10 Lovely Romance Books Where He Falls First

You can’t talk about this trope without getting into arguably the most iconic and important romance novel ever created. Lizzie Bennet is an independent woman in a family of women whose mother is eager to ensure they all make suitable marriage matches. 

The last person she wants to be alone with is Mr. Darcy, who seems to have decided to dislike her from their very first meeting. Of course, we all know what comes next...

Margaret Hale and her family have moved to the north of England to avoid the scandalous fallout of her father leaving the clergy. In Milton, an industrial town where the gap between rich and poor is vast, Margaret is exposed to the suffering of the local mill workers. The majority struggle under the employ of John Thornton, the fierce mill owner with whom Margaret clashes. 

As she fights for the betterment of the people of Milton, she finds herself exposed to an unexpected side of Thornton and soon sees her loyalties torn between duty and love.

For Frankie Cole, life is all about work. She's too focused on her career as a garden designer to care about love. After witnessing the fallout of her parents' divorce, she's allergic to the prospect of romance. 

The only man she feels comfortable around is Matt Walker, her best friend. For her, it's platonic. But Matt has been in love with Frankie for years. Can he persuade her to trust him and give love a chance for the first time in her life?

It's Maddy's wedding day, and she's waiting for her future husband at the altar. Rob is the love of her life, and right next to him is Ben, his best friend, the best man, and someone who has always loved Maddy. 

But he loves his friends too much to let his own feelings get in the way. What would happen if he turned round and told Maddy she was making a mistake? Maddy, Ben, and Rob thought their bond was unbreakable. Love, however, changes everything.

Olive Smith is a serious scientist and PhD candidate who has no time for love. Unfortunately for her, her friend Anh is a classic romantic and wants to set her up with someone. Olive panics and claims she's already seeing someone, which leads her to kiss the first man she sees: Adam Carlsen. 

He's a hotshot professor and the king-slash-tyrant of the lab at Stanford. Typically, he's a thorn in Olive's side. Now, he's her fake boyfriend. Just think of it as an experiment, Olive tells herself. She can deal with cold, hard data. Love? Not so much.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. They're dedicated mortal enemies who have no issue with letting the world know about their fiery animosity. It makes for an awkward workplace, as the pair sit across from one another in the offices of a publishing company where they are both executive assistants to the two CEOs. 

There's a promotion up for grabs, and both Lucy and Joshua want it. Now, it's war. How can the tension get even worse for the nemeses? Well, what if that hate is really something else?

Marlowe Thompson is a calculus nerd. It's not the most interesting of subjects to anyone who isn't her, so she's not exactly the life of the party. So, it's a surprise when Josh, her moody classmate and the school's golden boy, asks her out. It was a bigger surprise when he dumped her for someone more "romantic." But Marlowe has never failed at anything in her life, and she isn’t about to start now. 

When she’s paired with Ashton Hayes for an English project, she discovers that the class goth has a stack of beautiful love songs to his name. Perhaps he can help her become more romantic for Josh. Ash is hesitant to help Marlowe reunite with her ex, but maybe she can help his band go viral. Soon, though, he wants more from Marlowe than someone who doesn't like her for who she is

Liz Buxbaum has been in love with Michael for most of her life, but her forever crush moved away before he ever really paid attention to her. Now, he's back in town, and Liz is determined to do whatever it takes to get on his radar, even if it involves befriending Wes Bennet. 

Wes is her next-door neighbor and a perennial pain in her backside, but he's also become friends with Michael and can offer Liz an in with his future attention. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael in time for prom season, Wes worries that he might lose Liz in the process. Can the next-door neighbor capture the heroine’s affections?

Serafina is a princess on a mission. An arranged marriage to the man she's loved since childhood doesn't bother her, but when her prince shows up with an American girlfriend instead of an engagement ring, everything changes. She has to find a new groom as soon as possible, because if she doesn't marry by the end of Summer, she will lose all rights to her kingdom. 

What she needs is a duke. Rafe de Silva is devilishly charming and also hates Serafina's former fiancé, so he's all in on causing a ruckus. She doesn't expect this rogue to melt her Ice Princess persona or risk losing her heart before they reach the altar.

Vanessa Mazur didn't plan on being the assistant, housekeeper, and general miracle worker for Aiden Graves, the infamous footballer, for her entire life. It was always a temporary gig, but one step forward for her big future plans. 

The last thing she expected was for Aiden, the defensive end known to sports fans as the Wall of Winnipeg, to turn up on her doorstep and beg for her to come back. But he doesn't want her to fold the sheets: he wants her to marry him so he can procure American citizenship. His feelings run far deeper than practical, though, when it comes to Vanessa.