Banter and sexual tension are two of my favorite things when it comes to romance, and romantic comedies often showcase them very, very well. They’re what takes a low angst romance to the next level, turning the chemistry up a notch and making the reader root for the couple to get together. Often accompanied by a slow, torturous burn, sexual tension makes the wait worth it.

The fifteen romances on this list are all light, playful romances with low angst and lots of tension. They may have different vibes, but they all offer easy, sexy reading experiences with a little something extra.

I’ve included the blurb for each, as well as a description of the vibe and links to Amazon for easy addition to your collection. Happy reading!

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Slow burn to steamy • Feuding coworkers • Light with heart

Ego Trip by Tabatha Kiss

Two weeks on the road with my boss? Business as usual.
Two weeks on the road with my newer, hotter boss that I had a one-night stand with four years ago? A disaster waiting to happen.

It was a one-time thing with a man I knew from work. 
His name was Oliver Black. The rich and handsome manager of the Botsford Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. 
Dark hair. Icy blue eyes. A cocky smirk with dimples deep enough to trip on.

No one has to know, he said. 
And no one did know… except maybe the guests trying to sleep in the suite next door.

I didn’t know he’d eventually get promoted to my department. 
I definitely didn’t know my boss would assign me to travel the country with him to keep his raging ego in check.
Two weeks. Five locations. A whole lot of hotel rooms in-between. 

This trip will either solidify our business relationship as totally platonic friends and nothing more, or destroy my career. 
But we already know the answer to that question, don’t we? 

I’m screwed. Literally.

Ego Trip is a stand-alone romantic comedy with a cocky boss, his cheeky by-the-books assistant, and enough steam to melt your Kindle! One-click your copy to find out why romance lovers can’t get enough of Tabatha Kiss and her delicious heroes!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/38Pbwcc
My review is one of the first to show there

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Slow burn • Small town • Strangers to lovers • Jeeves’ Top 19 of 2019

Tangle by Adriana Locke

Sparks fly between a die-hard romantic and a sexy cynic in this fresh, funny romance from USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke.

That cream-filled, caramel-topped doughnut should have been hers. Still, Haley Raynor can’t deny that the pastry thief with the dreamy blue eyes looks even more delicious. But moving in on a handsome devil like Trevor Kelly is bad news for a die-hard romantic like Haley. Trevor doesn’t believe in love. She does. Giving in to a fling and Trevor’s irresistible charms can’t end well. Can it? What can it hurt to give it a shot?

Girls always fall for Trevor, and in the end, he always ends up looking like a bad-boy cad. Still, spending some time with Haley and her smart-talking, kissable mouth sounds pretty perfect. Besides, he’s only going to be in Dogwood Lane for one week. How much trouble could they possibly get into?

The only answer? A “no falling in love” contract. All Trevor and Haley have to do is follow the rules and resist the attraction sizzling between them…before their hearts get completely tangled up in temptation.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39HNAa5

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Light and fun • Steamy • Acquaintances to lovers

Take a Number by Amy Daws

Dean is certain that fake dating the cute owner of his new bakery investment could be messy…but messy can be fun.

Norah Donahue wants bakeries not babies, but her matchmaking mother won’t stop trying to play Cupid.

Dean Moser is a cocky stock market savant whose friends are all settling down, leaving Boulder’s infamous ladies’ man all alone.

When Norah needs a fake date for her parents’ anniversary party, her new silent investor is the perfect guy for the job. It seems like a foolproof plan…

That is until Norah decides to break her biggest rule and lock lips with Dean in the middle of the party.

Turns out that Dean and Norah’s chemistry is sizzling hot, but mixing business with pleasure could turn out to be a recipe for disaster.

Or maybe they can have their cake and eat it too.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XKEiVd

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Best friend’s little sis • Light and funny • Slow burn

The Secret to Dating Your Best Friend’s Sister by Meghan Quinn

From USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a deliciously delightful romantic comedy centered in New York City about falling in love with your best friend’s sister.

How do you date your best friend’s sister? Easy. 

Step one: Pretend you want her to set you up with someone else. That will bring the two of you closer.

Step two: Go on date with lots of random women, proceed to get stupid drunk and talk about your best friend’s sister, thus gaining the courage to finally make a move.

Step three: Randomly show up at her apartment and confess your love. Women love that, right?

It all seemed so simple. A fool-proof three step process that will guarantee the love of your life to fall madly in love with you. 

At least–that’s what I thought was going to happen. But my attempts to win over Julia Westin backfired in more ways than I can count. The thing about Julia? She’s smart–really smart–and her wicked gaze cuts through all the charm I’ve tried slinging her way. She’s not interested in games, my gifts, or my stories. She might want me too; but she’s not giving in that easy…

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35KrDFY

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Frenemies to lovers • Small town • Funny • Jeeves’ Top 20 of 2020

Kiss My Putt by Tara Sivec

“Palmer ‘Pal’ Campbell has epic breakdown on the 18th hole of the Bermuda Open! Video at 11.”

After spending my entire pro golfing career being known as the quiet, controlled, no-nonsense golfer on the tour, there’s nothing more humiliating than throwing all of that down the drain—or into a water hazard—on national television. Needing some place to hide, to lick my wounds and figure out what I even want to do with my life once this blows over, I can only think of one place I need to be. Summersweet Island, where everyone treats me like one of their own, and they’ll all be happy to have me home again.

Well, except maybe one person. It’s been two years since I last set foot on Summersweet Island or spoke to anyone there. But I’m sure Birdie Bennett, my best friend since I was 15 and the clubhouse manager of my favorite golf course, has had plenty of time to forgive me for that tiny little misunderstanding where I blocked her on social media and blocked her in my phone. Oh, and I guess I kind of, sort of accused her of being a stalker. It’s fine!

Once my sexy, spunky, former best friend gets over the shock of seeing me again and stops trying to drive a 9-iron into my skull, I can finally let her know I’ve also kind of, sort of always been in love with her…

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sv25Xa
My review is one of the first to show there

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Friends first • Sports romance • Slow burn • More serious

The Hot Shot by Kristen Callihan

First we were friends. Then we were roommates. Now I want more…

What can I say about Chess Copper? The woman is capable of bringing me to my knees. I know this about five minutes after getting naked for her. 

No one is more surprised than me. The prickly photographer my team hired to shoot our annual charity calendar isn’t my usual type. She’s defense to my offense, a challenge at every turn. But when I’m with her, all the regrets and darkness goes away. She makes life fun. 

I want to know Chess, be close to her. Which is a bad idea. 

Chess is looking for a relationship. I’ve never given a woman more than one night. But when fate leaves Chess without a home, I step up and offer her mine. We’re roommates now. Friends without benefits. But it’s getting harder to keep our hands off each other. And the longer we live together the more I realize she’s becoming my everything.

Trick is… Now that I’ve made her believe I’m a bad bet, how do I convince her to give this player a true shot at forever?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3swpQOF

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Playful enemies to lovers • Unexpected roommates • Light and sexy

Loathe Thy Neighbor by Teagan Hunter

Don’t fall for your enemy…especially when he’s your new roommate.

Dean Evans is the worst.
Not only does the devil in disguise steal my pie on a regular basis, he also lives in the apartment right. Next. Door.
I see him all the time. At the mailboxes. In the elevator.
Every single morning.
It’s exhausting because he’s exhausting.

Now, after setting his apartment on fire, he’s my roommate…and he’s the worst at that too.

I don’t know what possessed me to let him stay with me. Pity, perhaps?
I do know that I won’t be falling for his charm.
Or that panty-dropping smirk.
His quick wit.
That body he works so hard for.

Nope. Not falling for any of it…least of all him.

There might be a fine line between love and hate, but I know exactly where I stand.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bFwyMi
My review is one of the first to show there

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Brother’s best friend • Steam early/slow emotional burn

Not Just Friends by T. Gephart

A little harmless flirting never hurt anyone. Unless you cross the line and have a one-night stand with your best friend’s sister. And if that didn’t complicate things enough her crazy ex-boyfriend is stalking her as well. Should have stayed just friends, but it’s probably a little late for that now.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iqBo1d

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Lots of humor • Light and sexy • Slow burn • Virgin hero

Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant

She can’t let him score…

Call it superstition, but when a guy bats as hot as Brooks Elliott, you don’t mess with what’s working. And what’s working is him keeping his pants zipped and doing all of his scoring on the field.

So when I hear he’s planning to ditch his V-card now that he’s been traded to baseball’s lovable losers—aka my home team and my reason for living every March through October—I do what any rational, dedicated, obsessed fan would do.

I make a plan to stop him.

But the thing about stopping him is that it requires spending time with him.

Lots. And lots. And lots of time.

And the more time I spend with him, the more I like him. Not as the guy who’s going to help save my favorite team and finally bring home a championship ring, but as the guy who’s helping me in my quest to bring back the team’s old mascot. Who also loves making pancake and bacon sandwiches. And who would do almost anything for his love of the game.

But after all this time of jock-blocking him…do I even have a chance?

And if I do, are we both destined to a life of celibacy in the name of winning?

Jock Blocked is a home run of a feel-good romantic comedy featuring the world’s most superstitious sports fan, baseball’s oldest virgin hero, a rogue meatball, an adorable puppy with a cussing problem, and the best lovable losers. It stands alone and comes with a happily ever after more satisfying than a game-winning grand slam.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LEiS9F
My review is one of the first to show there

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Playful enemies to lovers • Light and funny • Strangers to lovers

Taming Hollywood’s Baddest Boy by Max Monroe

Do people say they hate someone’s guts so that they can still fall stupidly, head-over-heels in love with the other parts?
Asking for a friend.

Okay, fine. I’m not asking for a friend.

I’m asking for me—and I’m begging you to tell me that the practice of falling in love with your should-be-enemy is common.

Please tell me that I’m not the only person to track down a guy—who used to be Hollywood’s baddest bad boy before he left LA for good—at his off-the-grid cabin in Alaska, show up unannounced, and find him gloriously naked.

This probably happens all the time…right?

Tell me I’m not alone in my stupidity—that I’m not the only woman who would fall for gorgeous blue eyes and a sexy devilish smirk, even if they belong to a broody, mysterious jerk.

For the love of everything, I need all the supportive girl power I can get if I’m going to convince Luca Weaver to come back to Hollywood—otherwise known as the place he hates so much that he ghosted Oscar-level success and escaped to no-man’s-land for the last eight years just to avoid it.

Yeah, don’t worry—that smoke you’re smelling isn’t your house catching fire as you read this…it’s just my career and what was previously known as my heart going up in flames.

Gah. Is it just me, or am I totally, completely, and utterly screwed?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nTAV8O

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Super low angst • Lots of fun • Quick and easy • Banter-filled

Hard Fall by Sara Ney

Friends to lovers? Yes. Bosses daughter? Also yes…

“Hard Fall”
That’s what my mom is always saying: “The bigger you are, the harder you fall.” She’s talking about love–I’ve never been in it myself, but that doesn’t stop me from secretly matchmaking for my friends. Who would suspect me, a world class athlete, of meddling in other people’s love lives? I love Love, especially when it’s not me who’s doing the falling…

“No Thanks.” 
That’s what Hollis Westbrooke said when I asked her on a date. Well, propositioned her, actually–but it was all a big joke; one she doesn’t think is funny. My stomach is in knots since I might actually like this girl so the joke is one me. Hollis’s father is my boss–and she doesn’t date players.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall–especially when biggest player is me.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3sz8Sis

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Grouchy hero • Steamy/slow emotional burn • Opposites attract

Drive Me Wild by Melanie Harlow

When Blair Beaufort literally crashes into Bellamy Creek wearing a ball gown and a tiara, I should have towed her car, said goodnight, and sent her packing.

I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I’ve got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful.

Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my broody exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself.

For exactly one night.

If only she weren’t so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying–at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel.

But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince.

So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go.

No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3oQwOMj

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Friends to lovers • Hot slow burn • Light and sexy

Sex and Other Shiny Objects by Lauren Blakely

A delicious new best friends-to-lovers stand-alone romance from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely!

The second the test-the-sexy-scenes offer landed in my lap, I said yes.
After all, I’ve been damn curious about a few things I’ve read in romance novels. Do buttons truly go flying across the floor when you rip off a guy’s shirt? Is staircase nookie hella hot or does it leave you with a big old bruise mark on your back? And don’t even get me started on all that panty shredding, and whether it even works.
Time to find out as I embark on Project Romance Novel Scenes Research, at the request of my hotshot book editor bestie.

All I need is a willing scene partner. Enter Tristan, my best guy friend. The witty, tell-it-like-it-is, bearded hottie volunteers for the experiment.

He’s also the guy who gave me the most devastating, toe-curling kiss of my life ten years ago. But nothing has happened since then.
And nothing will come between my panties and our friendship now since we have a plan to keep it PG.
But once the buttons start flying, all bets are off…

Amazon: https://amzn.to/38QRRIV

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Light and funny • Friends to lovers • Fake relationship

Blow Me Away by Christina Hovland

It’s all fun and games until somebody falls in love…

Jase Dvornakov has always loved women, 80’s hair band music, and things that go boom. He used to disarm bombs in the Navy, but he’s back in Denver after a mission overseas went sideways and destroyed his future, including his marriage. Now he arranges flowers in his family’s floral business because flowers don’t explode.

Cookie-baker extraordinaire, Heather Reese, has had one too many rounds of heartache, so she’s sworn off men and prefers to spend her evenings binge-watching game shows. Plus her no-men rule gives her time to focus on her dream come true–Heather’s Cookie Co.–her very own bake shop with an underground following for naughty shaped treats. She refuses to be interested in the hot-shot florist across the street. He is trouble with a capital T. Sexy trouble, but still, a hook-up with Jase is a hard nope.

Desperate to avoid his family’s incessant matchmaking, a fake breakup with the beautiful Heather is just what the florist ordered. If his family believes Heather decimated his heart, they’ll leave him alone. Heather isn’t so keen on the idea, but Jase is determined to make it worth her while. When a pretend breakup becomes the real romance neither was expecting, together they’ll have to decide if it’s finally time to light the fuse on love…

Blow Me Away is the second book in the Mile High Matched Series. Each book stands alone and can be read in any order. If you love friends to lovers with a dash of steam, this is the book for you!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XOQaW9

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Playful enemies to lovers • Light and fun • Slow burn

Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting

As two neighborhood shop owners battle for business, they prove opposites attract in this “deliciously sweet and savory new romantic comedy” (USA Today bestselling author Abby Jimenez).

Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn’t plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn’t spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success. From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there’s also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they’re forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it’s possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nKGjes

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