Best Contemporary Romance Novels

Summer with the Marine by Ellie Hall

He’s a marine figuring out how to be a dad. She’s out of work and moves in with her mom. A surprise reunion brings the old friends together. Will a dare turn them into something more?

Eisley Higgins is laid off and needs a fresh start. Her mother offers her the loft space at her new beach cottage. The last thing she wants to do is move to a retirement community in coastal Florida. She gets a job at a local restaurant and her coworkers insist she follow through with the new-employee ritual to go on a date with her first customer. She’s shocked when it turns out to be her childhood best friend.

Ford Armstrong spent over ten years in the military serving his country. During that time, he married, but the relationship and his hope for a family quickly fizzled. After what felt like a failure, he fully turned his focus to the Marine Corps, but then received two life-changing pieces of news. While figuring out his future, he runs into the girl from his past. Only, the first thing out of her mouth is the last thing he expects to hear.

Over a decade of friendship. Then over a decade apart. Can they overcome their hardships, get past secrets, and come together to create a future?

A note from the author on writing in the romance genre:

“I love writing period and have written in numerous genres, but what I adore about writing sweet romance are the firsts—the beginning of big, positive changes in the lives of the characters. It’s so much fun as a writer to explore what a character’s reaction and response is to the crush she has on a guy, or their first kiss, and then carrying the thread through the story’s beginning to their happily ever after. Bringing the feelings of love and hope, the ability to overcome and find happiness, to the page brings me so much joy.”

Ellie Hall