Single dad romance books get most of the love, but is there anything more heart-melting and adorable than a commitment-phobic hero becoming part of a family? Whether it’s a charming playboy falling for a woman AND her kids, a grumpy hero becoming fiercely protective of the family he’d love to call his own, or an everyday guy who is immediately accepting, there are so many scenarios where single mom romances can shine.

Enemies to lovers, office, sports, strangers, small town – single mom romance novels feature tons of other great tropes, and they have a variety of vibes. The books on this list all feature heroines who are mothers (in one way or another), and they’re all 4 or 5-star contemporary romance novels that kept me hooked while I was reading. I’ve included the blurb, links to my book reviews, and links to Amazon for easy addition to your collection. Happy reading!

Just My Type by Tara Sivec

Live in the best small town in the world? Check.
Have the greatest job ever working on my family’s pumpkin farm? Check.
Marry the town pharmacist and have a nice, quiet life with our son? Check-check.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you say you were happy? LOLOLOLOL!” ~ Life

Ember Hastings never thought she’d be dragged away from White Timber and everything she loved, thrust in the middle of a big city she hated, or have her husband of nine years say, “I can’t do this anymore,” all within the span of three months, yet here she is.

She misses her family, she misses the farm, and she misses having a backbone and caring whether or not the stain on her shirt is chocolate or sh*t. She works from home doing transcription. Does she really need to shower or leave the house?

Baker Matthews has been bringing everyone down lately with his grouchy attitude. His job is stressful and sometimes depressing, but he wouldn’t change anything about it. When a glitch with the transcription company he’s using mistakenly sends him notes he wasn’t supposed to see, Baker finds himself laughing out loud for the first time in months.

He’s never met a woman who says whatever she’s thinking and doesn’t fawn all over him when she finds out what he does for a living. Until Ember Hastings comes barreling into his life, calling him Sh*t Mouth and asking if he has any balls.

But she wants to keep this professional. She made him pinky swear, and you don’t mess around with pinky swears. Baker will have to get creative if he wants to prove to Ember that he’s just her type.

Read the audiobook review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gNRnq7

Bulldozer by P. Dangelico

What happens when a single mother is forced to live with a grumpy, ailing football star? The smolder turns red hot.
A standalone follow-up to the best-selling, WRECKING BALL.

Amanda Shaw has pulled it together. It’s taken a couple of years, a boatload of hard work, and a ton of self-discipline, but she finally has her problems in a headlock. Her yoga studio in the city has become so successful she’s opening one near the beach, and her relationship with her ten-year-old son is improving every day. The last thing she needs is a monkey wrench thrown into her smoothly running life.

Grant Hendricks is one big monkey wrench. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year, three-time NFL sack leader, and all-around football god has officially hit rock bottom. A devastating back injury means he may have to retire and that scares him more than doctors telling him the next hit could leave him paralyzed. All he needs is a quiet place to think and his teammate’s beach house sounds like just the place. Problem is, the woman already living there.

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/386jv7a

Say It’s Forever by A.L. Jackson

From NYT and USA Today bestselling author A.L. Jackson comes a close proximity, single-parent stand-alone romance about a woman on the run and the man who will do anything to save her…

Jud Lawson found me stranded in the rain.

Broken down on the side of the road in a deserted neighborhood with my piece of crap car.

I wasn’t looking for a hero, and definitely not one who looks like him.

An obscenely hot, mountain-of-a-man who screams danger.

But I have little choice other than climbing onto the back of his bike.

One look at Salem Aguilar, and I’m hooked.

The girl is devastation wrapped in a black, seductive bow.

A knockout.

A dream.

Turns out, she needs a job, and I need the help.

Now I have a vixen strutting around my shop, and I’m the fool who’s itching to reach out and take what he can’t have.

But neither of us can ignore the burning attraction.

The fire that leads to a kiss.

A kiss that has us falling into my bed.

The connection that has me wanting the one thing I’d never thought I could have again.

Because monsters like me don’t deserve love.

Only Salem has a secret, too.

She’s been running for years, and her past just caught up to us…

Read the audiobook review here

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

Attachment Theory by Kayley Loring

An actor, a model, and a younger man walk into a therapist’s office… They’re all Dylan Brodie. It’s only funny if you aren’t the single mom therapist he can’t stop flirting with.

Dear Mr. Brodie,

I hope this email finds you well.
Your well-being and personal growth are of the utmost importance to me, as a therapist.
As such, I have decided it is in your best interest to continue individual therapy with another practitioner.
This is due to the potential for boundaries being crossed between us.
Attached is a list of colleagues I would recommend for you.

Sincerely,
Scarlett Shepard, MS, MFT

Dear Scarlett,

Cool.
Consider our sessions terminated.
Now I can tell you how beautiful you are and how attracted I am to you.
Let’s start crossing boundaries over dinner tonight.
You’ll say it would be unethical, and I’ll point out that we’ve only had a few sessions.
You’ll cite the age difference, and I’ll tell you how hot it is that you’re six years older than me.
You’ll say you’re a mom, and I’ll remind you that I think your son is awesome.
We don’t have to discuss my former attachments to former co-stars ever again.
This is due to the fact that clearly my only personality issue is that I’m irresistible.

Yours in well-being and personal growth,
Dylan Brodie, W.M.H.T.A.T.Y.E.H. (Way More Handsome and Talented Actor Than Your Ex-Husband)

***This is a 74,000 word standalone novel with crossover characters from Funny Business as well as Sleeper and Charmer***

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uBc2Uo

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

The New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners returns with a witty and effervescent novel about what happens when two people with everything on the line are thrown together by science—or is it fate? Perfect for fans of The Rosie Project and One Plus One.

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. After all, her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before her daughter was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers:This Jess understands.

At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98 percent compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Peña. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Peña. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt nother soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get ‘to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could launch GeneticAlly’s valuation sky-high, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

“Laugh-out-loud, sweet, charming, and humorous” (Library Journal, starred review), The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Read the audiobook review here

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

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score

Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon.

Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.

Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3A537gI

Crave Thy Neighbor by Teagan Hunter

Don’t fall for your roommate… especially when it’s only temporary.

Nolan Brooks is off limits.
Sure, he’s insanely attractive and funny and I mighthave almost gone home with him one night to relieve a little stress.
Big deal.

It was all just a momentary lapse in judgment…just like the kiss we shared.

He’s my temporary roommate while I wait for my new apartment to be ready. That’s it.
He’s doesn’t do relationships, and he doesn’t do attachments.

So what if I have a crush on him? We’ll only be there for two months.
Surely I can survive that long.

Read the review here

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

The Hot Mess and the Heartthrob by Pippa Grant

You don’t know me, but you do know me. I’m your neighborhood hot mess single mom, doing my best to keep my head above water while running my little slice of heaven and keeping my youngest from shoving marbles up his nose, which is exactly what he’s doing the first time Levi Wilson, pop star god, world’s sexiest man, and my all-time number one celebrity obsession, walks into my bookstore.

Related: I’m writing this from beyond the grave, because I’ve died of mortification and am now residing in an alternate universe.

I have to be.

Because Levi Wilson came back.

And we had a moment.

Like, a moment moment. The kind that makes me remember that adult pleasure isn’t all about hoping the lock holds in the bathroom so your kids don’t interrupt on the rare occasion you feel like taking an extra-long mommy-time shower.

So when he proposes a no-strings fling?

Count. Me. In.

Thrill of a lifetime, right?

Surely, nothing will go wrong…

The Hot Mess and the Heartthrob is a rockin’ fun, sexy romantic comedy featuring a celebrity panty-melter who doesn’t know what he’s been missing, a sassy single mom hanging on by a string, three adorable children who would never burst in on a woman when she’s on a toilet (ha!), and shameless ovary-busting moments between a guy who never thought he’d be a dad and a family who thought they got along just fine without him. It stands alone and comes complete with a happily-ever-after (though you’d never go wrong to read the other Bro Code series books first).

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hXhn2f

Swing and a Mishap by Tara Sivec

“Hawks fans still in shock after centerfielder, Shepherd Oliver, sustained season-ending injury last night in the 5th inning of the playoffs against Chicago.”

Two years ago, I was a pretty big deal. I thought I had it all, until a blast from my past popped up on my social media feed, keeping my ego in check and reminding me how basic I am. Except sassy Wren Bennett isn’t just a blast from my past. She’s the only woman I ever saw a future with.

Even though my soul leaves my body every time she says she hates baseball and has never watched me play, a year’s-worth of messages filled with laughter and sarcasm only remind me how amazing my “pen pal” is. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how fine I look in a pair of baseball pants; I’m still 3,000 miles away, and she’s taken… or so I thought. Maybe I should have thought a little harder before I dropped her like a seeing-eye single into the outfield.

When an injury has me questioning everything about my life, I can only think of one place I need to go and one person I need to see. Home, to Summersweet Island, to get back my “pen pal.”

Now I just need to make sure single mom Wren knows I didn’t come back for a change, and I didn’t come back for a job. I’m swinging for the fences, and I’m finally coming home to make her mine. If only she’d stop insulting me and stay in one place long enough for me to tell her. She wouldn’t try to drown me with a tub of ice cream, right?

I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/30fLkCK

Surrender by Rachel Van Dyken

I had his posters on my wall when I was sixteen and when I accidentally got pregnant in high school—his was the face I dreamt of when I closed my eyes at night.

Now, over twenty years later, that dream’s turned into a reality.

Not only is Drew Amhurst in my tiny town of Seaside, live and in the flesh…

But he’s mentoring my rockstar son.

Drew says he’s mine for a week.

And he made me three promises.

“No strings attached.”

“No falling in love.”

“It’s only seven days.”

He’s confident that he can help me rediscover myself both in and out of the bedroom, and I’m confident that he’s too arrogant for his own good.

And at the end of seven days, he swears he’ll walk out of my life the way he came into it.

The only problem is, the more I get to know him, the more I want to surrender the last pieces of my heart and beg him to stay.

Read the review here

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

Breaking the Speed Limit by Melanie Moreland

Single, but unsettled, Stefano Borelli, spends his days creating masterpieces loved by his clients. Surrounded by family and friends, his loneliness still plagues him. Until she bursts into his life. A stubborn woman with too much baggage, too much to say, and a child in tow.

Far too much trouble.

Except, he likes her spark. The way she refuses to listen. How beautiful she is with her son. How right she feels in his arms.

The way she makes him feel whole.

Can he convince her to give love a second chance?

Author’s note: Do you love men to whisper sweet words in Italian? Be prepared to swoon for Stefano.

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/36PYjS2

From the Embers by Aly Martinez

Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.

In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember.

The deafening boom as the house exploded.

The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife.

The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.

But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.

Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team.

It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering.

The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life.

I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.

As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again.

Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.

Read the review here

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

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez

A brilliant and touching romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone and The Happy Ever After Playlist. When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn’t expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn’t just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn’t want to take anything for granted. But after her half sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from “daily adventure” to “next-level bad” (now with bonus baby vomit in hair). The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she’d be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua. Now she’s feeling things she’s vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.

Read the review here

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

The Mixtape by Brittainy Cherry

Since the death of his twin brother, Oliver’s caught between pleasing his fans and finding himself. Emery finds him first.

Emery has never felt more alone. Raising her daughter is both her pleasure and her pain as she struggles to hold on to her job as a bartender and keep a roof over their heads. With no one to help them—no support system—any unexpected expense or late bill could turn their whole world upside down.

Reeling from the death of his twin brother and bandmate, rock star Oliver Smith is trying to drink his problems away. Apparently he isn’t very good at it; they follow him wherever he goes. Also in hot pursuit are the paparazzi, who catch Oliver at his lowest low.

He could have walked into any bar in California, but he walked into hers. Emery helps Oliver lose the crowd, and they find themselves alone: two people whose paths are marked with loss and pain. However, they hold an unshakable hope for healing. They find solace together, but can their love withstand the world?

Read the review here

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

The Match by Winter Renshaw

All I wanted was a baby. No daddy? No problem. That’s what anonymous donors are for …

But when the fertility clinic accidentally sends me a letter addressed to a man whose ID matches my paperwork, I discover my child’s father is none other than world-renowned tennis champion Fabian Catalano—famous for his gorgeous face, chiseled abs, and broody, wildcard reputation.

Only everything changes when the clinic calls us in for damage control—and Fabian drops the bombshell of the century. Turns out the intense Adonis wants to get to know his daughter.

So I invite him to stay with us—temporarily.

Ground rules and all.

And our arrangement is simple … until it isn’t.

Between 2 AM confessionals and stolen kisses, my sweet little simple life has taken a very complicated left turn.

But oh, baby … what happens next—is a game changer.

Read the review here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/31x2cVM