Asian American Romance

Romance novels have changed a lot over the years, mostly for the better. There’s a lot less non-consensual sex, for one thing, and while cowboys, Vikings, and firemen will always have a place in the genre, the male leads look a lot less like Fabio and a lot more like the guy next door. And sometimes the guy next door is named Deepak or Quan. 

If you want to take a deep dive into the scholarship on Asian American romance as a cultural phenomenon, you’ll enjoy this article from the Journal of Popular Romance Studies. But if you’d rather just immerse yourself in satisfying love stories with Asian American leads, the six novels listed below are a great place to start, whether they’re a mirror to your own experience or a window on someone else’s. 


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Do Me a Favor

Willa Lieu-Endicott moved from California to the Pacific Northwest to start over. Since her husband’s death, she’s been struggling to get back her old career as a cookbook ghostwriter. Unfortunately, her latest project has her stuck. Until she meets her new neighbor. From their first meeting, the two fall into an escalating cycle of favors, paybacks…and attraction, even though Willa’s trying to keep her distance. They both have their own pasts to deal with. Now, they just have to figure out if they have a future. 


Fancy Meeting You Here

Every single one of Elise Ngo’s close girlfriends is getting married within the same few months, and every single one of them has asked her to be both bridesmaid and florist. Though it’s a lot for her to juggle, the work and exposure is a boon to her struggling flower shop. The stakes are high at Rebecca’s high-profile wedding, where the guests are mostly political connections of Rebecca’s parents. Desperate for the event to go off without a hitch, Elise enlists the help of an outside caterer who turns out to be Ben Yu, Rebecca’s elusive younger brother.   

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, an eBook in Hoopla, and in eAudio on Hoopla. 


The Heart Principle

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too.  That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex–he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just started to understand. 

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla. 


How to End a Love Story

Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever. Now a bestselling author, Helen pours everything into her career. Grant has done everything in his power to move on from the past. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but it will open doors to developing his own projects that he just can’t pass up. Working together is messy, and electrifying, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven Grant, have no idea he’s in the picture at all. When secrets come to light, they must reckon with the fact that theirs was never meant to be any kind of love story. And yet… 

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla 


Marriage & Masti

The third and final installment in Nisha Sharma’s beloved Shakespeare-inspired rom-com trilogy–an ode to Twelfth Night–is the perfect friends to lovers romp featuring an accidental wedding, meddling families, and plenty of sizzling chemistry. Veera Mathur has been through a lot in the past year. Deepak Datta hasn’t had the best luck either. After a series of convenient mishaps bring them together again–including a literal shipwreck, way too many drinks, and a sunset elopement on the beach–Deepak and Veera realize their accidental wedding might be the solution to their career aspirations. 

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook in Libby, an eBook on Hoopla, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla. 


Sorry, Bro

This book is as emotional as it is fun. After a string of boyfriends who haven’t shared her idea of love – one could call them a hyper mega bummer – our main character Nar finally agrees to let her mom set her up with “a nice Armenian man,” by attending the Explore Armenia festival, but instead Nar ends up falling for Erebuni, the woman who is co-leading the festival. Whoops! 

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.

 

 


That Prince Is Mine

Emma Yoon dreams of opening a culinary school in Los Angeles. To that end, she teaches Korean royal court cuisine to hopeful brides of upper-crust Korean families. Thanks to her godmother, a renowned matchmaker, business is booming. But when rival matchmakers plot against her godmother using Emma’s single status, she must save her godmother’s reputation and her dreams by finding a perfect-on-paper husband–even if she’s not ready for love. Meeting the gorgeous and irresistible Professor Michel Chevalier is not part of her plan.

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.