15 Best Opposites Attract Romance Books

I love reading romance books with tension, and opposites attract romance books provide that and then some! This book list gives some of my favorites in this fun trope that aren’t just grumpy sunshine romance books (though I love that trope as well). The characters in these books are opposites in many different ways but the happily ever after is always sweet!

Happy reading…because life is better with a love story!

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Where You Are Planted
by Melanie Sweeney

Single mom Tansy Perkins only has room in her life for her daughter and her library. And maybe the next book to add to her collection. But after a catastrophic hurricane severely damages her library, she’s forced to temporarily move her branch into the adjacent county botanic gardens, where Jack Reid—the world’s grouchiest gardener who rescued her and her daughter from the flood—happens to be the assistant director.

Jack has always preferred plants over people, having built a strong track record of avoiding relationships ever since his divorce six years ago. So, Tansy and her quirky band of bookish colleagues’ encroachment into his carefully-kept territory is a little more than irksome, especially when it means sharing his already-scarce resources.

When Jack and Tansy are tasked with working together on the spring festival, they have no choice but to call a truce. And soon their newfound professional partnership gives way to a deep intimacy that they’ve both been silently craving. But Tansy has lost too much to risk her heart, and Jack has sworn off real love.

When an opportunity arises for funding that both the library and gardens need, will their loyalties lie with the futures they’d always planned for, or the new spark they’ve found with each other?

Boyfriend Material
by Alexis Hall

Luc O’Donnell is a certified disaster. Tabloid drama, a wayward rock-star dad, and a trail of messy relationships have left his public image in ruins. The fix? A staged romance with the most respectable man he knows: Oliver Blackwood—uptight, principled, and infuriatingly perfect.

It’s supposed to be fake. Neither of them expects the awkward photo ops and staged brunches to turn into something that feels real. But as the lines blur, and secrets slip through carefully built walls, Luc must face the question he’s always avoided: what if someone could love him—exactly as he is?

My book review of Boyfriend Material.

In a New York Minute
by Kate Spencer

Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.

Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.

Only Franny and Hayes couldn’t be a more disastrous match. She’s fanciful, talkative, and creative. He’s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Luckily, in a city of eight million people, they never have to meet again.

Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each other—and much to their surprise, they enjoy each other’s company. A lot. But when Franny’s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the life—and love—she’s always wanted?

It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington.

Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.

Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.

My book review of It Happened One Summer.

The Simple Wild
by K.A. Tucker

Calla Fletcher was two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when her father reaches out to inform her that his days are numbered, Calla knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.

She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for.

While she struggles to adjust to this new subarctic environment, Jonah—the quiet, brooding, and proud Alaskan pilot who keeps her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.

Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. As time passes, she unexpectedly finds herself forming a bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago.

It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.

My book review of The Simple Wild.

The Change Up
by Meghan Quinn

BREAKING NEWS: The Bad Boy of Baseball, Maddox Paige, is totally and utterly whipped.

Okay, that might not be the headlines in the newspaper this morning, but it’s the reality of my current situation.

It all started a month ago when I received a call from my best friend, Kinsley. She got a new job in Chicago and needed a place to stay. I’ve known the girl since I was five, what harm would it be to have her stay at my place for a while? Ha! Total disaster.

Now instead of going out every night with my teammates, I’m couch surfing and sketching endless photos of my best friend . . . but that’s the least of my concerns.

The disaster, you ask? I’m rapidly falling head over cleats in love with my best friend, my roommate, and my number one fan. And she has no idea . . .

My book review of The Change Up.

Nothing But Wild
by P. Dangelico

Dallas Van Zant… Water polo god. Shameless flirt. Beautiful disaster in the most literal sense of that label. Trust me, it’s not hyperbole. He’s in big trouble with the law.

What does this have to do with me, you ask? Unfortunately, a lot. For some reason, which I still can’t quite wrap my brain around, I’ve been talked into driving him around as part of his plea deal.

Problem is, he makes me nervous. I’m not good with people, men in particular, popular athletes especially. I’ve worked really hard to get my disability under control and one minute in his company and all my hard work flies out the window.

To top it all off, I promised myself that I was going to make some serious changes this year. I’m tired of feeling awkward around boys. I’m tired of never having had a boyfriend. I’m tired of being lonely. But I’m also not the type to turn away a person in need. So I’ll do what I must to help him out.

I’ll just pretend that I’m not enjoying his company. And I’ll ignore the fact that he’s sweet and funny. And I’ll tell myself every day that he’s out of my league. Because I’m as inexperienced as they come…and Dallas Van Zant is nothing but wild.

My book review of Nothing But Wild.

How to Date a Douchebag: The Failing Hours
by Sara Ney

I’ve been called a total and complete jerk, but that’s only because I keep people at a distance. I have no interest in relationships—most assholes don’t. Dating? Being part of a couple? Nope. Not for me.

I’ve never given any thought to what I wants in a girlfriend because I’ve never had any intention of having one. Shit, I barely have a relationship with my family, and we’re related; my own friends don’t even like me.

So why do I keep thinking about Violet DeLuca? Sweet, quiet Violet—my opposite in every sense of the word. The light to my dark, even her damn name sounds like rays of sunshine and happiness and shit. And that pisses me off, too.

Laws of Physics
by Penny Reid

One week. Home alone. Girl genius. Unrepentant slacker. Big lie. What’s the worst that could happen?

Mona is a smart girl and figured everything out a long time ago. She had to. She didn’t have a choice. When your parents are uber-celebrities and you graduate from high school at fifteen, finish college at eighteen, and start your PhD program at nineteen, you don’t have time for distractions outside of your foci. Even fun is scheduled. Which is why Abram, her brother’s best friend, is such an irritant.

Abram is a talented guy, a supremely gifted musician, and has absolutely nothing figured out, nor does he seem to care. He does what he feels, when he feels, and—in Mona’s opinion—he makes her feel entirely too much.

Suit
by B.B. Easton

“Since when are you into guys who wear ties?”
 
It was true. By her mid-twenties, BB’s type had been well established—and good guys need not apply.

Which is exactly why she had to friend-zone Ken Easton. The man was a former football star, smelled like fresh laundry instead of stale cigarettes, and had more ties in his closet than tattoos on his knuckles. BOR-ING.

But the more she got to know her gorgeous study buddy, the more she wondered: Why doesn’t he date? Why does he avoid human touch? Why does he hate all things fun and wonderful? The psychology-student side of her became obsessed with getting inside Ken’s head, while the romantic side of her became obsessed with getting inside his heart.

Soon BB discovers the one thing she loves more than bad boys is a good challenge.

Cream of the Crop
by Alice Clayton

Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is…cheese.

Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.

Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be…love?

Head Over Heels
by Jill Shalvis

Breaking rules and breaking hearts Free-spirited Chloe lives life on the edge. Unlike her soon-to-be married sisters, she isn’t ready to settle into a quiet life running their family’s newly renovated inn.

But soon her love of trouble–and trouble with love-draws the attention of the very stern, very sexy sheriff who’d like nothing better than to tame her wild ways. Suddenly Chloe can’t take a misstep without the sheriff hot on her heels. His rugged swagger and his enigmatic smile are enough to make a girl beg to be handcuffed.

For the first time, instead of avoiding the law, Chloe dreams of surrender. Can this rebel find a way to keep the peace with the straitlaced sheriff? Or will Chloe’s colorful past keep her from a love that lasts . . . and the safe haven she truly wants in a town called Lucky Harbor?

Egomaniac
by Vi Keeland

The night I met Drew Jagger, he’d just broken into my new Park Avenue office. I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills. He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.

Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant. Only, turned out, he wasn’t an intruder at all. Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office. He’d been on vacation while his posh space was renovated.

Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn’t really available for rent. I was swindled out of ten grand.

The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. In exchange for answering his phones while his secretary was out, he’d let me stay until I found a new place.

I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to his clients. But I couldn’t help giving him a piece of my mind. I never expected my body to react every time we argued. Especially when that was all we seemed to be able to do.

The two of us were complete opposites. Drew was a bitter, angry, gorgeous-as-all-hell, destroyer of relationships. And my job was to help people save their marriages. The only thing the two of us had in common was the space we were sharing. And an attraction that was getting harder to deny by the day.

Nerdy Little Secret
by Carrie Aarons

I’m sleeping with the nerd. The nice guy. The science geek who wears periodic table t-shirts around campus.

That’s my dirty little secret, but it began long before he unknowingly transferred to the same college I attend. We met at the summer camp I was mandated to work at, and our hush-hush affair started behind the kayak cabin and in the darkened canteen long after our respective campers went to sleep.

When Mick Barrett, rockstar name a complete red herring, enrolls at Salem Walsh University, we’re both shocked the first time we bump into each other. And he’s … surprisingly cold. With goals and secrets of his own, Mick is closed off and uninterested, something I’ve never encountered from the opposite sex.

My bruised ego has no time to recover, however, when he discovers the real secret I’m keeping, one that’s even more detrimental than our steamy summer fling. Agreeing to become my tutor, and help me save my future, the glasses-wearing swimmer, with the body of an Olympian under that punny math sweatshirt, begins to grow on me. Again.

Except we both have bigger things to focus on than sneaking around. Plus, we’re not made for each other. He’s aiming to be the next doctor of our generation, while I’m just hoping to survive my Saturday morning hangover.

Too bad our bodies, and hearts, start to believe otherwise. Which has me questioning; can my dirty little secret become a happily ever after?

My book review of Nerdy Little Secret.

Santa Baby Maybe
by S. Doyle

Joy: I’m the head ornament designer at Kane Co. Which is a job you can actually have, if you’re willing to work with uptight, impossible, Chief Financial Officer W.B. Darling. Who, unfortunately, happens to be incredibly gorgeous. My holiday season with W.B.? Here it goes:

Five blind dates with other women. Because he’s looking for someone entirely different from a free spirit artist. Four incredibly sweet moments. Because when we’re together things are just so easy between us. Three jerk face statements. Because the second I think we’re getting closer he pushes me away. Two incredible kisses. And because sometimes kissing isn’t enough it leads to well… more than kissing. One baby. Maybe. (See above.)

Related Book Lists:

• Best Grumpy Sunshine Romance Books
• Best Enemies to Lovers Books

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