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Last updated on October 26th, 2024
If you’re like me and like having your heart ripped out by really good emotional stories, then these marriage-in-trouble romance books are perfect for you.
And don’t worry, you don’t have to be married or in a relationship to appreciate them.
Sometimes, it’s nice to know what happens after the leading couple has their happily ever after. Surely, it can’t be all rainbows and sunshine, right?
NOTE: If infidelity is a sensitive issue for you, don’t worry, this theme is NOT present in these books.
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The Bromance Book Club
RATING: ★★★★★/5
MARRIAGE ISSUE: Physical intimacy
A unique, inventive take on saving a relationship – by using romance novels as manuals.
This is one rom-com that I have read multiple times because it’s such a great feel-good story with the right amount of shenanigans and heat.
For the full details on why you need this book on your TBR, be sure to check out the review of Gavin and Thea’s story.
About the book
Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: His wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.
Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.
After I Do – Taylor Jenkins Reid
RATING: ★★★★/5
MARRIAGE ISSUE: Resentment, lack of honesty
An emotional and heart-wrenching story about daring to navigate love and relationships in a way that’s true to who you are, even if this goes against what society dictates you should do.
To get the full story on Ryan and Lauren’s marriage troubles, check out the After I Do review.
About the book
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
Love Her or Lose Her – Tessa Bailey
RATING: ★★★★/5
MARRIAGE ISSUE: Different love languages
What do you do when your marriage has become stagnant, and you want more for yourself, even if it means divorcing your husband?
While Bailey’s stories are usually a hit or miss for me, this one remains one of my favorites. To find out why it didn’t get the full 5 stars, check out the Love Her or Lose Her review.
About the book
Rosie and Dominic Vega are the perfect couple: high school sweethearts, best friends, madly in love. Well, they used to be, anyway. Now, Rosie’s lucky to get a caveman grunt from the ex-soldier every time she walks in the door. Dom is faithful and a great provider, but the man she fell in love with 10 years ago is nowhere to be found. When her girlfriends encourage Rosie to demand more out of life and pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, she decides to demand more out of love, too. Three words: marriage boot camp.
Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to-emote husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he’s all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous – yet surprisingly helpful – assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they’re getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret…and it could demolish everything.
Ever After Always – Chloe Liese
RATING: ★★★★/5
MARRIAGE ISSUE: mental health issues
Chloe Liese explores mental health and sexual dysfunction in ways that will break your heart wide open.
Ever After Always is genuinely one of the most touching books I have read, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an emotional read.
About the book
Aiden
I’ve spent 12 years loving Freya Bergman, and 12 lifetimes won’t be enough to give her everything she deserves. All I want is to make her happy. But the one thing that will make her happiest is the one thing I’m not sure I can give her: a baby. With the pressure of providing and planning for a family, my anxiety’s at an all-time high, and I find myself pulling away, terrified to tell my wife how I’m struggling. But when Freya kicks me out, I realize that pulling back has turned into pushing too far. Now, it’s the fight of a lifetime to save our marriage.
Freya
I love my cautious, hard-working husband. Until one day, I realized the man I married was nowhere to be found. Now, Aiden is quiet and withdrawn, and as the months wear on, the pain of our growing distance becomes too much. As if weathering marriage counseling wasn’t enough, we’re thrown together for an island getaway to celebrate my parents’ many years of perfect marriage while ours is on the brink of collapse. Despite my meddling siblings and a week in each other’s constant company, this trip somehow gets us working through the trouble in paradise. I just can’t help worrying, when we leave paradise and return to the real world, will trouble find us again?
Before I Let Go – Kennedy Ryan
RATING: ★★★/5
MARRIAGE ISSUE: pregnancy loss, depression, grief
Ryan details the story of a couple who has spent their life getting to know all the nooks and crannies of each other’s hearts, only to be torn apart by the overwhelming force of grief.
As they try to navigate their new reality, Josiah and Yasmen must balance their co-parenting duties with the undeniable spark between them.
For more details on why their passionate marriage didn’t stand the test of time, dive into this Before I Let Go review.
About the book
Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.
It couldn’t save their marriage.
Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she is finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet, like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.
Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another…and then more. It’s hot. It’s illicit. It’s all good—until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?
Do I Know You? – Emily Wibberley
RATING: ★★★/5
MARRIAGE ISSUE: Complacency
Would you ever play a flirtatious game of pretend with your spouse to rekindle the spark between you two?
If you answered yes, then Do I Know You? is the book for you.
About the book
Eliza and Graham are anticipating an anything-but-sexy, weeklong getaway to celebrate their five-year anniversary. Nestled on the Northern California coastline, the resort prides itself on being a destination for those in love and those looking to find it. For Eliza and Graham, it might as well be a vacation with a roommate.
When a well-meaning guest mistakes Eliza and Graham for being single and introduces them at the hotel bar, they don’t correct him. Suddenly, they’re pretending to be perfect strangers, and it’s unexpectedly…fun? Eliza and Graham find themselves flirting like it’s their first date and waiting with butterflies in their stomachs for the other to text back.
Everyone at the retreat can sense the electric chemistry between Eliza and Graham’s alter egos. But when their scintillating game of roleplaying ends, will they still feel the heat?
For more book lists, check out the best books of 2023.
