August 24, 2026
10 Clean Marriage of Convenience Romance Books We Love
Is there anything more delightfully unhinged in romance than two people deciding, You know what would solve all our problems? Marriage.
We think not.
Marriage of convenience is one of our all-time favorite romance tropes—which is probably not surprising, considering we went and wrote one ourselves. There’s just something about two people entering into a marriage for Very Practical Reasons™ while absolutely, positively, definitely not planning to fall in love.
And then sharing a house.
And a last name.
And maybe having to convince everyone around them that they’re madly in love.
You can see where this is going.
If you love clean marriage of convenience romance books with plenty of chemistry, banter, yearning, and swoony kisses—but without explicit content—we’ve put together some of our favorites. This list includes contemporary romance, sports romance, Christian romance, and even a historical pick, because apparently our love for ill-advised fictional marriages knows no bounds.
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Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend by Kate Watson
I’m obsessed with Kate Watson’s Catching Feelings series, and this first book is no exception.
Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend is the kind of romance I want to crawl inside and live in for a while: delightful, low-angst, and a delicious slow burn. There’s plenty of banter and chemistry, and—most importantly for those of us who love a good kissing book—lots of swoony kisses.
And ONLY kisses!
If you want a clean marriage of convenience romance that gives you all the butterflies without a ton of angst, start here.
See Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend
Hail Marry by Martha Keyes
“A life for a wife.”
I mean. COME ON.
NFL player Luca saves Tori’s life…and then proposes marriage because he needs a green card.
As one does.
Hail Marry is sweet, funny, romantic, and such a fun take on the marriage of convenience trope. If you’re specifically looking for a clean sports romance with a marriage of convenience, this one checks a whole lot of boxes.
See Hail Marry
Bram Baxter Marries the Wrong Sister by Latisha Sexton
This might be the most unique take on marriage of convenience I’ve ever read.
Bram Baxter Marries the Wrong Sister approaches the trope from a genuinely Christian perspective, and Latisha Sexton doesn’t shy away from the raw or gritty parts of the story. It has emotional weight and depth while still keeping the romance clean.
If you’re searching for a Christian marriage of convenience romance that digs deeper into what marriage actually means—not just the fun circumstances that get two characters to the altar—this one absolutely deserves a spot on your list.
See Bram Baxter Marries the Wrong Sister
The Run Option by Annah Conwell
Another NFL player. Another marriage of convenience.
Listen, we apparently have a type.
Except this time, the marriage helps her with a work visa while also helping improve his public image. Mutually beneficial! Extremely practical! Surely no feelings will develop!
As always with Annah Conwell’s books, The Run Option has no profanity and plenty of swoony kisses. There is a fade-to-black scene between the married couple, but nothing explicit is shown on page.
It’s a great pick if you love closed-door sports romance, marriage of convenience, and lots of chemistry.
See The Run Option
Forget Me Not by Sarah M. Eden
We’re leaving the football field behind for this one and heading back in time.
Forget Me Not tells the story of Julia and Lucas Jonquil in a Regency-ish arranged marriage romance. If you’ve read Sarah M. Eden’s Lancaster and Jonquil books, you already know Julia as the matriarch of the Jonquil family—which makes getting to go back and discover her love story even sweeter.
And their story really is so utterly sweet.
If you prefer historical romance or love an arranged marriage romance without explicit content, this is such a lovely one.
See Forget Me Not
A Groom of One’s Own by Emma St. Clair
Eli Hopkins is the golden retrieverist of golden retrievers.
He’s a hockey player.
He plays with puppies.
He’s Canadian.
And he’s about to be deported.
Obviously, we need a wife.
I loved Eli’s sweet heart in A Groom of One’s Own, but even more than that, I loved the way he loves Bailey—and waits patiently for her to eventually catch on.
For readers who love clean hockey romance, golden retriever heroes, and marriage of convenience, this one is basically a checklist of excellent life choices.
See A Groom of One’s Own
Beauty and the Beach by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
This book gave me my first hate kiss.
And I was absolutely there for it.
Phoenix is rich and needs to get married in order to inherit his family business. Holland is…desperate enough to agree to this whole ridiculous plan.
What follows is exactly the kind of tension and banter I want from a marriage of convenience romance.
The chemistry between Phoenix and Holland?
Chef’s kiss.
If your favorite version of this trope involves two people who are perhaps a little less Oh no, I’m falling for you and a little more Why are you the most infuriating human being I have ever met and also why do I want to kiss you?—try this one.
See Beauty and the Beach
Miles Bailey Gets Down on One Knee by Jen Atkinson
This was my first Jen Atkinson book, and it made me immediately say:
Yep. I’ll read everything she writes.
When everyone mistakenly thinks Miles has proposed, he and Bailey decide to just…go with it.
Because why not?
Bailey is a celebrity who could use a little grounding, and Miles is about as grounded as they come. I loved the contrast between them and the way their accidental engagement turns into something neither of them expected.
If you like clean celebrity romance, fake relationships, and marriage-of-convenience-adjacent shenanigans, put this one on your TBR.
See Miles Bailey Gets Down on One Knee
Green Card Christmas by Jen Atkinson
See? Told you I’d read more Jen Atkinson.
This time, it’s not the athlete facing deportation—it’s his late best friend’s little sister.
She’s been down on her luck in a big way, but when she runs into Roman at one of his soccer games, things begin to change.
There’s a green card marriage.
There’s soccer.
There are holidays.
And they spend Christmas in a cabin in the woods.
:)
Really, what else do you need?
If you love clean Christmas romance books and want a marriage of convenience story with all the cozy holiday vibes, add this one to your Christmas TBR.
See Green Card Christmas
Promise You the Moon by Lindsay Rochester & Tiffany Noelle Chacon
And then there’s the book we wrote because apparently reading marriage of convenience romances wasn’t enough for us.
In Promise You the Moon, Hunter Dawson left Starlight Valley nearly a decade ago determined to serve his country and get over Ellie James.
He accomplished exactly one of those things.
When Hunter returns home, Ellie is pregnant, recovering from an abusive marriage, and in need of someone who can make her feel safe again. Hunter—now a protective Marine with approximately zero ability to be normal where Ellie is concerned—is more than willing to step in.
When Ellie needs protection, a marriage of convenience seems like the perfect solution.
Very practical.
Very sensible.
Absolutely no possibility whatsoever that marrying the girl you never got over could get complicated.
Right?
Promise You the Moon is a clean small-town marriage of convenience romance with a protective hero, he-falls-first energy, found family, Blue Ridge Mountain charm, a touch of suspense, plenty of yearning, and swoony kisses.
And yes, there is absolutely some “that’s my WIFE” energy.
Romance Level: Kisses Only
Language: No Profanity
Content & trigger warnings for this book
Read Promise You the MoonWhy Do We Love the Marriage of Convenience Trope So Much?
Maybe it’s the forced proximity.
Maybe it’s the moment when one of them realizes that somewhere between this is strictly practical and we need to make this look convincing, they have made a terrible, wonderful mistake.
Maybe it’s the casual use of the words my wife or my husband that suddenly becomes decidedly less casual.
Or maybe it’s simply that marriage of convenience gives us one of our favorite things in romance: all the intimacy of a committed relationship before the characters are emotionally prepared to deal with the fact that they actually want one.
Whatever the reason, we’ll keep reading them.
Especially when they come with banter, yearning, ridiculous excuses for physical proximity, protective heroes, and really good kissing.
Looking for More Clean Romance Books?
If you love romance with big chemistry, emotional depth, swoony kisses, and happily-ever-afters—without explicit content, you’re in the right place.
Here at Starlight Ink Books, we write the kinds of romances we love to read: heartfelt love stories with humor, yearning, unforgettable chemistry, and plenty of reasons to kick your feet while reading.
And if marriage of convenience happens to be your favorite trope too?
We have a feeling you’ll fit right in.
Explore the Love in Starlight Valley series, or take the quiz to find out which Starlight Valley establishment you’d run.