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Romance/Erotica

25 of the Best Kindle Unlimited Romance Books in 2021 You Can Read Right Now

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Tracy Shapley Towley

Staff Writer

Tracy is a freelance copywriter, all-around ne’er do well, very-adult graduate of the University of Iowa, and occasional waterer of plants. Her hobbies include writing fiction, reading fiction, mixing together various flavors of soup, and typing letters to her friends on an old red typewriter that doesn't have a working period so all sentences must end in questions marks or exclamation points? She has read every Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and has a lot of thoughts on them. Her old Iowa farmhouse is shared by her husband Sean, a pair of cats, a pair of dogs, and the ghost of Kurt Vonnegut.

I’ve told you about the Best Kindle Unlimited Books of 2019, the Best Kindle Unlimited Books of 2020, and 20 of the Best Kindle Unlimited Books for Kids. I’ve told you how to Find Free Kindle Books, and outlined the differences between Kindle Unlimited and Audible. Another Rioter has answer questions about How Kindle Unlimited Works. Today? The best Kindle Unlimited romance books in 2021.

Note: while many of these are capital-R romances that fit the genre’s conventions, many are better described as love stories, where romance is a heavy part of the story but doesn’t necessarily wrap up with a HEA or a happy for now.

Descriptions are from Amazon.

The Marriage Code: A Novel by Brooke Burroughs

In Brooke Burroughs’s endearing debut novel set in vibrant India, enemies turned allies encounter obstacles in an unexpected multicultural romance only to discover that in the end, love is love.

Emma has always lived her life according to a plan. But after turning down her boyfriend’s proposal, everything starts to crumble. In an effort to save the one thing she cares about—her job—she must recruit her colleague, Rishi, to be on her development team…only she may or may not have received the position he was promised. (She did.)

Rishi cannot believe that he got passed over for promotion. To make matters worse, not only does his job require him to return home to Bangalore with his nemesis, Emma, but his parents now expect him to choose a bride and get married. So, when Emma makes him an offer—join her team, and she’ll write an algorithm to find him the perfect bride—he reluctantly accepts.

Neither of them expect her marriage code to work so well—or to fall for one another—which leads Emma and Rishi to wonder if leaving fate up to formulas is really an equation for lasting love.

The Paper Magician (The Paper Magician Series, Book 1) by Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

From the imaginative mind of debut author Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician is an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers of all ages.

You Had Me At Hello: The bestselling, most uplifting romantic comedy you’ll read this new year by Mhairi McFarlane

Rachel and Ben. Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart. It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away.

They’d been partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on: Ben is married. Rachel is not. Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.

The Empress: A Novel by Laura Martínez-Belli, Translated by Simon Bruni

It’s 1863. Napoleon III has installed a foreign monarch in Mexico to squash the current regime. Maximilian von Habsburg of Austria accepts the emperor’s crown. But it is his wife, the brilliant and ambitious Princess Charlotte, who throws herself passionately into the role. Known to the people as Empress Carlota, she rules deftly from behind the scenes while her husband contents himself with philandering and decorating the palace.

But Carlota bears a guilty secret. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she’s thrown herself into a reckless affair. Desire has blinded Carlota to its consequences, for it has left her vulnerable to her sole trusted confidante. Carlota’s devious lady-in-waiting has political beliefs of her own—and they are strong enough to cause her to betray the empress and join a plot to depose her from the throne. As Carlota grows increasingly, maddeningly defenseless, both her own fate and that of the empire are at stake.

A sweeping historical novel of forbidden love, dangerous secrets, courtly intrigue, and treachery, The Empress passionately reimagines the tragic romance and ill-fated reign of the most unforgettable royal couple of nineteenth-century Europe during the last throes of the Second Empire.

Stuck On You by Portia MacIntosh

Sadie doesn’t have time for finding love. She’s too busy as PA for famous artist Damian Banks. When she’s not arranging exhibitions, she’s organising his dry cleaning or dumping his never-ending stream of girlfriends.

But when she strikes up an unusual friendship with her desk share buddy, she finds a confidante and a new potential love interest. Problem is, they’ve never actually met…

With Christmas just around the corner, can Sadie put herself first for a change and find what she’s been looking for all along?

The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster

Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they? Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised? His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense? His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?

Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave.

But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with. Winged, beautifully deadly problems. For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe. In theory.

Hands Down by Mariana Zapata

Before he was “Big Texas,” he was “Zac the Snack Pack.”

Bianca Brannen knows time—mostly—heals all wounds. Including those your once loved ones might have unintentionally given you. (Those just take longer.)

She thinks she’s ready when a call has her walking back into her old friend’s life. Or at least as prepared as possible to see the starting quarterback in the National Football Organization. Before the lights, the fans, and the millions, he’d been a skinny kid with a heart of gold. Waltzing out of Zac Travis’s life should be easy. Just as easy as he walked out of hers.

The V Girl: A coming of age story by Mya Robarts

In post-apocalyptic North America two emerging nations are at war and sexual slavery is legal. Lila Velez desperately wants to lose her virginity before the troops visit her town and take it away by force. She makes plans to seduce her only friend. Lila does not love him, but he is the only man who has shown her true affection, an affection she is willing to take as a substitute for love.

Lila hides a secret that will bring her closer to Aleksey Fürst, a foreign, broody man who she distrusts because of his links to the troops and his rough, yet irresistible appearance. He offers Lila an alternative to her plans, a possibility that terrifies her…and tempts her in spite of herself.

With threats looming at every turn and no way to escape, Lila fears that falling in love will only lead to more heartache. The consequences of laying down her arms for Aleksey and welcoming hope might destroy more than her heart. They might force her to face the worst of her nightmares becoming a reality. Is love possible in a world that has forgotten what the human touch is?

Falling for You by Té Russ

Harrison Briggs has no idea just how his life is about to change when a beautiful stranger falls into his arms while he’s strolling through his late grandfather’s apple orchard.

Red Winter: The Complete Trilogy by Annette Marie

If Emi is sure of anything, it’s that kami—the gods—are good, and yokai—the earth spirits—are evil. But when she saves the life of a fox shapeshifter, the truths of her world start to crumble. And the treachery of the gods runs deep.

Red Winter: The Complete Trilogy includes three breathtaking novels that follow Emi as she grows from an uncertain shrine maiden to a divine warrior who must choose whether to bow to duty or fight for her life.

The trilogy also features 30 full-page illustrations by award-winning artist Brittany Jackson.

Sinners’ Playground: A Dark Gang Romance by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Dead girls don’t feel pain. But they like the taste of vengeance. Maybe that’s why I came back to my hometown. Because it sure as hell wasn’t for the surf. But what else was I supposed to do when I found myself in Sunset Cove with twenty bucks to my name, the key to my enemies’ secrets hanging around my neck and a mouth full of grave dirt that wouldn’t wash clean?

I hate the Harlequin boys. But this is the perfect opportunity to take what they owe me. Because once upon a time, they broke my heart, stole my life and sent me away from everything I’d ever known. Fox, JJ, Chase and Maverick. The four names tattooed onto my heart more permanently than any of the ink on my skin. They don’t just live in this town anymore, they rule it. And the view here may be beautiful, but the sun, sea and sand hide dark secrets.

The gangs. The lies. The violence. It all lurks beneath a veil so thin that once you’ve seen through it, you can never close your eyes to the truth again. But I don’t plan on closing my eyes. I have four devils set in my sights. And this dead girl no longer has anything to lose. This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties. Trigger warning: this series features gangs, violence, dark romance and jealous/possessive themes.

Black Light: Valentine Roulette by Livia Grant, Jennifer Bene, et al

Get ready to explore some of your naughtiest desires while you celebrate Valentine’s Day with eight kinky stories from eight USA Today and international bestselling authors! Black Light is the most exclusive BDSM club in Washington, D.C. and for one night they’re changing the rules of play to entertain their members with a game of chance – Valentine Roulette. Challenge and adventure awaits as these sexy dominants spin to win their submissives, and the subs spin to choose how they will play. Their prize if they last the night? One free month at Black Light, and for some of our daring participants… even a chance at love.

Reclaimed by Jaymin Eve

“They all made a terrible mistake. One they will pay for.

For the past ten years I’ve been a victim. A victim to my pack. A victim to my true mate, who rejected me in the most brutal of ways. And a victim to Shadow Beast, who used me for his own gains.

Or did he?

The beast of mystery never reveals his whole hand, but one thing is for sure… in my time with him, I’ve changed. Now I will no longer walk the path dictated by the powerful men in my life. Never again will I let my strength be taken from me.

I must evolve or die.

And we all know, with a choice like that, there’s really only one answer.

Enemy Zone: Enemies-to-Lovers by Alex Lidell

I know all about guys like Cullen Hunt. Gorgeous. Wealthy. Powerful. I just fled New York to escape one. But when I reach Colorado, it’s either take a job at Cullen’s Trident Rescue or become homeless.

And Cullen? He’s worse than I thought. Controlling. Demanding. Jerk. A grenade always teetering on the edge. He’s also hot as sin and makes my toes curl. I hate that I dream about him. Kissing me, holding me. He has dreams as well. Nightmares that only I can tame. I know all about guys like Cullen Hunt. I’m smart enough to stay away. Aren’t I?

Wicked Ugly Bad by Cassandra Gannon

Once Upon a Time…

Scarlett Riding is NOT an ugly stepsister. Cinderella is the evil one in the family and Letty is determined to prove it. Unfortunately, that’s kinda hard to do from behind bars. After the debacle at the ball, Letty and her sister Dru were dragged off to the Wicked, Ugly and Bad Mental Health Treatment Center and Maximum Security Prison. While Cindy’s planning her dream wedding, her two stepsisters are being forced to endure life in the dreariest dungeon in the land.

Luckily, Letty has a plan to change that unhappy ending. If she can just get to Prince Charming and prove the glass slipper doesn’t fit Cinderella’s foot, she can reclaim her life. In order to do that, though, she needs to convince The Big Bad Wolf to lend a hand in organizing a jailbreak.

Marrok Wolf isn’t sure what to make of the idealistic redhead in his group therapy sessions. With fifty counts of Badness on his criminal record, Marrok’s used to being surrounded by crooks and scumbags. Scarlett wants to lecture him about equal rights for trolls! When the little do-gooder comes up with an elaborate plan to break their entire “share circle” out of prison, though, Marrok is certainly willing to go along with the plot. And not just because he wants to see her naked. The woman may not be wicked, ugly, or Bad, but she’s definitely the only one who can save him.

Together with a wicked witch, a timid bridge ogre, an evil prince, and other villains straight out of a storybook, Scarlett and Marrok are about to make sure that Baddies finally have a happily ever after.

The Kingdom’s Crown by Kathryn Moon

The path to power never did run smooth…

Princess Bryony and her Chosen have been challenged, threatened, and attacked, but it’s news from the capital that lands the hardest blow.

Bryony’s greatest ally is at risk, and if she loses her grandmother’s support she may lose the crown as well. Returning to the capital introduces new enemies and dangers, as well as painful memories. Her grandmother is dying, her sister is feasting on flesh and wasting magic in the shadows, and the Queen is hiding from the ugly truths of Kimmery.

With her patience at its end and her Chosen gathered close, it’s time for Bryony to break the grip the council has on the kingdom, forge new alliances, and learn the depth of her own magic.

The kingdom’s crown will be hers, even if claiming it comes with painful sacrifice.

The Unlikeable Demon Hunter Collection by Deborah Wilde

When Nava half-drunkenly interrupts her twin brother’s induction ceremony into a secret supernatural society, she expects to be chastised. What she doesn’t expect is to take his place among the previously all-male demon hunters, with a surly but smoking hot ex-rock star appointed to keep her in line.

She’s thrown into a world of vengeful demons, witches, and the Brotherhood’s antiquated thinking, but the scariest part?

Nava is faced with something she never wanted: a purpose.

However, if she can rise to the challenge, who knows? She might even teach these boys a thing or two about how to slay a monster…

Odds of survival: meh.

Odds of a good time before she bites it: much better.

Earth and Embers by Steffanie Holmes

Dear Fae,

Don’t even THINK about attacking my castle. This science geek witch and her four magic-wielding men are about to get medieval on your ass.

I’m Maeve Crawford. For years I’ve had my future mathematically calculated down to the last detail; Leave my podunk Arizona town, graduate MIT, get into the space program, be the first woman on Mars, get a cat (not necessarily in this order).

Then fairies killed my parents and shot the whole plan to hell. Now, I’ve inherited a real, honest-to-goodness English castle – complete with turrets, ramparts, and four gorgeous male tenants, who I’m totally not in love with. Not at all.

It would be crazy to fall for four guys at once, even though they’re totally gorgeous and amazing and wonderful and kind. But not as crazy as finding out I’m a witch. A week ago, I didn’t even believe magic existed, and now I’m up to my ears in spells and prophetic dreams and messages from the dead.

It turns out the five of us wield powerful magic that can banish the fae forever. They intend to stop us by killing us all. I can’t science my way out of this mess. Forget NASA, it’s going to take all my smarts just to survive Briarwood Castle.

Famine by Laura Thalassa

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

Ana da Silva always assumed she’d die young, she just never expected it to be at the hands of Famine, the haunting immortal who once spared her life so many years ago. But if the horseman remembers her at all, he must not care, for when she comes face to face with him for the second time in her life, she’s stabbed and left for dead.

Only, she doesn’t quite die.

If there’s one thing Famine is good at, it’s cruelty. And how these blighted bastards deserve it. Try as he might, he can’t forget what they once did to him. But when Ana, a ghost from his past, corners him and promises pain for what he so recently did to her, she and her empty threats captivate him, and he decides to keep her around.

In spite of themselves, Ana and Famine are drawn to each other. But at the end of the day, the two are enemies. Nothing changes that. Not one kind act, not two. And definitely not a few steamy nights. But enemies or reluctant lovers, if they don’t stop themselves soon, heaven will.

Lilac: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance by B.B. Reid

I, Braxton Fawn, am the luckiest girl alive. Or so the world keeps telling me. Every so often, gods walk the earth. This time they came as musicians. When Bound loses its lead guitarist, yours truly is chosen to fill his shoes. From dive bars to the big stage, my instant claim to fame is nothing short of a fairytale. The only problem?

My new bandmates. Jaded, gorgeous, and ridiculously talented—they’re determined to turn my dream into a nightmare. It’s no secret I wasn’t their first choice. I wasn’t even their last. The label wants a new image, Bound wants me gone, but I’ve got my own agenda. To succeed I have to survive a world tour, public scrutiny, and idols turned enemies. But the biggest threat of all isn’t a meticulous front man, a narcissistic bassist, and a drummer with too many secrets.

It’s me. Somehow, I must resist the temptation of Houston Morrow, Loren James, and Jericho Noble. It seemed easy enough when I boarded their tour bus, but it only took one city for the lines we’d drawn to blur. Only ninety-nine more to go.

Broken Kingdom: A bad boy college romance by A. Jade

They say you’re happy now. That you can’t remember anything from your past and it’s for the best. They told me if I cared about you I’d stay far away and leave you alone for good. Because you’re getting married to a man you love.

Only problem is…you loved me first.

Prince Gigolo: A Royalty Romantic Suspense by Skylar Sweeney

For ten years I’ve played sidekick to a real, live princess. Now she’s getting hitched, I’m turning thirty, and I haven’t even punched my v-card yet! So when I meet the most gorgeous man ever, I decide to spend my birthday making sweet love. And she lives happily ever after.

Yeah, right.

My “prince” is hiding a few secrets, like the fact that my brother paid him to give me a night of pleasure. Oh yeah, and he’s also the long lost brother of Her Royal Highness. And an assassin.

Now the princess won’t stop until the two of us are wed, and she doesn’t care that my Prince Charming by day is Prince Gigolo by night. My brain says this can’t happen, but my lady parts? That’s a whole ‘nother fairy tale.

Can somebody please bring the frogs back already?

Care For Me by Bria Felicien

Kenn is on a mission to get hired. It’s her number one goal and primary focus as she finishes business school. But after her dream job slips from her hands, she’s thrown into a tailspin and vows to do whatever it takes to prove she’s worthy of being hired. Nothing can distract her. Not even her attractive, quiet, new and temporary coworker Derrick, who she sort of, possibly, maybe has a crush on.

Derrick wants to do his job, mind his business and try to forget all the ways he’s been betrayed in the last five years. But he’s thrown off when his cute, new, and short-term coworker comes in, piquing his interest and forcing him to deal with the reasons he doesn’t plan on dating anyone anytime soon.

What starts as a rocky office friendship eventually turns into genuine companionship and before they know it, Kenn and Derrick’s relationship grows into something neither one of them realized was possible. Can they overcome their fears and pasts to form a healthy relationship? Or should their friendship end when the job does?

Temple: Forbidden M/M Romance: A Freelancers Novella by Avril Ashton

There’s no guilt like knowing you’re the reason your best friend is dead…except maybe the guilt of falling for his fiancé.

Temple ran from Hadley Cove two years ago, chased by remorse and Vik’s harsh words of blame. He’s back, expecting more hostility from his dead best friend’s fiancé. Instead, he finds commiseration, apologies, and reciprocated attraction.

Somewhere between grief and loss lies hope and healing, but can what’s blossoming between them be real? Does Temple want it to be?

A Nothing Special New Year by AE Via, Jay Aheer, and Sandra Dee

Officer Ellis Mason has worked as a beat cop on the streets of Atlanta for over eight years, and he knows what it takes to survive them. But when Lieutenant Godfrey and his infamous narcotics task force issue a dire warning about a lethal drug that’s coming to the city, Mason finds himself fighting a war he’s not trained for, with God pushing him beyond his limits.

God’s long, dark blond hair fell around them like a blackout curtain as he glowered down at Mason. “I’m gonna need you to be fuckin’ sharper than that,” he said gravely. “If I’d been a real threat in your house, you’d be dead and buried in your backyard by now.”

Mason and his partner are both on high alert, but the moment he stops the tall, handsome drifter who wandered into town—with the saddest brown eyes he’s ever seen—Mason knows he doesn’t belong.

Jesse Holstrom is lost and possibly in trouble, but Mason’s instincts tell him that it isn’t the drug-dealing kind. Every night that Mason patrols by and sees Jesse huddled on a park bench, cold and alone, it pulls at his heart a little more. Mason doesn’t know how the young man ended up homeless and lost in his neighborhood, but when Jesse ends up on God’s radar, Mason knows he doesn’t have long to find out.

Mason promised himself he wouldn’t let a good thing slip through his fingers again… not this year.

Which of the Best Kindle Unlimited Romance Books in 2021 Are You Looking Forward To?

These are just a few of the best Kindle Unlimited romance books in 2021. There are many coming out this year to anticipate as well. What are you keeping your eyes on?