23 Second-Chance Romance Books That Will Make You Believe in Love

This historical romance from bestselling author Laura Kinsale pairs a tortured hero—a romance reader favorite—with the widowed bride of his relative. Years before they meet in person, Folie exchanged letters with her elderly husband’s cousin, the young and bright Lt. Robert Cambourne. Yet, when Folie’s husband dies, she’s heartbroken to discover that Robert has married. 

Four years later, Folie and her stepdaughter, who is Robert’s ward, are summoned to his English estate…but she discovers he’s a much-changed man. Grappling with demons of his own, Folie hopes to coax him back to the land of the living in this emotional regency romance. 

Everett, Cameron and Aiden were best friends from their earliest years. They did everything together, and every year, they would write a wish on their birthday and put it in their secret hiding place in their beloved treehouse. Things were perfect until Emmett left, convinced he was getting in the way of love between the other two. Five years later, he's returned, and things are very different. Now, Emmett knows he can't let Cameron slip through his fingers a second time, but convincing her he's here to stay will be the hard part.

Second-chance romances aren’t only for fictional characters in novels; sometimes rekindled passion can happen in real life. For USA Today-bestselling author Tara Quinn, it certainly did! In this autobiographical romance novel, the author describes her own experience of the joys and heartache of first love and of a more mature relationship into adulthood.  

She describes how she fell for her college boyfriend, Tim Barney, but eventually ended their relationship because of his fear of commitment at the time. As the years passed, Tara found herself feeling isolated in her loveless marriage and was slowly giving up hope that she would ever find a love like the ones she dreamed about in her novels. That’s when an unexpected email from her past love pops up in her inbox. Now Tara will have to see if she is willing to let go of the past hurt she’s carried throughout the years to potentially make room for a stronger connection.  

This trio of steamy novels by the great Sandra Kitt opens with Serenade, the emotional story of Alexandra and Parker. When she was just a college freshman, aspiring singer Alexandra met composer Parker, and fell — hard. The two shared a passionate romance molded by their mutual love of music, but their young love ended in heartache. Ten years later, Alexandra is a grown woman with a successful singing career. Alex is a lauded jazz musician. When the two meet again, they realize their passion for one another hasn't disappeared in the decade since they broke up. But Alex has a dark secret which she worries could take down her career...and her romantic reunion with Parker. 

Serenade is followed by Sincerely, a romantic thriller with a murder suspect whose looks alone could kill, and Suddenly, an opposites-attract romance between a supermodel and a doctor. 

Five years ago, Raven Williams and Brandon Carstairs were the biggest celebrity couple of the moment. Their faces were on every magazine cover and the paparazzi chased them across the country. Their breakup was covered just as obsessively, but for Raven, it was more than just tabloid drama. She's worked hard to move on and rise up the ranks of her own career, independent of Brandon's influence. 

But now, Brandon is back and he's got the job opportunity of a lifetime for them both. She can't say no, although she has to lay the groundwork to keep things professional. How long will that last? 

One of the earliest books in Heather Graham’s long and successful writing career, Tender Deception is a second-chance romance with a secret baby twist. Florida dinner-theater actress Victoria had a one-night stand with Brant Wicker before he became a star…but she never told him that they conceived a child. When he returns to play the lead opposite her in Othello, she tries to keep their son a secret—and her feelings under wraps—but no one’s that good of an actress. Author Heather Graham herself acted in dinner-theater before writing, which brings authenticity to this enjoyable story.

No matter the time of year, this three-story holiday anthology makes the perfect gift to slip into your own stocking. “Promise for the Holiday” by Donna Hill is a sexy celebration of food and festivities. Restaurateur Mitch Davis has it bad for real estate agent Cara Holiday. The feeling is mutual, but neither can admit they’ve got it bad until they cook up respective elaborate excuses to spend Christmas working for each other. 

In “A Sexy Christmas Carol” by Zuri Day, Carol moves back to Detroit in time for the holidays after an exhausting few years of touring with a celebrated singer. At a holiday party, she makes an unexpected acquaintance, and feels herself torn between her life of adventure and a surprising new romance with a man from home. 

And finally, in “Christmas Surprise” by Cheri Hodge, Lola Yvonne Joseph has a Christmas miracle of her own: she finally gets up the courage to serve her workaholic husband Jonathan with divorce papers. She leaves for Miami to celebrate Christmas with her first few days of singledom. But when Jonathan arrives in town too, Lola realizes that her feelings for the man she married are still there. 

Everyone assumed that Yasmen and Josiah Wade would be together forever, that they had found true love and were an example of the perfect couple to their friends and families. But life had other plans. Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she is finally starting to move on as a single mother, co-parenting respectfully with Josiah and running the business they set up together. 

It seems like things will be alright. But then one stolen kiss leads to another, and another, and soon, the exes are wondering if they can make things right. Is it too late to fix what they broke?

This emotional love story by Mary Kay McComas is absolutely unforgettable. In 1965, Livy Hubbard and Brian Carowack strike up an unlikely childhood friendship on the playground. Livy lives a sheltered life within a wealthy family; Brian comes from an unhappy home and hasn’t had the same advantages as his new friend. Still, the two remain close throughout childhood and their teenage years, and keep in touch even after their adult lives take them on very different paths. Then, three decades after their first fateful meeting, chance brings Livy and Brian together again — and gives the friends a chance to acknowledge what their connection really means to them both. Necessary Changes is a heartwarming friends-to-lovers romance that’s the epitome of slow burn.

Stone McNair is a born-and-bred Texan cowboy turned CEO. He's set to inherit his family's vast empire, but before he can claim it, he most prove to his dying grandmother that there's a heart underneath his ice-cold exterior. His trial? Finding homes for his grandmother's rescue dogs. It's up to Johanna Fletcher to find out if he's up for the challenge. That's easier said than done, given that she's his ex-fiancé! 

The first in Katherine Ashes’ Devil’s Duke series, The Rogue is a second chance romance with plenty of sexy skulduggery. Lady Constance Read has never felt she needed a man — until now. Constance is on a mission, and requires a husband in order to gain access to a secret Scottish society and perpetrate an act of vengeance. Unfortunately, the only interested party is Evan Saint-André Sterling, the rich, angsty duke who shattered her heart six years ago. Constance still remembers the pain of their parting — but she’s a woman on a mission, and if she needs to trade some kisses with her former suitor in order to get the job done, then so be it. 

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious future as a paediatrics resident who's engaged to an older man who can financially provide for her. She's happy to have put security above risky, but when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos, things quickly change. Elliot is the first and only love of her life. Years before, they were best friends but she cut him off on the very night he declared his love for her. 

Now, as adults, they're strangers to one another, forever defined by the scars they left behind. Overcoming the past will be the biggest challenge of Macy's life.

At the age of 42, Brooklyn Monroe has achieved all of her career dreams, but now her biological clock is ticking and she wants to start a family. With no man in her life, she’s prepared to fly solo, but then the entire world finds out about it after a mailing list mishap goes horribly viral. The only way to sort it out is with a soul-baring interview on national TV. 

The guy interviewing her? Her ex, talk-show host Alec Trakas. She dumped Alec in favor of her career, and now he wonders if they have a chance to do things over. Unfortunately, the whole world wants to know how Brooklyn's hunt for a baby daddy ends!

The first book in the Marriage to a Billionaire trilogy, The Marriage Bargain is fun and sexy—full of sexual tension that will make you weak in the knees. Plus, its heroine is a bookstore owner! Alexa has already had her heart broken once by Nicholas, her best friend’s brother. But when she needs to keep her family home, she agrees to marry him so he can lock down an inheritance. But soon enough, real feelings grow in the soil of their fake marriage. Pairing the second-chance romance and fake relationship tropes together, this book is sure to keep you entertained!

Second chances rarely get as emotional or as raw as Take This Regret. Five years ago, Christian was so ambitious to become an attorney that he left Elizabeth and their unborn child. Now he’s back, with a tower of regrets and an eagerness to prove to Elizabeth and his daughter that he wants to be a part of their lives. Understandably, Elizabeth won’t be letting him into their hearts so easily… 

This is a great one to read with a friend, as you discuss what you would do in Elizabeth’s shoes.

Winner of the 2010 RITA Award for Best Historical Romance, Not Quite a Husband is a must-read for Sherry Thomas fans. Bryony and Leo were married, briefly, until Leo decided he couldn’t stay married to a woman who became a doctor. Now, three years after their marriage was dissolved, Leo finds Bryony at a clinic in India and escorts her back to England per her sister’s request. But on the journey back, they discover that passion still burns between them…and they might not be able to contain it. Set partly in India, the story is not only fantastic, it’s also beautifully written.

Second-chance romance gets a dose of suspense in this story. Alexander Colton and February Owens were high school sweethearts whose relationship was wrecked by tragedy. Twenty years later, well after February left town, she returns to help out at the family bar. Colt and Feb find that their feels are still very much there, and when people close to Feb start turning up murdered, Colt does everything to protect her—even if it means getting dangerously close to putting both their hearts on the line. If you like this one, there are five other emotional and thrilling books in The ‘Burg series.

Lisa Kleypas tackles an upstairs/downstairs romance in this start to her Wallflowers series. Despite society’s expectations, Lady Aline falls for stable boy John McKenna—and begin a secret affair. But once they’re found out, Aline rejects McKenna to save him from her father—though McKenna thinks it’s because she doesn’t want him. He goes on to gain wealth in New York City, only to return to seek vengeance on Aline—with plans to seduce and then reject her. But the passion—and love—between them makes him rethink his plans. Kleypas adds an additional love story in this one between John’s partner and Aline’s sister, so there’s even more romance in store. 

Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer. Shane Hall is a reclusive and critically adored literary author. When the pair meet at a literary events, the sparks fly. But what their friends don't know is that, 20 years prior, teenage Eva and Shane spent one wild week together in the throes of unbeatable and tempestuous passion. Now, over another hot summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, wondering how much of that impactful week remains in their lives, and hoping that each can answer some questions they've held onto for two decades.

The third book in Higgins’ popular Blue Heron series, Waiting on You reunites tavern owner Colleen O’Rourke with her first—and only—love, Lucas Campbell. Lucas broke Colleen’s heart a decade ago, but now he’s suddenly back in town. If you’ve been wanting to dip your toe into some of Kristan Higgins’ witty and well-developed romance, this is a great book—and series—to start with.

Set in the south, The Sweet Gum Tree follows two childhood friends: Alix, born into a wealthy family, and Nick, a poor boy with a troubled home life. The two form a fast friendship that turns into love as they grow older, but ends abruptly when tragedy strikes and Nick skips town—leaving Alix pregnant. Their second chance comes around when Nick shows up fifteen later, desperate to find is way back into Alix’s heart amidst the secrets and betrayal.

Clara Fernsby is a die-hard history buff who has spent her whole life preparing to become a professor. Her commitment paid off with a well-paid position at a private liberal arts college, and she's now up for tenure. But then Theodore Harrison turns up to teach there as a visiting scholar. 

They haven't spoken in over ten years, when they broke up over Clara's commitment to work over love. Things have changed so much, but the more time the now-colleagues spend together, the more Clara realises how much she misses Teddy. 

Can history really repeat itself?

No second-chance romance list is complete without Austen’s Persuasion, which is one of her best. Despite the tenderness of their young love, sweet Anne Elliot was swayed by a well-meaning friend to reject the hand of Frederick Wentworth based on his class. Wentworth goes on to become a respected naval captain, while Anne regrets her youthful decision. Despite her refusal, you’ll root so hard for the kind-hearted Anne throughout this slim volume as she wonders and dares to hope that Captain Wentworth might still have feelings for her when he returns. Wentworth’s letter to Anne at the end of this story is worth the price of admission alone.