There is no doubt that Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros was the most talked about book release in January 2025. It was everywhere in Facebook groups for both romance and fantasy fans. It meant that a lot of great romance reads went overlooked.
There is still time in January to read some of the released romance books. Plus, we’re heading into the most romantic month of the year, so you’ll want to keep reading some of the releases. Here are three romance books you completely overlooked from the month of January.
Better Than Revenge by Kasie West
Okay, technically, this book was published on New Year’s Eve. It’s so close to the start of the new month (and year) that it gets included in January releases. Better Than Revenge by Kasie West is a must for YA romance fans. It brings modern-day elements to the enemies-turned-lovers trope.
Finley is a 17-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a famous podcaster. When her school podcast team is opening up to pitches, she needs to come up with the perfect one, but she’s left confused and hurt when her boyfriend, Jensen, decides to pitch as well.
Why would he do that? Rather than figuring that out, she decides to get revenge on him, and there’s a great way to do that through the football team that Jensen is on. What happens when she starts to connect with Jensen’s teammate, Theo?
Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Lisse
How about the third book in The Wilmot Sisters series? There are chances that you completely overlooked this one with so many other releases this month. This one follows Juliet Wilmot, who has sworn off love after once being a hopeless romantic.
Of course, things take a turn when she is given the chance to revisit a romance with shy Will Orsino. She keeps running into him, and it seems like the universe is sending her a sign. However, Will isn’t looking for love because he knows that the happily-ever-ending isn’t something for him. He has to marry for the sake of the family business, though.
With neither of them looking for love, Jules and Will decide that they can practice romance. We all know what this type of trope leads to, but there’s a lot of fun in reading it.
Phantom by H.D. Carlton
Are you looking for something darker? How about historical romance that has trigger warnings and layers? H.D. Carlton is one of the best authors in this genre, and you’ll be mad that you missed the latest one.
Released at the start of the month, Phantom takes us back to Adelaide’s grandmother and her stalker. Gigi tells us the story of how she fell for her stalker. He was terrifying but hypnotizing. She had to learn more about him.
Of course, this stalker is someone dark and dangerous. He’s a criminal an da mobster. He will haunt Gigi for years to come, and he is the reason we all love toxic men!