My vibes-based, totally subjective top ten romance novels of the 21st century

*So far

Yes, I’m still thinking about last week’s New York Times Best Books of the 21st Century list. (And yes, I’m still mad about the exclusion of Louise Erdrich.) In a totally unsurprising turn of events, there was almost no genre fiction on the list. But romance author Sarah MacLean did share her almost exclusively romance ballot, firmly positioning the genre in the best books conversation, and inspired me to draw up my own.

First, I have to add a pretty major caveat. I started reading romance in the mid-2010s, so I missed out on a lot of the iconic romance authors of the 2000’s and there’s a huge Jennifer Crusie/Nora Roberts-shaped hole in my romance reading. My picks are heavily weighted towards the second half of the 2010’s and first half of the 2020’s, as those tend to be the titles that loom large in my personal romance canon. I also haven’t read much from the paranormal romance boom of the 2000’s and early 2010’s and so, although I feel like paranormal is a key part of the genre’s 21st-century history, there’s no titles from that particular sub-genre on my list. I went into making this list without any kind of strict methodology and using a healthy helping of gut feelings. These ten books are all titles that I think display stellar romance craft, helped shape and advance the genre, and, most of all, have lingered with me ever since I read them. What I really want to do is start a conversation—let me know in the comments what your top ten romances of the 21st century are!

I’ve also put my list in alphabetical order because the idea of ranking these books makes me break out in stress hives. So, without further ado, my picks are:

• Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

• A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

• Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

• Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

• Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews

• The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

• When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

• We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

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Currently reading: Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch, as I continue my Arthurian summer.

Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:

• The Brooklyn Museum exhibit of Paul McCartney’s photographs from the early days of the Beatles. I’m a big Beatles fan and also found it so fascinating to see their fame grow exponentially with every set of photos.

• Bunches of colorful zinnias from the small but mighty farmers market near my apartment

• This easy-yet-polished Art Nouveau shirt dress from Joanie Clothing that has garnered me compliments every time I’ve worn it. (And it has pockets!)