Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and the focus on romance is evident in every store you step foot in. If you’re lacking the inspiration to get l👍oved up, reading romance books can be an excellent way to get into the romantic mood.
There are thousands of excellent romance books out there, and all of them bring something to the table. Whether you’re a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, or you w🧔ant something more straightforward and simple, there’s something for everyone, even the most cynical of readers.
Here are 10 of the best romance books I’ve read over the years. Be prepared, there’s a high chance of cry🐻ing while working your way through these lovable stories, so make sure to have a box of tissues within easy reach before you sit down for a long reading session.
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
If you’re looking for the enemies-to-lovers trope, with a heavy emphasis on a redemption arc, and notes of self-discovery thrown in, then will definitely be right up your alley.
Right from the beginning, this story will make you laugh and weep in equal measure. When a witch accidentally summons a demon who then can’t leave without taking the soul that she refuses to give up, the two reach a stalemate and have no choice but to get used to each other’s presence.
Of course, this ends up developing🔴 into something more, but there are a lot of complications to overcome, not least of all their reluctance to admit that there’s more to someone than who they appear to be. Coupled with outside issues and influences, it’s safe to say the course of true love isn’t smooth by a long shot.
P.S. I love You by Cecelia Ahern
The movie adaptation of this absolute tearjerker is an absolute masterpiece and has proven popular among romance lovers since its release in 2007. However, the book is perhaps even sadder than the movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a heart-wrenching tale of love🦋 and grief, and learning to l♛ive without someone who was once your entire life.
After Jerry’s life is cut short by a brain tumor, he leaves behind notes and gifts to help his widow, Holly, learn to live without him. It’s absolutely devastating to imagine losing the love of your life far too soon, but to imagine having parts of them hand delivered to you after they’re gone that help you to rediscover the joys of life without them feels like too much, and you’ll definitely need the tissues to get through .
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
There is some controversy surrounding , due to the view of some readers who think it is belittling to those who are disabled. However, the moral of this story isn’t that life isn’t worth living if you’re disabled, but allowing people the choice to decide how they live. I stand by that, and I will always believe Me Before You to be a love story that deserves to be told.&nb꧑sp;
Louisa is hired to be the home help for a recently paralyzed man called Will. He’s miserable after his life is irreversibly changed, taking everything he loved from him in one horrific accident. When they first meet, Will is spiteful and cold, but Louisa’s warm personality🔜 and determination start to win him over. Love slowly blooms, but is it enough to make Will want to live in this new reality?
(Spoiler: It’s not, and that’s what makes this story🐼 so utterly devastati﷽ng to read, but to have loved and lost is better than having never loved at all. Right?)
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
The enemies-to-lovers trope is almost too easy to fall back on when it comes to writing romance stories, and it’s painfully overdone to an extent, but there are some writers who just do it so well. Sally Thorne is one of those writers, and is a joy to read over and over, developing across the spectrum of emotions in an undeniably comforting way.&nb♔sp;
Working with someone that you hate is an endlessly draining experience, and both Lucy and Joshua know this all too well. Forced to sit across a desk from each other day in, day out, they display this hatred freely. Then a promotion becomes available, and they both want it. Complications arise, naturally, as emotions throw aꦆ spanner in the works that neither of them are ready to face.
There are multiple bumps in the road along the way, most of which could have been infuriatingly easy to avoid if either of them were thinking with clear heads, but once they figure it out there’s something about The Hating Game that’s easy to fall in love with.
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is, undoubtedly, a very good romance writer. He’s responsible for The Notebook, which could easily have ended up on this list if not for one thing — is just better, and features a more simplistic kind of love story that will have anyo♏ne feeling nostalgic, ꦓat least to begin with.
A Walk to Remember is based on two high school students who couldn’t be any more different from each other.🐻 The bible-carrying minister’s daughter and the popular jock type come together despite their differences. Of course, there’s drama. No teenage romance would be complete without a hefty amount of that, but 🅷there are so many heartfelt moments along the way.
Just be warned that the ending is incredibly bittersweet, and will likely have you reading through watery eyes, but at its core, A Walk to Remember is a pure and completely lovable 🗹romance tale.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
I like to think that most people have seen the 1987 movie adaptation of Goldman’s The Princess Bride. You know the one, it’s inconceivable to think that anybody hasn’t at this point. Yes, Iℱ had to get that in here somew🥀here.
Anyway, is based on a book of two parts. Beginning with the author talking about his own life, describing how he heard “good parts” of a story about some princess in a historical tale and committed to finding out the rest of the story. But when he does, he figures out that it’s a terribly boring tale and decides that thꦑe “good parts” are the only bits worth retelling, so he goes on to do so.
I’m not suggesting that The Princess Bride is a love story for the ages, but I couldn’t just include tearjerkers on this list. Valentine’s is about celebrating love, and there’s a lot to love about The Princess Bride and all the silliness within.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
has, if anything, too many tropes. There’s (almost) enemies-to-lovers, there’s love on vacation, there’s long-distance relationships, and then there’s moving to be with each other. It sounds like a lot, but Henry somehow makes all o𒐪f these elements come together to form a beautiful roma꧂nce tale.
Nora travels to Sunshine Falls with her sister Nora, and bumps into an editor fr🅰om the city who she isn’t exactly friends with. You know the trope by now, they end up working together while she’s there and manage to overcome their differences to become lovers. But then distance parts them, and long-distance relationships are hard work, so things hang in the balance.
But, of course, life works in mysterious ways and things change, leading them back together. Book Lovers has an actual🅠, proper happy ending, so you can enjoy this one ♕without warnings.
Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Philips
There are a lot of books called , and some of them follow ridiculously similar plots, but Susan Elizabeth Phil𝕴ips did it best and if you read any of the romance novels that share 🧔this name, it should be this one.
A⭕fter Annabelle takes over a matchmaking business that once belon🍸ged to her grandmother, she finally feels like she’s doing something with her life. If she can land the city’s hottest bachelor as a client, then she can prove that she’s doing a good thing. But then she does land him as a client, and he complicates her life massively.
There’s a lot of drama in Match Me If You Can, but if you can grit your teeth and get through the maddening parts, then there’🐓s also a l♛ot of love hidden just beneath the surface.
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
Break-ups are hard, that’s a fact of life. Being dumped out of the blue after an 18-year relationship with someone who works in the same building as you might be most people’s idea of a nightmare, but it’s Laurie’s reality. To make matters worse, her ex moves on suspiciously quickly and his new girlfriend is suddenly pregnant. isn’t afraid of stepping into a nightmare scenario.
But then Laurie hatches a plan involving the office bachelor, convincing him to pretend to be in a relationship with her to make it seem like she’s moved on. Of course, it’s never that simple, and playing pretend can very easily lead to far more real feelings sneaking up on you, even if neithe♋r of them expect🌜s or is even open to the prospect of an actual relationship.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Chloe feels trapped by her chronic illness, and she has a list of things she wants to do so that she can truly feel alive – but she can’t do them alone. Red is a handyman who can help her tick off at least three of the🍌 items on her list, and she happens to find him very attractive, but that’s beside the point.
Except it’s not, and is the story of a woman learning who she is and what she wants, helped along the way b🏅y someone her family would never expect her to be with. It’s a story of rebellion and finding your own feet away from your family. And learning to make your own choice🌼s, rather than do what is expected of you for your entire life.
Published: Jan 28, 2025 05:13 am