6 Must-Read Romance Books for June 2024 That Will Utterly Obsess You

Get Ready for Scorching Chemistry, Emotional Journeys and Unforgettable Love Stories

As a passionate romance reader, June 2024 has me utterly giddy with arousal - literary arousal, that is! This month is delivering some of the most buzzed-about romantic fiction of the year, from lust-filled summer flings and sizzling enemies-to-lovers tales to poignant stories of self-discovery and found family. I've been devouring advanced copies of these upcoming love stories, and they are simply unputdownable. Whether you crave electric romantic tension, emotional resonance, or deliciously nostalgic settings, these are the six must-read romances to absolutely obsess over this June.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

Release Date: June 4th

Kicking off my summer reading is Annabel Monaghan's enchanting novel Summer Romance, and it is pure sun-kissed, feel-good escapism from the very first meet-cute. When recently divorced mom Ali Morris has an adorably awkward run-in with hunky Ethan that involves her rambunctious pup, it sets the scene for a scorching yet heartwarming fling that left me utterly smitten.

Monaghan has such a deft way with crafting irresistible heroines you can't help but see yourself in - Ali's messy, frazzled confidence is something all women can relate to, making her love story hit straight in the heart. Her charming chemistry with the handsome and chivalrous Ethan is fiery from the start, sizzling in a way that made me heat up like a summer sidewalk. Yet it's their slowly evolving emotional intimacy that made me swoon hardest.

As Ali blossoms back into her old self under Ethan's adoring affections, Monaghan renders her rediscovery of her inner spark with such empowering authenticity that I frequently found myself cheering out loud. Summer Romance captures the dizzying reverie of a seasonal love affair while reminding us how romance can reignite our own self-love, even after life's emotional cyclones. With Monaghan's radiant voice and transporting love story, this June romance is sweet yet spicy perfection.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Release Date: June 11th

Leave it to Katherine Center to take a wild romantic comedy premise and inject such crackling wit and profound emotional wisdom that it becomes an unputdownable triumph. In The Rom-Commers, struggling screenwriter Emma Wheeler gets her big break co-writing a script with the famous yet pretentious Charlie Yates. The catch? Charlie despises the entire rom-com genre and wants to dismantle it.

What ensues is a crackling roman à clef delight, with Emma and Charlie's fiery creative clashes constantly threatening to erupt into delicious enemies-to-lovers combustion. I was utterly transfixed by the scintillating romantic tension between these two adversaries, constantly rooting for Emma to prove rom-coms matter, and hoping Charlie would pull the stick out and realize his leading lady was the love he'd been subconsciously writing toward all along.

Beyond the exquisite sexual chemistry and sharp barbs between Emma and Charlie, what made this novel soar was Center's empathetic rendering of topics like impostor syndrome and the anxieties of having your dream within reach. Her understanding of human frailty made me ache for both protagonists even as I craved their fiery union. With pitch-perfect balance of sizzling heat and achingly resonant self-discovery, The Rom-Commers left me head over heels.

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Release Date: June 11th

Ever since the world-conquering success of The Love Hypothesis, readers have ravenously devoured anything from Ali Hazelwood's pen. Her newest novel Not in Love is primed to become her most addictive hit yet - a feverish, swoon-worthy tale of rival biotech titans who can't resist each other despite being adversaries in a high-stakes acquisition battle.

From the tantalizing opening scenes of insults and smoldering glances exchanged between the feisty Rue Siebert and deliciously arrogant Eli Killgore, the white-hot sexual tension in this book is blazing. I hadn't even hit the first chapter and I was already needing a cold shower. But as is Hazelwood's trademark, these two adversarial geniuses are far more than their roiling workplace contempt.

When Rue and Eli's heated sparring erupts into a torrid, no-strings attached affair with a manufactured expiration date, Hazelwood had me utterly addicted to their toxic romantic vertigo. With surgically precise characterizations and dizzying plot twists, the story of these enemies-turned-secret lovers consumed me completely. I felt like I was in an intoxicating fever dream where the only cure was devouring the pages to find out if Eli and Rue would conquer their insurmountable differences and choose transcendent intimacy.

With searing hot love scenes and layers of delectable romantic subterfuge, Not in Love is scorching romance perfection. But most importantly, it's also a love story anchored by emotional authenticity and two imperfect yet aspirational protagonists who strive to rip away society's masks and love authentically. This is Hazelwood in peak romantic mastery mode - utterly swoonworthy while still keeping you deeply invested in the souls beneath the heat.

Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle

Release Date: June 4th

This utterly enchanting romantic comedy is fresh off the presses, and I'm already obsessed. Just Some Stupid Love Story whisked me away into the ultimate nostalgia trip as jaded rom-com screenwriter Molly Marks returns to her Florida hometown for her dreaded high school reunion, only to reconnect with her first love Seth - an eternally romantic divorce lawyer who just won't let her abandon belief in love's magic.

From the first adorable meet-not-so-cute that sees Seth reminiscing about their prom night like a wistful teen while Molly drowns in cynicism about coupling up, Doyle had me absolutely hooked on their irresistible chemistry. As Molly begrudgingly accepts Seth's wager observing whether five reunion couples stay together in five years, I was utterly captivated by their razor-sharp banter and incandescent flirtations simmering underneath mutual heartbreaks.

With shades of When Harry Met Sally but a fresh, clever voice all her own, Doyle crafted the ultimate slow burn love story that makes you yearn for these former sweethearts to heal each other's wounds and reignite their destiny together. I adored every twist and turn of Molly and Seth's nostalgia-fueled reunion, desperate for them to see their happily-ever-after before the final page. Buoyed by warmth, humor, and swoon-worthy romantic grandeur, this book is the perfect beach read romcom to get instantly obsessed over.

Experienced by Kate Young

Release Date: June 4th

For an intimate, deeply felt look into the vagaries and vulnerabilities of queer dating in your 30s, Kate Young's extraordinary debut novel Experienced is a profoundly moving must-read. After years of dating men failed to satisfy, 30-year-old food writer Bette comes out as bisexual and falls madly in love with her girlfriend Mei. But when Mei encourages Bette to explore the queer dating scene before they commit forever, what follows is a raw yet joyful journey of self-discovery unlike any romance I've read before.

Young imbues the novel with such radiant specificity in capturing all the messy thrills and anxieties of opening yourself up to new romantic experiences late in life. Bette's adventures on queer dating apps and negotiating a more fluid sexual identity matrix are rendered with heartfelt candor and vibrant sensuality that left me in awe over all the nuances of these experiences I'd never stopped to ponder.

Yet for as vividly as Experienced immerses us into Bette's whirlwind erotic awakenings and beguiling subculture immersions, it's the profoundly tender emotional journey of her and Mei's foundational love that made me swoon the hardest. Whether delirious over the charged moments of passion between the two protagonists, or moved to tears by the selfless negotiations of polyamorous boundaries they navigate to honor each other's freedom, this novel ravished me with romance in its most authentic incarnation.

As Bette spirals into unexpectedly falling for another beguiling woman amidst her sanctioned dating tour, the story blossoms into an empathetic portrait of modern commitment, queer families, and loving yourself enough to stop holding back your inner truth. Equal parts tantalizing and tear-jerking, Experienced is an unforgettable deep dive into the soul-expanding power of radical vulnerability and loving without shame.

But How Are You, Really? by Ella Dawson

Release Date: June 4th

When I heard that prolific essayist Ella Dawson had penned a literary novel inspired by her own messy romantic entanglements and mental health journey, I knew it would be an unforgettable read - but nothing could have prepared me for this book's staggering resonance. But How Are You, Really? takes us inside the tumult of 27-year-old Charlotte Thorne during her college reunion weekend, where past ghosts and hard-won reckonings with self-sabotage converge with galvanizing force.

With searing candor and hard-won poetic lyricism, Dawson charts Charlotte's coming of age through the disillusionment of early adulthood. As she's forced to confront the trauma of her college mental health crises and the ex-boyfriend she abandoned, Dawson renders Charlotte's journey with visceral authenticity and compassion that gutted me at multiple turns. This is a book that holds nothing back in its raw dissections of anxiety spirals, wrestling to prioritize your selfhood over hustle culture, and striving to accept love without apology.

Yet for all its poignant heaviness, But How Are You, Really? is also infused with radiant flashes of humor and hard-won romantic epiphanies that left me feeling emotionally revived. Dawson's vivid characterizations of Charlotte's found-family circle of friends provide so much heart and soul-nourishing warmth that counterbalances the harrowing moments. And by the final cathartic chapters where Charlotte excavates self-love from years of self-negation, I felt like I had been through an emotional rebirth with this heroine.

From its pulsing interrogations of sexuality and identity to its fearless deconstructions of mental health and coming into your prime, But How Are You, Really? is a romance novel like no other. Dawson's rendering of love stories outside convention, and the sheer fortitude required to claim your self-actualized future, made this novel feel spiritually essential. I'll be pressing it into the hands of any reader who craves literature that sees them in their fullest awakening.

So clear your June reading calendar and get prepared to be utterly obsessed, romance fans! Between the scorching summer flings, delicious enemies-to-lovers tangos, emotional soul-awakenings, and life-giving tales of queer relationships, this incredible month of new romantic fiction has every single variety of swoon-worthy covered. All of these novels had me so enraptured that I already cannot wait to binge through them again and again like my favorite beach reads. If getting lost in transcendent love stories is your love language, you're going to want to stock up on these irresistible Must-Read Romance Books for June 2024 immediately!