10 Clean Summer Romance Books Every Teenage Girl Should Read Before School Starts

Want to read a good YA romance this summer? If you enjoyed clean romance like The Summer I Turned Pretty, check out these closed door teen romance books. I love reading adorable rom-coms and friends-to-lovers stories YA romance books with plenty of swoon-worthy moments . These have little to no spice, so you’ll find plenty of clean romance book recommendations here.

Borrow My Heart by Kasie West

Borrow My Heart starts with one impulsive lie that turns into the sweetest fake-dating romance. When rule-following Wren pretends to be a boy’s online crush to save him from embarrassment, she never expects to actually fall for him.

When a girl overhears a guy getting verbally destroyed by his friends for being catfished, she jumps in to save the day—and pretends to be his online crush.

Wren is used to being called a control freak. She doesn’t care; sticking to the list of rules she created for herself helps her navigate life. But when a cute guy named Asher walks through the door of her neighborhood coffee shop, the rulebook goes out the window.

Asher is cute, charming… and being catfished by his online crush. So Wren makes an uncharacteristically impulsive decision—she pretends to be the girl he’s waiting for to save him from embarrassment. Suddenly she’s fake-dating a boy she knows nothing about. And it’s… amazing.

It’s not long before Asher has her breaking even more of her own rules. But will he forgive her when he finds out she’s not who she says she is? Wren’s not so sure… After all, rules exist for a reason.

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Rival Darling by Alexandra Moody

Rival Darling is perfect if you love fake dating, hockey rivals, and bad-boy heroes. After a painful breakup, Violet agrees to fake-date her ex’s biggest rival and realizes there’s much more to him than his reputation.

She’s got one rule: never date a jock. He’ll do whatever it takes to break it.

When seventeen-year-old Violet is left heartbroken by the captain of her school’s ice hockey team, she vows to never date a jock again. But, in an attempt to prove she’s moved on, she turns to the most unlikely person—her ex’s biggest rival, the notorious captain of the Ransom Devils.

Reed Darling is gorgeous, mysterious and intimidating, both on and off the ice. Wild rumors constantly circulate about him, and the only thing people love to talk about more than his hockey skills are his exploits as a ruthless heartbreaker and bad boy. Who better to serve as Violet’s fake boyfriend until her ex gets the message, right?

But despite the intense rivalry between their two schools and Reed’s infamous reputation, Violet soon starts to wonder if there’s more to him than the gossip suggests. And while she tries her best to control their ‘relationship’ with a list of strict guidelines, Reed has other ideas. He’s set his sights on winning her over and is determined to show Violet he’s not the guy everyone thinks he is.

She should have known better than to make a deal with a devil because this one is going to break all her rules.

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P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

P.S. I Like You turns a chemistry-class doodle into an adorable anonymous love story. Lily begins exchanging letters with a mystery classmate and soon finds herself falling for someone she’s never met.

Signed, sealed, delivered…

While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out

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Revenge of the Nerd Goddess by Janette Rallison

Revenge of the Nerd Goddess delivers all the fun of a nerd-girl-meets-quarterback romance. Dakota arrives at a new school ready for revenge on her bullies, only to find herself distracted by the school’s star athlete.

Who says the smart girl can’t get the quarterback?

When Dakota moves to her new high school, she has a run-in with three jerks. They may moo at her in the hallway, but she can bide her time and plan an act of appropriate revenge for them. Being smart, after all, has its perks.

In the meantime, she has to keep her mother from marrying the wrong man. The “wrong man” pretty much means any and all of them.

Then there’s the hot quarterback at school. She keeps running into him in. And oh yeah, he likes the girl who may end up being Dakota’s stepsister.

That’s not problematic. Except when Dakota gets distracted by his broad shoulders and tawny brown eyes.

He seems to like her, but he can’t possibly, can he?

Quarterbacks don’t go for nerd goddesses. Or maybe they do.

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Rebel with a Donut by Chrissy Q Martin

Rebel with a Donut is a charming coming-of-age story set in a retirement community. Forced out of her comfort zone, Emma discovers friendship, first love, and the courage to be herself.

Five teenagers and four senior citizens together in a retirement community. What could go wrong?

A contemporary Golden Girls meets The Breakfast Club, Rebel with a Donut is a laugh-out-loud story about forging real friendships, breaking habits, discovering yourself, and finding your favorite donut.

A self-described loner, Emma hates to break rules, but that’s the one thing she must do while visiting her grandma for three weeks. Every morning Emma meets for donuts with four teenagers also being forced by their grandmothers to break habits.

Embracing a different side of herself, Emma attempts to make friends and leave behind the nobody she is at home. But Emma went to school with the boy staying next door. Tyler doesn’t remember Emma, and when their relationship deepens, Emma resolves not to reveal herself.

As the unlikely group of characters grow in their friendship, Emma has a tough time hiding her secrets. When it becomes difficult for Emma to rebel against rules and hide who she is, she runs from the fire. But it takes running into the flames for Emma to learn some people are worth breaking rules for.

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Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

After a devastating day at work, Daisy moves to a small coastal town for a fresh start. When a local baseball coach finds an abandoned baby, their lives become intertwined. A heartwarming story about second chances and belonging.

After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.

Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.

But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that “Kristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach reads” (People), they will each learn that with love, understanding—and a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!—sometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.

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Love à la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Love à la Mode mixes baking, Paris, and romance into one delicious story. At a prestigious culinary school, Rosie and Henry chase their dreams while trying not to fall for each other.

Rosie Radeke firmly believes that happiness can be found at the bottom of a mixing bowl. But she never expected that she, a random nobody from East Liberty, Ohio, would be accepted to celebrity chef Denis Laurent’s school in Paris, the most prestigious cooking program for teens in the entire world. Life in Paris, however, isn’t all cream puffs and crepes. Faced with a challenging curriculum and a nightmare professor, Rosie begins to doubt her dishes.

Henry Yi grew up in his dad’s restaurant in Chicago, and his lifelong love affair with food landed him a coveted spot in Chef Laurent’s school. He quickly connects with Rosie, but academic pressure from home and his jealousy over Rosie’s growing friendship with gorgeous bad-boy baker Bodie Tal makes Henry lash out and push his dream girl away.

Desperate to prove themselves, Rosie and Henry cook like never before while sparks fly between them. But as they reach their breaking points, they wonder whether they have what it takes to become real chefs.

Perfect for lovers of Chopped Teen Tournament and Kids Baking Championship, as well as anyone who dreams of a romantic trip to France, Love la Mode follows Rosie and Henry as they fall in love with food, with Paris, and ultimately, with each other.

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XOXO by Axie Oh

XOXO is a dreamy K-pop romance filled with music and love. Jenny never expects the charming stranger she meets in Los Angeles to turn out to be a famous idol.

Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo.

Jenny didn’t get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea.

With Jaewoo an ocean away, there’s no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she’s just been accepted to? Jaewoo.

Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn’t just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone.

When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo’s worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love. XOXO is a new romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your heart, from acclaimed author Axie Oh.

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What Are Friends For? by Sarah Sutton

What Are Friends For? is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance with one unforgettable kiss. After a party mix-up, Emmy starts seeing her lifelong best friend in a completely different light.

FALLING IN LOVE ISN’T COMPLICATED…UNLESS IT’S WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.
I’ve got a problem.

A big one.

It involves a blindfolded kissing game at a party. I was supposed to be kissing my crush, Jeremy, the totally hot baseball player I’ve been crushing on. And the kiss…it’s amazing. Makes me forget all about my overbearing mother, my next-door neighbor’s drama, and the probability of failing my senior year.

But that’s not the big problem.

The big problem is that once my blindfold falls off, I realize that heart-stopping, toe-curling, world-changing kiss wasn’t with my crush.

It was with Elijah Greybeck, my best friend since the third grade.

And even once I realize it’s him, why…why do I want to keep kissing him?

Book one of the Love in Fenton County standalone series, What Are Friends For?, is a swoon-worthy friends-to-lovers story that will leave you crushing hard.

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It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

It Started With Goodbye is a modern Cinderella-inspired story with family drama, secret emails, and a slow-burn romance. While serving community service, Tatum gets a chance to rebuild her life and maybe find love along the way.

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

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