Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by Louisa
Are you looking for some heart-throb soldier boy to fall in love with? Or perhaps you’re looking for a military nurse to be your next heroine MC?
Whoever you fantasize about, you’ll find that military romance books offer the most heartwarming stories and badass protagonists.
If you’re looking for army-based romance novels to add to your reading list, then you’ll love these top military romance novels!
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What To Expect From Military Romance Books?
Military romance books capture the trials and tribulations of love in a military setting.
Whether it be stories of forbidden attraction between officers, forbidden relationships between enlisted personnel, or the challenges of long-distance while serving in different branches, readers can expect plenty of emotional moments and gripping battles scenes in these books.
Themes central to the genre include honor, loyalty, courage, and sacrifice as characters fight against all odds to protect those they love.
With action-packed heroes and heroines who take life by storm and demonstrate immense strength against all adversities, readers can follow a touching story of resilience regardless of the era being depicted.
From battlefields to rescued princesses to heartbreaking reunions, military romance books are usually heartfelt and pack an emotional punch, but are also exciting.
The Best Standalone Military Romance Books
Whether you’re looking for a story about long-lost lovers separated by war, or two badass main characters who find love on the battlefield, you’ll find all this and more in these standalone military romance novels…
1. Dear Aaron – Mariana Zapata
I begin my list with a heartwarming military romance novel about a young girl named Ruby Santos, who signs up to write to a soldier overseas.
The guidelines suggest she writes one letter or email weekly for the length of their deployment. As the pair begins their correspondence, the reader can see they have a lot in common and would be well-suited.
As their correspondence continues, their feelings for one another become apparent, yet neither of them has met or knows what the other looks like. They fall in love based on their letters alone.
But what happens when they eventually meet in person?
If you want a sweet, beautiful military romance book to add to your reading list, this one will certainly play on your heartstrings.
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2. Making Faces – Amy Harmon
Making Faces is a beautiful story that follows the journey of two unlikely companions who find solace in each other despite the struggles and pain caused by war.
Ambrose Young, the strong and handsome MC of this tale, signs up to fight for his country only to return broken, wounded, and grieving for his fallen comrades.
Fern has been in love with him since she was thirteen but never thought he would feel the same way until now.
Together they explore the bittersweet beauty of long-awaited love with themes of healing, second chances, and how even loss can bring two people together.
Despite being a Beauty and the Beast retelling, the couple finds strength in facing their demons while creating a bond so powerful it rivals any fairytale.
It’s a passionate, slow-burning friends to lovers romantic book about a romance that goes skin-deep.
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3. Fighting Redemption – Kate McCarthy
Another army-based romance novel about finding love after the war is Fighting Redemption. The story follows Ryan Kendall, a broken war hero who knows more about pain and loss than anyone else.
Although he’s broken, he still wants the one thing he can’t have. A beautiful girl named Finlay Tanner, whom he grew up with.
When he was 19, Ryan left home to join the Australian Army, where he trained to become an elite SAS soldier. He is then deployed to Afghanistan, taking on the most dangerous missions.
After six years on the battlefield, he finally returns home with one mission left; to make Finlay his.
But can a broken man with so much pain and suffering be pleased, and is this what Finlay deserves?
Fighting Redemption is about the price of war and sacrifice. It tells how strong men fall fard and that the hardest fight is the fight with yourself.
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4. Heartbreak Warfare – Heather M. Orgeron
Heartbreak Warfare is exactly what it says on the tin; a story about heartbreak during the time of war.
The story follows army soldier Katy, who has to leave her husband and son for a tour.
While she’s there, she misses her family, but her best friend Mullins is there to make the separation easier.
Soon, they become friends with a group of guys. She meets Briggs, a fun and flirty guy with a lovable personality.
After an ambush puts them into a devastating situation, leaving them emotionally shattered, but it’s here that Katy starts to have feelings for Briggs that she cannot control…
Can she return to her husband and son when she comes home and forgets it all happened?
Is it so easy to leave the memory of Briggs and the times they shared in Germany? Or does she have to see him again…she’s married, it’s forbidden, but can she fight temptation?
Military romance at its best: Heartbreak Warfare is a forbidden romance book that captures the trials and tribulations of forbidden attraction in a heartfelt tribute to those serving in our armed forces.
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The Best Military Romance Series
When one book isn’t enough, you’ll find swoony-worthy heroes in these army romance series…
5. Rescuing Rayne (Delta Force Heroes Series) – Susan Stoker
Although part of the Delta Force Heroes Series, Rescuing Rayne by Susan Stoker is a standalone army-based romance book with no cliffhanger ending.
The story follows a flight attendant called Rayne, who meets the charming and mysterious Keane “Ghost” Bryson, a Delta Force member, in London after her canceled flight.
The pair hit it off, and after touring the city, they share a hot and steamy night.
Both thought it would end when Keane slipped in the morning, but fate has other plans for the duo. Months later, the pair are reconnected under the worst circumstance – a terrorist situation.
The pair must not only survive the terrifying ordeal they now face but also confront their feelings for each other while facing their secrets and untold truths.
This is an action-packed, angsty romance novel with some thriller aspects. This is a good fit if you like your military romance novels to be gripping.
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6. Pretend You’re Mine (Benevolence Series) – Lucy Score
If you’re looking for an adult romance book in the military fiction genre, you’ll find it hard-pressed to find anything steamier than Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy Score.
The story follows a hometown hero, Luke Garrison, who is also a strong, hot, and broody member of the National Guard.
He’s used to solitude in his military lifestyle, but when the wild and beautiful Harper comes stumbling into his life, he sees her as an opportunity.
He asks her to be his fake girlfriend to keep his family off his back while he waits to be deployed.
But Harper wants to settle down and start a new life in a small town. She immediately falls for Luke; he makes her feel safe and protected.
The deal was for one month, but as we know with fake relationship romance novels, sometimes fake feelings can become real, and all lies come out into the open – including Luke’s dark past and why Harper is running away…
Pretend You’re Mine is part of the Benevolence series of books about small town romances, which can be read as a standalone novel with no cliffhangers.
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7. The Darkest Hour (KGI Series) – Maya Banks
The first series on this list is the most beloved military romance series by Maya Banks, the KGI series.
There are 12 novels in the series, each a standalone story about heroism and military romances, following the lives of The Kelly Group International (KGI).
A super-elite and top-secret family business that takes care of business when the US government can’t.
They are highly intelligent, strong, and ferocious military officers with rock-hard abs and jaw bones you could cut paper with. Yum!
The first novel in the series, The Darkest Hour, introduces us to ex-Navy SEAL soldier Ethan Kelly, who lost his wife, Rachel, one year ago. Stricken by grief, he shuts himself off.
To help him channel his grief, his brothers introduce him to the KGI. He refuses to join until he receives an anonymous phone call that Rachel is still alive.
With the KGI on this side, he must battle through bullets, cross jungles and fight against the cartel to bring her own.
This is a fast-paced, action-packed tale of one man’s quest to save the love of his life. It’s his finest, darkest hour…
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8. Protecting Caroline (SEAL of Protection Series) – Susan Stoker
Protecting Caroline is the first installment in the SEAL of Protection series by Susan Stoker, one of my favorite authors in the military romance novel trope.
Each novel in the SEAL of Protection series can be read as a standalone, but each has the same theme – a hot military soldier protecting a damsel in distress.
In Protecting Caroline, we meet Matthew “Wolf” Steel, a Navy SEAL agent forced to fly commercials. Here he meets a sweet, attractive, and funny young woman named Caroline.
When the plane took off from Virginia, Caroline, and Wolf never expected to meet each other, let alone hit it off.
But their budding romance is interrupted when their plane is hijacked.
If she thought that the hijacking of her plane by terrorists would be the last time she bumps into this sexy navy SEAL officer, then she was surely mistaken, as fate has other plans for this duo…
Featuring action-packed plots and likable heroes and heroines, readers can follow a touching story of resilience, romance, and bravery.
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9. The Unsung Hero (Troubleshooters Series) – Suzanne Brockmann
Suzanne Brockmann is another author of the military romance trope that never fails to wow readers with her vivid and action-packed storylines.
Her popular Troubleshooters series introduces us to stories about adventures mixed with budding romances.
The first novel in the Troubleshooters series is The Unsung Hero, where we meet the Navy SEAl lieutenant Tom Paoletti, who spots an international terrorist in his hometown in New England.
He calls in for backup but is dismissed. To prevent a disaster from happening, he assembles his team – his most loyal officers, two army vets, some misfit teens, and Dr. Kelly Ashton.
Tom was the resident bad boy growing up, but Kelly was the sweet girl next door he always had the hots for.
Not only does he have the chance to save the day, but also to win her heart at last.
This is an emotionally powerful bad boy romance book with a sweet budding romance between two broken souls, this story will stay with you long after turning the last page.
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10. Full Measures (Flight and Glory Series) – Rebecca Yarros
Total Measure is a new adult military romance novel full of suspense and angst. It follows a young army brat, Ember Howard, after she learns her father has passed away at war.
Her mother could not carry her grief, and Ember didn’t know how she would care for her crumbling family after his death.
But soon, she meets the Hockey star and her new neighbor, Josh Walker.
His presence helps soothe her pain, and even though she knows she should be mourning, she can’t turn off the attraction in her heart.
But Josh has a secret that will shatter everything…
Total Measure is an emotional and captivating military romance novel that tells the story of two unlikely companions who find solace in each other.
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11. Wild Card (Elite Ops Series) – Lora Leigh
Another Navy SEAL romance novel that will sweep you off your feet is Wild Card, the first novel in the Elite Ops series by Lora Leigh.
The story follows Navy SEAL Nathan Malone, tasked with saving three young girls from the drug cartel in Colombia.
He was then supposed to get himself captured in a plan to draw out a government spy.
The plan was simple, but it didn’t plan out the way it was intended, and his wife, Bella, was told he wouldn’t be coming home.
Bella’s mourned her husband for three years – she has no idea that he’s still alive.
Forced to assume a new identity, Nathan wants nothing more than to get home to his wife, but in doing so, he puts her life at risk. If he can return to his life with Bella, can he tell her who he is?
A gripping story full of action and emotions, Wild Card is a perfect representation of what military romance books have to offer.
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12. Hell on Wheels (Black Knights Inc. Series) – Julie Ann Walker
Nate “Ghost” Weller was the bad boy on the block who has always loved Ali Morgan, but he’s done something so terrible that he’s sure she’ll never forgive him if she knew.
But when she finds herself in serious trouble with a load of bad guys following her, Nate’s the only one who can help her.
Ali knows Nate is a bad boy and no good for her, but he’s also extremely sexy and irresistible. She’s avoided him because she knew he would consume her, but she can’t deny her body yearns for him.
Now he’s the only person she can rely on. As bullets start flying, so do the sparks. But when she learns his terrible secret, can love to conquer all?
Hell on Wheels paints a vivid picture of a modern-day military romance with themes of courage, honor, loyalty, and sacrifice.
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13. Come Back To Me – Mila Gray
Local lothario and marine Kit Ryan is back home on leave when he is drawn to his best friend’s sister, Jessa.
It begins as a summer romance with secret hookups but soon becomes a passionate love that turns everything on its head.
When summer passes, Kit is redeployed. Neither Kit nor Jessa wants to say goodbye, but they must.
Jessa and Kit try to make it work, but the distance separates them. Can the pair keep it together? Is their love worth fighting for?
Through the story of two unlikely companions, readers experience an emotional journey filled with slow-burning love and bittersweet moments.
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14. Axel (Corps Security Series) – Harper Sloan
Axel is an adult romance novel about a former husband and wife reconnecting after a time apart at war.
Axel and Isabelle West fell in love at a young age. Axel was raised in foster care and has always wanted to prove his worth, so he enlists in the US marine corps. It’s here that their fairytale love story ends.
From there on, it has been nothing but nightmares for Izzy. Over the next ten years, her life seems to be spinning out of control.
After leaving an abusive relationship, her path crosses with Axel’s again. He gets to work protecting her, but the pair must confront their painful past.
Can the pair reconnect and find their way back to each other in this heart-wrenching second chance romance novel?
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15. Forged in Fire (Red-Hot SEALS Series) – Trish McCallan
Forged in Fire is a RITA Finalist for Best First Book and Romantic Suspense.
It follows the story of Beth Brown, who has a dream about a commercial airliner that’s hijacked, and a gorgeous passenger is shot dead.
She has no idea who this mystery man in her dream is, but she will never forget his face.
When she awakes, she rushes to the airport and meets the man in her dream.
Only the man in her dream is Zane Winters, who uses his psychic powers to carry out missions for elite SEAL Team 7.
He yearns to find a woman he can trust and almost gives up hope when he meets a woman who somehow knows he’s about to die.
The pair then work together to thwart the incoming danger of the hijacker. As they fight the danger together, can they fight their growing attraction?
With thrilling action scenes and heartfelt moments that make you cry and cheer for the characters, it’s no surprise why this book is loved by many.
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Final Word on Military Romance Books
So there you have it, those are my favorite military romance novels, and as you can see, there is a lot of diversity between them.
Some stories are steamy and fiery, and others are tender and sweet. I hope that you find something that meets your fantasy from this list.
Let me know in the comments if you have other recommendations for army-based romance novels!
