Weekly Lists #118 Favorite romance standalones

Yes, I know, there was no weekly lists last week. But I had a perfectly reasonable good reason: my blog was down. Again. That’s the second time in like a little over a year, you guys. And this time it was the server that just gave up. Anyways, no blogging meant a lot of time for reading. And guess what? Just about all I’ve been reading? Romance standalones. So here’s some of my latest favorites!

1.The Royal We, Heather Cocks

“I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they’ll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next.”

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it’s Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain’s future king. And when Bex can’t resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick’s sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he’s fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she’s sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

You guys, you know I love royals, right? Like, in a completely sane way, of course. But still. Love them. So a book like this? Right up my ally. And when I read it for the “a romance featuring a prince/princess”-prompt for the #inloveathon? LOVED it. It’s basically just glorified fanfiction of Kate and William and I loved every page of it. And you can expect a review at the end of this week!

2. The Wedding that Changed Everything, Joyce Jennifer

Love happens when you least expect it…

Emily Atkinson stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago! She’s fed up of dating frogs in order to track down her very own Prince Charming, despite the best efforts of her matchmaking best friend…

But now she’s been invited to the wedding of the year at the enchanting Durban Castle, and perhaps bumping into a knight in shining armour isn’t as far away as she thought!

Will Emily survive the wedding and walk away an unscathed singleton – or finally find her own happily-ever-after?

As you probably could gather from my review? I’m just a little bit partial to any romance including a tragic backstory. Or a library. Or a castle. And this one has all three. There’s something to be said for a combination of all the goodies.

3. Secrets of a Happy Marriage, Cathy Kelly

Bess is hoping to show everyone just how happy her recent marriage is, but behind all the party-planning the cracks are beginning to show. Why is joining a family so difficult?

Jojo, Bess’s stepdaughter, has a point to make. Bess is not her mother, and she won’t replace the one she’s been missing every day for the last two years. And will she ever get the chance to become a mum herself?

Cousin Cari is a fierce career-woman who isn’t unnerved by anything – apart from facing the man who left her at the alter, and he’s on the guestlist. Her job has been a safe place to hide ever since – but is it time to let love into her life again?

Thanks to laughter, tears and one surprise appearance, the Brannigans might just discover the secrets of a happy marriage . . . But will they find out before it’s too late?

I’m aware that I’m quite prejudiced where Cathy Kelly’s work is concerned. After all, she has been featuring steadfastly on any list of my favourite chicklit and authors. That, however, does not mean you should doubt me when I tell you this book is amazing. It has just the right amount of character development for each and every side character, there’s someone for anyone to recognize themselves in, … And of course: it has Kelly’s easy-reading writing. What else could you want?

4. Meet Met at Beachcomber Bay, Jill Mansell

Love is in the air in St Carys, but you’d never know it – the people of this seaside town are very good at keeping secrets…

The man Clemency loves belongs to someone else. She has to hide her true feelings – but when she ropes in an unsuspecting friend to help, wires start to get crossed.

For the first time in Ronan’s life his charm has failed him in winning over the woman he wants. Loving her from afar appears to be his only option.

Belle seems to have the perfect boyfriend, but something isn’t quite right. And now a long-buried secret is slowly rising to the surface.

The truth has a funny way of revealing itself, and when it does St Carys will be a very different place indeed…

You guys, I just realised that it’s been almost a year since I read this one. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the most recent Jill Mansell book I read and quite frankly? I’m just not okay with that. I mean, how am I supposed to ever really let go of her books if I don’t get another one to bury myself in? Seriously, though – without any exaggeration? This book was too cute and I loved every bit of it.

5. When Dimple Met Rishi, Sandhya Menon

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

You know how sometimes you have these books that you’ve read so many good things about that you’re almost scared to read them? Because, after all, there’s no way they can actually live up to that hype, right? Well, that was this book for me. Luckily, though, it did. It was – basically – absolutely delightful. It read like the sun feels, if that makes sense, and I loved it for that ?

And there you have it, that’s 5 of my favourite romance books listed for you! Be sure to come back tomorrow, because there’ll be an extra weekly list waiting for you. After all, I missed last week, gotta make up for that, right? Plus, what with Valentine’s happening and everythingand the #inloveathon being almost done? I’m quite in the mood for all the romance. So be sure to let me know below what your favourite romance books are! (I’ve read so many, my stack is sort of running out ? )

-Saar