Workplace Romance - Memo: 7 Contemporary Books With Co-worker Crushes

Beth and Jennifer know their work email is monitored, but it hasn’t deterred them from sending endless (and often hilarious) messages discussing their personal lives. Lincoln should have sent them warnings, but he can’t help being entertained by their stories—until he realizes he’s falling for Beth. Unfortunately, being the guy paid to read her emails isn’t exactly the meet-cute they write great movies about (unless you’re Rainbow Rowell, and then it’s not a movie per se but a novel).

Attachments is told from the perspective of Lincoln, the internet security officer working nights, and prominently features the flagged email exchanges between Beth and Jennifer. The book (or at least the edition I have) was published in 2011 and is set in 1999, so, in addition to featuring “light” stalking by both romantic leads, the book uses some language that would not be acceptable today and would potentially—if it hasn’t already—trigger a cancel culture response, but as someone who was alive at the time the book is set in, I know these words were used quite a bit.

Problematic language aside, readers need to be prepared for a slow burn . Lincoln and Beth see each other and almost meet throughout the novel but don’t actually interact until chapter 88—the proximity is a result of the emails Lincoln reads. With any other author, there could have been a pacing issue, but Rainbow Rowell has always written powerfully compelling and human characters . I’ve yet to encounter a character with the same depth and magnetism as a Rainbow Rowell love interest—if you know of any, please let me know ASAP.

In By the Book, we meet Izzy on her first day as an editorial assistant at Tale as Old as Time Publishing (TAOAT) in New York! (Prologue Isabelle is very liberal with her exclamation points, which immediately endeared her to me.) As readers, some of us may be guilty of romanticizing a career in publishing , but as I suspected, after almost two years at TAOAT, Izzy is feeling burned out and disillusioned. Who could blame her when she starts each day emailing Beau Towers, an author who fails to send updates, pages, or a draft of his celebrity manuscript?

When Izzy overhears the news that her boss might cancel the deal, she sees an opportunity to prove herself by visiting Beau in person at his Santa Barbara residence. If it doesn’t work out, at least she gets an extra day in California, right? One extra day turns into another until Izzy has spent weeks working remotely and living with Beau to help him with his manuscript.

Initially, Beau appeared to Izzy to be every bit as spoiled and selfish as she'd imagined (surely replying to a single email isn't that hard?), but everything changes when he reveals how passionate he is about writing his book. Following Izzy's advice, he starts making progress with his book, inspiring her to revisit her own dreams of being a published author.

I’d recommend  By the Book  for anyone who loves  Beauty and the Beast .Izzy, in my opinion, is a book-loving Belle who traveled to the home of the beast (and Beau earns this comparison) for a negotiation that results in her living with him in a large house with forbidden rooms and a library (with a rolling ladder). Much like Belle, Izzy doesn’t let Beau scare her off, though his more beastly behavior makes her consider leaving more than once.

Bonus Book:

I’d like to mention The Hating Gameby Sally Thorne, which was published in 2016 and is the standard to which I hold most workplace romance novels . What elevates The Hating Gameis the competitive nature between Josh and Lucy, which is amplified by a promotion.

Readers looking for something similar to By the Bookwith a higher OwlCrate spice rating (Medium - 🌶️🌶️🌶️) should consider this enemies-to-lovers book (where he falls first and waits for her to catch up), also set in the publishing industry.

Millie Morris, professor and female serial killer expert at UC Santa Barbara, and her four guy best friends (and fellow professors) seem to be permanently single. When the annual university function turns into a black-tie gala (thanks, Obamas!), they make a pact to join an online dating service to find plus-ones. Almost immediately after, Millie, who is always quick to deflect with a joke to avoid getting too personal, has a half-night stand with one of the guys, called Reid Campbell. For those unfamiliar (like I was), a half-night stand is when someone leaves in the middle of the night following a hook-up (the more you know!).

Following this encounter, Reid and Millie decide that the friendship would be better strictly platonic and continue with the online dating plan. While the guys are inundated with matches, Millie’s first profile is a testament to the average female experience: dick pics and creeps. This leads her to create a second profile where she doesn’t show her face. As Catherine, Millie can be more open and vulnerable than she ever has in person, and when she matches with Reid, she thinks he’ll recognize their in-jokes and know it’s her, but he doesn't. Soon, Reid and Catherine are exchanging open and honest messages, which makes things more complicated when Millie instigates another half-night stand.

Does it count as a miscommunication trope if Millie refuses to have the heavy and vulnerable conversations at all? As someone who is also avoidant, I get it, but catfishing your best friend and the continued unprofessional use of the university’s IM system is definitely going to be an issue for Human Resources. Then again, the guys in this friend group have done and said worse, so maybe Millie will be okay.

Excuse me, I have to use office resources to Google if the other guys have their own workplace or non-workplace romance books for me to read.

Farley Jones has an opportunity to tour with two other incredible (and successful) female comedians, so of course it’s a no-brainer that she and her manager, Meyer Harrigan, a former stand-up star himself, will pretend to date to stir up publicity. It’s tragic to pretend to date the person you’re secretly in love with, but they’re up for the challenge, as long as the lie doesn’t hurt Meyer’s daughter, Hazel.

This book, told in dual perspectives, includes flashbacks of important milestones, like the first time Meyer and Hazel meet Farley, as told from his perspective. In the flashback, he’s trying to salvage Hazel’s rained-out water park birthday party and failing to entertain a group of young girls in a comedy club. Farley arrives abruptly, a waterlogged hero, to witness the sad state of the event. When she realizes Hazel is deaf, she immediately switches to signing before saving the day (and the party).

Obviously, how Meyer feels about Farley can’t get in the way of the special bond between her and Hazel. In some novels, characters who clearly love each other but don't want to “ruin the friendship” borders on tedious, but with Meyer and Farley? Dancing around taking their relationship to the next level to keep stability in Hazel’s life feels almost noble. Though it needs to be said that Hazel and Farley’s familial love isn’t the only roadblock to romance—Meyer is hung up on their age difference and on keeping Farley’s career on track.

Farley, Meyer, and Hazel will always be near to my heart; Funny Feelingswas the first Tarah DeWitt novel I ever read. Since then, I’ve read the majority of her published works, drawn in by her character work and humor .

Shay Goldstein has worked at a Seattle public radio station since college, but lately she’s been clashing with her newest colleague, Dominic Yun (no one should talk about their Master’s degree that much). When the station needs a new concept, Shay accidentally pitches a show that gets green-lit: The Ex Talk, hosted by two exes to deliver relationship advice on air. Unfortunately, given how much Shay and Dominic bicker, their boss decides that they’re the perfect hosts. Who cares if they aren’t exes? Journalistic integrity is out; ratings rule all, etc.

The Ex Talkprovides a refreshing twist on the fake dating trope because not only do Dominic and Shay have to pretend to have dated, they have to pretend to have broken up, too. Of course, working to create a successful show provides several opportunities for proximity, especially when they’re sent on a weekend getaway to improve their on-air chemistry.

The romance between Shay and Dominic was actually less interesting to me compared to the themes of grief. While the author doesn’t confirm it, I feel that Shay got developmentally stuck after her father died. In my opinion, how Shay talks about her father and their shared love of public radio is the most romantic part of the book, but that doesn’t mean that Dominic isn’t the perfect love interest for her. He’s five years younger and feeling unmoored after returning home to Seattle following the end of his Master’s program and a long-term relationship.

Somehow, witnessing Dominic’s loneliness helps Shay to make strides in her own life, and it takes her on a path that they ultimately end up walking together with her rescue dog (lovingly named Steve Rogers Goldstein).

Rue Siebert is content with her life: a best friend she can count on, a girl-boss mentor (Florence Kline), and the financial stability she yearned for as a child. She’s a biotech engineer at Kline, a start-up in the field of food science, where she’s developing a microbial coating to extend the shelf life of food.

It's no surprise that Rue would hate Eli Killgore and his business partners for attempting a hostile takeover of Kline, both out of loyalty to Florence and protectiveness for her project. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through, and he can’t allow Rue to be a distraction. Unfortunately, the attraction between them is undeniable, and so two (in the author’s own words) emotionally constipated people embark on a secret affair with a built-in end date: the day one of their companies prevails.

While reading this workplace romance novel, which utilizes dual perspectives, I couldn’t help but compare Rue to an onion, with how layers were pulled back throughout the story to reveal the events of her formative years. Of course, a childhood of neglect and starvation motivated her to improve food’s longevity! It paints Rue in a heroic light—and is she any less emotionally constipated than Batman? Speaking of vigilantes, I can’t help but liken Eli to one as he spends the book trying to right an injustice. 

Coming out on June 17, this book became my most anticipated workplace romance novel of 2025 due to an incredibly effective post shared by a local-ish bookstore I follow. If I pre-order through them, I’ll get a copy signed by the author, inappropriate stickers, bonus art from the cover artist, NSFW artwork, and a “why choose?” alternate ending? Say less and take my money!

While the pre-order campaign was effective, I’m actually most looking forward to the book because it takes place during the filming of a low-budget holiday movie in a town close to where I live. As a Canadian, I don’t get to see this kind of geographical representation often (sadly, Canadian books are usually set in Ontario), and as someone who really enjoyed the first two Christmas Notch novels from Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (who have written a blurb for Holly Jolly July), I have high hopes for this book!

In the novel, a small-time actress (Ellie) and make-up artist (Mariah) bond over their hook-ups/partners only to discover that the guys are cheating on them. What ensues is a series of  Home Alone-inspired pranks until they realize they’re falling for each other. Can you see how a “why choose?” alternate ending was such an intriguing, and obviously effective, pre-order tactic?