10 Best Contract Bride Romances You Can’t Miss in 2025
Imagine the tension in the house while living a complete stranger. However, the word stranger might be wrong. That handsome stranger with impeccable dressing sense is actually your husband. You can’t touch him that’s a different matter.
This story trope has been used widely in most bestselling romances in last couple of years. The terms of Contract Marriage or Contract Bride are used for an arrangement when two people agree to marry each other for any reason other than love or affection.
Will they develop feelings for each other? Or won’t they? Read the ten best contract marriage romance books this year to find out.
Best Contract Bride Books 2025
1. Terms and Conditions
Declan
I am meant to be the next media empire CEO for my family.
The sole issue is… Clause on inheritance from my grandfather.
Before my assistant offers to help, fulfilling his dying goal of marriage and heir looked unattainable.
Our marriage was meant to be the ideal fix for my main dilemma.
But I get more dubious about our bargain the more we act in love for the public.
There was never part of the deal caring for Iris.
Especially not when it is unavoidable to shatter her heart.
Iris
In principle, my marriage to Declan was straightforward.
Share a house together. Celebrate a wedding. Having a baby.
We established guidelines meant to avoid any type of problems.
Those who were never intended to be broken, no of how much Declan begs me.
But when our phoney relationship leaks into our actual one?
Never a choice was falling in love.
minimum not for me at least.
2. Contractually Yours
Heiress in jewellery Lucienne Peery plans a mutually advantageous marriage and needs a husband to take complete control of her business. She demands to wed her fiancé’s older brother instead when she finds her fiancé sleeping with her sister. And his family concurs to avoid turning over thirty percent of their own business for violating the marriage contract.
She intends just to remain married till her control is fully entrenched. She does the unimaginable, nevertheless, and develops feelings for her spouse…
Sebastian Lasker swears vengeance when he is compelled to wed a lady entirely as scandalous as his humiliating, disreputable father. He is vicious and iron-willed. Nobody uses him and gets away with it. He is going to discard her and strip her of what she desires from the marriage.
But he realises he cannot let her leave, so pride and wealth are only one item at risk.
Contractually Yours is full of a scrumptious arranged marriage, dislike-to-love, forced proximity, my wife moments, man-groveling and a joyful ending.
3. Painted Scars
Nina
Beautiful, gripping, and sensual,
And a killer with coldblooded cold.
Still, I wed the Pakhan from the Russian Bratva anyhow.
I was obliged. That was included in the contract.
Now, I’m pretending to be married bliss while I shake with anxiety and I can’t wait to be out of this merciless man.
Roman
I have everything I could want.
And I want this absolutely flawless little manipulator.
Just makes me want her even more the way she can fool anyone into thinking she’s madly in love with me.
Though I am not letting her go, she does not know yet.
The arrangement is off.
4. The Wrong Bride
She is the younger sister of his fiancée. He is the man she has always loved.
When her sister fails to show up for her wedding, Raven is forced to take her place — but marriage to Ares Windsor is nothing short of torment.
The enigmatic millionaire media mogul is the man she’s always loved, but he only has eyes for her sister.
Raven is desperate to win him over now that she is finally married to him.
After all, everything is equal in love and battle.
And this?
This is war.
5. The Villain
Terrible. Coldblooded. Hades wears a Brioni suit.
Cillian Fitzpatrick has been nicknamed “every wicked thing on planet Earth.”
According to the media, he is The Villain.
To me, he is the man who reluctantly saved my life.
Now I need him to make me another tiny solid.
Help me get out of the mess my spouse got me into.
So, what’s a hundred dollars to one of America’s wealthiest men?
Only Cillian does not give away free favours.
The price of the money, it turns out, is my liberty.
Now I am the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy.
To play, mould, and break.
Too bad Cillian overlooked one minor aspect.
Persephone was not only the goddess of spring, but also the Queen of Death.
He believes I will buckle under the weight of his mental games.
He is going to discover that the most fatal poison is also the sweetest.
6. The Sweetest Oblivion
She’s a romantic at heart while living in the most unromantic of environments… Elena, nicknamed Sweet Abelli due to her submissive demeanour, grins on cue and responds charmingly to everything.
She’s the favourite daughter, the ideal mafia principessa… or was. Now all she sees in the mirror’s image is blood coating her palms like crimson paint. They say that first impressions are crucial.
Elena’s sister is about to marry Nicolas Russo in the shadowy underworld of New York. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even by mafia standards.
His reputation is far-reaching and darker than his black suits and ties. After their initial encounter, which ends with an inadvertent glare on Elena’s part, she realises he’s as unpleasant as he is attractive.
She doesn’t like the guy or anything he stands for, but that doesn’t stop her heart from beating like rain on glass when he’s near, or the chill that runs down her spine at the sound of his voice.
And he’s constantly nearby. Tell her what to do. Making her feel more attractive than any potential brother-in-law should.
Elena may appear to be the sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s discovering a thirst for darkness, harsh hands, smokes, and whiskey-colored eyes.
She can’t afford to get caught up in another scandal after escaping the first. Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall for a Made Man… Right?
7. King of Wrath
He’s the wife he never wanted…and the weakness he didn’t expect.
Ruthless. Meticulous. Arrogant.
Dante Russo thrives under supervision, both personally and professionally.
The rich CEO never intended to marry—until the prospect of blackmail drives him into an engagement with a lady he barely knows.
Vivian Lau, a jewellery heiress and the daughter of his latest adversary.
It doesn’t matter how lovely or pleasant she is. He’ll do everything he can to erase the proof and their betrothal.
There’s just one problem: now that he’s got her, he can’t force himself to let go.
Elegant. Ambitious. Well-mannered.
Vivian Lau is the ideal daughter and her family’s ticket to the upper levels of high society.
Marrying a blue-blooded Russo opens possibilities that would otherwise be closed to her new-money family.
While unpleasant, elusive Dante isn’t her ideal mate, she agrees to their arranged marriage out of obligation.
Craving his touch was never in the plans.
Neither was the worst thing she could have done: fall in love with her future spouse.
8. The Wrong Wife
Declan Knight realises he’s marrying the wrong woman—the uglier sister. Esme is shorter, less experienced, and less ambitious. Just less in every manner than his ex-fiancée, who ditched him for a tech dude.
When the merging of her father’s and Declan’s companies is jeopardised by esoteric business bylaws, Esme is forced to intervene and marry the guy who adores her sister.
Esme’s sister, Viviane, is a stunning, successful, and wealthy lawyer. Declan is the CEO of a global technology corporation. They are a powerful couple.
Esme is a social worker who is unfamiliar with the business world and has no interest in stock portfolios. She wants to help others.
Nonetheless, Declan cannot ignore the chemistry between him and Esme. They have nothing in common except that he wants her more than he has ever wanted a woman.
As the days pass, Esme must discover a way to appreciate Declan both in and out of bed without falling in love with him.
Because when he leaves, as he will inevitably do, she will be destroyed. Declan is falling in love with his wife despite himself, pulled to her kindness and enormous heart. But she won’t let him get near because she knows he’ll damage her.
Will he be able to convince her that he loves her? And will Esme eventually learn to fight for what she wants?
9. The Unwanted Marriage
Dion Windsor dislikes Faye and has been engaged to her since childhood, despite his desire to avoid her.
He had made his refusal known for years, but his attempts to keep Faye at arm’s length were dashed when she was seen with another guy – scant months before their marriage.
With one look at her, he understands he’s done running. Time is up, and whether she likes it or not, she is his.
Or she could be, if the secrets he keeps didn’t have the potential to destroy her.
10. The Dragon’s Bride
Briar Rose may have a fairytale name, but she realised at a young age that no prince would come to save her. She will have to save herself. Unfortunately, even that is impossible in her current circumstances—trapped in a horrible marriage to a dangerous man.
Desperate times call for desperate methods, and she ends up forging a pact with a monster. Freedom from her husband. In exchange for seven years of service.
She anticipates the service to be exhausting and painful. She did not anticipate to be put up for auction in a room full of actual monsters and sold to the highest bidder.
To Sol.
A dragon.
He may appear friendlier than his intimidating appearance suggests, but she knows better than to believe the way he wants to take care of her or how committed he is in her enjoyment. In her experience, if something appears too good to be true, it probably is.
Falling for Sol is out of the question. She has had enough of suffering and doesn’t want to stay in this dimension. Even if she abandons her heart when she returns to her usual life.
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About the Author
TCB Team is a dedicated group of individuals who are passionate about literature and committed to critically analyzing and evaluating various literary works. The team consist of diverse members with varying backgrounds, interests, and expertise, which allows for a comprehensive and multifaceted assessment of books across different genres and themes.
Our primary goal is to provide insightful and unbiased reviews that help readers make informed decisions about their reading choices and contribute to the broader discourse surrounding literature.
