Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at GCU chapter.

I am the kind of reader who prefers her books spice-free. This means I do not prefer to read books with any open intimate scenes. If you also love reading romance without the spice, you are in luck! These are my top three swoon-worthy romances. They are also some of my favorite books I have ever read – all 5-star reads for me!

When In Rome by Sara Adams

This book is so cute and totally worth the hype. The book follows Amelia Rose, a famous pop star who gets stuck in the middle of nowhere town Rome, Kentucky. She meets Noah Walker, the owner of the local pie shop. This is a grumpy-sunshine dynamic that is so cute and funny. The side characters are very intricate and the setting is so homey and cozy. Amelia and Noah’s relationship is so cute and the banter will have you laughing along. The romance is swoony and the kisses are sweet and passionate. 

Practice Makes Perfect by Sara Adams

This book is the definition of swoony. Seriously, I was smiling so much while reading this book. This is also the sequel to When in Rome! The story follows one of the side characters, Annie Walker, who is Noah’s sister. She is the town’s flower shop owner and is very sweet and innocent. She meets Amelia’s bodyguard, Will Griffin, who is more adventurous and edgy. The main trope is sweet girl and edgy boy but it is written very well. Not only are they falling for each other, but Will helps bring Annie outside of her shell which is the sweetest thing to read. 

For the physicality, it is so swoony. For people who may be uncomfortable with it, the book is a closed-door romance, meaning that you will read about some passionate kisses leading up to *that* scene, but you will not read about it. For me personally, I think it was very well written and you get some swoony dialogue and kisses, but nothing explicit. 

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass

If someone were to ask me to pick my favorite book I’ve ever read, I would pick this one. This book is perfect for someone who loves fantasy without the magical elements, and action and adventure. The best part is the tropes are enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, forced proximity for a while, AND forced marriage (does it get better than that?!). This book has a bit of everything and I love it. This is a duel POV following Princess Annika and Lennox the knight. Annika is from one kingdom and Lennox is from the enemy kingdom. Despite their differences and rivalry, they fall for each other and have the sweetest romance. Not to mention there are side characters (and side romances!) that keep you on your toes. The book is around 500 pages, and it is a page-turner. A common critique I heard of this book is that the romance does bud very fast. While that is kind of true, I think it does work for this story. Overall, I loved this book so much. I laughed, cried, swooned. It is just so beautiful!

I hope these will be good additions to your “to-be-read” list! I couldn’t give you too many suggestions since I’m sure most TBR lists are very long already! Happy reading! 

Megan has been creative and loved telling stories ever since she was little. When she discovered that writing was her passion, she decided to pursue a degree in Professional Writing for New Media at GCU. Besides writing, Megan enjoys reading, musical theatre, singing, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.