Reading For Fun Is Saving My Mental Health

📚6 Romance Books To Escape With

May 07, 2025

I want to fold more joy and enjoyment into your Mental Health Awareness Month. To start, let me share the one hobby that's brought me more joy than anything else in the past few months.

Since I was a kid, reading has been my favorite "forget the world" hobby and it's still as consistent today. I've interspersed some literary fiction, poetry, and essays into my reading list since January, but most of my reading has been Happily Ever After romantic comedies. The world's already all kinds of hard, and I'm not looking for that in my reading life too.

Here are some of my top reads from 2025 so far.

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune: A friend rec’d this one, and she was right. It’s lovely and upsetting and a sweet HEA. (If you love it, Fortune dropped #2 in the series this week, so you won’t have to wait to read!)
Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage: I found this book on TikTok (says everyone always). I didn’t know what to expect from a cowboy series, but I fell in love instantly. This is #4 in the series, and now I’m going back and reading the rest of the series.
Story of My Life by Lucy Score: This is my favorite romance of the year. It was funny, well-written, and layered. I could not recommend it more.
Wallflower by Samantha Leigh: There’s very little I love more than a hockey player romance. Add in a sibling series and a winery, and I’m sold.
Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams: I only started reading Adams in December and devoured so many of her books already. This book is the third in a series — it’s my second favorite in the series. (Book 2 is my fave.)
Break the Rules by Roxie Noir: I’m a fan of series that are anchored on sibling dynamics. This one gives you a little bit of everything.