Predicting 2024's biggest romance book trends

While romance books never get the credit they deserve, there are always so many coming out and exciting new authors to look forward to. That's why I knew I had to predict some upcoming romance trends for 2024.

Every year, I've looked back at the trends from previous years and honestly, it's a lot of fun so why not take that knowledge elsewhere? Rather than focus on the previous year though, I'm going to try to predict what's up ahead on the horizon.

Of course, we do know some of the romance books being published in 2024 and that will help inform some of my predictions. However, there are still plenty of great books coming out that haven't been announced yet.

Either way, this is a fun one to both talk about some books I'm excited about and hopefully, get a few of my predictions right.

Which romance trends will dominate in 2024?

There is one trend I think we'll see skyrocket in 2024 and that's celebrity romances. Maybe it's due to the Eras Tour or it's just the fact that a lot of celebrities are dating each other. Either way, I do feel like this trend has the potential to be bigger than ever. This also goes hand-in-hand with romances featuring musicians which is, of course, the Taylor Swift effect but honestly, not something I'm mad about.

Looking at a few lists, I do think that sports romance is going to continue to dominate the romance world. In particular, I feel like we're going to get some out-of-the-box sports such as golf (Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey,) football (Simply the Best by Susan Elizabeth Phillips,) and lastly, tons more hockey romances.

Moving onto some tropes, I do feel like we'll continue to see some second-chance romances as that's such a beloved trope. However, I do think we'll be seeing more opposites-attract stories too because I can think of a ton off the top of my head. Some of these romances are Hedging Your Bets by Jayne Denker, Bride by Ali Hazelwood, When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein, Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan and You're the Problem, It's You by Emma R. Alban.

Last but not least, I'm sure the fantasy romance trend will continue into 2024 and get even bigger as no doubt publishers are still looking to catch up to Fourth Wing. In particular, we'll be getting new books from Scarlett St. Clair, Laura Thalassa, Sarah Hawley, Sangu Mandanna and Kate Golden. All in all, I don't see this trend going away anytime soon.

Honestly, 2024 is a great time to be a romance reader and there are SO many great books coming out. Of course, I'd love to know some trends you think will rule this year and if there are any books I missed.