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 isn’t 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 all and enjoyed each book!
Easy as Pie by Carina Taylor
When Hazel’s best friend, Tripp, moves back to town to work in the local ER after several years away, they both have to come to terms with their more-than-friendly feelings toward each other.
This slow-burn, closed-door romance is set in the Appalachian mountains and is part of the multi-author Sweater Weather series, but it can be read as a standalone novel.
Trigger warnings: Loss of a parent due to cancer, ER doctor, and neglectful parents.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
So Much More by Dana Wilkerson
Wendy O’Halloran has never had a serious relationship.
Randall Hamilton is a serial monogamist who has never NOT been in a relationship.
When these friends and co-workers find themselves in each others’ arms after helping his brother get together with her best friend, they have to decide whether to take their friendship to the next level.
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 is the second book in the Throwback RomComs series, but it can be read as a standalone novel.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
How to Kiss Your Best Friend by Jenny Proctor
Brody is a high school chemistry teacher in his small hometown, and he’s been in love with his childhood best friend Kate for years.
Kate is a journalist who’s running from her past and refuses to settle down anywhere.
When Kate temporarily comes back to town, will they rekindle their friendship? Will the friendship become more?
Find out how these best friends deal with their growing feelings for each other in How to Kiss Your Best Friend, the first book in the How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother series by Jenny Proctor.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
(Not So) Famous in Paradise by Brittany Larsen
Home renovation TV star Georgia goes back to her small hometown of Paradise, Idaho, to film a show.
When her childhood friend, Zach, signs on as the building contractor on the project, sparks begin flying between the two. The problem? He’s about to propose to someone else.
The show’s producers and fans want them to be together, and the show makes it look like they are. Can the two move their fake relationship into reality?
This is the second book in the Love in Paradise Valley series, but it can be read as a standalone novel.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
The Quit List by Katie Bailey
When Holly meets Jax, the bad boy bartender, she doesn’t have any intention of falling in love with him. She’s looking for happily ever after, and he’s not going to get her there. Or is he?
When Jax saves Holly from a terrible date, they both see an opportunity for him to be her dating coach. But she will NOT fall in love with him. Right?
The Quit List is a closed-door strangers-to-friends-to-lovers romcom. It contains some mild language and suggestive jokes alongside sizzling chemistry and sexual tension.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
Falling for Your Best Friend by Emma St. Clair
Harper and Chase have been friends for years. To her, he’s the perfect guy.
The problem? She can’t see him ever falling for her, and one of their other friends keeps setting him up on dates with other women.
Will Harper take a chance with her caring and thoughtful best friend, or will she watch him fall in love with someone else?
Falling for Your Best Friend is a closed-door romcom with a neurodivergent main character, a cinnamon-roll MMC, and a baby goat named Sergeant Pepper. It’s the fourth book in Emma St. Clair’s Love Chiches Sweet RomComs series.
Find it on Amazon and Goodreads.
Blocking the Chaos by Dana Wilkerson
Austin is a professional hockey player and gets traded every few years.
Amber experiences sensory overload at sporting events and needs stability.
They’ve each been secretly in love with the other for years.
Can these two turn their friendship into more in this sweet new hockey romance?
Blocking the Chaos is a fade-to-black sports romance with the following tropes: childhood friends, friends to lovers, last to know, secret child, single dad, neurodivergent heroine, best friend’s sister, brother’s best friend, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
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!
