Romantic Comedy
Last updated: May 03, 2026
Romantic comedy books are bound to lift your spirits and keep you entertained. “Romantic comedies need to get right in there straight away and touch your heart—you need to feel the humour, the fun, the pain” Celia Anderson talking about the best romantic comedy: the 2021 Romantic Novelists' Association shortlist.
Here is our collection of romantic comedies, recommended by people who read a lot of them:
Grown Ups
by Marian Keyes
Yet another absorbing family drama from the bestselling author of Rachel's Holiday and Anybody Out There. Three husbands and their wives have been bumping happily along—but a bout truth-telling at a family gathering brings a sudden end to peace. This doorstopper of a novel was hailed on publication in 2020 as one of Keyes' best: she brings, raved The Guardian, "an almost Austenesque insight" into modern society. "A mature piece of work by an accomplished writer who knows how to make serious issues relatable – and get a few grownup laughs, too."
The Break
by Marian Keyes
When does a break become a break-up? When Amy's husband jets off to southeast Asia without her, she's left to puzzle over what remains of her relationship. But if Hugh's taking a hiatus from their marriage, maybe she can too—and find herself again, along the way. This uplifting 2017 novel displays Marian Keyes at her snappy, sardonic best. Perfect for binge-reading at the beach.
The Woman Who Stole My Life
by Marian Keyes
Irish beautician Stella is busy living a normal life, until a car crash sets off a cascade of unfortunate events and she finds herself confined to a hospital bed, trapped in a badly misbehaving body. Intriguingly structured—flashing back and forth in time—Keyes' well-received 2014 novel offers insight into the experience of a rare disease, and the glare of publicity that followed Stella's recovery.
The Brightest Star in the Sky
by Marian Keyes
One of Marian Keyes' stranger books. In The Brightest Star in the Sky, a mysterious spirit watches over the residents of 66 Star Street, a block of flats in Dublin, as they live out their complicated, interconnected lives. Expect an ensemble cast, supernatural elements, and enough drama and intrigue to pack out a 600-plus page novel.
This Charming Man
by Marian Keyes
Suave Irish politician Paddy de Courcey is getting married. Which is news to Lola, who thought she was his girlfriend. And to Grace, a dogged reporter dead-set on uncovering the truth about him, after he ruined her sister's life. This 2008 novel is one of Keyes' most hard-hitting, dealing with alcoholism and domestic violence—but her gift for affectionate mocking lifts what might otherwise be devastating subject matter. Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us meets Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary.
The Other Side of the Story
by Marian Keyes
Keyes brings her trademark wit and sly humour to this 2004 romantic comedy set in the publishing industry, in which an ambitious literary agent finds two of her best clients at war over a stolen boyfriend. Not one of Keyes' best—a lightweight read whose three-stranded plot feels only loosely intertwined, but entertaining neverthless. This back-list title will suit fans who've worked their way through her better-known novels and just can't get enough.
Sushi for Beginners
by Marian Keyes
A bit of comfort reading from the mega-bestselling Irish novelist Marian Keyes. Three smart women—Lisa, Ashling and Clodagh—wrestle with their personal and professional ambitions in this lightweight but nevertheless entertaining novel set around the offices of a women's magazine in Dublin. Think The Devil Wears Prada in an Irish accent: frothy, feel-good fun.
Last Chance Saloon
by Marian Keyes
Three Irish friends—Tara, Katherine and Fintan—have been living it up in London for years, and it's just beginning to occur to them that they might need to get serious about settling down. But when ill health suddenly rears its ugly head, they are all forced to reckon with what's truly important to them all. Marian Keyes' charming fourth novel found a wide audience on first publication in 1999.
Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
by Marian Keyes
In this early Marian Keyes standalone novel we meet Lucy: living out her fun but chaotic twenties in London. When a fortune teller forecasts her imminent nuptials, Lucy brushes it off—but then all the other predictions start coming true. Who is this mysterious husband? And what if Lucy is perfectly happy living a single life with her best friends for flatmates? A major hit on first publication in 1996.
Mammy Walsh's A-Z of the Walsh Family
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family: bonus e-book
A mini-book of bonus material for fans of Marian Keyes' Walsh family novels, written in the voice of Mammy Walsh. "Boys wreck your house and girls wreck your head," she writes. "And God knows it's the truest thing I've heard in a long time." A short but sweet pick-me-up if you find yourself with an hour or two to kill and a cosy spot to read in.
Angels
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #3
Sane, sensible Maggie Walsh has lived what she thinks of as a "blameless life"—but that all changes when she discovers her reliable husband Garv has been cheating on her. She drops everything and heads to Los Angeles and her best friend Emily, where she launches headlong into a life of parties and script-writing. Maybe there's more to Maggie than "plain yoghurt at room temperature"? Marian Keyes' Angels (2002) is an entertaining send-up of Hollywood production culture and an affectionate and relatable domestic drama.
Anybody Out There
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #4
A real tear-jerker. In the fourth book in the extremely popular series about the Walsh sisters, we accompany Anna through her biggest crisis yet. I won't spoil the plot for you, but keep a box of tissues handy. Of all the Walsh girls, Anna is perhaps the sister who changes the most between the beginning of the series and the end—and it is this book that captures the key moment in her evolution.
The Mystery of Mercy Close
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #5
Helen, the youngest of Marian Keyes' beloved Walsh sisters, finally gets her own novel. After a rocky start with employment she's finally found the career for her: as a private investigator. But business is slow. When she takes on a strange new case—the search for a missing pop star—she begins to understand the appeal of disappearing off the face of the earth. A darkly humorous story that explores depression and self-sabotage.
My Favourite Mistake
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #7
High flying PR executive Anna Walsh—fourth of the six Walsh sisters—returns to her native Ireland after abandoning her life and boyfriend in New York City. But her new job running the publicity for a high-end coastal retreat proves less straight-forward than she expected, and then she has the perimenopause to contend with. If you haven't read any Marian Keyes before, this might not be the right place to start; Anna has her first starring role in Keyes' Anybody Out There (2006) which offers important background.
Watermelon
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #1
Marian Keyes' 1995 debut Watermelon introduced the irrepressible Walsh sisters to the world—and launched Keyes' 35-million-copy-selling career. In Watermelon, we meet Claire just as her whole world falls apart: the day she gives birth to her first child, her husband announces that he's leaving her, and she's left to pick up the pieces alone. Or, not quite alone. At home in Dublin, her flawed but funny family pull together to help her—but only Claire can repair her own shattered self-esteem.
“You Deserve Each Other is a fun twist on the trope because the characters are already engaged but want to call off the engagement. It’s a game of chicken to make the other call it off first. The novel weaves in another trope of second chances, which provides a beautiful ending and a fresh start for the romantic leads.” Read more...
The Best Enemies-to-Lovers Books
Lauren Ford, Novelist
Consider Yourself Kissed
by Jessica Stanley
Australian Coralie arrives in London feeling lost but everything falls into place when she meets Adam with whom she falls in love after rescuing his daughter from an accident. Ten years on, however, Coralie feels lost again, even though she has everything she thought she wanted. Set against the background of Brexit and COVID, this romantic comedy is fresh and funny.
“Since I work at Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon, I would be a fool if I didn’t mention Kiss Her Once for Me which takes place during the Christmas holidays, and all starts with a meet-cute in the famous bookstore. There’s so lovely about seeing a place where you work become a main character in a romantic comedy.” Read more...
“I loved reading about Delilah and Claire, watching their relationship develop over Delilah’s estranged stepsister’s wedding weekend. I laughed, I cried—yes, real tears—and I swooned. While this is a gorgeous queer romance, it also brings up a lot of family issues and I think that Herring did it in a great way.” Read more...
“It made me realize how I often don’t see romance novels about women in their forties, especially Black women in their forties. It also made me realize how nice it was to see two people of color fall in love too (he love interest, Michael, is Koren American) since you usually only see a person of color falling for someone who is white. Maybe it’s because they’re older, but these two knew how to communicate and had really great boundaries that they held.” Read more...
Book Lovers
by Emily Henry
The highly anticipated new romantic comedy from the author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. When two ambitious publishing executives meet while summering in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, they are forced to reconsider the well-worn narratives they tell about themselves. Casey McQuiston called it “Schitt’s Creek for book nerds.”
“Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth is the ultimate Gen-X romance, as it centres on two college best friends who, after losing touch for more than twenty years, run into one another and have a single night of passion that ends badly in the morning.” Read more...
The Best Romance Books of 2021
Natasha Tomic, Journalist
“Adams crafts a fabulous cast of characters who embody what it means to have one’s back, especially when they think they don’t need it.” Read more...
The Best Romance Books of 2020
Frannie Cassano, Librarian
“The romance part of the story is delightful and funny and Wilson really does allow you to suspend your disbelief. While I love the Miss Congeniality and The Parent Trap combination, there are also all these little nods to Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice.“ Read more...
The Best Romance Books: 2019 Summer Reads
Frannie Cassano, Librarian
Bridget Jones's Diary
by Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones's Diary, the book, was based on Helen Fielding's column in the Independent. It was published in 1996 and became a worldwide bestseller. It is very, very loosely modelled on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, with the plot focusing on the modern equivalent: a 30-something singleton working in London who hopes to fall in love and find a husband. It is both very funny and yet captures the loneliness of 20th-century life.
Saved By Cake
by Marian Keyes
The Irish novelist commingles memoir and baking advice in this disarmingly honest cookbook, which relates her struggles with depression and the solace she has found in the kitchen. "Medically speaking, there is no such thing as a nervous breakdown," she writes. "Which is very annoying to discover when you're right in the middle of one... I had to find ways of passing the time until I was restored to myself again. So I baked a cake—a chocolate cheesecake, as it happens. And I enjoyed making it so much that I baked another. And another."
Further Under the Duvet
by Marian Keyes
The third volume of Marian Keyes' journalistic writing (after the hit collections Under the Duvet and Cracks in my Foundations, later republished as a single volume). Heartfelt and hilarious stories that will make you feel like you've popped over to Marian's for tea, biscuits, and a bit of a gossip.
Making It Up As I Go Along
by Marian Keyes
Another hilarious collection of essays from the bestselling novelist (and now memoirist), first published in 2016. As The Sunday Times declared, "Keyes manages to verbalize the most mundane of universal experiences and somehow make them funny." A book to dip in and out of.
Under the Duvet
by Marian Keyes
This collection of Marian Keyes' journalistic writing brings the first two volumes of her bestselling essays on shopping, friendship and family, featuring her long-suffering husband Himself and other Keyesian characters from the writer's (real) extended universe. Observational humour and personal reflections that will make you nostalgic for the early 2000s, when much of the content was first published in the Irish Tatler.
Again, Rachel
by Marian Keyes
Walsh family novel #6
25 years after the publication of her million copy-selling rehab novel Rachel's Holiday, Marian Keyes revisits one of her best known fictional creations Rachel Walsh. Now sober, sensible, and holding down a successful job as an addiction counsellor, Rachel's steady world is rocked again by the reappearance of an old flame. With lashings of Keyes' trademark wit and snappy dialogue, Again, Rachel is a superlative romantic comedy that will break your heart. Comfort reading of the highest order.
The audiobook version is read by the author and features an exclusive Q&A with Irish talkshow host Graham Norton.
“Jenny is a very popular author and you can see why when you read this latest festive treat. It’s very atmospheric and gives you that lovely, chilly feeling whether you want to wrap yourself in a blanket and drink hot chocolate. That’s really appealing to lots of people” Read more...
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist
Celia Anderson, Novelist
“Think the cosiest Christmas scenes ever, delicious food, nostalgia, unusual characters and just general feelgood magic! Set in a department store and bursting with sparkle. Lovely!” Read more...
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist
Celia Anderson, Novelist
“The crisp, wintery atmosphere in this book sparkles and shines all the way through and the relationships between the characters involve plenty of secrets to keep the reader intrigued. Again, the setting is very important. I love Stratford, and Kiley’s story takes you right into the theatre scene. She really knows her stuff when it comes to Shakespeare and his home town; a very talented writer.” Read more...
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist
Celia Anderson, Novelist
“It’s absolutely brilliant. There’s an older protagonist and a much younger one—grandmother and granddaughter—and they swap lives for a little while. One part is set in a village, and it takes you there immediately, and the other part is set in London—so it’s a complete comparison of settings and age group. There are so many issues in there—grief, loss, friendship, new relationships and the traumas of old relationships. It’s extremely well written.” Read more...
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist
Celia Anderson, Novelist
“All of Trisha’s books hit the spot. She’s got a fan base that spans generations. She takes us somewhere else—and I think a garden is the place we all like to be in the summertime, especially one in the process of developing into an even better place. Also, it’s great to read about someone bravely making a new start. This is a well-loved theme but Trisha always puts a fresh spin on her stories.” Read more...
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist
Celia Anderson, Novelist
Sunny Days and Sea Breezes
by Carole Matthews
Winner of the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award, 2021
“This book is set on the Isle of Wight, and the characters and her descriptions of the different places are as warm and vibrant as ever. I think, especially in these times when we’ve all been starved of holidays by the seaside, Carole has given us some much-needed escapism and hope for future adventures of our own.” Read more...
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist
Celia Anderson, Novelist
“This book had me right from the moment the protagonist, Rachel, opines that she can’t be an addict: ‘Surely drug addicts were thinner?’ She thinks rehab will be glamorous and filled with celebrities – instead it’s hard work. Addiction is a gritty subject, but the story of Rachel’s progress is told with such humour and reality that you devour the pages – and there are a lot of them.” Read more...
Sophie Kinsella, Novelist
Marian Keyes’ Books, In Order
A new TV adaptation of Marian Keyes’ beloved book series about the Walsh family has brought a fresh flush of readers to the Irish author’s warm and funny domestic novels. We put together a list of Keyes’ full back catalogue to assist those searching for a new-to-them book to sink into the sofa with.
The Best Romantic Comedy Books: The 2021 Romantic Novelists’ Association Shortlist, recommended by Celia Anderson
There’s nothing more comforting than a good rom com: they promise warmth, cosiness and a glimpse of another lifestyle, whether that be stringing up fairy lights in a traditional department store or setting up home on a remote island. Here, Celia Anderson of the Romantic Novelists’ Association talks us through their 2021 shortlist of the best romantic comedy books.
