10 Best New Romance Books of December 2025 to End the Year With
There’s no better gift this time of year than a brand-new romance to heat up your winter. Whether you’re naughty or nice, this month’s offerings have something for everyone: a return to a beloved YA universe, a late bloomer story, a reality TV show-set romance, a Regency era fake dating romp, and so much more! Rom-com favorite Falon Ballard is kicking off a new chapter with her first romantasy novel.
The year 2025 has been filled with so many amazing romance reads, and the final month of the year has some of the best late-entry additions. These books are more than worthy of a place on your holiday wishlist. Check out our selection of the 10 best romance books of December 2025 below.
Which book are you most excited to read this December? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Something Wicked
Falon Ballard
Release Date: December 2
Falon Ballard turns up the heat with her entry into the romantasy scene. Lady Caterine, the owner of one of the most popular pleasure clubs in Avon, has a secret. Not only is she Gifted, but her power is that she can impress feeling onto anyone who has an orgasm around her. This makes dethroned prince Callum’s stay at her pleasure house a very interesting one. Callum must kill his parents in order to take over the throne and will need Caterine’s help to do so, but not before seeing exactly how her powers work, and how surprisingly cunning she can be when using them.
Duke
Jessica Peterson
Release Date: December 2
Readers in need of a cowboy can look no further than Duke, the second installment of Jessica Peterson’s Lucky River Ranch series. Wheeler Rankin has rolled into town looking to spend time with her best friend, but finds herself instantly charmed by Duke, the younger brother of series starter protagonist Cash. A one-night stand turns serious when Wheeler winds up pregnant, and the two question if they’re ready for the commitment of a lifetime, both to a child and to each other.
Tender Cruelty
Katee Robert
Release Date: December 2
Hera has been waiting for the opportunity to escape her husband, Zeus, ever since she married him to save her sisters. But the city of Olympus is perilously close to crumbling, and with it would go everything both Hera and Zeus have ever worked for and known. Calling a ceasefire, the two work together to stop an even bigger enemy from destroying their world, and discover that despite the circumstances that brought them together, they might just be a match made in (Greek) heaven.
The Mating Game
Lana Ferguson
Release Date: December 2
Lana Ferguson continues her streak in the omegaverse with this tale of a late-blooming wolf shifter coming to terms with her abilities. Tessa Covington builds houses worthy of being considered for television, but upon learning that she is, in fact, a wolf, the threat of her very public image crashing is enough to send her spiraling. When the new house she’s meant to rebuild is owned by alpha Hunter, who is resistant to changing the house due to sentimental reasons he’d rather not get into, the two find themselves in disagreement. But once Hunter sniffs out that Tessa is a wolf in desperate need of help, all the walls start coming down, both emotionally and literally.
Sparks Fly
Zakiya N. Jamal
Release Date: December 2
Zakiya N. Jamal offers a heartwarming take on late bloomers in this passionate tale. Writer Stella Johnson is over being a virgin and is heading to a sex club to solve her pesky little problem. When she hits it off with handsome attendee Max, she’s excited for a wild night of fun, but the two never make it to the bedroom. Stella plans to brush off the encounter until she walks into work the next day and learns that Max has joined the magazine staff with technology that threatens to upend the entire magazine’s structure. Even with the threat of being exposed for (not technically) sleeping with the enemy, Stella is unable to resist her attraction to Max, and the pair’s secret relationship offers revelations for them both.
Better in Black
Cassandra Clare
Release Date: December 2
Shadowhunters fans, rejoice! Cassandra Clare makes a return to the beloved Shadowhunter universe with a short story collection revisiting all of your favorite ships. Prepare to cry for “Who the Wolf Loves” a passionate love letter from Luke Garroway and “The Good Storm,” a desperate story following Will after he loses all of his memories, including of his lover Tessa. There are appearances from other beloved characters such as Thomas and Izzy Lightwood, Simon Lewis, and even the Seelie Queen in this homage that is sure to capture the hearts of Shadowhunter fans and even gain Clare a few new ones.
Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot
Alexis Hall
Release Date: December 9
Readers will find themselves swept away by Alexis Hall’s perfectly sweet reality TV show romance. Audrey is surprised to receive an invitation from her favorite baking reality TV show, Bake Expectations, after submitting a very drunken application, but isn’t going to miss her opportunity to take her baking career to the next level. Upon arrival, Audrey recognizes that this season is going to be far more challenging than what she’s used to seeing on television, due to Jennifer, the temperamental producer running the show and getting under Audrey’s skin. Despite Jennifer’s blunt, no-nonsense attitude, sweetheart Audrey finds that Jennifer’s tough love can be necessary to keep the show running, and beyond that, help her see the truth about what she’s running from.
My Blade, Your Back
K.M. Moronova
Release Date: December 9
In the closer to Moronova’s propulsive Dark Forces duology, after surviving the deadly Undertrials to become a part of the team, Emery has lost all of her memories following an intense battle, leaving her partner and lover Mori with no idea of how to move forward. Emery can sense something is amiss with her brooding partner, whom she feels an attraction to, but Mori shows no sign of knowing anything about her. Desperate to become a supersoldier like Mori, Emery undergoes a dangerous medical treatment that coaxes both her memories and her love for Mori back to the surface.
Seeing Other People
Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Release Date: December 9
Collaborators Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka blend a messy love triangle (rectangle?) and touching ghost story in this tale of healing and moving on. Morgan has always been drawn to wanderlust and travel, never staying too long in one place. So when the ghost of a one-night stand latches onto her, she’s confused in more ways than one. She encounters Sawyer, who shares in her ghostly haunting, except Sawyer isn’t ready to let the ghost of his fianceé go quite yet. In trying to find a way to let their ghosts move on, Morgan moves in with Sawyer, and they find themselves haunted by their (literal and emotional) ghosts as they grow closer in their mission.
A Most Worthy Husband
Faye Delacour
Release Date: December 16
Hannah Williams is the debutante of her mother’s nightmares, as she has no intention of being married off. Instead, Hannah decides she will blow up her social reputation, and therefore scare off more suitors, by hiring ex-Navy member Silas to kiss her. Only her plans are thwarted when her mother approves the match and demands that the pair get engaged. Trying to find their way out of the mess they’ve made, Silas and Hannah find themselves closer to walking down the aisle…and not hating it.
