Popular Romance Novels that were just OK.
I’ve realised I’ve been leaning quite heavily into list posts about books I don’t like or don’t plan to read — and I’m not quite finished yet. That said, it’s probably time to draw a clearer line between books I’ve read and would recommend, and those I’ve read but wouldn’t necessarily champion.
For me, “not recommending” sits on a spectrum. There’s the please save yourself the time category… and then there’s the I didn’t love it, but you might get something out of it category. This list of Popular Booktok Romance Novels firmly sits in the latter. These aren’t terrible books, just ones I didn’t connect with enough to actively vouch for. Think of this as a series of very mini, very honest reviews.
The ranking runs from below average to slightly above average; however, the middle three books are interchangeable in their ranking, as I couldn’t quite decide which won. They edge each other on different factors. So let’s get into it!
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
A young mother seeks forgiveness and a second chance with the people she hurt after a devastating mistake.
This is easily the weakest book on the list — one I picked up after giving in to friends’ plea to co-read, fully aware of what I was likely getting into. I’d more or less stopped reading Colleen Hoover in my early twenties, back when I was reading pretty much everything by her, yet this one somehow slipped through the cracks (I’d actually convinced myself I’d already read it, having mixed it up with her other traumatic stories).
It’s a bit of a mess. There are glimpses of a stronger story in there, to be fair, but they’re completely undermined by uneven pacing and a romance that never feels convincing. At its core, the relationship just doesn’t make sense, which makes it difficult to stay invested. Unsurprisingly, it lands firmly at the bottom.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
A fake relationship between a PhD student and a notoriously intimidating professor starts to feel dangerously real.
I already have a fuller review of this here. It is a thoroughly average read, with equally average characters and a predictable storyline. It dips slightly below the line for me because of how juvenile and trivial it feels — even in moments that should carry more emotional weight.
The romance is fine: not particularly compelling, but not terrible either. I did warm to the MMC by the end, despite fairly minimal character development. It’s arguably Ali Hazelwood’s most popular novel and likely many readers’ introduction to her work. From what I’ve heard, her later books are stronger, which is really all you can hope for, so I won’t be too harsh.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Two best friends who take a yearly holiday together must finally confront the feelings they’ve carefully avoided for years.
We all know how I feel about this book, and I have a book vs screen comparison up. I enjoyed the book. I’ve struggled with whether to put this above Neighbour Favour or not. For right now, it’s below, so it sits in the very average section
I enjoyed this, but it didn’t quite work for me emotionally. The connection between the characters is believable, and there’s more depth here than in others on this list, but I never fully felt it. It’s a very readable story, just not one that stayed with me. It was also another one that took exceptionally long to read. Probably my least favourite of Emily Henry’s books so far.
Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
A data scientist discovers that love might be mathematically predictable when an algorithm matches her with someone she very much does not want to date.
This book leans heavily into a trope I really dislike — the overly self-deprecating, “I’m too pathetic to function” heroine, complete with the I don’t even have time to look presentable narrative. It wears thin very quickly.
While the story does improve and ends on a genuinely cute note that I really did enjoy ( I swear), the overall execution feels firmly average. I found it quite dull for the most part and only pushed through because it was a book club pick. It sits squarely in the middle as an entirely average read.
The Neighbour Favour by Kristina Forest
A woman finally meets her grumpy, reclusive neighbour, only to realise their reluctant connection might be the push she needs to change her stagnant life.
This sits slightly above average for me. I didn’t dislike it, but it does feel like it drifts rather than builds. The protagonist lacks a bit of spark, and the romance never fully lands.
It’s also oddly paced — it takes longer than it should to get going, and also took me longer than I would have like especially for a relatively straightforward read. I’ve done a review of the second book in the series, The Partner Plot, which is cute, I guess, but again, nothing groundbreaking.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
After a near‑death experience, a chronically ill woman creates a “get a life” list and unexpectedly falls for the man who helps her complete it.
This is one I originally rated well above average when I first read it — but that was five years ago, which automatically knocks a star off for what I can only call my more generous reading phase. Revisiting it for this post helped me see both sides more clearly.
What still stands out is the portrayal of a chronically ill protagonist. It’s thoughtful, grounded, and handled with real care, which gives the story a level of emotional weight that is above the regular light romance. The love story is imperfect in a way that feels intentional and honest.
It does lean into the grumpy/sunshine dynamic — a trope I usually love —, but for whatever reason, I didn’t fully connect with it here. Even so, emotionally, it’s probably the strongest romance on this list. It’s still one I know I enjoyed overall, and certainly not one I’d discourage anyone from picking up.
So there you have it — six popular BookTok titles that landed firmly in the “extremely average” category for me. As I mentioned, The Soulmate Equation, The Neighbour Favour, and People We Meet on Vacation are almost interchangeable in my mind, and I’m still undecided on how they truly rank against each other. I both like and dislike them for different reasons.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown is definitely the strongest of the group, though clearly not mind-blowing — if it had been, I’d have devoured the entire Brown Sisters series at the time. That was very much my habit back then, so the fact that I didn’t says a lot. I might still return to them one day, but there’s no urgency.
I hope you enjoyed these mini reviews and slightly reluctant recommendations.
As always, I’d love to know how you feel about these books, as I’m sure you have read many of them.
Signed,
