In February, right around Valentine’s Day (sometime during ‘Romance Week’), I talked about how romance books and their readers are often looked down upon. Now, is that because most people who read romance identify as women? Or is it because it more often than not champions women’s pleasure, creating unrealistic standards for men?
Whatever the reasons, today, I’m practising what I’m preaching. I’ve got ten fantastic romance book recommendations for you and yours — romance in a comic book, a steamy smutty fiction novel, a historical one, LGBTQIA+ romance, and more. I know that the Bridgerton romance fever is at an all-time high, so no time like the present to jump into romance!
If you haven’t read romance yet, this is a good place to start a genre that has a market share of over a billion dollars (and steadily rising). These aren’t my recommendations alone. I’ve roped in Sumedha from The Wordy Habitat, who reads and watches plenty of romance and finds time to write amazing blog posts about them. You’re also being treated to recommendations from Elizabeth, who writes the bookish newsletter, What To Read If — if you need more books to add to your TBR, you know where to go. ✓
The Deal (New Adult)
I first read this in 2015 and then spent a year obsessively re-reading it because The Deal is just that good. It’s got spunk, it’s got fun, and it’s great. A relatively easy in into romance, and it’s set in college — which I love.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (Adult)
This was Elizabeth’s go-to rec during the lockdown in 2020. The book is an interracial romance between the titular Chloe Brown and her apartment’s superintendent, Red Morgan and balances humour and heat with heavy emotion.
“It’s hard to say how much joy Get a Life, Chloe Brown brought me. I’m smiling just writing this.”
One Last Stop (Sci-Fi, New Adult)
Jane has been stuck on the train since a mysterious event in the 1970s, unable to leave the subway car or even remember how she ended up there. But there’s a romance brewing between Jane and August, a cynical 23yo who’s doing her best to help Jane off the train.
“The result is a book that celebrates the LGBT community while incorporating aspects of history that are often still ignored.“
Tempest (Historical Fiction, Adult)
“This is for historical romance lovers. You cannot go wrong with a Beverly Jenkins book. While reading Tempest, I became convinced that this author writes the best historical heroines. Regan smashed the boundaries of “a good woman” in this book and was an inspiration.”
Heartstopper (Comic/Graphic Novel, Young Adult)
This one’s from me again. Remember that years-long reading slump I had? When I got covid last year, I broke out of it for a bit to binge the Heartstopper novels. The story follows Charlie and Nick, who slowly start falling for one another as they deal with everything that comes with being in an all-boys school and being human.
The Cybernetic Tea Shop (Sci-Fi, Short Story)
“A romance where one of them is a 300+-year-old robot! Very, very soft sapphic love that has great relationship growth, set hundreds of years in the future. It is just 65 pages but manages to be a whole romance book.”
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Historical Fiction, Adult)
Don’t roll your eyes at me mentioning this one again. I love this book, and I think you’ll love it too. I can’t stop talking or thinking about it. Who is Evelyn Hugo’s true love? Seven husbands, and she’s outlived all of them — which of them has the Hollywood starlet’s heart?
A Princess in Theory (Adult)
For months, someone has been emailing Naledi, claiming she’s betrothed to an African prince. Naturally, she deletes the emails, assuming they’re scams, until the prince shows up. You can probably guess where the book goes from here, but the joy is being along for the ride.
“A Princess in Theory is the type of book that makes me smile whenever I think about it. In addition to a swoony romance, it’s a celebration of the families we’re born with and the families we make. (Meg Cabot called it “delicious fun”.)”
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (Adult)
You know the feeling when you find a steamy romance novel where both protagonists have their brain cells with them? That’s this book. Romance is great, but so are maturity and understanding, and growth. I love to see character development, and this book did justice to it while keeping the romance fresh and exciting.
Rafe (Adult)
“Rafe is an underrated romance book that I recommend to everybody. It has great characters, the best romance with open and mature communication, and the cutest kids. It is one of my comfort books and will become one of yours too.”
+1 on Rafe. I read it earlier this year and really enjoyed it. The kids are the best, and the adults have the aforementioned brain cells with them.
So, which of these are you gonna pick up first?
