The Best Later in Life Romance Novels

After her husband Dan died, Pippa believed that she'd never find love again. She's lonely and wants a companion but doesn't feel ready to get over Dan. Then she opens a notebook written by her late husband and discovers that he has actually provided lots of advice on how to live without him—and fall in love again. 

With detailed instructions on everything from what to wear to how she should act on a first date, Dan has all the bases covered. He even has someone in mind for her—and in Pippa’s opinion, he couldn’t have chosen a less suitable match. So, Pippa embarks on a mission of self-discovery and second love, supported by her three kids and two best friends. But how much advice can Dan provide from beyond the grave, and can she strike it out on her own to find someone else?

Emily and her husband Sandy Portman seemed to live a blissful life in the Upper West Side of New York City, where they resided in the legendary Dakota Building. But one night on the way to meet Emily, Sandy dies in a tragic accident, and days later, she finds out she's on the verge of losing her home. To rub salt on the wound, Emily finds out that her marriage was built on lies. Now, she must find out the truth: about Sandy, her home, and herself. But she won't do it alone. She's got a scruffy dog named Einstein by her side! 

Lacey Lancaster has always longed to be a wife and mother. However, after a painful divorce, she decides it's time to lay low for a while in her beautiful San Francisco home with nobody but her Abyssinian cat, Cleo, for company. Everything would be wonderful, except for her utterly impossible neighbor Jack Walker. 

When he's not arguing day and night with his girlfriend, begging her to move in with him, he's dealing with his amorous cat who has set his sights on Cleo. Well, love bloomed for someone because now her cat is pregnant and Jack's feline, confusingly named Dog, is the father. Then things get even more chaotic: Lacey learns that Jack's "girlfriend" is really his sister and he's actually interested in courting Lacy! Maybe she can allow herself to fall in love again.

Brought together at the start of the London social season, the widowed Lady Georgina and Lord Vane are immediately at odds. She finds him to be irritating with his cooler-than-cool demeanor, while he is put off by her seeming recklessness. Surely they would be a terrible match? He would try to tame her and she would upend his achingly orderly life. 

But soon they are forced together under orders of quarantine. Neither can leave or get away from one another and they're stuck together alone for the foreseeable future. It seems they are destined to be at each other’s throats, but how long before that hate morphs into something else?

James MacManus’s historical novel tells the true story of the forbidden romance between the 34^th President and his one-time chauffeur. In 1942, Kay Summersby’s life is changed forever when she is conscripted to drive General Eisenhower on his fact-finding visit to wartime London. The legendary soldier takes an instant liking to her, and despite his marriage to Mamie, he finds himself drawn to Kay's warmth and intelligence. 

It's against military regulation, and it could destroy both of their careers, and yet Kay and Ike fall into an affair that will take them across the continent amid the wreckage of war. In the battle of love versus duty, there can be only one winner.

Ten years ago, Nyra Vex faked her own death to escape the Department of Dark Errands, the secret police of magical intelligence that operates within the shadows of London. Now, she's enjoying her middle age running a small apothecary along the canals of Little Venice. When a shadowbeast tears its way into her life, she's forced back into the field and paired up with Beck Morran, her former lover who died 10 years ago. 

Now he's alive—reanimated, cursed, and bound to the Department. She shouldn't trust him, but the further they dive into the Department's secrets, the more they become convinced that they can trust nobody but one another.

Beverly is a very proper widow, a pearls-wearing Martha Stewart type who likes order and neatness. The last thing she needs is to be under the same roof as Tom, the crotchety, profane, and heavy smoking father-in-law of her daughter. But they've got to tolerate one another until Thanksgiving. 

Their children are worried they'll end up killing one another. None of them expect to find common ground or a spark of chemistry. But love can strike at any moment.

Nora Ellington has waited far too long for her happy ever after. It feels like she'll never find it after decades of waiting, and her friends-with-benefits situation with a man she's fallen for does not seem like it will end in romance. Jamie Oakley thought he'd found his happy ending twice, but both his marriages ended in tragedy. 

He's not ready to look for number three even if Nora, who has become his constant companion, sets his heart aflame. But then, one night, Jamie loses control and kisses Nora. He can't go through all that pain, but Nora cannot live without him. What happens next?

Anna feels like she has a perfectly normal life until she discovers that Matthew, her husband of 22 years and the father of their three children, is having an affair. After he dies suddenly, her hopes for any kind of closure feel finished. Her confidence totally destroyed, she is tormented by the spectre of Matthew’s unknown lover, all while trying to get on with life as normal and keep the secret from her family. 

A trip to St Pierre, France, could help her sort things out and find her true self once more. Soon, the picturesque town becomes her second home and offers her a new chapter to a life she thought ended with her husband’s passing. Still, she cannot stop thinking about the other woman. Who is she? 

Hailey Genest has seen most of her friends marry and have babies, and she's happy for them, but it was a lot easier before she hit forty and found herself single year after year. She's spent her entire life in Whitford, Maine, and if she hasn't found her Prince Charming by now, she has to accept that she probably never will. When a new friend suggests they go on an adventure and embrace being single, Hailey agrees. 

Their accidental guide for the trip is game warden Matt Barnett, a man of the woods who stumbles upon two women in need and leads them back to safety. Hailey's not the outdoors type, and this rugged wilderness pain-in-the-ass guy isn't usually her type. So, why can't she stop thinking about him? And how can she avoid him when he rents the house next door to hers?

Widowed society matchmaker Mrs. Clara Sommersby has a knack for pairing up others and creating happy-ever-afters. She's less successful in her own life. When she lays eyes on Mr. William Lane, a handsome and self-made businessman, Clara thinks he's just the man for her neighbor’s overlooked daughter. Perhaps he could help bring the girl out of her shell. 

But then he turns his attentions elsewhere—to Clara herself! She thought her days of romance were over, but is this younger man intent on giving her a second chance?

When you think of the quintessential small-town girl, Tara Gumser is what comes to mind. Before she became the romance author of this very book, she fell hard and fast for Tim Barney on her first day of college. But it apparently wasn't meant to be and Tara soon married someone else who didn't make her happy. 

Many years later, an email from Tim Barney suddenly changed everything. The man whose heart she broke had never forgotten her. Now her own life has turned into one of the romances she penned, so of course she had to write it down for the world!

Lauren Delaney seems to have the perfect life. She's got a successful career, a gorgeous home, two beautiful daughters who are heading off to college, and a 24-year marriage to a successful surgeon. But on the inside, Lauren is feeling smothered by her unhappiness. She can no longer pretend to the rest of the world that things are great, not after decades of being controlled and mistreated by her spouse, and so she finds the courage to file for divorce. 

As she starts her new life, she meets a kindred spirit—a man who is also going through a second act after ending his unhappy marriage. But Lauren’s husband wants his “perfect” life back and he'll do anything to get it. Lauren will have to fight for her independence and the live she knows she deserves.

Mrs. Bertrice Martin may be a widow of 73 years young, but she lives her life to the fullest. Her secret: spite. She does whatever she wants and cares nothing for others, least of all her terrible nephew. When she finds out that said nephew is living in the rooming house of Miss Violetta Beauchamps, and won't leave, she hatches a plan to make him suffer. 

Miss Violetta is very proper and shy, and Mrs. Martin is determined to make her smile. Together, they can get revenge on The Terrible Nephew and find a connection that will change both of their lives.

Marine archaeologist Charlotte Bennett is no stranger to risk, having led daring expeditions to sunken wreckages in the deepest parts of the ocean. Still, being the maid of honor in her cousin Samantha's English wedding is a whole other kind of challenge, especially for a dyed-in-the-wool nomad like her. But there's something about the tranquil town of Knights Bridge, Massachusetts, that hooks her, and soon, she's made an offer to house-sit the Red Clover Inn while her cousin is on her honeymoon. 

The quaint inn isn't open to the public yet and Charlotte will have quiet time to plan her next project. But the peace is immediately disrupted when Greg Rawlings turns up. The Diplomatic Security Service agent and single father lives a dangerous life, and he, too, wants to clear his head before his next assignment. Their living arrangement is only temporary, but soon the pair find themselves embracing the scariest thing of all: love.