Canadian romance authors are making names for themselves in all corners of the genre’s vast landscape. Given that the country boasts rugged wilderness, small-town charm, plenty of hockey teams, and cosmopolitan cities, it’s no surprise Canadian romance authors are writing love interests who range from cowboys to celebrities and everything in between. Moreover, Canada’s incredible diversity is reflected in the authentic characters and vibrant communities portrayed within these stories. And that’s not even getting into the rich lore you’ll find within the paranormal and fantasy romances that make this list. From authors with deep catalogues, like Kelley Armstrong and Karina Halle, to rising stars like Elsie Silver and Bal Khabra, you’ll find every kind of love story imaginable here.
Carley Fortune
If you’re looking for a perfect lakeside romance, Carley Fortune is the author for you. Hailing from Toronto, Fortune transitioned from a career in journalism to one writing feel-good romances set by the water. If you’re just diving into this author, try This Summer Will Be Different, a forbidden romance between a woman and her best friend’s brother. Between Fortune’s evocative writing and the narration by AJ Bridel, this story will have you longing to spend a summer on Prince Edward Island.
Elsie Silver
Fans of Western romances will appreciate the boom in the subgenre, driven by talented authors like Elsie Silver. Born and raised in Canada, Silver’s small-town and Western romances promise strong-willed characters and plenty of tension. Start with Wild Love, the first book in the Rose Hill series, in which a woman returning to her hometown gets a job working for her brother’s billionaire best friend. Zachary Webber and Vanessa Edwin narrate Silver’s trademark witty banter.
Rachel Reid
There is perhaps no romance generating more buzz around the globe right now than Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry. Her entire Game Changers series really puts the “ice” in “spice,” exploring the steamy side of pro hockey. The second installment—which was recently adapted into a hit HBO show of the same name—follows Montreal Voyageurs captain Shane Hollander as he falls for the overconfident Ilya Rozanov of the Boston Bears. A longtime hockey fan, Reid writes books as swoon-inducing as they are attuned to the inner workings of the rink.
Lily Chu
Lily Chu’s novels are primarily set in Toronto and feature richly drawn Asian characters. A perfect place to start with her audio-first canon is with the Audible Original The Stand-In. Narrated by Broadway phenomenon Philippa Soo, this story follows an everyday woman tapped to be the stand-in for her world-famous doppelgänger. Falling for her celebrity twin’s boyfriend was never part of the plan.
Brynne Weaver
For those whose tastes skew toward the darker side, Brynne Weaver is writing some of the most daring romantic comedies out there. Despite the bucolic atmosphere of the Nova Scotia family farm she calls home, she writes plenty of murder and mayhem into her romances. The hit Ruinous Love Trilogy, beginning with Butcher & Blackbird, pairs two rival serial murderers who are each other’s perfect match. Listeners call the duet-style narration of Joe Arden and Lucy Rivers “amazing” and “perfectly cast.”
Sonya Lalli
Sonya Lalli draws on her Punjabi and Bengali heritage to write heartwarming multicultural romances. Audible Original As Luck Would Have It is an enemies-to-lovers hockey romance narrated by The Sex Lives of College Girls star Amrit Kaur. In this feel-good story, a woman believed to be a good luck charm for her hockey player brother clashes with, and then falls for, his teammate.
Elle Kennedy
Hailing from the Toronto suburbs, Elle Kennedy is a prolific author of contemporary romances, often set on college campuses. Her Avalon Bay series, set in a seaside town with an elite college, kicks off with Good Girl Complex. This novel pairs a people-pleasing student with a local bad boy and will draw fans of emotional storylines and steamy scenes. Listeners praise the “perfect” pacing of narrators Ava Erickson and Joe Arden.
Jackie Lau
Before Toronto resident Jackie Lau began writing romance, she worked as a geophysicist. Her S.T.E.M. background shines through in the critically acclaimed Time Loops & Meet Cutes, narrated by Cindy Kay and Raymond J. Lee, where the female lead is an engineer. Fans of romances with speculative elements will appreciate this story of a woman doomed to repeat the same day over and over, unless she can figure out how the good-looking man she encounters several times daily can get her unstuck.
Rebecca Fisseha
Ethiopian-Canadian writer Rebecca Fisseha is known for short stories, essays, and articles, but in 2025, she published her first romance. Only Because It’s You, narrated by Araya Mengesha and Mekdes Teshome, will appeal to fans of the marriage of convenience trope. This story, set in Toronto, follows an Ethiopian immigrant actor on the verge of his big break who marries his best friend to avoid leaving the country. Before long, their marriage of necessity transforms from something practical to something passionate.
Bal Khabra
If you like sports romances with a sweet and sassy edge, you should check out Bal Khabra. A Canadian author with South Asian roots, she infuses her romances with diverse characters and plenty of whip-smart banter, too. Collide, narrated by Julia Knippen and Max Meyers, kicks off the popular Off the Ice series. This novel features a college hockey star falling for a fellow student doing sports psychology research.
Amy Lea
Ottawa author Amy Lea writes witty and character-driven romantic comedies for adults and teens. For a scandalous romp, listen to The Bodyguard Affair, narrated by Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton. When a romance writer’s unexpectedly popular work creates real-world rumours, a fake-dating scheme is sure to pull focus … and lead to true love.
Jenny Holiday
After moving to Toronto to pursue a PhD in urban geography, Jenny Holiday eventually settled in London, Ontario, where she writes both contemporary and historical romance. Narrated by Vancouver-born Dawson’s Creek and Mighty Ducks star Joshua Jackson, along with Emily Ellet, Canadian Boyfriend pairs a ballet teacher with the man she met once as a teen and has been referring to as her “Canadian boyfriend” ever since. Hear the chemistry come alive in this swoon-worthy duet-style narration.
Farah Heron
Farah Heron’s charming romances, often set in Ontario, feature big-hearted characters with equally big South Asian families. Her stories come alive through vivid food writing and richly detailed settings. Kamila Knows Best, narrated by Soneela Nankani, retells the Jane Austen classic Emma with Heron’s signature flair. The titular character’s tireless matchmaking and socializing keep her distracted from seeing that the love she deserves is already right in front of her in the form of a longtime friend.
Becka Mack
Author and kindergarten teacher Becka Mack embraces heavier emotions in her stories; in fact, she got her start writing after the loss of her brother. Listeners who crave books that are true emotional roller coasters will appreciate the Playing for Keeps series, starting with Consider Me. Narrated by Kasha Kensington and Alex Kydd, this steamy story follows a playboy hockey player who falls for the one woman who is immune to his charms.
Nisha J. Tuli
With both romantasy and contemporary romance titles to her name, Manitoba author Nisha J. Tuli is taking the romance world by storm. Her smash BookTok hit Trial of the Sun Queen, narrated by Corvin King and Soneela Nankani, has been described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. In this epic story, 10 women are competing for the hand of the Sun King, but Lor is not there for marriage. She’s hoping for revenge.
Noreen Nanja
Noreen Nanja, a pediatric neurologist practicing in Toronto, moonlights as a romance author. As a writer with Indian roots, she doesn’t shy away from examining issues of race and identity within her love stories. Her debut romance, The Summers Between Us, narrated by Athena Karkanis, features the reunion of a woman with her first love when she goes to her family’s summer cottage on Pike Bay.
Maggie North
Ottawa author Maggie North is another person who spends her days practicing medicine and her nights writing romance. Listeners seeking second-chance romances will appreciate her poignant and engrossing Rules for Second Chances, in which an introverted wife and an extroverted husband try to save their marriage with an improv comedy class. Narrator Gail Shalan enhances the sweet, subtle nature of North’s writing.
Jane Igharo
Originally from Nigeria, Jane Igharo moved to Canada as a child and pursued journalism before turning to writing. Her book Ties That Tether, narrated by Nkeki Obi-Melekwe and Gary Tiedemann, features a character whose background mirrors her own. Although that character promised her mother she would marry a Nigerian man, she falls for someone her mother would never approve of. The skillful narration of characters struggling with where to place their loyalties will elicit both laughter and tears.
Uzma Jalaluddin
Novelist, playwright, public speaker, and teacher Uzma Jalaluddin writes deeply relatable characters, many of whom match her own background as a Muslim South Asian Canadian. Her debut romance, Ayesha at Last, retells Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from a fresh perspective. With smooth narration by Lara Sawalha, this novel follows the title character Ayesha, who has rejected the idea of an arranged marriage until she meets someone so annoyingly handsome that she might reconsider.
Danielle L. Jensen
Bestselling author Danielle L. Jensen hails from Calgary, where she writes fantasy romances for both adults and teens. Fans of Norse mythology will appreciate her Saga of the Unfated, a series that begins with A Fate Inked in Blood. This epic tale follows a commoner woman whose drop of goddess heritage launches her into a new life as the guardian of a would-be king’s son. Nina Yndis’s deft narration includes distinct voices for each of the book’s characters.
Karina Halle
In addition to being the author of over 80 romance novels, Victoria author Karina Halle has been a screenwriter and a music and travel journalist. Whatever subgenre of romance you’re looking for, Halle has probably written it. Her Dracula Duet is a sexy twist on the classic vampire story. The first book of the duology, Blood Orange, features the vampire who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, who realizes that he is falling for the reincarnation of someone he has loved and lost twice. Arthur Russell and Carolyn Eve’s narration quickly pulls you into the seductive world of the undead.
Demi Winters
Demi Winters, who lives in British Columbia, writes epic romantic fantasy novels. Her Ashen series blends Viking lore with fairy tales. The first book in this series, The Road of Bones, is an enemies-to-lovers romance in which a woman on the run from an assassin joins up with the notorious Bloodaxe Crew on a thousand-mile stretch of haunted road. Islay Jacobs’s narration perfectly brings to life both the sweet disposition of the protagonist and the grim grit of her surroundings.
Kelley Armstrong
Prolific author Kelley Armstrong is best known for her Otherworld series, which received a television adaptation. Additionally, she writes everything from mystery to contemporary fantasy to romantic comedies. Fans of time travel and gothic romance will appreciate her popular A Stitch in Time series. Narrator Samantha Brentmoor pulls listeners into the captivating story from the first installment, which unfolds at Thorne Manor. There, a young girl discovers she can slip through time to visit a boy who lived there centuries prior. Now they’re both grown adults—will their connection transcend time?
S.M. Gaither
Known for epic fantasy romances, S.M. Gaither’s book series are connected with one another and set in an expansive magical world called The Marrlands. The Song of the Marked, the first book in the Shadows and Crowns series, pairs a female mercenary with the right hand of the king as they try to uncover the source of a mysterious plague. Narrator Jesse Vilinsky is hailed for her distinct accents, which bring the characters in the story to life.
Jaqueline Carey
Jacqueline Carey is an established name in fantasy romance. Carey’s sensual stories blend court intrigue with steamy plots. Kushiel’s Dart kicks off the Phedre Trilogy, the first of three trilogies in Kushiel’s Legacy. Phedre, a woman who experiences pleasure and pain as one, is both a courtesan and a spy in the Renaissance-inspired Terre d’Ange. Anne Flosnik’s graceful narration portrays Phedre with the utmost savvy and poise.
E.K. Johnston
Known for young adult novels that span horror, science-fiction adventure, realistic fiction, and fantasy, Canadian author E.K. Johnston has even dabbled in romance. That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a story set in a near-future world in which heirs to the British Empire are chosen through genetic matchmaking. In the summer before the crown princess fulfills her duty to the crown, she poses as a commoner in Toronto for one last summer of normalcy. Narrator Katherine Kellgren infuses this delightful story with her signature charm.
Stephanie Archer
Vancouver author Stephanie Archer is known for her spicy romantic comedies. Fans of hockey romance will rejoice at Archer’s series tracing the romances of players for the fictional Vancouver Storm. The first in this series, Behind the Net, is a grumpy-sunshine romance chronicling the blossoming relationship between a surly goalie and the woman hired to be his personal assistant. Narrators Tim Paige and Savannah Peachwood capture the chemistry sizzling between the two characters.
K.A. Tucker
With over 30 books to her name, K.A. Tucker writes thrillers and young adult novels in addition to her edgy and deeply emotional romances. Fans of romances that follow couples over multiple books will enjoy the Simple Wild series, starting with The Simple Wild. In this tearjerking story, a woman leaves her Toronto home to visit her father in the Alaskan wild as he nears the end of his life. There, she connects with a pilot who works for her father’s charter plane business. Narrator Rebekkah Ross skillfully conveys the protagonist’s profound evolution over the course of the story.
Kate Robb
Hailing from outside Toronto, Kate Robb describes her romantic comedies as “weird and wild.” Case in point: This Spells Love. In this quirky romance with a supernatural twist, a woman and her best friend get drunk in the wake of a breakup. Naturally, they end up performing a cleansing spell. Unsurprisingly, it goes awry. Now the two best friends, suddenly turned strangers, must establish their relationship anew, and things proceed differently this time. With witty narration by Khaya Fraites, this charming story sparkles.
Although raised south of the border, romance author Isabelle Popp can sing "O Canada" in both English and French, thanks to attending many a Montréal Expos game in her youth. She is the author of Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About and the forthcoming I Haunt It That Way.
