes too far, jealousy that isn’t exactly subtle, and tension that never really fades. Wren likes control. Peach refuses to be controlled. They clash often, but the pull between them doesn’t go anywhere. A drunken almost-kiss forces everything into the open for a second, just enough to make it impossible to ignore. Still, pride and fear keep them stuck. Wren tries to make her jealous. Peach pretends not to care. Their friends see what’s obvious: whatever this is between them isn’t going away. But neither of them wants to be the first to give in.

This is the first non-sports romance on this list, but it deserved its spot. It’s a dark college romance with a secret society element, so the whole thing already has this heavier, more atmospheric tone. There’s tension in the relationship, obviously, but also in the setting itself. Power plays and hidden agendas, they're always in the background, making everything feel a little more intense. What really makes it, though, is the friends-to-lovers-in-denial dynamic. Peach and Wren have so much history that every interaction feels layered. Peach insisting there’s nothing there while very clearly feeling everything. Wren pushing just enough to get under her skin. It’s messy and perfect all the same. And that plot twist at the end genuinely caught me off guard. It’s rare that I don’t see something coming, but this one changed the entire story in a way that made everything click. If you're looking for a little bit of everything this Valentine's, suspense, romance, and a little darkness, this one's for you.

Sweet Venom by Rina Kent

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Tropes: enemies to lovers, (sports romance), anti-hero x good girl, stalker romance.
Written in: dual P.o.V.
Trigger Warnings: Check here

Violet Winters has been living with the feeling that someone is watching her. A shadow that doesn't leave. She doesn't know why she's being targeted, only that whoever is doing it has decided she deserves to suffer. And in the place she's in mentally, she isn't sure she has the strength to fight back. Jude Callahan has built his life around revenge. After his mother was murdered, he made a list of everyone connected to that night, and Violet's name is on it. He believes she witnessed what happened and chose to do nothing. In his mind, that makes her just as guilty. He approaches her with a clear intention: get close, gain control, and make her pay. But the closer he gets, the more complicated things become. Violet isn't the cold bystander he imagined. She's broken in her own ways, carrying struggles he didn't expect, and instead of feeling satisfied, he starts questioning the narrative he built around her. As revenge turns into obsession, their connection becomes increasingly volatile, built on anger and a dangerous pull neither of them fully understands.

Sweet Venom is dark in a genuinely heavy way that deals with difficult themes, so if you have triggers, this is absolutely a book where the content warnings matter. It's not a soft or comforting read. When I found out this book would focus on Jude and Violet, I was immediately excited because Jude was such an enigma in Beautiful Venom, and I had no idea which version of him we would get here. I just knew he would work for me. Moody, mysterious, slightly violent, morally questionable; that combination tends to do it. What surprised me most was how emotional it becomes underneath all the obsession and revenge. There are moments that genuinely hurt, which makes the intensity feel real instead of performative. And that's why it's perfect for Valentine's Day if you're in the mood for something darker. This isn't gentle love, but it is consuming, obsessive, and about choosing each other anyway, which has its own kind of romance.

In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde

Release Date: March 3rd, 2026

Tropes: age gap, workplace romance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity.

Blurb:

He's used to being the boss. But she's in her own league...

As the first female team owner in Major League Baseball, Reese Remington has spent her entire life preparing for this role. With a sharp mind and years of experience working behind the scenes, she's more than qualified. But the public only sees a woman in a man's world - not the person who's earned their place on the field. Under constant scrutiny and pressure to prove herself, Reese can't afford distractions.

Especially one that comes in the form of the team's tempting field manager who questions her every decision.

Emmett Montgomery is a former All-Star turned coach who treats his players like family and the field like home. After years of running the team his way, the last thing he wants is a new boss - let alone one who seems ice-cold and laser-focused on business. But forced to spend long hours - and too many away games - side by side, he begins to see the fire beneath Reese's control, the heart behind her ambition and the unwavering determination to prove herself.

When heated banter turns into sizzling chemistry, professional boundaries blur and the spark between them becomes impossible to resist. But Reese is constantly reminded of how many people are waiting for her to fail, and the safest move is to keep Emmett at arm's length - for the sake of the team, the season and her career.

But keeping their distance is one game neither of them can seem to win...

Fighting Chance by Mads Rafferty

Release Date: March 31st, 2026

Tropes: sports romance, single dad x nanny, slow burn.

Blurb:

Two broken souls and a spark that can't be ignored.

Famous hockey player Kieran Ashford is the NHL's favorite headline, but when his reputation catches up to him in the form of a surprise phone call and a mute three-year-old daughter he didn't know existed, Kieran is suddenly thrown into the depths of fatherhood. Now, at least, the quick-witted book addict has something she can't say no to—a job offer.

Because Layla Carson needs a paycheck. After spending over a year in Berlin participating in a clinical trial for her lupus, Layla is painfully aware of how her medical bills have drained her parents' bank account. When the opportunity arises to become a nanny, Layla can't refuse.

As the pair help build a home for the little girl who desperately needs them both, the walls around their hearts begin to crumble. Layla learns there's more to Kieran than the flirtatious winks and playful personality, while he's determined to show her more beyond her temporary reality.

But when forever was never guaranteed for either of them, they'll need to fight for the chance of a new life.