6 Closed-Door Friends-to-Lovers Romance Books to Read This Year
Do you love the friends-to-lovers romance trope? It’s one of my favorites! I’m always interested in finding out what has kept the two main characters in a romance from taking their friendship to the next level over the years. Although I’ll admit if they’ve been friends for many years—decades, even—I often feel a little sad that they wasted so much time before one of them finally musters up the courage to ask for more.
Sometimes, though, taking things from friendship to a romantic relationship not about courage but about timing. Maybe one of them has been in a relationship with or even married to someone else. Perhaps they live hundreds or thousands of miles apart. On occasion their careers make their lives incompatible. Whatever the reason, it’s always fun to see how they ultimately make the choices and sacrifices that mean they can be together.
But you didn’t come here to read about the trope for multiple paragraphs. You’re here for the book recommendations! Here are six friends-to-lovers recs that bring all the romance and tingles but limited spice. If you’re a fan of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, or Christina Lauren, but you’d like a little less “heat,” these authors are for you.
All the books below are available in Kindle Unlimited. And if you’re wondering, I’ve read them and enjoyed each book!
(Note: All book blurbs have been taken from Amazon.)
Easy as Pie by Carina Taylor
My best friend is back in town—and I refuse to let my pesky attraction to him ruin our friendship.
Tripp Sharpe and I have been best friends since middle school. And when he moved away to go to medical school and become a doctor? We’ve kept up by texting, phone calls, and every funny reel we come across.
I have one simple rule for myself: protect our friendship at all costs—even from myself.
But when Tripp moves back to town, I can't ignore the attraction I feel. If it were anyone else, I’d just avoid him. But it's hard to avoid a guy who thinks we're still the same ol' besties we've always been.
Or are we? It turns out some things have changed for him too.
Maybe I'm imagining the long stares, the lingering touches, or the flimsy excuses to spend time together, despite his ridiculous schedule.
And when Tripp asks me to show him how I like to kiss? It seems like I’m not the only one blasting through our friendship rules
TROPES:
Best friends to lovers
Childhood friends
Kissing Lessons
Soulmates
Note: this is a closed door romantic comedy with all of the sizzle but no spice!
Triggers: Loss of a parent due to cancer, ER Doctor, neglectful parents.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
So Much More by Dana Wilkerson
I knew I shouldn’t have done it.
Last month, after I schemed to get my best friend together with her boyfriend, I ended up cuddled on the couch with his brother—platonically, if platonic cuddling is even a thing. (I can attest that it’s not. Well, at least it doesn’t feel like it.) Not only that, but I agreed to keep doing it and to keep it a secret from everyone. At the time, I had no doubts it was a mistake. He and his girlfriend had broken up only days before, and I’d wanted him for a long time. But I did it anyway.
Now here we are five weeks later. My head is on his lap, his fingers are sliding through my hair, and it’s all I can do to keep myself from pulling his lips down to mine. I don’t, because I know he doesn’t want that. How do I know? He told me so when we started this. Plus, if he changed his mind, he’d let me know. The man is not one to hold back.
But then again, neither am I. I’m known for speaking my mind, but in this case I’m not. I’m scared that if I try to take this to another level, he’ll shoot me down. And then where will we be? My best friend is probably going to marry his brother. And we work together. It’s an impossible situation.
I need to end this, but I can’t make myself do it. Somebody help me!
So Much More is a Throwback RomCom set in the late 1980s. It reads like a contemporary romance with all the tropes, closed-door chemistry, and banter, but the relationship evolves without the use of cell phones or the Internet. Dating was a whole different game in the 80s!
This book features the following:
friends to lovers relationship
workplace romance (with no power imbalance)
witty banter
dual POV
she's older
set in 1980s Chicago
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
How to Kiss Your Best Friend by Jenny Proctor
He’s a hot high school chemistry teacher living in a small town. She’s a globetrotting journalist running from her past. They used to be best friends. Then one kiss changes everything.
Kate Fletcher is my kryptonite. She’s also my best friend. Former best friend?
I’m not sure what you call it when we grew up attached at the hip and then she left Silver Creek (and me) to travel the world.
The important thing is: Kate is back. (Temporarily.) And I’m still in love with her. (Permanently.)
But something is different now. The attraction doesn’t seem one-sided. I don’t think I’m imagining the heat in Kate’s eyes or the chemistry crackling between us.
But will that be enough to keep Kate here, when, for as long as I can remember, all she’s wanted to do is leave?
I’m determined to give her a reason to stay. Family. Connection. Roots. And me. I’ll have to start with sparks and fire, but if I take this step, there’s no turning back to simple friendship. And if she doesn’t feel the same way, I might lose her again—this time for good.
How to Kiss Your Best Friend is a sweet romantic comedy with all the crackling chemistry and sizzling kisses you want in a closed-door romcom. Books in the How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother series are connected but can be read in any order.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
(Not So) Famous in Paradise by Brittany Larsen
Which is easier, pretending to date my best friend, or pretending not to be in love with him?
When the biggest career opportunity of my life–my own home reno TV show–sends me back to my hometown, I’m less than excited. Paradise, Idaho might be paradise for everyone else, but it never was for me. Except for my best friend, Zach.
When he signs on to be a contractor on my show, things start to look up. And heat up.
If only Zach wasn’t about to propose to someone else. Even my rocking curves and great hair can’t compete with that.
Problem is, my fans think we’re a thing and want to see us together. And my show’s producers want what the fans want. My TV show is about to become my fantasy–a love story about Zach and me.
But TV is the only place where the story can be true. Telling Zach how I feel means risking my business, and even worse, our friendship.
I could lose everything. Including the one person I want more than anything.
The second book in the Love in Paradise Valley series, (Not So) Famous in Paradise is a laugh-out-loud, friends to more, romantic comedy that can be read as a stand-alone.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
A Cross-Country Wedding by Courtney Walsh
A fun-loving free spirit. Her buttoned-up best friend. And a cross-country wedding that could drive their platonic relationship toward something else entirely.
Simon Collier is my friend. Heck, he’s been my friend for most of my adult life—and we couldn’t be more different.
I love late-night karaoke. He’s a homebody with a piano I’ve never heard him play.
I relish being the center of attention while Simon prefers to fade into the background.
My dresser is a disaster. He alphabetizes his fridge.
I suppose we’re a little like sunshine and rain. It’s why our friendship works.
Even though we’re total opposites, we get along like peas and carrots. He’s constantly saving me after failed romances, and I push him to live a little. . .even if that means dragging him out of his comfort zone.
If I can make him laugh, it’s a win. He’s my safe person. Secure, reliable, fun to poke fun at. Simon Collier is my friend. But now, all that might change.
After another predictable break-up, I find myself in need of a plus-one for my best friend Lauren’s cross-country wedding. A wedding that reenacts the road trip where she and her fiance, Will, first fell in love. And despite his fussiness, Simon is the safest person to bring along because I’m not in the market for any more messy feelings.
Our friendship has been intact for over ten years, surely we can handle a week crammed in a car, sharing meals and playlists and nighttime secrets and single beds.
Right?
A Cross-Country Wedding is a sizzling but sweet, friends-to-more road trip romance. It is the second in the Road Trip Romance series & while it reads as a stand-alone, it may be best enjoyed after reading A Cross-Country Christmas.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
Falling for Your Best Friend by Emma St. Clair
I know how this story ends. And it’s NOT with the best friends falling in love. Even if Chase checks all my boxes—and then some.
He’s the perfect guy, and he deserves the perfect girl. Which, to be clear, is not me. I knew one day I would have to let him go. I just didn’t know it would be so soon. Or that my traitorous friend would be the one setting him up with a string of potential girlfriends.
Now, I have an impossible choice to make... I can watch Chase find love with someone else. Or I can throw my hat in the ring and face my biggest fear, one not even he knows.
One that might make him run for the Texas hill country.
But if I don’t make a play, I might lose my best friend and my only chance at love.
Falling for Your Best Friend is a laugh-out-loud, heartwarming romcom with a neurodivergent main character, a cinnamon roll hero, and a baby goat named Sergeant Pepper. All the chemistry you want with closed-door romance!
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
If you’ve read and enjoyed other closed-door, sweet romance novels featuring the friends-to-lovers trope, let us all know in the comments!
If you want even more closed-door romance recommendations, check out my entire Throwback RomComs series. The first one is FREE here!
