10 Must-Read Romance Books by AAPI Authors

I absolutely adore this book! If you’re familiar with Critical Role, you’ll get a little extra out of it, but you don’t need to know anything about it to read and understand the book. It’s a surprisingly sweet love story between the human Guinevere and the half-orc Oskar. Guinevere is the pampered daughter of wealthy merchants who have essentially mistreated her since birth. She’s plucky and determined and has a heart of gold, which is why Oskar (and basically everyone she crosses paths with) is drawn to her. He’s grieving the loss of his mother, and it turns out Guinevere is exactly the balm his battered heart needs. But the pair’s path to reunite her with her parents (and the rich guy they’ve arranged for her to marry) is full of perils. With all that alone time between dangerous encounters, well, let’s just say Guanzon’s skills as a spicy romantasy author are on full display.

This queer YA romcom is told through the two main characters’ alternating narration. Graduation is looming, and Meera Rao-George is running out of time to win Lucy Hughson’s friendship (and heart) back. But Lucy dropped Meera for a reason when she started dating boy-next-door Sushant, and Meera’s plan to break the couple up brings buried feelings to the surface. In addition to a really compelling depiction of teenage romance and what it means to be queer in today’s world, Sushant is actually an interesting supporting character, too. Bonus: If you like Hedge’s writing, she has a new adult romcom called Love Beyond Reasonable Doubt due out on May 12!

A con artist and an FBI agent’s brother walk into a bar. What happens from there is a slow burn, moderately spicy, adventure romcom with a sweet love story and lots of adventure. This one was a pleasant surprise of a read. The two romantic leads are well written: Sejal Chaudhary has a lot on her plate and is in a tough situation. Krish Anand’s FBI-agent brother is missing, and Krish is trying to find him…by masquerading as an FBI agent himself. Sejal and Krish need to rely on each other to achieve their goals, and their unlikely alliance turns into something so much deeper. Enemies to Lovers is as much a fun adventure as it is a thoughtfully told tale of trust and love.

In acclaimed YA author Maureen Goo’s adult debut, Cassia Park is more than your average matchmaker: she’s inherited her family’s gift of being able to see her clients’ past lives, reveal their fated loves’ names in this life, and thereby locate their soulmates. Unfortunately, her own fated hasn’t been located despite his name (Daniel Nam) being revealed a decade ago… so what better way to ring in her fortieth birthday than having some fun with the young and ebullient Ellis? But things get tricky right after they spend a glorious weekend together and Cassia realizes Ellis’s boss is her fated. What’s a woman to do when she’s got two amazing prospective life partners vying for her affection? Let’s just say she’s got a lot to keep her busy while she figures it out.

This YA speculative romcom really surprised me. It was billed as a time travel novel, and in a sense that’s true. But the time travel premise revolves around letters written to 17-year-old Emma from her true love… in the future. Yup, that’s right: Emma’s a cynical high schooler who doesn’t believe love’s real. When she starts getting letters from the future, her whole perspective is forced to shift as she tries to figure out which of the three guys in her life might be the love of her life. Love Me Tomorrow had a mildly philosophical bent to it that I enjoyed, and overall, it was a really fun love story with a unique premise.

Hazel Yen is going through a really rough patch, but when Logan Wells and the cat he’s walking run smack into her impromptu visit to a fortune teller, his amazing luck and her terrible luck seem to reverse course. Their story is rather touching, and the novel’s exploration of the idea of luck is really interesting. I especially enjoyed watching their relationship develop and seeing the ways they helped each other heal from the traumas (big and small) life throws at all of us. Also, I’m a sucker for a love story that starts out in total chaos, and this one did exactly that in the most delightful way.

Gemma Cho is a bisexual advice columnist whose love life is on the fritz. Celeste Min is a successful photographer—and the one that got away. Both women have so much riding on their latest project that remaining professional is crucial, but the sparks that flew in college still haven’t gone out. I loved Lyla Lee’s thoughtful exploration of queerness within the context of Korean culture almost as much as I loved both of these main characters. It was interesting to watch them navigate their relationship now that their college days are well behind them and they’re both successful professionals.

Combining fake dating and marriage to satisfy a will tropes, How to Find a Guy in Five Weddings is a fun and spicy romance novel. Kimiko Halim really wants to inherit her late grandmother’s yarn shop in the Pacific Northwest, but she’s only got two years to find love as stipulated by the will and her Opa’s discernment. But dating is awful, and finding love is pretty much impossible. Enter Rob Carmichael, who’s got five weddings (five!) coming up and desperately needs a date. As you can imagine, their fake dating blossoms into something real despite Rob’s determination to play the wingman for Kim. There’s humor, a little spice, and a ton of cute scenes.

This second book in the Degrees of Love series follows Rosie Mendoza, who is (unfortunately for her) the only woman in her financial engineering grad program. As if being a woman in STEM doesn’t come with a host of problems all on its own, the fact that her new roommate is Locke McCarthy (recently cut off by his massively rich and super emotionally abusive dad) provides an additional… complication. But Locke’s gentle disposition and uncertainty about himself mesh really well with Rosie’s struggles with her sexist cohort. Their journey from roommates to lovers was super sweet, and the fact that it’s set in autumn only adds to the snuggly, cozy vibes.

Wicked Flavors is billed as a horror romance, which fascinated me. Gwen is an autistic hobby dollmaker who makes a strange deal with antiques dealer Ambrosius: a kiss in payment for the doll of her dreams. As his villainous nature becomes more pronounced, Gwen finds herself drawn to his darker nature even as she begins unmasking and behaving in ways she never imagined. Ambrosius’s demonic nature brings something out in Gwen, and it’s dark and grotesque and irresistible. The blend of horror, gore, and spice is definitely not for every reader, but Gwen’s and Ambrosius’s story is utterly absorbing.