Monday, March 23, 2026

Every Romance Novel I've Read So Far

My best friend in New York talked me up to one of her acquaintances, describing me as someone who's well-versed in romance novels, especially Black romance novels written by Black women. (Which is incredibly kind, but also hilarious considering I didn't start reading romance in earnest until 2019 and there's so much I still have yet to discover!) Anyway, my friend asked me for recommendations on this acquaintance's behalf, and I agreed to make a list. Weeks ago. I just kept forgetting to do it. But since I'm in a space where I'm feeling weird about my writing again, and since I've taken my "lady of leisure" aspiration a little too seriously this year and didn't push myself to finish a single book in Q1 (which means new reviews aren't coming anytime soon), and since my best friend in Lusaka also happened to ask me for romantic and/or smutty recommendations today... I figured, let me quit playing and finally put this list together! So here are all the romance novels (or romance-adjacent books) I've read since 2019, with links to my reviews of them included. The first list showcases my favorites, in chronological order of when I finished them. The longer list has everything, in the same chronological order.

My Favorites
  • The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory (Because it helped me develop a genuine interest in romance after a lifetime of being too snobbish to fully delve into the genre. My gateway drug, one could say.)
  • If I Don't Have You by Sareeta Domingo (Because... just because. My ultimate favorite. Also, rest in peace to Sareeta Domingo, who passed away unexpectedly in September 2025.) 
  • Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon (Because... mind your business.)
  • The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (Because Philyaw is bold enough and compassionate enough to acknowledge that holiness and horniness are holding hands, sitting side-by-side on the same pew, singing from the same African American Heritage Hymnal.)
  • Boys Come First by Aaron Foley (Because a Detroit native wrote it. Plus it's GAY.) 
  • Sweet Vengeance by Viano Oniomoh (Because... mind your business. But also because of the influences of Monstica, "Demon 79", and Tati Richardson/T.M. Richardson. This was the beginning of Oniomoh becoming one of my favorite authors.)
  • The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (Because it's a cute story about book nerds. Plus it mentions N.K. Jemisin.)
  • Afrekete: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Writing edited by Catherine E. McKinley and L. Joyce DeLaney (Because it felt like such a rare find when and where I found it. Plus certain entries helped me make sense of some big changes and big feelings I was navigating in 2024.)
  • The Oath: A WhyChoose Novel by T.M. Richardson (Because there's a smidgen of that Philyaw-esque holy/horny dichotomy in there. Plus it mentions N.K. Jemisin.)
 
Everything So Far 
That's all for now. This list is somehow both longer and shorter than I expected. On the one hand, it's amazing to realize how much I've read and written about since that random but consequential day in November 2019, when I took a chance on buying The Wedding Date at a Target in Louisville. On the other hand, as I type this sentence I'm literally glancing at a stack of romance novels that I've had in my possession for a while but have yet to read. So I guess I better get to reading, huh?
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