Hot Stuff: 5 spring 2025 romance novels celebrate chasing one’s bliss

Lately, it seems almost impossible to follow our hearts and indulge in things that make us happy.

But five romance novels from spring 2025 provide an excellent blueprint for how to chase one’s bliss (be it designing costumes for a musical, a werewolf TV show, a plus-size vaudeville performer, reality show stars, or an off-limits younger man).

Most crucially, they also delve into how happiness and social responsibility are not mutually exclusive, exploring the juxtaposition between the things we love and the things we know to be right.

Here’s our top five romance novels of spring 2025.

Fan Service by Rosie Danan

Vampires have had their day and then some in paranormal romance, but Rosie Danan gives werewolves the spotlight they deserve. Her latest, Fan Service, is a steamy, wildly funny, heartfelt ode to fandom and the actors who become the objects of our adoration. Alex Lawson rose to semi-internet fame as the mod of a fan forum for The Arcane Files, a show in the vein of Teen Wolf or The Vampire Diaries. Even if she hates the show’s star Devin Ashwood after overhearing his casual dismissal of her at a con. But when a once-in-a-century Blood Moon turns Devin into the werewolf he used to play on TV, Alex is the only one with enough knowledge of the lore to help him deal with his furry problem. Danan has crafted a loving ode to every weirdo or outsider who made a TV show (or other pop culture franchise) their entire personality. But Fan Service also dissects the perils of stan culture and examines the gap between who Alex believes Devin is and who he really is. A child star, Devin’s used to needing to earn (literally and figuratively) people’s affection, including his parents. That trauma is given new channels via his inner wolf shifter, allowing him to engage with his past in new ways. As always, Danan’s voice is hysterically funny, her characters’ exhibiting a wry and biting sense of humor. And there’s plenty of steamy partial shift werewolf scenes to get readers howling at the moon. But what really makes Fan Service the OTP for book and reader is Danan’s deft hand with deeper traumas — here, predominantly abandonment and bullying. She uses the over-protective primal traits of the wolf to explore the most human of foibles, offering readers a delightfully bonkers premise that shifts into something far more intimate and profound. Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Grade: A 

A Showgirl’s Rules for Falling in Love by Alice Murphy

It’s hard to describe A Showgirl’s Rules for Falling in Love, except to say that it’s a gorgeous little paradox of a book. It’s a historical romance, but also contemporary; it has a happily-ever-after, but it also doesn’t. Following historian and archivist Phoebe Blair in the present day, as Armitage Gallier hires her to research rumors about a relationship between his relative — entertainment impresario and business magnate Thomas Gallier — and notorious vaudeville star, Evelyn Cross. Phoebe and Armitage’s relationship takes place intermittently as the book largely focuses on its historical narrative between Tom and Evelyn (and indeed, until the third act, it feels mostly a distraction) . Evelyn is everything that Gilded Age society reviles — promiscuous, an actress, and most notably, a plus-size performer. But when Thomas Gallier hires her to headline his new entertainment empire, the two can’t ignore the feelings that spark (in spite of interference from newspaper mogul, Nehemiah Alban). But Tom is torn between the genuine love he feels for Evelyn and her unruly, vibrant life and the ambitions he’s worked hard to achieve, sacrificing all else in the name of his legacy. Murphy offers readers of historical romance a diverting romp through a lesser-explored aspect of history, while also reminding readers that the story being told shifts with the one who is telling it. It’s a palimpsest of a love story, choosing freedom, love, and happiness over the cold and dour nature of reality. In short, A Showgirl’s Rules for Falling in Love is an ode to the romance genre as a whole, one that celebrates the power of love to transform our lives and shape the world into something better. There’s immense resonance here about everything from identity to body image, but what the novel leaves a reader with more than anything is the notion that stories are here to be rewritten, to give protagonists a chance to live a life that defies strictures and social norms — the bleak truth of the world be damned. Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Grade: A-

Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander

Courtroom Drama has an absolutely delicious premise — Sydney Parks is excited to serve on the jury for the trial of the century, that of reality TV star, Margo Kitsch. The Authentic Moms of Malibu cast member is arrested after the death of her husband, Joe. But Sydney may put the entire case in jeopardy when she ends up sequestered with Damon, her childhood best friend/crush. The two can’t resist diving into unfinished business, untangling the things that tore them apart a decade ago and exploring the feelings they were too afraid to acknowledge as teenagers. The novel pings between the tension of their slow burn and the events of the trial, as Sydney begins to question all she thought she knew (including Margo’s innocence). The attraction between Sydney and Damon is palpable, even as they sit in the jury box — and Alexander keeps us guessing as to Margo’s innocence, as well as the potential for Sydney and Damon to make a real go of things. Courtroom Drama is a page-turner in multiple ways, but it’s also a meditation on infidelity, old wounds, and fresh hurts. For Sydney, the question becomes less about Margo or Damon’s innocence and more about the weight of guilt and the freedom of forgiveness. Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Grade: A-

Something Cheeky by Thien-Kim Lam

With this sparkling love letter to musical theater, Lam delivers her most personal novel yet. Clothing designer Zoe Tran is reveling in her life as a successful boutique lingerie designer, but when her college roommate Derek Bui arrives in town with an offer to realize her dreams, she can’t resist. Derek wants her to be the costume designer for their musical adaptation of a Vietnamese Cinderella, fulfilling a goal she abandoned long ago after a racist incident in college. Not only that, but Derek returns still nursing the crush he never had the courage to confess to Zoe in school. As the two team up in the rehearsal room and the bedroom, they find support and intimacy in each other. But when a racist artistic director challenges Derek’s vision for the production, Zoe is forced to decide between their growing love and standing up for the things she believes in. Something Cheeky is frothy and fun, but it uses its light-heartedness and humor to tackle serious subjects. Zoe is demisexual and it honors her identity without making it the only thing that defines her. Similarly, Lam writes movingly of the explicit and implicit bias within the world of theater — and the struggles Asian creatives (and all people of color) face as they try to claim space for their stories. Lam is a former theater professional herself, and her insider knowledge of the job brings the storytelling to vivid life in this showstopper of a book. Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Grade: B+

Ms. V’s Hot Girl Summer by A.H. Cunningham

Ms. V’s Hot Girl Summer scratches a lot of itches often left wanting in romance. Namely, it features a heroine with a bit more experience under her belt. Trinidad Velasquez is a single mom to twin boys, and all she’s ever wanted is to give them the stable life they deserve. Which means that her sons’ mentor, the much younger Orlando Wiggins, is strictly off limits, no matter how hot he is. But all bets are off when the boys conspire to send their mom on a Caribbean Carnival vacation, which results in her crashing with Orlando. In such close proximity, it doesn’t take long for the two to give into their feelings for each other. A.C. Cunningham crafts a loving portrait of a single mother, one caught between her desires and her determination to offer her boys everything they could want in life. It deftly handles its age gap, making it clear that when it comes to attraction and chemistry between two consenting adults, age is just a number. It’s part ode to finding one’s bliss and part sexy escapist romp. The sensual scenes between Orlando and Trinidad are more scorching than a blistering summer day, and Cunningham expertly builds their emotional connection while never letting up on their physical sparks. It’s perfect for any reader who wants a hot girl summer of their own. At least in book form. Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Grade: B

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly