While commenting on some of my favorite book blogs these past few weeks, I found this challenge from Love, Sawyer. The Romance Reading Challenge was created by Love, Sawyer and pitched so:

Wouldn’t it be amazing to meet a new and exciting book-boyfriend each and every week for an entire year? That’s what this challenge gives you.

Personally, I know I likely will not achieve this challenge in a year’s time frame – but the way I’ve been reading lately, it is possible. I do not plan to read this list of 50 books in order, but I will read them all over the next year, give or take six to 12 months, I imagine.

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Here is the original list, with the books I have chosen to read for each prompt assigned next to it. I’ll come back and link with my reviews once they are posted. I really recommend checking out the original post by Love, Sawyer, the creator of this challenge, to gain more insight.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on and/or purchase from some links, I make a portion of the sale. This helps keep Bitch Bookshelf running.

50 Romance Novel Reading Challenge

Week 1: A Classic Romance Novel: Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

Week 2: A Rock Star Romance: The Duet by R. S. Grey

Week 3: Mistaken Identity: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Kerrigan Byrne

Week 4: Celebrity Romance: Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre

Week 5: Secret Baby: Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas

These books are free with Kindle Unlimited.

Week 6: Secret Romance: Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

Week 7: Single Father: For The Love Of English by A.M. Hargrove

Week 8: Romantic Comedy: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Week 9: Super Steamy: Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day

Week 10: First Love: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This book is free with Kindle Unlimited.

Week 11: Millionaire/Billionaire: Bared to You by Sylvia Day

Week 12: Military Romance: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Week 13: Historical Romance: Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig

Week 14: Romantic Suspense The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz

Week 15: Motorcycle Club: It Ain’t Me, Babe by Tillie Cole

These books are free with Audible Escape.

 

Week 16: Friends to Lovers: Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

Week 17: Second Chance: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Week 18: MM Romance: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Week 19: FF Romance: Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

Week 20: Sports Romance: Pucked by Helen Hunting

These books are free with Kindle Unlimited.

Week 21: Age Gap: Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas

Week 22: Transgender: Hopeless Romantic by Francis Gideon

Week 23: Physical Disability: Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

Week 24: Mental Illness: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Week 25: Office Romance: Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid

These books are free with Audible Escape.

Week 26: Royalty: The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

Week 27: Olympics: From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

Week 28: Enemies to Lovers: A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

Week 29: One Night to Forever: The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Week 30: On the Road: A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

These books are free with Kindle Unlimited.

Week 31: Sex Worker: Ravishing Ruby by Lavinia Kent

Week 32: Dark/Taboo Romance: The Dark Lady by Maire Claremont

Week 33: Paranormal Romance: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Week 34: Sweet Romance: Promises and Primroses by Josi S. Kilpack

Week 35: Baseball Romance: Bring on the Heat by Katie Rose

These books are free with Audible Escape.

Week 36: Small Town: Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid

Week 37: Cowboy: Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

Week 38: New Adult Romance: The Chase by Elle Kennedy

Week 39: Young Adult Romance: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdien

Week 40: Opposites Attract: Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

These books are free with Kindle Unlimited.

Week 41: Fake Romance: Fallen by Celeste Bradley

Week 42: Menage: American Queen by Sierra Simone

Week 43: Neurodivergent Character: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Week 44: Hockey: The Deal by Elle Kennedy

Week 45: Football: The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan

These books are free with Audible Escape.

Week 46: Holiday Romance: Once Upon a Winter’s Eve by Tessa Dare

Week 47: Fighter: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Week 48: Law Enforcement: Something About You by Julie James

Week 49: Alpha Male: Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean

Week 50: Older Couple: Delicious by Sherry Thomas

These books are free with Kindle Unlimited.

Are you going to participate in this challenge? Comment here (and on the original post) with your choices or link to your post. You do not need to choose them all up front like I did.

How I Discovered My Choices

People mock romance novels for being so tropey, but that’s why romance readers love them. It’s easy for us to find books we know we will enjoy simply by identifying the themes, characters, setting, etc.

If I didn’t have a book on my TBR list already in mind, as I did with a few of these, I Googled the prompt with the word “romance novel” next to it. Within some of those, I added on other keywords. For instance, I love historical romance, so if it was a trope that could take place during any time period (like “Secret Baby”) I searched for “secret baby historical romance”. I found a number of helpful lists on various book blogs, Goodreads, and Amazon. I also used Novelist. Novelist is a database that requires paid access. Check out your library’s database page to see if they give access to this website. It’s great for finding your next read, because it lists book by genre and genres within genres.

I will note that I am not 100% sure if all of these qualify as romances. Some might be more of a drama or mystery with a strong romantic subplot. However, I felt they all seemed romance-y enough to qualify for this challenge.

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Happy reading!