Indie/Hybrid Romance Hotlist (6.9.25)
The latest trending indie and hybrid romances!
To properly highlight romances with indie roots, TRW will now publish the the Top 15 Indie/Hybrid Romance Hotlists on Mondays. These titles and lists were previously included (and perhaps gotten a little lost) in Friday’s Trending Romance newsletter.1
Onwards!
Top 15 Indie Romance Hotlist
Top 15 trending self-published romances for the week ending June 7.
#1 HAT TRICK by Chelsea Curto | Sports Romance |🌶️x 42
After a career-ending injury, an NHL player grapples with his identity and recovery, while an unexpected connection with his athletic trainer complicates everything.
#2 MILE HIGH by Liz Tomforde | Sports Romance |🌶️x 4
A hot-headed NHL enforcer and the no-nonsense flight attendant assigned to his team clash at 30,000 feet.
#3 FILTHY PROMISES by Nicole Fox | Mafia Romance |🌶️x 5
A devoted assistant finally catches the attention of her ruthless billionaire boss, only to find herself caught in a tangled game of seduction, power plays, and an unexpected pregnancy.
#4 HEART OF A DEVIL by Sadie Kincaid | Mafia Romance |🌶️x 5
A woman fleeing her past finds herself drawn to her best friend’s father, a dangerously charming man with dark desires of his own.
#5 THE BUTCHER by Penelope Sky | Mafia Romance |🌶️x 5
After a brutal breakup, a heartbroken woman seeks one night of escape,only to fall into the arms of Paris’s most feared crime boss.
#6 MAFIA AND GOLD DIGGER by Isa Oliver | Mafia Romance |🌶️x 4
A guarded young woman raising her siblings crosses paths with a powerful, emotionally distant man.
#7 THE RIGHT MOVE by Liz Tomforde | Sports Romance |🌶️x 4
When an NBA star asks his sister’s best friend to fake-date him for the sake of his image, playing pretend gets complicated.
#8 THE RITUAL by Shantel Tessier | Dark Romance |🌶️x 5
At an elite university ruled by a violent secret society, a young woman is chosen to serve one of its most powerful members.
#9 BREATHTAKING by Bella Matthews | Billionaire Romance |🌶️x 4
A reluctant heiress and a relentless billionaire are forced into marriage.
#10 FORGED IN BLOOD by Sadie Kincaid | Paranormal Romance |🌶️x 5
When orphaned foster kid Ophelia Hart earns a spot at an elite university, she enters a world of magic, secrets, and danger.
#11 THE BEST OF US by Brittney Sahin | Romantic Suspense |🌶️x 4
Seventeen years after a life-changing night, a former operative discovers the son he never knew and reunites with the woman he never forgot.
#12 THE FAKING GAME by Olivia Hayle | Billionaire Romance |🌶️x 4
When her brother’s best friend offers to fake date her for protection, their private dating lessons blur the line between pretend and real.
#13 MY FAVORITE BAD DECISION by Elizabeth O’Roark | Contemporary Romance |🌶️x 4
Two longtime enemies are forced to share close quarters on a grueling climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, where barbed banter turns into undeniable chemistry.
#14 CAUGHT UP by Liz Tomforde | Sports Romance |🌶️x 4
A single-dad baseball player reluctantly agrees to a temporary nanny, his coach’s free-spirited daughter.
#15 KING OF DEPRAVITY by Tammy Andresen | Mafia/Billionaire Romance | 🌶️x 4
When a waitress witnesses a brutal murder, the only person who can protect her is the dangerous billionaire who's been stalking her.
Top 15 Hybrid Romance Hotlist
Top 15 trending hybrid romances for the week ending June 7. Hybrid romances are those that are self-published in one format (e.g. e-book) and traditionally published in another format (e.g. print).
#1 REWIND IT BACK by Liz Tomforde (Amara) | Sports Romance |🌶️x 4
Six years after a heartbreaking split, a rising interior designer is forced to renovate her ex’s home..
#2 BEAUTIFUL VENOM by Rina Kent (Bloom Books) | Dark Romance |🌶️x 5
To avenge her past, she sets out to infiltrate a secretive college hockey society, only to fall into the trap of its most dangerous member.
#3 TILL SUMMER DO US PART by Meghan Quinn (Bloom Books) | Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy |🌶️x 4 | 🆕
To cover a workplace lie, Scottie ropes a charming improv-loving millionaire into posing as her husband, only to end up at a couples’ retreat with her entire team and a fake marriage that’s getting way too real.
#4 STORY OF MY LIFE by Lucy Score (Bloom Books) | Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy |🌶️x 4
A blocked romance author flees the city for small-town peace, only to find a grumpy contractor, a crumbling house, and a fake date.
#5 KING OF ENVY by Ana Huang (Bloom Books) | Billionaire Romance |🌶️x 4
A scarred billionaire risks everything for the woman he can't have, his best friend's fiancée, whose fake engagement hides dangerous secrets of its own.
#6 HAUNTING ADELINE by H.D. Carlton (Zando — Slowburn) | Dark Romance |🌶️x 5
When a gothic mansion inheritance brings Adeline Reilly home, she uncovers chilling family secrets, a haunting legacy, and a stalker.
#7 GILD by Raven Kennedy (Bloom Books) | Romantic Fantasy |🌶️x 3
Caged in gold and bound to a king, a woman once rescued must confront the truth behind her gilded prison before war and darker monsters change everything.
#8 ON WINGS OF BLOOD by Briar Boleyn (MIRA) | Romantic Fantasy |🌶️x 4
At a deadly vampire academy, a half-fae outcast discovers she’s a dragon rider, and bound to her enemy, as a looming war awakens something dark within her.
#9 ZODIAC ACADEMY: THE AWAKENING by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti (King’s Hollow — Simon & Schuster (Distr.)) | Romantic Fantasy |🌶️x 3
A sharp-tongued Gemini and secret Fae heir must survive a deadly academy of supernatural rivals, twisted teachers, and one infuriatingly hot dragon shifter.
#10 KING OF WRATH by Ana Huang (Bloom Books) | Billionaire Romance |🌶️x 4
A cold-hearted billionaire and a high-society heiress enter a fake engagement for power and protection.
#11 FLAWLESS by Elsie Silver (Bloom Books) | Contemporary Romance, Western Romance |🌶️x 4
A bad boy bull rider is forced to clean up his act under the watch of his agent’s fiery daughter.
#12 WILD LOVE by Elsie Silver (Bloom Books) | Contemporary Romance, Western Romance |🌶️x 4
A grumpy billionaire hiding out in a small town tries to resist his best friend’s chaotic little sister.
#13 THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT by Carissa Broadbent (Bramble) | Romantic Fantasy |🌶️x 3
To survive a deadly vampire tournament, a human princess must ally with her fiercest rival.
#14 The DEAL by Elle Kennedy (Bloom Books) | Sports Romance |🌶️x 4
A focused college student strikes a fake dating deal with the campus hockey star to get her crush's attention.
#15 THE PUCKING WRONG ROOKIE by C.R. Jane (Podium Publishing) | Sports Romance |🌶️x 4
A guarded woman trapped in a dangerous world crosses paths with a rookie hockey star determined to win her heart.
Still want more? Check out the June 2025 Romance Publications Calendar or our Trending Romance newsletters.
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For clarity, these "hotlists” are curated by analyzing Kindle Store data. These lists are intended as helpful guide for your romance TBR, not as definitive rankings (not even the top bestsellers lists can claim THAT!).
Heat Scale:
🌶️x 1 = No sex romance. There may be other forms of physical affection or none at all.
🌶️x 2 = Closed door / fade to black romance.
🌶️x 3 = Open door romance, but not particularly explicit.
🌶️x 4 = Explicit romance.
🌶️x 5 = Very explicit romance. This can refer to plenty of explicit scenes or sex scenes that push the envelope.
Love this! Finally started reading Zodiac Academy and can't wait to get to the others on this list 🖤
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