Yeah, you read that right. This list is exactly what you think it is. It’s Father’s Day weekend and it has us thinking about all the dreamy Daddies and DILF’s in romance books. Romance readers are obsessed with dad-themed books judging by the incredible variety available. From overwhelmed, lonely single dads to alpha male dominant types, no matter your taste, we’ve got you covered. This trope can get super spicy so consider yourself warned! Scroll to the bottom of the list for our spiciest picks.
If You Give a Single Dad a Nanny by Ann Einerson
Series Name: Aspen Grove, #1
I, Marlow Taylor, need to stop fantasizing about the hot, single dad next door. Should I have agreed to nanny his cute six year old who loves my dog Waffles? Absolutely not. But her dad seems to think he can do everything himself. ( no one can)
3 reasons why I absolutely cannot fall for Dylan:
1. He’s grumpy and doesn’t seem to like me very much
2. He lives next door – literally next door to my perfect pink house
3. There are no secrets in a small town
I’m an optimistic artist, never living in one place for too long.
He’s a cynical billionaire, trying to raise his kid on his own like a “normal” person.
Since I’m not going to fall for Dylan Stafford, it shouldn’t matter that he shovels my driveway or looks at me like he could devour me.
One kiss later – I, Marlow Taylor, am completely screwed.
To Sir Philip, With Love by Julia Quinn
Series Name: Bridgertons, #5
My dear Miss Bridgerton,We have been corresponding now for quite some time, and although we have never formally met, I feel as if I know you.Forgive me if I am too bold, but I am writing to invite you to visit me. It is my hope that we might decide that we will suit, and you will consent to be my wife. —Sir Phillip Crane
Sir Phillip Crane knew that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he’d proposed, figuring that she’d be homely and unassuming, and more than a little desperate for an offer of marriage. Except… she wasn’t. The beautiful woman on his doorstep was anything but quiet, and when she stopped talking long enough to close her mouth, all he wanted to do was kiss her… and more.Did he think she was mad? Eloise Bridgerton couldn’t marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking… and wondering… and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except… he wasn’t. Her perfect husband wouldn’t be so moody and ill-mannered, and while Phillip was certainly handsome, he was a large brute of a man, rough and rugged, and totally unlike the London gentlemen vying for her hand. But when he smiled… and when he kissed her… the rest of the world simply fell away, and she couldn’t help but wonder… could this imperfect man be perfect for her?
Heartless by Elsie Silver
Series Name: Chestnut Springs, #2
Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.
Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.
He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?
But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.
Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.
My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.
But my heart says this is forever.
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Series Name: DNA Duo, #2
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.
Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?
Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.
The Nanny by Lana Ferguson
After losing her job and being on the brink of eviction, Cassie Evans finds herself with two choices: get a new job (and fast) or fire up her long-untouched OnlyFans account. But there are no jobs to be found, and as for OnlyFans. . . . Well, there are reasons she can’t go back. Just when all hope seems lost, an ad for a live-in nanny position seems the solution to all her problems. It’s almost too perfect—until she meets her would-be employer.
Aiden Reid, executive chef and DILF extraordinaire is far from the stuffy single dad Cassie was imagining. She is shocked when he tells her she’s the most qualified applicant he’s met in weeks, practically begging her to take the job. With hands that make her hindbrain howl and eyes that scream sex, the idea of living under the same roof as Aiden feels dangerous, but with no other option, she decides to stay with him and his adorably tenacious daughter, Sophie.
Cassie soon discovers that Aiden is not a stranger at all, but instead someone who is very familiar with her—or at least, her body. She finds herself at a loss for what to do, given that he doesn’t remember her. As their relationship heats to temperatures hotter than any kitchen Aiden has ever worked in, Cassie struggles with telling Aiden the truth, and the more terrifying possibility—losing the best chance at happiness she’s ever had.
The Match by Sarah Adams
Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.
The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.
1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.
Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…
A family.
Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday
The fake Canadian boyfriend. It’s a thing. The get out of jail free card for all kinds of sticky social situations. “I can’t go to prom; I’m going to be out of town visiting my boyfriend in Canada.” It’s all over pop culture. But Aurora Evans did it first. Once upon a time she met a teenage hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. He was a boy. She may have fudged the “friend” part a little, but it wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again. It wasn’t like she hurt anyone. Until she did—years later—on both counts.
When pro hockey player and recent widower Mike Martin walks into the dance studio where Aurora Evans teaches, he’s feeling overwhelmed with the fact that his wife may not have been exactly who he thought she was and the logistics of going back to work. As one of the few people his angry, heartbroken daughter connects with, Aurora agrees to be a pseudo nanny to help him navigate the upcoming school year and hockey season. To his surprise, she turns out to be the perfect balm for him as well. Aurora gets him. The real him underneath his pro jersey. And yet, he still finds himself holding back, unable to fully trust again—especially when he finds out the secret Aurora’s been hiding from him.
Legacy by Nora Roberts
Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.
Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.
A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial—as long as neither crosses the other.
But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…
Your Dad Will Do by Katee Robert
Series Name: Touch of Taboo, #1
I’ve been harboring a dark secret for two long years. I’ve been fantasizing about my fiancé’s father, thinking filthy thoughts that a good daughter-in-law should not be indulging in. So when I catch my fiancé cheating on me, there’s only one revenge that will fulfill all my needs.
I’m going to seduce his father. It’s dirty and it’s wrong, and I don’t care. I want him, so I mean to have him.
After this weekend, my ex won’t be the only one who calls his father Daddy.
Daddy’s Girl by K.C. Crowne
Series Name: Silver Fox Daddies, #4
She desperately needs a fiancé. So I’ll pretend.
How can I object to the gorgeous virgin who walks into my strip club?
She thinks this is an escort service – and that I’m for hire.
Damn is she in the wrong place.
We’re nothing alike.
Delilah is a family girl. Pure. Gentle.
I’m an arrogant prick and I take what I want.
Right now, I want her.
She arouses parts of me I’ve had locked away for years.
So, I’ll play the role of a loving fiancé.
Caress and kiss her in all the right ways.
And when we’re alone…
I’ll claim that sweet innocence.
Make her mine.
Feel her body tremble and beg for more.
I don’t want it to end. And that was the last thing I expected.
After all of this history she’ll have more than just memories.
I have a special gift in store for Delilah.
Yes Daddy by B.B. Hamel
Series Name: Dark Daddies, #1
Mason Ward always gets what he wants.
Rich, handsome, charming.
I should feel lucky to get hired as his new assistant.
Except I’m the sixth girl in as many months…
That’s just the first red flag.
He loves to tease me, torture me.
He laughs as he pushes all my buttons.
He orders me to get down on my knees…
Demanding, intense, a total jerk.
I get why everyone quits on him.
He hasn’t left his building in over five years.
There’s a darkness behind his tightly controlled eyes.
It’s eating him up inside, and I can feel it every time he gets too close.
I should hate him.
I should run away.
Instead, I love obeying his every wish.
Especially when his hands end up on my body…
I’m going to answer every single one of his commands with two simple words: Yes Daddy.
Daisy Unchained by Elena Dawne
Series Name: Filthy Rich & Kinky, #1
From instalove to sibling rivalry…
An intense connection with a younger woman takes a twisted turn when estranged eldest son Cyrus then returns home and the innocent beauty is introduced as his new stepsister…
Their attraction is undeniable, but forbidden love is promptly thrust aside when Daisy is constantly spoiled with all the kindness and attention that Cy and his brothers neglected to receive from their father.
Jealousy leads to a serious thirst for vengeance, and when Cy discovers Daisy’s naughty milky secret — that she’ll do anything to keep — the temptation to ruin his young stepsister in every way possible proves too sweet to resist…
But what this protective billionaire daddy-type soon comes to understand, is that Daisy doesn’t need her dominant stepbrother to be a bully…
She needs him to be her bull.
