Valentine’s Day is celebrated on June 12nd in Brazil and the romantic mood came along with it. Flowers, chocolates, dating plans, and many other preparations for the date are made. On this day, more than gifts are exchanged – passionate looks, fond hugs, and warm kisses can also be seen. “Love is in the air”, would say the Australian singer John Paul Young in his song that fits so perfectly in this time of the year. However, not everything is roses, at least not for everyone.
What about the single ones? What about the broken-hearted? What about those who don’t believe in love anymore or who never did? Will they be cast out of this “big event’’? Doesn’t everybody deserve a bit of romance in their lives? I believe that the answer is yes – we all deserve a taste of this feeling now and then. And what better way to do that if not through books? So, to make this holiday reach not only passionate couples but also single people and the ones who are skeptical in love, here is a list of 12 romance books to fill your life with a great amount of passion.
Keep in mind that there are so many, almost infinite books about love and love stories that it was nearly impossible to choose which one I would recommend. Therefore, I tried to pick different readings in the sense of representativeness and personal growth, selecting stories that could touch readers’ hearts because of their intensity and narrative development. Shall we start?
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
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What better way to rekindle the flame of love than by reading the classic “Pride and Prejudice”? The book, set in England in the 19th century, presents the story of an intense and initially neglected love between Elizabeth Bennet – the headstrong daughter of a country gentleman and sister of four young ladies – and Mr. Darcy – a rich and handsome but arrogant aristocratic landowner.
The sisters of the Bennet family are very different from one another, which makes the dynamic between them very peculiar, especially when it comes to love plans. While most of the girls in the Bennet family are preoccupied with marriage and finding eligible suitors, Elizabeth doesn’t care about such matters. And that does not change even, and especially, with the arrival of Mr. Darcy in Loungburn Village. At first sight, Elizabeth and Darcy don’t get along, but they’re attracted to one another despite the tension between them. Throughout the book, the rival relationship between the two protagonists makes room for something more.
I believe this is a story that cannot be left out of this list. “Pride and Prejudice” is an English classic that should be read by everyone who seeks a good romance. The overwhelming passion and the loving development of this love between the characters arouse in the reader a feeling of intense delight. We follow the characters’ growth through meetings and mismatches, funny dialogues, and mild social criticism of the society of the time. It’s a book that shows the grandiosity of love but also demonstrates the surprises that life tends to hold for us. No wonder the book has received so many adaptations – it is fascinating!
- The Selection by Kiera Cass (2012)
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“The Selection’’ is a book about a group of girls drawn to compete for a chance to live among the wealthy, to change their lives by joining the royal family and marrying the prince. In a society divided by caste, being chosen in the selection presents an opportunity to escape the life planned for them since birth. America Singer, the protagonist, is chosen to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, despite not wanting to be there. In the palace, the place that should be her worst nightmare, America finds comfort, especially having the charming and loving Prince Maxon by her side.
This is another book that could not be left out. It’s one of my favorites even while writing about it I felt like reading it again! The way the romance is developed is extremely captivating and makes you want to read more and more. A book that makes you realize that love can change and that you can find a different kind of love even in a true friendship. By the way, it is a trilogy, so you’ll have plenty of romance between the characters to pull an all-nighter reading!
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
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This novel is the story of Henry DeTamble, an adventuresome librarian who has a rare genetic condition that permits him to time travel. Although that may seem fascinating, he cannot control his condition, therefore his travels happen involuntarily and most of the time in terrible moments. And there is Clara Abshire, a beautiful artist with an ordinary life – his wife. The book portrays the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare’s relationship and their profound love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view.
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” is a book that raises questions about the effects of time on relationships and especially how love can masterfully overcome time. It is an enchanting and unforgettable story that will captivate you until the end with moments of agony and relief altogether. This unique love story is so interesting that they adapted the book into a movie in 2009 and now, in 2022, HBO launched a new drama series adapted from it. It’s so entertaining that you don’t even see the time passing!
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (2013)
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The systematic and peculiar genetic teacher Don Tillman had given up on love. The only thing he’s interested in is finding a perfect match – a woman who can deal with his severely timed routine and lack of social skills. He then develops a project to find him a suitable wife with a very meticulous questionnaire that evaluates if the woman fits his lifestyle. Of course, that doesn’t go very well. But, in the process, he meets Rosie Jarman, a woman who is completely different from him but who captivated him so much that his idea of love, most accurately his disbelief in love, turns upside down and he realizes that not everything in life can be programmed.
Seriously, trying to find a match by a questionnaire? Of course, it wouldn’t work! But this crazy idea brought something good to his life – love (unexpectedly). See, even a skeptical genetics teacher opened up for love, because it comes when we least expect it. The narrative is light and funny and the unconventional romance between two opposite people makes you realize that sometimes you just have to let things flow their way.
- The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (2019)
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In the plot, Tiffy needs a new apartment after her boyfriend suddenly broke up with her. She can find a new location but it’s something extremely different from everything she has ever experienced – the location is a bed. The announcement’s publisher, Leon, needed money and decided to rent the bed for someone to sleep at night since at this time he’ll be working. Tiffy accepts the tenancy and from then the peculiar dynamic between the two characters starts. Through post-its and, later, funny encounters, Leon and the girl grow closer and become good friends (and, eventually, something more…).
The Flatshare is a quick read and it is really good. The story spares no moments of humor and opens up a space to talk about toxic relationships and personal growth. It is a book full of energy, colors, and a perfect mood for a great laugh. The way the relationship between Leon and Tiffy is built (through post-its) makes the reading even more pleasant. After you finish, you’ll feel a warmth in your chest and possibly start looking for a bed tenancy in the local newspapers.
- The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff (2000)
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The story begins when Greta asks her husband, Einar Wegener, to help her finish a client portrait by wearing a woman’s clothes and posing for her. However, what was supposed to be just a favor turns into something more, completely and deeply changing this couple’s life. Lili was born – not a baby, but Einar’s feminine alters ego who dominates all his existence.
This passionate and unusual love story proposes a very reflexive question: What do you do when the person you love the most changes? And Greta gives an excellent answer: give your support. The wife not only accepts Einar’s transition but also encourages it, loving the husband no matter what happened or who he chose to be (and despite suffering, sometimes, with Lili’s rising needs and personality).
- Love in The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985)
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The book tells a story about three main characters: Florentino Ariza, Fermina Daza, and Juvenal Urbino. The plot develops from the characters’ memories since they are already elderly. Florentino and Fermina fall deeply in love, but her father disapproves of the relationship between them, sending her away to stop the lovers from seeing each other. When she finally returns, she wants nothing to do with him.
One day, under suspicion of cholera, Firmina is visited by the doctor Juvenal Urbino who falls in love with the lady’s beauty. The young woman and the doctor get married and they have a lot of children while Florentino still awaits the day he’ll be with his beloved. After years of marriage, Firmina sometimes wonders how her life would have been if she had married Florentino instead of Juvenal. And the end… Well, I’m not giving any spoilers.
The reading may be a little dense and not so easy but the descriptions and detailing make everything more believable and sentimental. It is a truly honest romance about human relationships, love, and its annoyances, about time and its cycles. It’s a story about a strong love that overcame time and distance and that kept a very defined place in someone’s heart and memories.
- Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019)
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Amazon.com Alex is the US president’s son. He’s very charismatic and has a strong personality which makes him suitable for a political career, as he wishes. However, his reputation is unsettled when the media insinuates a serious disagreement between him and the British prince, Henry – a guy he can’t stand and to whom he is always compared. As a means to avoid a diplomatic disaster, both of the boys have to spend a weekend pretending to be best friends and it doesn’t take long for them to grow closer and for their relationship to evolve into something quite unexpected.
The relationship between Alex and Henry is outrageously funny, romantic, and sexy. Every second a breath is taken from the reader, who falls in love with both of the guys and their partnership. The narrative flow is so natural and enveloping with its details that make the reading a love match! The way the relationship goes from wanting to kill one another to not being able to live without each other is fantastic. It’s a book about opening up to somebody else and trusting the other person, accepting them and, mostly, yourself.
- P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern (2003)
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After her husband’s death, Holly becomes completely adrift and does not know how to live without him. But she wasn’t alone. Since his death was predictable (he was very ill), Gerry, the husband, knew that the grief would be too much for his wife and left behind several letters to be opened every month throughout the year, giving instructions to make her get used to a routine without him. It’s because of those letters that she can laugh again, experience life more deeply, and move on from the tragic loss.
You probably already heard or even seen about this story through the book itself or the movie. Remembering this passionate romance even gives me chills! It’s outstanding how Gerry knew exactly what Holly needed to cope with his death. The book has a sad beginning, that’s true, but it is interesting to see how the woman can move on, little by little, taking one step at a time. You realize the importance of holding on and letting go, and you learn that it is possible to love again.
- One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2016)
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Emma and Jesse got married in their 20s. They built a life together away from their parents and the people of their hometown. They traveled together, laughed together, lived to the most, and enjoyed every opportunity they found. That was until Jesse went missing in a helicopter flight. After the disappearance, Emma resigned from her job and went back to her birth town. After years of grief, she finally was able to move on and started loving again, even getting engaged. But then Jesse is found, alive and well. Now, the woman has to figure out who she’ll choose to be with – her husband or her fiancé?
Who doesn’t enjoy a love triangle? Although, most of the time it is really hard to make a choice, especially ones related to matters of the heart. It is hard to listen to what our hearts say and to understand our feelings. Even harder is to figure out the answer to the question: what is true love? How do we suppose to identify something that doesn’t even have a pre-determined definition nor a pattern to make comparisons? Emma faces this deep reflection and, with difficulty, but being honest with herself, she finds the answer she was seeking and makes a decision.
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (1996)
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Duke reads poems to a resting clinic patient group, but for one, and only one, of these patients, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease, he reads something else – a diary. This notebook portrays an exciting love story between Allie Nelson and Noah Calhoun, two teenagers who found out the true meaning of love (maybe they talked to Emma from the book before?) but had a lot of obstacles and misunderstandings that forced them to be apart (like Romeo and Juliet kind of story, without the super tragic ending). After years away from each other, they are reunited and relight the flames of that love. With the notebook reading, Duke remembers his own life and the old lady can, now and then, recapture her past joy.
Honestly, if you read this book and don’t start believing in love after it, you should probably find yourself a psychologist. It’s a magnificent love story! The love portrayed in the notebook recited by Duke is powerful and deep and real. The story is so extraordinary that it can make you cry and laugh at the same time. It is a book to keep forever in your heart and on your shelf – something to be expected of a Nicholas Sparks book.
- Heartstopper, vol. 1 by Alice Oseman (2018)
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Of course, the sweetheart of the moment could not be left out, especially now that it has gained a Netflix series adaptation. “Heartstopper” is a graphic novel that follows, in the first volume, the story of two boys at the beginning of their relationship. Charlie Spring is an open homosexual who has a lot of talents. Nick Nelson is a popular kid, part of the rugby team, who thinks he’s straight. They have almost nothing in common. Almost. The boys meet and start an intense and beautiful friendship until they realize they have stronger feelings toward one another. Charlie and Nick discover that love can work in amazing and surprising ways.
I couldn’t stop smiling while reading the book. Char and Nick are so cute! It’s curious to notice how the relationship between the boys opens up Nick’s eyes to the world around him and especially to himself, that he pursues answers to questions he has never asked before and talks about it openly with Charlie. It is a reading that cannot escape from this list – you’ll find yourself in a mix of happiness, doubts, fear, insecurity, curiosity, and all the feelings that can come up at the start of a relationship.
These are the 12 books I recommend reading if you want to believe in love again. I liked them all and writing about them here made me want to read them again! I hope you enjoy these books too and that, after the reading, your skepticism in love is shaken. Everyone can enjoy the 12th of June holiday with great passion. So, happy Valentine’s Day!
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The article above was edited by Julia Queiroz.
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