Do you have a favorite plot or trope in romance novels? One of my favorites is friends to lovers (I credit 1990s movies for getting me interested in this plot. Think Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Ten Things I Hate About You, and so many more). In these novels, the main characters are friends before they fall in love. What interested me in these is that because the characters already have a history, readers see moments that show how well the characters know each other or even how much they already are in each other’s lives.
As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library (and were published in 2025). Descriptions are provided by the publishers.
Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler
Last week, Nina Hunnicutt was a professor about to move into a gorgeous new apartment with her long-term boyfriend. Now, she’s single, unemployed, and living with her parents. Even more surprising is the fact that Quentin Bell, her childhood neighbor (and okay, fine, crush), is also back in town—and wants to resume the treasure hunt that ended their friendship almost two decades ago.
Hoping the reward promised to whoever finds the rumored riches left behind by the town’s eccentric turn-of-the-century seltzer magnate will help her get her life back on track, Nina agrees. Granted, last time the search resulted in a broken heart and seventeen years of silence. But Nina’s older and wiser now. Surely things will be different?
Except, Quentin is also older and wiser…not to mention distractingly handsome. As they resume their hunt, Nina and Quentin begin to rediscover all the things they once loved best about each other. But unlike the treasure, the secrets that left them empty-handed the first time refuse to stay buried. If there’s any hope of finding what they’re looking for—and for a future together—Nina and Quentin will have to be brave enough to excavate their past as well. – Berkley
This title is also available in large print.
Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely
Best friends Joni and Ren have been inseparable since childhood. So when Joni moves across the country for her job, the two devise a creative way to stay in touch: they’ll be each other’s plus-ones every year for wedding season, no matter what else is happening in their lives.
It’s a tradition that works, until a line is crossed and the friendship they once thought was forever is ruined.
Now Joni is back at their families’ shared summer home for her sister’s wedding, and she’s determined to make the week perfect, even if it means faking a friendship with Ren—and avoiding the truth of why they have to fake it in the first place. How hard can it be to pretend to be friends with the person who once knew you best?
But as sunny beach days together turn into starry nights, Joni begins to question what her life is without Ren in it. And when the wedding arrives, bringing past heartaches to the surface, she’ll be forced to decide if loving Ren means letting him go, or if theirs is a love story worth fighting for. – Canary Street Press
This title is also available in large print.
Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter
Evie Bloom pays attention to the details. Her very job depends on it—as an aspiring Foley artist, she’s responsible for every crisp footstep, smacking kiss, and distinct sound in film and television. So when she’s selected for a fellowship opportunity that would make all her career dreams come true, she’s quick to spot the catch: there are no health benefits, and for someone with a chronic illness, that’s a non-starter.
Theo Cohen is an elementary school teacher who can’t afford to live on his own in LA, and is facing eviction after his roommates couple up and move out of their rent-controlled apartment. But there is one loophole in his lease: each tenant must meet an income threshold, unless the tenants are married.
For Theo, the answer is obvious. Marry Evie, his best friend since forever. It’s not as if they don’t spend all their free time together anyways. Not only will Theo be able to keep his apartment, but Evie can be added to his insurance plan so she can accept her dream fellowship. It’s such a logical, practical solution. Never mind that Evie doesn’t really want to be married—not to Theo, not to anyone—ever. Or the small, complicating fact that Theo has always been a little bit in love with Evie.
But it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Marriage. It will just give them space to breathe, and much-needed relief from the daily financial stress. It won’t change anything.
It’s . . . going to change everything. – Celadon Books
The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone
In this delightfully charming and heartfelt debut love story, two lonely and wildly different strangers embark on a short-term friendship over one London summer—only to discover they may be something more by the time the season ends.
No one would ever call Ava Monroe a people person, which isn’t ideal for a barista in a busy London coffee shop. She’s sarcastic, blunt, and cynical, and her relationships are strictly no strings attached. With her best friend Josie soon leaving for a year, Ava knows she’ll be all alone unless she shakes up her routine. But she can’t risk bringing chance back into her carefully controlled life.
Then insufferably cheerful, country-hopping, undeniably gorgeous Finn O’Callaghan rolls into her coffee shop with a horrifying proposal —a strictly friends-only summer fling. Finn needs a local to help him complete his London bucket list, and Ava needs to reassure Josie she won’t be on her own. And it’s only for a few months.
To Ava’s surprise, their mismatched friendship of convenience becomes oddly tolerable, and as they work their way through Finn’s list and around the sun-drenched city, from rooftops and floating bars to nights at the museum, their adventures—and Finn’s company—start to feel . . . nice. Incredibly, terrifyingly, dangerously nice.
Still, rules are rules—Ava has good reasons for them—and as the days get shorter, Finn’s departure gets closer. Because that’s the thing about summer: it always ends. Right? – Harper Perennial
Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson
Micah’s relationship to music is complicated. As teenagers, her band took off after being featured on a popular TV show, but the group barely released their sophomore album before breaking up. Now, over a decade later, the band is reuniting for one more performance on a themed cruise, and Micah is determined to learn from her past mistakes — no losing herself in the music, and no losing her heart along the way.
John misses playing in a band, and mostly he misses Micah, who’d been his best friend until the music stopped. Back then, he didn’t take the lead, either in his guitar parts or while he sat back and watched her date another bandmate. John’s never been one to rock the boat, but he’s faced with another chance now that this cruise has brought music — and Micah — back in his life.
Onboard, Micah can’t help but see John with brand new eyes, and John’s feelings only intensify as the discordant band’s tension grows to a breaking point. With five days at sea, there’s a ticking clock on anything that might develop between them, and they’ll have to decide if their relationship is destined to be more than a one-hit wonder. – Berkley
Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine Gonzalez
Wanted—no, NEEDED: a summer escape with beach reads, cocktails…and a little romance on the side.
After her legal career comes to a sudden and humiliating end, Liliane Lyon books a restorative summer rental at The Icon, a quintessential Art Deco building in Miami Beach, where her only plan is to bask in the sun, read, and sip cocktails. But soon she’s enchanted by the colorful community, including university professor Benedicto Romero—resident tortured poet, whose sole intention for sabbatical is to indulge in brooding introspection.
When they discover a shared passion for romance novels, Lily and Ben are soon spending hours reading together by the pool, the spark between them unwittingly giving the other residents the impression that they’re experts in matters of the heart…no matter that IRL their disastrous love lives bear little resemblance to the stories they’re reading.
But while Ben and Lily can pinpoint a trope a mile away and give excellent advice to others, they can’t make sense of the sizzling chemistry between them, and the suggestion of a professional podcast suddenly forces them to consider the long-term. So what if it means working even closer together! So what if their banter makes Lily’s head spin! It’s the summer of taking chances, but a word to the wise: Miami isn’t the place for growth and rebirth. It’s the place to get messy. – Canary Street Press
Passion Project by London Sperry
If your twenties are supposed to be the best years of your life, Bennet Taylor is failing miserably . . . with a big emphasis on the miserable. Where’s that zest she keeps hearing about? She’s a temp worker in New York City with no direction, no future, and no social life. And at the painful center of this listlessness is grief over the death of her first love.
When Bennet runs into Henry Adams just hours after standing him up for a first date, she makes an alcohol-fueled confession: She’s not ready to date. In fact, it’s been years since she felt passion for something. Not even pottery, or organized sports—not anything. Rather than leaving her to ruminate, Henry jumps at the opportunity for adventure: Bennet needs to find a passion for life, and Henry will help her find it. Every Saturday, they’ll try something new in New York City. As friends, of course.
As their “passion project” continues, the pair tackle everything from carpentry to tattooing to rappelling off skyscrapers, and Bennet feels her guarded exterior ebbing away. But as secrets surface, Bennet has to decide what she wants, and if she’s truly ready to move on. With emotional resonance and sparkling banter, Passion Project is a fun, flirty, thoughtful story of finding a spark—and igniting happiness. – Penguin Books
Something Cheeky by Thien-Kim Lam
Zoe Tran is living her best life, designing plus-size lingerie at her own award-winning clothing boutique, when suddenly her college best friend reenters her life. Derek Bui is offering a tantalizing chance to recapture a forgotten dream: designing costumes for the musical they created together years ago.
Derek has loved Zoe since freshman year but never had the guts to confess his true feelings. Now he’s directing the Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical they dreamed up in college. The stakes are high: it’s the first production with an all-Asian cast and creative team at Washington, D.C.’s largest theatre and if they can make it work, they’ll head to Broadway. But his real goal: get Zoe back in his life.
A proud demisexual, Zoe only ever saw Derek as her best friend, but working on their dream production together brings them closer than ever. Sparks ignite under the hot spotlights. But when the theatre’s artistic director pressures Derek to make the musical “less Asian,” he and Zoe clash on whether to stay true to their vision or compromise to keep the production alive.
Will Zoe and Derek finally let love take center stage or will their creative differences close the curtains on them forever? – Avon
When Javi Dumped Mari by Mia Sosa
One engagement. Two best friends. Three’s a crowd.
On the eve of their college graduation, best friends Javier Báez and Marisol Campos swore never to date someone the other doesn’t approve of. Now, almost a decade later, Javi has a problem. Mari, the woman he’s secretly pined for since sophomore year, is engaged—and Javi didn’t even get the chance to vet the Pedro Pascal knockoff she plans to marry.
A successful entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, Mari is no longer seeking Javi’s dating advice or waiting for him to declare his love. Instead, she’s made a different pact—with herself. And to succeed, Mari’s vowing to build a future with someone who wants to commit to her.
With his life and career finally on track, Javi’s ready to confess his feelings. Except Mari’s changed the script and moved on without him. Javi has just six weeks to convince Mari this marriage is a flop. If that means he needs to ruffle some feathers to help her avert disaster, well, he’s up for the challenge. After all, isn’t that what best friends are for? – G.P. Putnam’s Sons
This title is also available in large print.
With Stars in Her Eyes by Andie Burke
Seconds from a meteoric career launch, cellist Courtney Starling suffers a frightening migraine attack during a key performance. While harmful rumors fly, she escapes to her happy place—her best friend’s Kansas bookshop. Courtney’s working incognito when a scream sends her leaping off a shelving ladder to find the woman who screamed cowering near the register.
When Thea Quinn dropped in for a misdelivered package, she did not expect a mortifying encounter with a bearded dragon in front of an inconveniently attractive bookseller. Clutching an upcoming book club flyer and the tattered shreds of her dignity, she heads back to her new piercing job at the tattoo shop next door. She moved to this quirky place for a fresh start. But maybe the meet-disaster was a sign? Maybe Thea needs to branch out beyond her photography hobby and connect with new people…like at a historical romance book club run by a particularly mysterious and sexy bookseller with a pixie cut?
Friendly lunches become stolen moments between the bookshelves. Courtney and Thea’s old problems feel ages away. But just as their chemistry heats to a combustion point, consequences from Courtney’s past arrive literally on her doorstep at exactly the wrong moment. New revelations and surprising connections take the pair from feeling joyfully lovestruck to confusingly star-crossed. Both women must decide what they’re willing to give up for happily ever after. – St. Martin’s Griffin
“Because he knew, we both knew, that our friendship had always held the capacity for more. The air hummed thicker between us. It startled us with intermittent and unpredictable sparks. This wasn’t the one-way charge of seeing somebody attractive; the charge was striking in both directions.”
