Small-town rom-coms that feel like a warm hug

I'm writing my debut rom-com in Holloway, a (fictional) Midwest town where the bakery owner knows your order and the whole town knows your business. So naturally, I've been reading every small-town romance on my shelf.

These are the ones that feel like a warm hug: a cozy setting, a town full of characters, and a love story that's half about the couple and half about finding where you belong.

Cozy-season small towns

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  The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

  Jeanie inherits her aunt's café in Dream Harbor and meets Logan, the grumpy local farmer who supplies it. Grumpy meets sunshine, with fall vibes turned all the way up. The start of the coziest series I own.

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  The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

  Back to Dream Harbor for the holidays: Kira, who hates Christmas, has just bought a Christmas tree farm, and Bennett, a vacationing fix-it guy, can't stop offering to help. Grumpy meets sunshine, snowed in.

The grumpy local and the newcomer

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  When in Rome by Sarah Adams

  Pop star Amelia's car breaks down in tiny Rome, Kentucky, in front of the house of Noah, a grumpy pie-shop owner who has no idea who she is and would like her to leave. She doesn't.

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  It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

  Piper, a Los Angeles socialite, gets banished to a Pacific Northwest fishing town, where she runs headfirst into Brendan, the town's brooding sea captain. Fish out of water, and the whole town is watching.

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  The Long Game by Elena Armas

  A big-city PR exec gets exiled to tiny Green Oak, North Carolina, to manage a kids' soccer team, coached by a retired soccer star who wants nothing to do with her. Small-town meddling at its finest.

Small towns closer to home (the Midwest)

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  Built to Last by Erin Hahn

  Former child star Shelby has hidden away in small-town Michigan restoring furniture, until a home renovation show pairs her with Cameron, her childhood sweetheart and the one who got away. Second chances, sawdust, and Lake Michigan charm.

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  Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

  Back to Rome, Kentucky (okay, not technically the Midwest, but close in spirit), where sweet flower-shop owner Annie asks Will, a professional bodyguard, to teach her how to date.

Quick answers

What are good small-town romance books to start with?

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore if you want cozy, and When in Rome by Sarah Adams if you want grumpy-meets-sunshine with a whole town cheering them on.

Are there small-town rom-coms set in the Midwest?

Built to Last by Erin Hahn is set in small-town Michigan. My own debut is set in Holloway, a fictional Midwest town, and it's in progress now.

What makes a small-town romance cozy?

A setting you'd want to live in, a supporting cast that meddles out of love, and at least one place where everyone gathers. In my book, that's Crumb Together Cafe.

These are books I've actually read, with the star ratings from my own reading log. No sponsorships, no affiliate links, just my shelf. Ratings are on a five-star scale.

Holloway is still under construction, but it already has a bakery (Crumb Together Cafe), a wedding planner who reads every sign, and a very practical big brother who doesn't. Sneak peeks go to my newsletter first.

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