The slow turn from inside joke to private want. Friends-to-lovers is the romance trope that asks for emotional fluency and patient pacing. These are the books that nail the moment everything changes.
RJ Scott
Georgette Heyer
Clare Ashton
Sarina Bowen
Mary Balogh
Alice Oseman
Lisa Henry, Tia Fielding
Dorothy Mack
Haley Cass
Malinda Lo
Patricia Veryan
Elle Kennedy, Vivian Arend
Willow Hurst
L.A Witt
Adam Silvera
Julia Quinn, Karen Hawkins, Mia Ryan, Suzanne Enoch
Megan Hart
Joan Smith
Ann Bannon