Small Town Romance
Charming, cozy, and full of secrets. But there’s no hiding here—let go and let love bloom.
Small Town Romance
🔥🔥
Read-&-Rated Favorites (⭐ 3.5+)
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Ache for You by J.T. Geissinger
⭐ 4.25
MEDIUM, HEA
“This dumb bitch doesn't deserve Matteo. The hot and cold with her feelings! WALK AWAY MATTEO. SAVE YOURSELF.” - Penelope Black
“Penelope is wrong. This was the perfect amount of indecision. She found out he’s her stepbrother. That deserves some waffling.” - Cardigan B
Step-Sibling Crush, Death of Parent, Italian MMC, Cute Dog, Fashion Industry, Coming Out, Meet-Cute, MC is a Jilted Bride/Groom, Aristocrats, Forgiveness Arc, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn
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Love Me Today by A.L. Jackson
⭐ 4.25
HOT, HEA
“She's a free spirit horse girl, he's a black cloud with a murderer stalker. Cute kid seems too articulate.” - Cardigan B
Murder Mystery, Blended Family, Loss of Sibling (Death), Past Coming Back to Haunt Them, MC has a Tragic Past, Story Told in Past and Present
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Older by Jennifer Hartmann
⭐ 4.25
MEDIUM, HEA
“I’m not usually super emotional but this had me feeling the the feels. While parts made me feel uncomfortable with the age gap and her daddy issues, I felt like Jennifer Hartmann wrote the MCs with such care.” - Penelope Black
Age Gap, Under 18 FMC, 30+ MMC/FMC, High School, Abusive Parent(s), Progresses Over Years, Best Friend's Dad, Tattoos, Cute Dog(s), Forbidden Love Interest, Forgiveness Arc, Hidden Relationship, Hot Dad, Taboo Relationship, Tortured MMC, Martial Arts
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Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score
⭐ 4.25
MEDIUM, HEA
“This book exposed why I don't ever go back to my hometown - too many memories and too many people that remember my insurmountable awkward phase.” - Cardigan B
Second Chance, Return to Hometown, Opposites Attract, Fake Relationship, High School Reunion, Workplace Romance, MMC/FMC has a Cute Dog, Teacher, Socially Awkward FMC
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Beyond the Thistles by Samantha Young
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“The audio version narrator's voice. WOW. Cute small town story, but kind of crazy with all the stuff that happened to FMC.” - Penelope Black
Grumpy/Sunshine, MC is a Single Parent, Age 20+ FMC, Age Gap Romance, Bodyguard, Forced Proximity, Tortured MMC, Opposites Attract, Slow Burn
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Cake by J. Bengtsson
⭐ 4.0
MILD, HEA
Singer/Musician, Mental Health, Rich/Wealthy MMC, Introvert, "Male, Female Relationship (MF)", Friends to Lovers, Meet-Cute, "Mysterious, Brooding (MMC)", MC has a Secret Past, Past Coming Back to Haunt Them, Survival, Celebrity/Ordinary Person, Slow Burn, Witty Banter, Healing Together, Touch Aversion, Personal Growth Journey, Rockstar, Reclusive MC, Music Industry
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Crossroads by Devney Perry
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“Surprisingly emotional. Great story, quick read. Under 300 pages.” - Cardigan B
Second Chance, Separated/Divorcing/Divorced, Loss of Parent (Death), Story Told in Past and Present, Cowboy/Rancher
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Don't Call Me Daddy by Jere Anthony
⭐ 4.0
HOT, HEA
“I was so surprised at how great this was. She was kind of a mess, but it worked for her.” - Cardigan B
Age Gap - Older MMC / Younger FMC, Loss of Sibling, Found Family, Witty Banter, Dom/Sub, Slow Burn, Kink Shame, Twins, Bucket List
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Fight (Book 1) by Sloane St. James
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“The angst in this one was just the right amount. Their chemistry was...fire. :) Banging in an ambulance sounds taxing.” - Cardigan B
Firefighter, Paramedic, Only One Bed, Forced Proximity, Down on Her Luck FMC, Hidden Past, FMC does not want children, Reformed Playboy, Witty Banter, Short FMC/Tall MMC, Overcoming Past Trauma, Loss of Friend(s), PTSD, Second Chance, Breakup Due to Misunderstanding, Escaping a Cult/Sect, Dirty Talker
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Protect (Book 2) by Paisley Hope
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“I think this one would have received 4 stars just from the damn cover art.” - Penelope Black
Possessive MMC, Touch her and die, Dirty Talker, Firefighter, Second Chance, FMC is a Single Mom, Brother's Best Friend, MMC is A Golden Retriever, Story Told in Past and Present
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Honor (Book 3) by Danielle Baker
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“My favorite in the series. He pined after his best friend’s sister for years. Crushes are fun, but they never come true. They do in this one, but years later.” - Penelope Black
FMC is a Single Mom, Brother's Best Friend, Age Gap Romance, Forced Proximity, Neighbors, Loss of Spouse/Partner (Death), MMC Falls First, Curvier FMC, Found Family, Firefighter
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Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score
⭐ 4.0
MEDIUM, HEA
“Aw, this is sweet. She's starting over in this small town, he's a well-known mainstay who just wants to be left alone. He's got some past relationship demons that keep him from welcoming Harper into his life.” - Cardigan B
MCs are Fake Dating, Overcoming past breakups, Grumpy/Sunshine, Only One Bed, Slow Burn
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Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan
⭐ 3.75
MEDIUM, HEA
“This was such a sweet story. I loved how Bree was drawn to Archer and didn't care what anyone else said about him or what it looked like. Docked him a .25 star for being a dick at the end.” - Cardigan B
Age 20+ FMC, Age 35+ MMC, Age Gap Romance, FMC & MMC Enter Into A Contract, Only One Bed, FMC has Overprotective Brother/Male Relatives, Best Friend's Sister, Marriage of Convenience, Witty Banter
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The Highland Fling by Meghan Quinn
⭐ 3.75
MEDIUM, HEA
“I was LOLing. This was so fun. The scene by the well was perfect. ‘Don't drink my blood, it's American. You'll think it's too sour.’” - Cardigan B
Scotland, Scottish FMC, Lumberjack Vibes, Small Town , Enemies to Lovers, Witty Banter, Slow Burn, Grumpy/Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Age Gap Romance, Opposites Attract, Fish out of Water, Found Family, On a Journey, Culture Clash
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Swallow Your Pride by Sarah Blue
⭐ 3.75
HOT, HEA
“Deep emotional shit that some gets resolved, some doesn't. A very adult relationship between Aiden and Jessa was refreshing. The sex club in a small town was unexpected. Zach's a douche.” - Cardigan B
Age 20+ FMC, Age 40+ FMC, Age Gap Romance, Daddy/Dom & Brat, Sex Club, Ex Pro-Athlete, Boss/Employee
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Hitting the Wall by Cate C. Wells
⭐ 3.75
MEDIUM, HEA
“I liked this one more than I thought I would. For once, the FMC did not actually run and instead "GASP" she had a discussion with the MMC. Granted, she was caught in the process of running away, so there's that...” - Penelope Black
Secret Baby, Family Saga, Second Chance, Small Town Return, Age Gap Romance, Single Mom, Slow Burn, Men in Uniform, Redemption, One Night Stand, Forced Proximity
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The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
⭐ 3.75
MEDIUM, HEA
“She has inherited a coffee shop from her aunt - perfect timing since recently finding her boss dead at his desk. He's a local boy just trying to blend in after the failed proposal to his ex girlfriend a year earlier. Together they conquer their commitment fears and give in. And it gets pumpkin spicy toward the end.” - Cardigan B
Friends to Lovers, Small Town Return, Overcoming past breakups, Stalker/Stalking, Loss of Parent (Death), Family Business, Slow Burn
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Scary In Love by Holly June Smith
⭐ 3.75
HOT, HEA
“She's a small town girl living in a lonely world. He's the proprietor of a haunted house and into some kinky things. They live happily ever after and assemble a commune.” - Cardigan B
Seasonal, Confessional/Altar/Church Scene Kinks, Mask Kink, Praise Kink, FMC & MMC Enter Into A Contract, One Night of Danger, Family Business, Haunted, Isolated, Mysterious Land, Short/Novella
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The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
⭐ 3.5
MILD, HEA
“Sweet story that brings the best man and maid of honor together. She tries to keep her distance because she doesn’t believe a man would love her if she can’t have children.” - Cardigan B
Friends to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Golden Retriever, FMC with Self-Esteem Issues, Protective MMC, Found Family, Infertility, Overcoming Past Trauma, Witty Banter, MMC/FMC has a Cute Dog
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Whiskey Chaser by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley
⭐ 3.5
MEDIUM, HEA
"Love Lucy Score. This was just okay, though. As the book went on, Scarlett just felt like "I'm not like other girls" and it became cringey.” - Cardigan B
Small Town, Alpha FMC, Afraid of Commitment, Separated/Divorcing/Divorced, Friends to Lovers, Down on His Luck MMC
@35CARDIGANS @BLACKCAT100
Find us on The StoryGraph
Join The StoryGraph, our romance book tracking app of choice. Scope out our TBRs, see which titles we’ve read, and watch us rate in real time. Just more proof that we’re humans.
(Yea, we also use goodreads…but so do our families. Who we’re connected to).
Sizzle Scale
HOT
(Blazing & Explicit): This is the full five-alarm fire. Bedroom doors are flung wide open, and the scenes are DETAILED, EXPLICIT, and SCORCHING HOT. No fading to black here.
MEDIUM
(Simmering & Steamy): Expect passionate kisses that don't always fade to black. Could be graphic, but probably one scene that goes full throttle. Things get steamy, and the chemistry is sparking. You’ll blush, but you won’t need a fire extinguisher... yet.
MILD
(Sweet & Tender): Expect sweet sighs, maybe a stolen, chaste kiss or two, and plenty of heartwarming moments that make you go "awww." If things get more intimate, the bedroom door gently clicks shut (fade-to-black).
FLOUR
(Platonic, if anything): Rare to find around here. This is a book that has…no romance at all. We probably read this by accident.
FAQs
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A guide to romance novels of all heats and sizes. We’re recommending books we’ve read (we’ve read 1,000s) and telling you what to expect. We’ll help you do your research - your time and money will be happy.
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‘Happily Ever After’ - nearly every book you find on The Velvet Pages has an ‘HEA’. It means that the story reached a satisfying conclusion. It might say “To Be Continued” which means there’s probably an HEA in the series, but that particular title didn’t resolve the relationship.
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This is how sexual or sexy a book is. There’s a range: Hot, Medium, Mild, and Flour.
Hot is ‘“holy Hell I’m sweating.”
Medium is steamy.
Mild is tender and sweet.
Flour means there’s nothing romantic here.
We label each book so you know what to expect and you can choose what you’re comfortable reading.
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We rate each book out of 5. Cardigan B and Penelope Black can rate a book the same score on occasion, but usually the rating you see is an average of their scores.
The ratings are pretty subjective, but include things like:
Did the story make sense?
How did the characters measure up?
Was the writing literate?
Was the premise or were the plot points memorable?
Were the mysteries solved? Did the questions get answered? Did you leave me on ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, ONYX STORM?
Did the book make us feel something?
Was there a cute cat?
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We recommend starting with Historical Romance, Fantasy Romance, or Sports Romance. They’re the most popular and you’ll find recognizable tropes.
Start with Mild to Medium heat and definitely choose an HEA.
If you’re still stuck, email us and we can give you some recs!
Heyyyvelvetpages@gmail.com
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We’ll read pretty much anything. Each month, Penelope and Cardigan select a list of about 20 books to read together. There’s at least one book from each genre and some popular titles that have been recently released.
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We sure do! It’s called ‘The Velvet Edit’. You can sign up at the top or on the ‘Contact Us’ page. We send out a themed list of recommendations each month and a ‘Quickie’ (a single title spotlight) two weeks later. We won’t spam you.
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That’s the section of the site where we share what we’re reading this month for our book club. You can check out our other reading lists from the past few months of 2025, too.
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Nope, not even close. The books on the site are generally the ones we enjoyed the most. Or hit on different trends we see coming up.
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They are! If you buy from a button click on the site, we might earn a commission. You’re not paying more for the product, though. We’re all about ‘pay less for smut’ around here.
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We use Storygraph. It has a friendly app interface and has every book we’ve read. It also shows your reading stats, which is unique.
We have separate Goodreads accounts, but they’re connected to our friends and family and…I don’t want them to see that I read the first and second book in a series about a merman with two dicks.
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MMC is Male Main Character. FMC is female main character.
There are typically one of each, but there can be multiple in genres like Omegaverse or Reverse Harem.
Or, like in the case of Court of Thorns and Roses, the MMC could be one person in one book and another person in another book.
Don’t come at me about ‘spoilers’ - these books were published in 2015.
Email us
Looking for a book recommendation? Want to give us a recommendation you’ve read? Need to yell into the void?