Spooky season is here, but IBD is scary enough without the monsters and ghosts.  Instead, here are a few steamy romance novels to cozy up to on a cool fall day.  Grab a cup of hot tea (if you can tolerate it), crawl under a cushy blanket and get ready for these hot romances to warm your bones!

1. A Smile in a Whisper by Jacquelyn Middleton – (2023)

This novel is set in the Scottish Orkney Islands where our main character Evie Sutherland lives.  She has several jobs including writing romance novels.  The problem is she doesn’t have much romance in her actual life.  Her previous experiences in the romance department have convinced her that nobody wants to date a girl with Crohn’s disease.  But when her first love returns to the island to film a TV series, he might just prove her wrong.  This is a heartwarming story of first loves and second chances.   
Goodreads – Bookshop – Amazon

2. The Third Degree by Julie Cross (2014)

After failing the emotional readiness test required to begin medical school, Isabel Jenkins re-enrolls in college as a freshman.  She decides to be more laid back this time and focus on just enjoying herself.  She begins to enjoy time with her hot RA, Marshall Collins.  But when she realizes she’s interested in more than just a casual relationship she wonders if Marshall can be the one to teach her about love or if she’ll be alone forever.
Goodreads – Amazon

3. Nothing to Lose by E.M. Lindsey (2023)

A happy baker is living a semi-normal life trying to restart his bakery after having shut down for a while due to his Crohn’s disease.  But when a grumpy man moves in next door things change and a feud begins.  They begin as enemies, but as they interact more and more their raging emotions lead to a different kind of relationship.  This is a slow enemies-to-lovers story that was originally released as a serial novel. 
Goodreads – Amazon

4. Friends With Benefits by Marisa Kanter (2025)

When Evie Bloom lands a spot in her dream residency as a film sound artist, she’s super excited until she considers that she won’t have healthcare during the internship.  Due to her Crohn’s disease she has to have health insurance at all times or risk the return of her symptoms.  Her best friend Theo is in a predicament himself.  He is about to get evicted because his income is below the threshold for his apartment in LA, but the income threshold is lower if he is married, and Evie could be on his insurance plan if she was his wife.  What starts out as a relationship of convenience takes their friendship in a new direction, and they venture into new territory: love.
Goodreads – Bookshop – Amazon

5. Love Flushed by Evie Mitchell (2021)

This novel pokes fun at the more humorous parts of Crohn’s disease.  Annie owns her own toilet paper company, “S#!t Happens.”  She’s all set to expand the business but her paper supplier abandons her for another business that’s willing to pay more.  Link was an old flame from high school who just might be able to help her find a solution for her toilet paper problem.  This book is full of poop and toilet paper puns but there’s nothing crappy about the plot!
Goodreads – Bookshop – Amazon