Small town romance books never fail to have that extra “swoony” factor when it comes to finding a happily ever after. Fall in love with my favorite small town romance books in this book list and podcast episode that not only have the best happy endings but that also have the best small towns and small town folk to fall for along with them.
Tune into my latest episode of the She Reads Romance Books Podcast where I’m joined by romance author, Laney Hatcher, where we talk about the many reasons we love reading small town romance and discuss some of our favorites in this trope!
Podcast Episode 70: Favorite Small Town Romance Books With Laney Hatcher
*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Things We Never Got Over
by Lucy Score
The entire Things We Never Got Over series is a must-read if you love small town romance and this grumpy sunshine book kicks it off. I love how Knox cannot help but step in when he meets Naomi, still dressed in white after fleeing her wedding to rescue her abandoned niece that she never knew she had. He gives her a job and a place to stay and sparks begin to fly. You’ll fall in love with this couple, the people of Knockemout and devour the entire series.
Check out my book review of Things We Never Got Over.
Part of Your World
by Abby Jimenez
What can be more small town romance than a book where a goat is a featured character? Don’t let Abby Jimenez’ book covers fool you. Her books pack a punch but you’ll be all in with this age gap romance where the sophisticated city-girl doctor falls for the hot, younger carpenter. Their chemistry is off-the-charts despite the age difference and the difference in their two worlds, so this short-term fling doesn’t stay so short-term!
Savor It
by Tarah DeWitt
This small town romance totally tugged on my heartstrings when the mourning chef starts to fall for his neighbor who’s trying to break free from the image she’s been pigeon-holed in by the folks in her small town. To save face in front of her ex-fiance and to help him get in good graces with the townfolk to open up a new restaurant, new neighbors Sage and Fisher start up a fake dating relationship that blossoms in the best ways.
I fell so hard for these two. Their flirting was so hot and came at these perfect moments that just hit you in all the feels. It was like the perfect slow burn that would just catch fire at the best times and I could not put the book down because I only wanted more.
Check out my book review of Savor It.
Business Casual
by B.K. Borison
The entire Lovelight Farms series is a must-read if you love small town romance books because they are perfection. I loved this final book in the series because it showed how Charlie was so desperate to become a part of the town when if he actually took a moment to step back, he’d realize he already was. While he’s busy running Lovelight Farms in his sister’s absence, he’s also carrying on a secret relationship with Nova, a tattoo artist trying to open up her own shop despite her struggle with imposter syndrome.
This book just makes you want to find a real life Lovelight Farms and become a part of their community because everyone is so wonderful. It’s one of the best romance books of 2024 and not to be missed.
Check out my book review of Business Casual.
Drive Me Wild
by Melanie Harlow
Melanie Harlow is one of my go-to authors whenever I’m in the mood for a cute small town romance. She’s written so many small town romance series, including Bellamy Creek which is kicked off with Drive Me Wild in which the grumpy auto mechanic falls for the debutante who crashes into his small town.
Blair rolls into town without a place to stay or money to her name so Griffen lets her crash on his couch and the forced proximity helps these two become a match all while Blair is getting to know the residents and even learning the town’s secret apple pie recipe. It’s super cute and the rest of the series follows the happily ever afters of Griffen’s best buddies who still live in town.
Check out my book review of Drive Me Wild.
Dance Away With Me
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
This small town romance book is a departure from Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ sports romance series, Chicago Stars, as it is a really poignant small town romance thatjust grabbed me from the start and never let go. She weaved in grief, loss, prejudice, ignorance, fear, hope, love and so many other themes and emotions into this story in such a beautiful way.
Tess has moved to the wild woods of Tennessee because she’s angry. She’s angry that her husband passed away and left her and she’s so consumed by her grief and anger that she simply wants to disappear from her old life. Living in her cabin she meets a famous street artist who has also escaped to the woods in hopes of finding new artistic inspiration, survivalists living in the wild, and small-town folk who aren’t keen on outsiders.
Without giving away spoilers, I found it so captivating and moving. At first Tess seems so lost and beat down by life but she really is this strong, confident woman as the story unfolds. It’s that strength that Ian is attracted to even if she could no longer see it in herself.
Check out my book review of Dance Away With Me.
Beauty and the Mustache
by Penny Reid
This is book 0.5 that kicks off Reid’s Winston Brothers series which is one of my most favorite small town romance book series. Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. But a family tragedy forces her to return home, where she meets Drew Runous, the local Game Warden. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee.
While I loved Ashley and the sweet poetry of Drew, this book totally drew me into Green Valley Tennessee and the entire Winston family. Just be prepared that after reading this you’re going to binge-read the entire series and then stay in Green Valley with all of the Smartypants romance spin-offs.
It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey
Piper is a 28 year-old and living her life off her stepdad’s Hollywood money. She shops all day and parties all night, documenting her exploits on Instagram but when she lands in jail, her stepfather cuts her off. Hoping to teach her a lesson, he sends her off to a small town in Washington to run her late father’s dive bar where she meets a big surly sea captain who instantly knows she doesn’t belong in their small town.
Besides the amazing character development, there is just so much to love about this book. You get a small town cast of characters, a brewing side story for book two, and a great opposites attract love story all with Bailey’s amazing writing. This is one of the best romance books of 2021 and not to be missed if you love small town romance books.
Check out my book review of It Happened One Summer.
Related: Best Romance Books if You Loved the Barbie Movie
Book Lovers
by Emily Henry
You really don’t need any excuse to read an Emily Henry book but this small town romance book features a literary agent who could use her own love story which she finds in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina with an editor she knows from the city.I love how Henry played up a different side of the small town romance book trope with her portrayal of Nora and Charlie. I adored these two city lovers and loved every scene with them. I totally want in on their Bigfoot erotica text conversation.
While the town itself is a bit more muted in the background, Nora and Charlie keep getting thrown together and those are the moments when things really shine.
Related: Book Lovers Movie: The Complete Guide
Practice Makes Perfect
by Sarah Adams
There is so much to love about Practice Makes Perfect. You have a great small town romance with adorable side characters, a strong family and a great friend. You have a really fun relationship coach story where the hottie bodyguard signs up to “teach” the sweet flower shop owner how to be comfortable on dates who ends up giving her all her firsts.
But the real showstopper of this romance are the main characters, their banter and their interactions together.
Dive into this romance where Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match but finds it hard to find her dream man in her small town of Rome where pickings are slim and everyone knows her. Luckily, hot bodyguard Will Griffin, becomes the best prospect.
Check out my book review of Practice Makes Perfect.
Related: Best Bodyguard Romance Books
Bittersweet
by Sarina Bowen
Fall in love with small town Vermont with Bowen’s True North series starting with Bittersweet if you love grumpy farmers and the women who bring them to heel. Griffin Shipley comes face to face with an ex-hook up when she’s stuck in a ditch. The two are adversaries but have the best chemistry!
This is the perfect small town romance that features a family run apple farm, the accidental new patriarch running it and the woman who fits right in with the alpha farmer. Each of the Shipley family members have such compelling stories!
That Swoony Feeling
by Meghan Quinn
I never tire of recommending this small town romance because I’m obsessed with Brig who is obsessed with finding the one despite his family’s supposed curse on love. Luckily for him his small town has started a new pen pal program and he’s hit it off with his mysterious writer. The only problem – he’s been hanging out with Ruth Barber, his new work neighbor, and he’s getting that swoony feeling for both women.
Not only is Brig adorable and funny and just so kind, but he is pretty clueless when it comes to what is right in front of him. But that’s what makes this story work. It’s everything you want a small town to be like when a swoony bachelor finally finds his soulmate.
Check out my book review of That Swoony Feeling.
Related: Romance Books Where Love is Found Anonymously
Take it or Leaf It
by Laney Hatcher
Laney’s new small town romance series kicks off with everything you want in a small town romance – an adorable town with fun side characters, neighboring apple farms, and a grumpy hero that totally falls for the adorable heroine who has ALL the sunshine and makes herself right at home in Kirby Falls.
Becca is the sweetest heroine who immediately becomes a part of the town despite her “leafer” status as a tourist only passing through. She’s helping teens at the library, playing piano at the assisted living facility and joining book clubs and the birdwatchers and more. This woman epitomizes what life’s meant to be in a small town and she snags the heart of the former baseball player when he least expects it!
Related: Best Grumpy Sunshine Romance Books
Not My Kind of Hero
by Pippa Grant
Grant nailed small town romance in this book that has amazing characters, a wonderful storyline and OMG steaminess that I so loved, making it one of the best romance books of 2023.
Maisey is one of those female heroines who’s barely hanging on with her life in shambles when she moves to her late uncle’s ranch in Hell’s Bells Wyoming.
She’s divorced her husband who cheated on her after devoting six years of her life to his home improvement show that took her away from her daughter. With another family secret scandal casting its shadow over her and her daughter, they’re just desperate to start over in the new, small town.
But things aren’t so easy when her relationship with her sixteen-year-old daughter is tenuous at best, she has run-ins with bears and other wild animals and starts running herself ragged trying to get in good graces with the townspeople before her past can catch up with them. Plus, there’s that dilemma that she’s attracted to her neighbor who’s her daughter’s teacher and soccer coach.
It’s the perfect read and not to be missed.
Check out my book review of Not My Kind of Hero.
Breathe
by Kristen Ashley
Kristen Ashley is another romance author that really builds up the small town atmosphere in her books, especially in her Colorado Mountain series. Breathe features a romance between a small town cop and the town librarian.
Chace and Faye come together when a young boy is found taking books from the library and they realize he’s without a home though there is more to his story. Plus, there is a history in the small town of crooked cops, how Chace played a role in taking them down and how he’s seen as a pillar in the community.
I just get totally swept into Kristen Ashley’s books because they are just full of details and side stories and the greatest characters. I highly recommend it.
Related: Best Cop Romance Books
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Tune in every week to the She Reads Romance Books Podcast for bite-sized episodes where I share new book recommendations in favorite romance tropes and microtropes that you don’t want to miss. Plus, I interview your favorite romance book authors who discuss their latest releases and more!
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