Five Romance Reads for Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day! Alongside the day’s festivities, I’m guessing that - if you’re here - you’re looking for something to read. Today, I’m offering five recommendations of some truly stellar romance novels. I promise that they’ll be the perfect pairing with the sweetest holiday.
For those who celebrate, I hope you enjoy all the chocolate, cards, and over-the-top gestures of affection from your favorite people. I hope you feel loved and appreciated. And for the rest of you, know that you’re stewing in good company. I don’t know of a holiday that’s more triggering than this one.
Who can forget the year when the Valentine’s Day Wordle was “cynic?” Among a certain few in my private life, there was much rejoicing. It’s the day they most love to hate.
Over the years, I’ve listened to all of their complaints. I can repeat them on autopilot at this point. It’s a store-bought holiday. Forced gestures lack sincerity. There’s so much (shudder) pink.
I’ve always been struck by how closely the criticisms of Valentine’s Day mirror the criticisms of the romance genre. For better or worse, they are symmetrical sides of the same paper heart. Romance novels and Valentine’s Day traditions are dismissed for their earnestness - any, maybe too, their blatant femininity. Increasingly, the claims that a romance novel lacks depth because of its noteworthy attributes - its kindness, its presentation of unconditional love, its baked-in happily-ever-after - seem not only cynical but smug, too.
Have we become too jaded to believe in a love story?
Sneering at a happy ending implies that a real-life HEA can’t happen for people. That people are so broken as to be incapable of cultivating their own love stories - and especially not a lasting commitment. Ironically, in most of the romance novels I’ve read, these internal fissures serve as points of connection. As Leonard Cohen sings in Anthem, ”There is a crack/a crack in everything/that’s how the light gets in.” In romance novels, shared vulnerability becomes the binding agent.
These novels lead with romance - but they aren’t only love stories. They often model healthy relationships. They don’t preach kindness; they demonstrate what it looks like. They show women with rich lives and a range of options. The romance novels I’ve read also showcase empowerment arcs, where the relationship ultimately helps both main characters evolve as individuals. These people don’t complete each other, rather they make each other better. In individualistic cultures particularly, maybe we’re raised to reject this notion. Perhaps our societies find it hard to believe that we can become stronger in community, in union.
To that end, romance novels take a firm stand: we were never meant to go it alone. And, while you’re reading any one of these books, you won’t be.
You, With A View, by Jessica Joyce, is hands down one of the best romance novels I’ve read in years. Following the loss of her beloved grandmother, Noelle agrees to a road trip with her high school nemesis, Theo, to connect with her grandmother’s lost love - Theo’s grandfather.
They’re a mismatched pair from the start. They share a wary history. She’s unemployed, while he’s wildly successful. She’s lost and living with her parents, while he’s independent and masking his own uncertainty. She’s grieving a grandparent, while his grandparent remains beside them.
I’ve always believed that books find you, and I happened to stumble upon this one while I was grieving the loss of my own grandmother. On this subject, Joyce’s words rang so true for me. She handles grief with a deft touch, while also describing the dreaded “stuck feeling” that can sneak up in adulthood with compassion and wisdom.
I won’t spoil this one for you, but I will say that both Noelle and Theo grow as individuals through fish-out-of-water experiences and mutual encouragement. By the end of this book, you’ll have explored a vast spectrum of emotions with these characters - all tied up in a satisfying, pink bow.
For anyone who has ever described a romance novel as “cookie-cutter,” Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld will expand your conception of what a love story can be. Sittenfeld, the genius author behind Prep, Eligible, and American Wife, presents the most innovative setting in this stylish romance.
Sally, a sketch writer for the late-night comedy show, The Night Owls, meets pop music star Noah on the job. In the lead-up to his turn as host, Noah makes every effort to seek out Sally. Their chemistry quickly ignites. However, Noah must win her over by disproving her longstanding beliefs and helping her overcome her insecurities. In order to trust him, Sally will have to learn to trust herself first.
Throughout the novel, Sally makes the point that her story isn’t a rom-com - it’s real-life.
Because of Sittenfeld’s meticulous research into the late-night comedy reality, Sally’s life - despite all of its showbiz glitter - does feel real enough to touch. Sittenfeld conjures a real woman carving a path in a world that is equal parts grit and make-believe. And, for all the camaraderie she enjoys at work, she’s lonely in her private life. Can she overcome her guardedness and open her heart?
You’ll have to see if Sittenfeld believes in happy endings.
I have a legal background, and I love a series of ethically grey plot points. In Would You Rather by Allison Ashley, two best friends confront the dilemma of their lives. While Mia remains in a holding pattern as she waits for a kidney transplant, should her best friend, Noah, offer to “pretend marry” her in order to provide her with medical insurance?
Yes, it’s insurance fraud - but it’s also a very modern sort of moral quandary. They perform a risk-analysis together, though Noah neglects to mention that he’s always been secretly in love with Mia. As I mentioned above, I won’t offer any spoilers today. However, I will say that the kindness represented in this book - rooted in the characters’ well-spring of friendship - will leave you with the exact feeling we all covet on Valentine’s Day.
Ashley, an oncology pharmacist in real-life, weaves her medical insight into her book. Though the novel centers on a developing love story, Ashley also manages to (thematically) ask bigger questions of her characters - and society, too.
As the author of a beachy book, I wanted to highlight a love story that luxuriates in its beach setting. So many beach reads are unapologetically romantic - though, due to genre constraints, aren’t often recognized as such. Fogged In by Doreen Burliss offers a beautiful second-chance love story set in Nantucket. However, this book is extra special because its leads are empty-nesters, and I’m a firm believer that romance is ageless.
Following her recent divorce and reeling from her mother’s recent diagnosis, Sheri retreats to her beloved Nantucket for a summer of healing. Even while on vacation, she juggles so many balls at one time. Her adult daughters descend with their own drama. Her ex-husband, once again, proves hot and cold. When an intriguing neighbor, Cooper, catches her eye, Sheri must decide whether she is ready to begin again.
Come for the stunning descriptions of Nantucket. Stay for the multidimensional relationships - and the exhilarating high of witnessing a well-deserved second chance.
Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer, in a meet-cute befitting the digital age, begins with a Reddit thread.
After adopting the ugliest dog in the world and naming if after the buddy who stole his girl, Justin asks the Reddit community if he’s “the a__hole.” In the thread, he discloses a unique talent: he is the lucky charm women date right before they meet their soulmates. When Emma reads this, she feels seen. She is the exact same brand of unlucky. To break their patterns, they decide to date each other and alchemize their strange energy.
On its face, Just for The Summer’s premise is saccharine and light-hearted. However, Jimenez imbues her characters with rich backstories. Together, they face dysfunctional family dynamics, mental health challenges, shifting responsibilities, and much more. Though their separate lives are busy (even chaotic), their shared journey gives their lives new direction. In finding each other, they find what they really want and need. They make each other better.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you make time for these beautiful books! I promise you won’t be disappointed. If you end up choosing one of the books to read, please let me know what you thought of it. And if you’d like to see which brand-new romance novel I’m reading at the moment, check out my social media on Monday. It’s a good one!
Enjoy the holiday, friends!
