20 College Romance Books You’ll Go Back To School For
Go Back to School With One Of These College Romance Books!
The college years are such a formative period in many young people’s lives and that often includes exploring relationships! So, this list of college romance books will let you relive (or enjoy for the first time) both sweet and spicy scenarios!
I wanted to include books that are full of steam that fall into the “New Adult” category as well as some that are more on the rom-com spectrum, so there’s something for everyone here!
I love reading both types of college romance books, so I hope you find something here you’ll love!
As always, let me know in the comments if you have any favorite college romance books that I missed!
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Rom Com / Less Steamy College Romance Books
My Oxford Year
by Julia Whelan
Ella is an American Rhodes scholar with political aspirations. When she heads to Oxford for a year to study literature, she expects to have her once-in-a-lifetime experience and then come back to her real life. Naturally, these plans change when she falls for the handsome student teacher…
I was expecting a super light, fun romance but this had more depth and hard choices. The supporting characters are a bit stereotypical, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. The ending in particular was perfect!
Honey & Spice
by Bolu Babalola
A Reese’s Book Club pick that’s perfect for enemies to lovers fans! A sharp tongued host of her own college radio show, Kiki spends her time making sure her fellow Wellington University ladies don’t fall for the wrong guy.
It all blows up when she finds herself kissing one of those men she very publicly denounced. To save both their reputations, these two reluctantly agree to a fake dating scenario.
The Royal We
by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
This is a must-read if you love Will and Kate! The Royal We is very heavily based on their relationship and it’s a delight for fans of British royalty. In this romance, Bex is an American who meets Nick at Oxford and finds out he’s the heir to the throne. She’s head over heels, but his demanding family, royal responsibilities, and the expectations of the British people may be too much for her to handle.
If you want more royal reads, check out my book list devoted to books about royals!
The Love Hypothesis
by Ali Hazelwood
Calling all fans of enemies to lovers and fake relationship tropes! You’ll get a bit of both when Olive ends up kissing the first man she sees to appease her best friend and it turns out to be a well-known jerk. A sexy, scientific romp ensues which plays out oh so well on the pages.
See You Yesterday
by Rachel Lynn Solomon
If you like your college romance books with a unique twist, See You Yesterday has a fun “Groundhog Day” theme! Barrett is ready to start fresh in college, but she has literally the worst possible first day. She can’t imagine things getting worse, until she wakes up on her first day…again.
I love that this take on a familiar circumstance includes a second character also caught in the time loop! Barrett soon discovers that a fellow classmate, Miles, has been reliving his first day for months. So, they start working together to figure out how to finally snap their bad luck trip. But what will happen with them once the magic is gone?
The Girl He Used To Know
By Tracey Garvis Graves
This is an incredibly moving story that begins with two college students who fall in love, but are torn apart by a tragedy. Ten years later, they unexpectedly find each other again in Chicago. Go back and forth between their young love story and their rocky rekindled relationship in present day.
I adored reading about an autistic heroine as she navigates college life, love, and successfully making her way in the world as an adult. This is a couple you’ll root for to the ends of the earth!
Only When It’s Us
By Chloe Liese
The first book in the Bergman brothers series follows Ryder Bergman as he clashes with soccer superstar, Willa, in his business class. Their first interaction goes seriously south when Willa asks for his notes and gets completely ignored. What she doesn’t realize is that Ryder’s reaction is out of his control.
As the two continue to butt heads over the course of the school year, the last person they expect to fall for might be exactly what they each need.
Good Girl Complex
by Elle Kennedy
All Mac wants to focus on is growing her business, but her parents force her to at least get her college degree first. So, she finds herself in Avalon Bay with the snooty, rich kids of Garnet College.
She starts walking on the wild side when she meets local bad boy, Cooper, and finds her first true friend in ages. He’s everything she’s not, but brings out a side of her that’s been desperate to escape. Cooper falls just as hard for Mac, but everything they’ve built is threatened when a secret he’s been hiding is revealed.
Attraction
by Penny Reid
Despite the cover, the first book in this series takes it’s time building up the tension between the two main characters! Who doesn’t love a slow burn! As is often the case with these college romance books, Kaitlyn and Martin are polar opposites. Kaitlyn prefers going completely unnoticed at school while Martin relishes attention.
He convinces her to get out of her comfort zone and sets to work winning her over. But she knows better than to fall for the bad boy…
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Imperfect Chemistry
by Mary Frame
A book with the subtitle: A Nerdy Romantic Comedy? Yes. Please! I can’t deny the cartoon cover and nerdy romance qualifier are all I need to love something!
Legitimate genius Lucy has no problem performing experiments and analyzing data, but dealing with people is a little more difficult. When she gets the opportunity to study emotions, she enlists the messiest guy she knows, her neighbor Jensen.
Sparks unexpectedly fly between the two, but Lucy is dead set on keeping this professional and strictly for the sake of research!
The Sizzle Paradox
by Lily Menon
A 2022 new release that I can’t wait to read! Get caught up in this friends to lovers romance that doubles as a study on sexual attraction!
With no real world experience, Lyric is doubting the accuracy of her doctoral thesis on attraction, despite the solid scientific data. So, she enlists her best friend to understand why it seems that the more attractive she finds a guy, the less likely there is to be an emotional connection, aka The Sizzle Paradox.
Maybe, Someday
by Colleen Hoover
Fall in love through music with this forbidden romance. Sydney has been listening to the boy on the balcony play his guitar for weeks, admiring his talent and tentatively making up lyrics to his songs. Little does she know he’s been watching her too.
When she suddenly needs a new place to live, she moves in with Ridge and he begs her to use her lyrics for his songs. These two know nothing should happen between them, but you can’t always choose who you love, right?
Save these college romance books for later!
Steamier College Romance Books
Don’t You Dare
By C.E. Ricci
A party dare starts Keene down a path that he never thought he’d explore. One kiss with his best friend and now he can’t stop thinking about anything else. As their dares escalate throughout the year, they both start risking everything for a chance at finding the love they never thought was possible.
Plus, you can get this free with Kindle Unlimited, which you can get here for only $4.99!
Temptation
By Ivy Smoak
Get ready for a teacher/student ride in this addition to our steamy college romance books! I love that this features a shy girl with a dark secret! Penny is the quintessential rule-follower, so none of her classmates would guess she has a crush on the hot, unobtainable Professor Hunter.
This former billionaire turned teacher happily left his former world behind, but he knows he needs to stay away from any students in order to keep his new life intact. Hunter’s never been one to resist a tempting offer, though…
The Guy On The Right
By Kate Stewart
Kate Stewart is the steamy Booktok queen!! Get ready for a sexy, underdog story in this college romance books list! Theodore (yes, named after the chipmunk!) finally has a chance to ditch his band geek persona now that he’s in college. It’d be great if he wasn’t rooming with the hottest guy on campus and star of the football team. Thankfully, Laney is one of the few girls looking his way.
When Travis meets Laney and sets his sights on her, Theo is ready to put up a fight. Everyone wants to root for the underdog, right?
The Deal
by Elle Kennedy
Get ready for a steamy, mutually beneficial arrangement that will leave you breathless! When Hannah finally finds someone in college who turns her on, she’s willing to try everything to get his attention. Even if it means tutoring the cocky, annoying captain of the hockey team in exchange for a fake date.
Garrett is also willing to do anything necessary to keep his dreams of playing professional hockey alive, so he accepts the arrangement. However, a kiss that leads to wildly satisfying…so much more has him rethinking how much he wants to help Hannah seek out some other guy.
The Studying Hours (How To Date A Douchebag)
by Sara Ney
This is Book 1 of 5, so if you become obsessed with this story you’ve got plenty more to enjoy! The cocky jock trope shines again in this book! Oz is the most popular student athlete and he’s well aware of his position at the school. Jameson, meanwhile, is one of the few girls who wants to steer clear of him.
When he meets her in the library, he’s unexpectedly taken in by her sarcastic, whip smart personality. It’ll take everything he’s got to win her over, though.
The Locker Room
by Meghan Quinn
I love that the tagline for this college romance books option is literally “A Bookworm Falls For Jock” LOL! Talk about getting it all out there. What more do you need to know?
A superstition leads a college baseball player to take drastic measures with hopes of keeping the girl of his dreams!
The Hook Up
by Kristen Callihan
Two students agree to a hookup only plan – one makes the rules and one tries everything he can to break them. Anna has no interest in falling for the star football player, but Drew isn’t playing nice. There’s no denying things get HOT when they are together, but he thinks he can convince her to stick around for more than just the hook up.
Pucked
by Helena Hunting
Hockey fans! Here’s one of the college romance books for you! Violet thinks she knows exactly what to expect from hockey players. After all, her stepbrother plays in the NHL. An unexpected interaction with her school’s star player leaves her questioning the stereotype that they’re all dumb jocks.
Plus, he proves he really really knows what he’s doing in bed. A combo she’s finding it way harder than she expected to resist.
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Which of these slow burn romance books catch your attention?
This is a really great list of college romance novels. There were plenty that I hadn’t heard of before, which is always a good thing!