When In Romance

Jess and Trisha talk (very enthusiastically) about Book Riot’s list of the best romance novels of the century so far.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more romance recs and news, sign up for our Kissing Books newsletter!

News:

Hooray for Book Club in 2026! Read Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa with us - send us your thoughts before we record on March 25 (episode goes live March 30)!

Find Sarah Wendell’s discussion with Julia Quinn on the SBTB podcast here.

And of course, please enjoy Book Riot’s list of The Best Romance Books of the Century So Far as much as Jess and Trisha do.

Books Discussed:

Hearts on the Fly by Toni Shiloh

Two’s Better by Viano Oniomoh

The Long Game by Rachel Reid

Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa

And all of the other books discussed can be found in one convenient place!

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jess and Trisha talk a LOT about adaptations - including their dream adaptations - and a little bit about other news and updates in romanceland.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more romance recs and news, sign up for our Kissing Books newsletter!

News:

Hooray for Book Club in 2026! Read Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa with us - send us your thoughts before we record on March 25 (ep goes live March 30)!

Find a loooooong sample (if you’d like) of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews.

Julia Quinn is curating a romance box - check out the Kickstarter here.

Books Discussed:

A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez

Restore Me by J.L. Seegars

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

Game Changer by Rachel Reid

Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Dating Dr. Dil and the whole If Shakespeare Was an Auntie series by Nisha Sharma

Bring on the Blessings and the whole Blessings series by Beverly Jenkins

Better Than People and the Garnet Run series by Roan Parrish

It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram

Sherry Thomas’s Heart of Blade duology, starting with The Hidden Blade

The Christina C. Jones Cinematic Universe, starting with Getting Schooled

The Unleashing and the Call of Crows series by Shelly Laurenston

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Unwritten Rules - and the whole series - by K.D. Casey

Kit Rocha’s Bound to Fire and Steel series, starting with Consort of Fire

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jess and Trisha finally get around to closing out some recommendations and backlist favorites from 2025 (it’s still January, so it’s fine!).

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more romance recs and news, sign up for our Kissing Books newsletter!

News:

Hooray for Book Club in 2026! Read Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa with us!

Books Discussed:

The Wren in the Holly Library by KA Linde 

Tommy Cabot Was Here by Cat Sebastian

Game Changer by Rachel Reid

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram

No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel

The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes

The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

The Uptown Girls series by Joanna Shupe (start with The Rogue of Fifth Avenue)

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton 

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

The Redemption of Philip Thane By Lisa Berne

Luca by Grey Huffington

Just Right by Shon

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake

Janine: His True Alpha by Chencia C Higgins

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

Cash Delgado is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Murder Most Actual by Alexis Hall

A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic by J. Penner

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Cross the Line by Simone Soltani

Let us know what you’re reading, what you’re thinking, and what you’re thinking about what you’re reading! As always, you can find Jess and Trisha at the WIR email address ([email protected]). You can also find us on Twitter (@jessisreading), or Instagram (@jess_is_reading and @trishahaleybrown), and Jess is even on TikTok (@jess_isreading).

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jess and Trisha talk about why Heated Rivalry is so much more successful than other Harlequin adaptations released at the same time and then share some of their most anticipated titles of 2026.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more romance recs and news, sign up for our Kissing Books newsletter!

News:

Send us your most anticipated romances of 2026, and/or your book club suggestions!!

Some background on Heated Rivalry [Vanity Fair]

And a reminder of those Harlequin adaptations airing on the CW [Variety]

Books Discussed:

Every New Year by Katrina Jackson 

Deception by Amanda Quick

The Packing List (anthology)

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Restore Me by JL Seegars (1/6/26)

Father Material by Alexis Hall (6/2/26)

By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin (5/26/26)

It’s All In Your Head by Sabina Nordqvist (2/10/26)

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez (3/31/26)

Only Friends by Lydia San Andres (2/10/26)

Last First Kiss by Julian Winters (1/27/26)

Like In Love With You by Emma R. Alban (1/13/26)

A Lady for All Seasons by TJ Alexander (3/10/26)

The Baby Dragon Bookshop by A.T. Qureshi (2/12/26)

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Let us know what you’re reading, what you’re thinking, and what you’re thinking about what you’re reading! As always, you can find Jess and Trisha at the WIR email address ([email protected]). You can also find us on Twitter (@jessisreading), or Instagram (@jess_is_reading and @trishahaleybrown), and Jess is even on TikTok (@jess_isreading).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When in Romance is taking a short holiday break, so we thought we'd share an episode from our newest Book Riot Podcast, Zero to Well-Read, in which Jeff and Rebecca revisit Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, a story so familiar it’s often mistaken for simple. They consider its moral stakes, its enduring influence on readers and society, and why Scrooge's redemption still resonates.

Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content.

Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Email us: [email protected]

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices