Romance trope
4 stories · Chapter 1 of each is free, no sign-up
A golden retriever boyfriend is a romance hero who is warm, loyal, openly affectionate and eager to please — the opposite of the brooding love interest. BookTok uses the term for sunshine heroes who are obvious about how they feel. The appeal is safety and devotion, often with a surprisingly protective edge when someone threatens the person he loves.
Fantasy romance
with Rowan Thorne
Someone wants your blood before the Blood Moon, and the only man standing between you and the arrows is the knight who has been in love with you his whole life.
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Superhero romance
with Theo Vale
Your best friend has caught you every time you've ever fallen, and the second another man calls you his partner, every object in the room hits the floor.
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Cowboy romance
with Beau Callahan
You dragged him out from under a bull, and he looked up at you from the dirt in front of the whole county and said marry me.
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Gothic romantasy
with Finn Solenne
The heir you were raised to hate pulls you out of a flooding cathedral, your blood wakes a bell that has not rung since your mother died, and within the hour your father wants him dead.
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A good golden retriever hero isn't simple; he's uncomplicated about you, which isn't the same thing. He has his own fears and his own steel, but none of it gets in the way of letting you know exactly where you stand. That makes him a brilliant match for a heroine with more armour than he has, which is where the best of these stories find their spark. He's also the hero most likely to be jealous in the most transparent way imaginable, which readers find either adorable or devastating, depending on the day.
Almost Kiss has 4 golden retriever boyfriend stories, including The Princess and Her Impossible Knight, The Gravity Between Us and Over the Fence. Chapter 1 of every story is free to read online with no sign-up, and a free account opens chapters 2–3 of two stories a month. Each story plays out as a text conversation with the characters.
It's BookTok shorthand for a pairing: the golden retriever is open, friendly and affectionate, while the black cat is guarded, aloof and harder to win over. The dynamic works because each gives the other what they lack — warmth on one side, a challenge on the other.
Largely, yes. Sunshine describes a cheerful, optimistic character in any role; golden retriever is the romance-specific version, emphasising loyalty and how openly he adores the heroine. Readers use the terms interchangeably, often in grumpy x sunshine pairings.