Have you heard of the books from 831 Stories? You might have heard about them when this New York Times article that was making the rounds a couple of months ago. I got my hands on my first 831 Stories book from one of my favorite local bookstores with a great romance section (thank you, Secret Garden Books!) back in September 2025. Since that first title of theirs that I read I was hooked. These are great little romance books that I can always count on to give myself a nice little reading boost (even if it is one that I placed lower in my stack-up.) 831 Stories is now currently on a cadence of publishing one new title a month and as of October 2026 they have fifteen titles in total.
Below is my official stack ranking of the 831 Stories titles as of the October 2026 publication. The title featured on the top of the graphic is my most favorite 831 Stories title and they go down in descending order from there. Part of the fun of an 831 Stories title is that it is a short, bite-sized piece of romance that even if the characters aren’t my favorite or it features a trope that I don’t gravitate towards, or whatever else didn’t draw me into loving the book I still find each 831 Stories title a worthwhile and quick read. To me, there is no DNF-ing in the world of 831 Stories.
And now to the stack up…
No. 1 - Grape Juice by Eliza Dumais
This book is a clear number one for me. The perfect escapism. I want this story to be my life. While reading this book the only moments I put it down were to Google more about wine harvest season and to look up to see if there were any good flight deals that I could get me to France ASAP.
No. 2 - Rooting Interest by Cat Disabato
As established with my Tastes of T-Mobile Park & Bay Baseball Bites content I am a big sports fan. Though Rooting Interest is about a sports league that I don’t follow closely (the WNBA), the ins-and-outs of the sportwriter character in this story resonate so clearly with what I have heard from sportwriters of my sports of choice talk about how they handle the workflow of their respective beats. The dynamics and logistics of this couple’s love story are interesting along with the fact that they have great chemistry as characters. I do feel that having a strong baseline understanding of what sports journalism looks like in its operations makes the payoff of this book stronger than if you don’t have that baseline knowledge coming in (and likely why it may rank higher on my personal rankings than others.)
No. 3 - Square Waves by Alexandra Romanoff
Fun Fact - This was my first 831 Stories read. I picked this (plus Big Fan) up off the shelf that one day at Secret Garden Books. I opted to start with this one because the blurb on the back of this one mentions Berkeley, California and that drew me in immediately. This book and Big Fan are in the same world (and really Big Fan comes first and should be read first for continuity of timeline) but the Berkeley of it all got me looped into this one first as well as what pushes it so high in my stack-up ratings. I loved the connection of these characters but really I felt that this book showcases as a love letter to Berkeley and lots of little Bay Area things that you only know if you’ve lived in the Bay.
No. 4 - Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff
This book goes hand-in-hand with Square Waves so it slipped in right underneath it here in the stack-up.
No. 5 - Major Gift by Tiffany Ezuma
Another book set in the Bay Area so you know that ranks high for me! This time we get to see snippets of San Francisco and the Peninsula side of the Bay - plus a unique take on a Billionaire’s romance (which not my trope of choice but enjoyed how it was done here.) The scene setting for the locale is done artfully here too (especially once again for those that have resided in the Bay in the last ten-ish years.)
No. 6 - Never Lasting by Angela Bourassa
You never catch feelings with a situationship, right? This title depicts the intricacies that you find in situationships even when you you want to put your blinders on to them when you’re in one. The author also did a superb job illustrating grief in this story, which wasn’t something I was expecting from a situationship romance but it completely worked and got me in the feels here.
No. 7 - Found Time by Caroline Goldstein
As stated in the New York Times piece referenced earlier, the protagonists in 831 Stories should '“be 25 years or older.” From the slate of stories released thus far this book, this title reflects that the best with revisiting a love from thirty years in the past. I fell in love not only with the couple’s second-chance chemistry and love but the immediate support characters that you have along the way.
No. 8 - Double Standard by Mallory Thomas
We have all read a romance about an A-list celebrity and a normie, right? We get a twist on that here but with interesting power dynamics as well as commentary about celebrity culture and perception from all of the characters involved in this book. I thought this was a refreshing take on a celebrity trope that I hadn’t quite seen take this angle before.
No. 9 - Down To Earth by Julia Turshen
One of the most prevailing tropes of the romance genre - small-town romance - enters into the 831 universe here. Small-town romance is most likely what your non-romance reading friends think of when prompted of what makes a romance book (this, or a Hallmark movie, or both.) As stated earlier, as I get farther down the rankings in the stack none of these are books that I didn’t enjoy they just didn’t move me as much. I will say, I am grateful that this book came out close to peak tomato season so I enjoy a delicious tomato sandwich like the characters in this book did multiple times and made me crave one immediately.
No. 10 - Vacation Self by Alexandra Romanoff
This is the third installment of Alexandra Romanoff’s 831 universe and though all can be stand-alone reads this one truly feels stand alone and disconnected from the rest of the universe built in this intertwined series. Part of the disconnect in part is establishing your “vacation self” which is obviously away from your usual self’s locale but part of my greater disconnect between this and the two other books (Square Waves and Big Fan) is that even the characters non-vacation selves are based in New York when the other titles are so strongly Bay Area books. It was set up that the male lead in this book wasn’t going to be in the Bay from the other titles but the illustration of the place wasn’t as connected and specific feeling as Romanoff displayed the Bay in the prior titles. Anyway, plot-wise I loved the concept of having a “vacation self” that you lean into and the heat of this book brief and turned up to when the main characters got into the hot tub together.
No. 11 - Exit Lane by Erika Veurink
Time for a road trip! Mix of road trip, big city vibes, and nostalgia here. Liked the plot, didn’t fall in love with either of the main the characters here as much as I have in other 831 titles (and there weren’t really supporting characters to bring you in to love them either.)
No. 12 - Set Piece by Lana Schwartz
This one is for those that love LA and the film industry. I definitely have some Bay Area bias in my stack and maybe if I had connection to LA it would move this one up. Even though Double Standard is also celebrity and film based in its premise (but on location outside of LA) I found that story’s take more refreshing than what is presented here.
No. 13 - Encore Performance by Leila Sales
As I finished off Encore Performance it didn’t have me screaming for an encore from these characters or general story. The concept was interesting and I myself am prone to dipping into the nostalgia of music (I did go to Jonas Brothers and Aly & AJ concerts in the year 2025 proving my own point.) I loved the depictions of the road travel and music industry but was in no way swept up in the romance between the two main characters.
No. 14 - Comedic Timing by Upsana Barath
Honestly, looking back at my Goodreads and Storygraph accounts I read this book back in December 2025 and now do not have much of a recollection of this book’s plot or characters. I debated its placement here versus in slot twelve since I remember more from Hardly Strangers but am taking the no memories as a fine enough experience reading this in the moment that I slotted it here.
No. 15 - Hardly Strangers by A.C. Robinson
This one is really short. Clocking in at 151 pages, not too much can happen in that concentrated amount of pages or time within the plot. This title felt abrupt and though some of these other titles don’t clock in with a much higher page count I didn’t feel a pull to get invested in the characters and then the book was over. Still, it does feel nice and a sense of accomplishment when you finish a book (no matter what the page count is.)
And that’s my update on how the 831 Stories (so far!) stack up for me. As always, looking forward to cracking open two more new 831 titles this year (which will be Famous First Christmas by Carrie Wittmer releasing on November 3rd along with Off Season by Frankie Caracciolo releasing on December 8th, 2026.)