The Best Grumpy x Sunshine Romance Books You Need to Read (2026)

Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organisation from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they are partnered against their will to cover a historic snowstorm, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together.

Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal: if he can help her ace this assignment, she will help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With unexplored chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship. But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm?

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, one bed, cosy contemporary

Aspiring musician Pippa Hartley has sworn off heartbreak, but her new job as a personal assistant is about to test that resolve. Her boss is none other than Jamie Streicher, the surly, intimidatingly attractive hockey player she has crushed on since high school. The only problem? He is incredibly demanding, perpetually grouchy, and does not seem to have a single memory of who she is.

As they spend more time together, the cracks in Jamie’s stony exterior begin to show. Beneath the surliness lies a man who is surprisingly protective and unexpectedly sweet. When he discovers her past romantic disappointments, his competitive nature kicks in, leading to a tension that is anything but professional.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, sports romance, hockey, forced proximity, fake dating

Running from her past and living under a stolen name, the last thing she expected was to find herself stranded with a man like Enzo Vitale, a man as mysterious as the ocean he loves, drawn not to its beauty but to the predators lurking beneath. She did not realise she was just another thing to be lured in, caught in his trap as he sought revenge for something she barely understood.

Now a violent storm has left them stranded inside a crumbling lighthouse, where danger feels closer than ever. He hates her almost as much as he wants her, but he might not be the worst threat on this island.

Spice Level: Very Spicy | Tropes: Dark romance, grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers, thriller

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he has fallen out of love with love. As the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that is a bit of a problem. When a young girl calls in asking for dating advice for her mum, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and the show into the spotlight, and bringing Lucie Stone’s quiet, well-ordered life under scrutiny she never invited.

When sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make a choice between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the handsome, temperamental man in the headphones beside her.

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, single mum, contemporary, cosy romance

Rhett Eaton is a man who lives for the thrill of bull riding, causing trouble, and operating entirely on his own terms. When a viral outburst puts his career in jeopardy, his team brings in Summer Hamilton, a polished and no-nonsense PR representative who has zero interest in the rodeo circuit.

Forced to spend the entire season together, the two clash as Rhett’s rule-breaking nature meets Summer’s rigid professionalism. Somewhere between the dust of the arena and the quiet moments in between, the animosity between the uptight publicist and the rebellious cowboy begins to blur into something neither of them saw coming.

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, small town, cowboy romance, fake relationship, contemporary

He never thought he was attracted to men, not until he collided with Nikolai Sokolov. A mafia heir with a brutal reputation, a man known for his violence and the darkness that follows him, Nikolai is the last person he should be anywhere near.

But one wrong-place, wrong-time encounter is all it takes for Nikolai to notice him, and once he does, there is no turning back. Being wanted by someone like Nikolai is not just dangerous, it is something far more consuming than he ever expected.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Dark romance, MM romance, grumpy x sunshine, college romance, secret relationship

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than Willa Grant, and he barely looks her way, even though she is living in his house for the summer. That is, until she gets him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare.

Gruff, a little rough around the edges, but broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands are this city girl’s kryptonite. But it is in their quietest moments together that he softens, and it is when she watches him go all sweet with his little boy that she starts to fall for him, whatever the consequences.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, western romance, small town, age gap, contemporary

The first time they met, it was not a spark, it was an explosion of pure hate. As the heirs to two of the most notorious mafia dynasties in the world, they were never meant to be allies. Forced into a setting that stripped away their titles, they found themselves with nothing but each other.

In the quiet moments between the chaos, a forbidden heat ignited that neither could extinguish. In their world, two men standing together is not just a scandal, it is a death sentence. But some lines, once crossed, cannot be uncrossed.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Dark romance, grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers, mafia, MM romance

Piper Bellinger is a fashionable, high-society influencer whose reputation finally catches up with her after an out-of-control party lands her in jail. Exiled to a gritty fishing town to run her late father’s dive bar, she immediately clashes with Brendan, a gruff sea captain who is convinced the Beverly Hills socialite will not last a week.

Despite their polar-opposite lifestyles, an undeniable attraction begins to simmer, and Piper has to choose between the cold, glamorous life she left behind and the warm, unexpected place that has captured her heart.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, small town romance, summer romance, contemporary

Being a waitress was never meant to be forever. Then Killian Smith walked into her life and changed everything. It is not just that he is rich, powerful, or dangerously attractive, it is the darkness she recognises lurking beneath the surface, a darkness that seems to recognise her right back.

When she witnesses something she was never meant to see, the only man capable of keeping her safe is also the man who terrifies her most. And his protection will not come without a price.

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Dark romance, grumpy x sunshine, mafia, stalker romance, obsessive MMC

Ruthless, meticulous, and arrogant, billionaire CEO Dante Russo thrives on control, personally and professionally. He never planned to marry, until the threat of blackmail forces him into an engagement with Vivian Lau, jewellery heiress and daughter of his newest enemy.

The wife he never wanted, and the weakness he never saw coming. There is only one problem: now that he has her, he cannot bring himself to let her go.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, arranged marriage, billionaire MMC, contemporary

Theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway leads a double life, by day, an overworked adjunct professor, and by night, a professional fake girlfriend. Using her expert people-pleasing skills, she transforms into whatever personality her clients desire, a system that works perfectly until her world collides with Jack Smith.

He is the cold-hearted experimentalist who ruined her mentor’s career and now stands as the final obstacle between Elsie and her dream job at MIT. Yet somehow, for the first time, she does not feel the need to pretend to be anyone else.

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, STEM romance, rivals to lovers, fake dating, funny

Hope Hanson has fictional characters where most people have friends. Shy, sweet, and quietly surviving a home life that has become dangerous since her father’s return. Heath Travon has almost everything, intelligence, wealth, and the undivided attention of every girl at school, but all he wants is to be left alone, still grieving a devastating loss.

By accident they collide in the hallway. He sees the bruises she desperately hides. She sees the pain behind his icy exterior. Both are determined to help each other, even when the world around them seems designed to pull them apart.

Spice Level: Clean | Tropes: Young adult, grumpy x sunshine, high school setting, bad boy x good girl, emotional

Rue Siebert’s world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought, until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all down. Eli Killgore wants Kline, her company, and he is a man who gets what he wants.

With one burning exception: Rue. Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, the two throw caution out of the lab and the boardroom windows. Their secret affair has a built-in deadline. But the heart is risky business, and it plays for keeps.

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, enemies with benefits

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and she cannot stop thinking about him. He has made it clear he wants her gone from his life, but then they end up stuck together for over a week in a romantic Sicilian villa for her brother’s destination wedding.

On the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins and natural caves, Maya begins to suspect that Conor might be hiding something. And she decides that a summer fling might be exactly what she needs, even a problematic one.

Spice Level: Warm | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, age gap, brother’s best friend, summer romance, cosy

Theo Silva is rowdy, persistent, and impossible to freeze out. Winter Hamilton knows exactly what it means when he looks at her the way he does, and she has sworn off men entirely after her toxic marriage.

But no matter how hard she tries, he melts her icy exterior and pulls apart all her defences. What was meant to be one night, a secret, is about to become something impossible to keep hidden.

Spice Level: Spicy | Tropes: Grumpy x sunshine, small town, western romance, single mum, surprise pregnancy