One of the most popular tropes in romance is the forced proximity trope, which involves two characters forced to spend time together due to circumstances beyond their control. Whether stranded on a deserted island, stuck in a snowstorm, or forced to share a living space, the forced proximity trope often leads to tension, drama, and, of course, romance.
If you’re looking for some of the best forced proximity romance books to add to your reading list, you’re in luck. There are dozens of fantastic novels that use this trope to create compelling stories and unforgettable characters. From enemies-to-lovers tales to slow-burn romances, several books with forced proximity trope are available for every reader.
One reason the forced proximity trope is so popular is that it allows for a slow-burn romance to develop. The characters are forced to spend time together, often in challenging or uncomfortable circumstances, which allows them to get to know each other on a deeper level.
Forced proximity romance novels often feature strong, independent characters who initially resist the idea of a relationship. However, as they spend more time together, they begin to see each other in a new light and develop feelings for each other.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the most popular books with forced proximity trope and explore what makes them so captivating and worth reading!
Best Forced Proximity Romance Books of 2024
1. The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas
Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well-paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her.
Luckily, she has her best friend Lina’s spare key while she’s out of town. But Rosie doesn’t know that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin Lucas, who Rosie has been stalking—for lack of a better word—on Instagram for the last few months. Lucas seems intent on coming to her rescue like a Spanish knight in shining armor. Only this one strolls around the place in a towel, has a distracting grin, and an irresistible accent. Oh, and he cooks.
Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him until she can find some affordable temporary housing. And then he proposes an outrageous experiment to bring back her literary muse and meet her deadline: He’ll take her on a series of experimental dates meant to jump-start her romantic inspiration.
Rosie has nothing to lose. Her silly, online crush is totally under control—but Lucas’s time in New York has an expiration date, and six weeks may not be enough for either her or her deadline.
2. Flawless by Elsie Silver
The rules were simple. Keep my hands off his daughter and stay out of trouble. But now I’m stuck with her. There’s only one bed. And, well, rules are made to be broken.
I’m the face of professional bull riding—the golden boy. Or at least I was until it all blew up in my face. Now my agent says I must clean up my image, so I’m stuck with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as my “full-time supervision.”
But I don’t need a babysitter, especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can’t stop running. A mouth I can’t stop thinking about. Because Summer isn’t just another conquest, she sees the man behind the mask, and she doesn’t run—she pulls me closer, even when she shouldn’t.
She says this means nothing. I say this means everything.
She says there are boundaries we shouldn’t cross. That my reputation can’t take any more hits—and neither can her damaged heart. I say I’m going to steal it anyway.
3. Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher
Declan:
I’m destined to become the next CEO of my family’s media empire. The only problem? My grandfather’s inheritance clause. Fulfilling his dying wish of getting married and having an heir seemed impossible until my assistant volunteers for the job.
Our marriage was supposed to be the perfect solution to my biggest problem. But the more we act in love for the public, the more unsure I feel about our contract.
Caring about Iris was never part of the deal. Especially not when breaking her heart is inevitable.
Iris:
My plan to marry Declan was simple in theory: We would move in together, throw a wedding, and have a baby. We set rules to prevent any issues—ones that were never meant to be broken, no matter how much Declan tempts me.
But what happens when our fake relationship bleeds into our real one? Falling in love was never an option. At least not for me.
4. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in… well, everything. On the other hand, her identical twin sister Ami is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy, and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests. Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk of becoming much bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.
5. Twisted Lies by Ana Huang
Charming, deadly, and smart enough to hide it, Christian Harper is a monster dressed in the perfectly tailored suits of a gentleman.
He has little use for morals and even less use for love, but he can’t deny the strange pull he feels toward the woman living just one floor below him.
She’s the object of his darkest desires, the only puzzle he can’t solve. And when the opportunity to get closer to her arises, he breaks his rules to offer her a deal she can’t refuse.
Every monster has its weaknesses. She’s his.
**
Sweet, shy, and introverted despite her social media fame, Stella Alonso is a romantic who keeps her heart in a cage.
Between her two jobs, she has little time or desire for a relationship.
But when a threat from her past drives her into the arms—and house—of the most dangerous man she’s ever met, she’s tempted to let herself feel something for the first time in a long time.
Because despite Christian’s cold nature, he makes her feel everything when she’s with him.
6. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
Catalina Martín desperately needs a date for her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiraled out of control. Now, everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight, and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.
Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate, and Aaron looks like her best option as the wedding draws nearer. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.
7. Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score
Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life like he takes his coffee: Alone, unless you count his basset hound, Waylon. Knox doesn’t tolerate drama, even in the form of a stranded runaway bride.
Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way… with fists and beer. Usually in that order.
It’s too bad for Naomi that her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, job, plan, or home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.
There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right before him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble, he can leave her alone and return to his peaceful, solitary life.
At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger!
8. When in Rome by Sarah Adams
Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned out from years of maintaining her “princess of pop” image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome—Rome, Kentucky, that is.
When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn’t have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He’s too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room until her car is fixed—then she’s on her own.
Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose—she’s Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can’t help but get close to her. Soon, she’ll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she’s been missing, and she’ll help him open his heart to more.
Amelia can’t resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.
9. From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.
After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is closing.
But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything. Including Ivan Lukov!
10. Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills, and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the hockey team’s captain, Nate Hawkins.
Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice, which is tricky when a facilities mishap forces them to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.
But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.
Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried… because she could never like a hockey player, right?
11. Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding, her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s unsure how.
Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner is on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry and expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident.
Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, kitchen, and spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should.
Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity becomes something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.
12. The Roommate by Rosie Danan
House Rules:
Do your own dishes.
Knock before entering the bathroom.
Never look up your roommate online.
The Wheatons are infamous among the East Coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.
After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet.
Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to tackle the stigma against female desire in her own hands.
They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky, too.
13. The Darkest Temptation by Danielle Lori
A fortune teller once told Mila she’d find a man who would take her breath away. She refrained from telling her it would be literally while Mila ran for her life.
Having always done what is expected of her, Mila dresses the part, only dates college boys with exemplary backgrounds, and doesn’t ask questions, not about her papa’s absences or his refusal to let her set foot in her birthplace—Russia.
Suffocated by the rules and unanswered questions, Mila does what she always wanted. She boards a plane to Moscow. She never expected to fall for a man on the way. One with unexplained wealth, tattoos on his hands, and secrets in his eyes. But it doesn’t take long for his caress to become a rough grasp, muffling her screams. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Unfortunately, a Russian winter is the coldest of them all, and Mila soon learns the only way to escape intact is to do the impossible and thaw her captor’s heart.
14. Exes and O’s by Amy Lea
Romance-novel connoisseur Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten men, all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. Nevertheless, Tara is determined to find The One. The only problem? Classic meet-cutes are dead, thanks to modern dating apps. So Tara decides to revisit her exes hoping to secure her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.
Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. He reluctantly agrees when his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes. But Tara’s journey is leading him to discover his own new chapter.
The more time they spend together, the more Tara realizes Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic, dramatic self. Can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection to claim their happily ever after?
15. Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.
Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grumpy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has a very different vision for the property’s future.
Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley’s scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one’s comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.
16. Last Light by Claire Kent
It only took four years for the world to fall apart.
Now, the last member of my family has died, and I’m forced to travel across what’s left of three states to find the only people I know left alive. To survive, I’ll have to salvage food and supplies and try to avoid violent men who’ve learned they can take what they want by force. The only way I’m going to make it is by trusting Travis.
Travis used to fix my car; now, he’s all I have left in the world. He’s gruff, stoic, and unfriendly, and I don’t really know or like him. But he’s all I have left. He’ll keep me safe. We’ll take care of each other. Until we reach what’s left of our town and can finally let go of one another.
17. Shipped by Angie Hockman
Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it.
The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.
Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—the best proposal wins the promotion.
There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands… together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. While exploring the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard.
With her career dreams in sight and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. After all, what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?
Conclusion
There you have it! You just finished exploring the best forced proximity romance books available today. If you are craving a slow-burn love story, it doesn’t get any better than the books mentioned above!
Although it may seem like you can’t do much with a trope like forced proximity, the books mentioned on this list, and many other books in this romance genre, offer unique and compelling stories that will keep you engaged from beginning to end as you’ll find yourself sucked into the unexpected chemistry and tension between the two main characters.
If you enjoyed these forced proximity romance books, you might want to explore other popular tropes such as the friends to lovers trope, the love at first sight trope, and forbidden love trope.