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The Best Valentine's Day Romance Books to Read

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If you're single or in a relationship, it doesn't matter. As long as you have a good book in your hand, you can still feel the love this Valentine's Day. Below is a list of my favourite romance books that make for the most perfect read this Valentine...
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Cute Romance

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
Now this one I have seen everywhere in recent months. There seems to be a new genre of romance that falls under hockey players, so I was very intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. I will say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I actually thou...
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Yet another book I’d seen across BookTube, Lynn Painter is a popular rom-com author that I hadn’t yet gotten around to reading. Although this was a groundhog day type of book, I found it quite enjoyable. It was predictable towards the end, but the ma...
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I read my first hockey romance back in March after seeing Icebreaker by Hannah Grace all over TikTok. I didn’t have high hopes for The Deal as it seemed like it was going to be exactly the same. However, I was very surprised at the chemistry between ...
The Deal by Elle Kennedy
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I previously enjoyed The Love Hypothesis (although found it quite mediocre), but Love on the Brain was incredibly predictable and at times a little too corny for me. Plus there were a few scenes that were NSFW (or for reading on the London Undergroun...
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I read this book in the space of two days, maybe a little less. I had seen the TV show and heard the book was very similar, if not identical to the show. The lack of speech marks threw me off a little at the beginning, but as there is so much dialogu...
Normal People by Sally Rooney
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Dramatic Romance

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
If there’s a gaping Gossip Girl hole in your heart like there is in mine, this book might just fill the void. If Chuck and Blair were transported to London, they would be Magnolia and BJ. Think couture fashion, socialites and posh people problems. Ma...
Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Obsessed. That’s my review of this book. It may have took 100 pages before the two main characters finally kissed but oh my word I was hooked to this book. The ending had my smiling from ear to ear and wishing it didn’t have to end. You need to read ...
Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
This was probably the book that broke the internet. It was the book that got the whole world reading again and delving into the world of Colleen Hoover. I really enjoyed It Ends With Us, but firstly, I think this is more young adult fiction than adul...
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I’d seen this book quite a few times on BookTube and heard it was a cowboy romance. If you know about my love for Nashville, then you’ll know why I picked this up. It was a good romance novel and made me interested to look into bull-riding as a sport...
Flawless by Elsie Silver
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I think this may just be my favourite Colleen Hoover novel. I went in quite apprehensively as the blurb was showing a storyline/trope that I had never read before and that I didn’t have very high hopes for. However, the book evokes a lot of questions...
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
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Summer Romance

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
I’ve had this on my to-read list for a very long time. It was the perfect summer read for August! With a little bit of woo-woo thrown in for good measure, it reminded me of Ashley Poston’s style of writing. It’s definitely a book to pick up for the s...
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I saw this all over social media last year, and wanted to wait until peak summer time to read it. It was an enjoyable story, with past and present chapters. But I definitely expected to love it more given the hype around it.
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Happy Place has taken the top spot in my rankings of Emily Henry books. It seems that with each new book that Emily Henry publishes, the better they get. This one gripped my heart and had me fully invested from the outset. I’m not usually a fan of th...
Happy Place by Emily Henry
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Ok this book was quite filthy. I had seen it all over Instagram and Booktube so thought I was getting into a cosy romcom, but instead I got Fifty Shades of Grey. Just a word of warning, don’t let the cartoon cover fool you. That said, I really enjoye...
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Book Lovers was the final book I read in summer 2022, while getting over Bali jet lag. I’ve now realised small town romance is my favourite trope and this is exactly what this was. A book editor and book agent who aren’t very fond of each other just ...
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
It’s been a while since I’ve had a five star read. And a five star romance read at that. I’d seen Abby Jimenez’s books a lot across BookTube and BookTok and finally got around to reading this one as my last summer read. I loved the dialogue between J...
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
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Sad Romance :(

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
I’d seen this all over TikTok and Booktube last year and finally got around to reading it. This definitely read like a Young Adult novel, and I’m not sure I’m the right age to relate to tragic love stories where the main characters are still teenager...
If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I will read absolutely anything Caleb Azumah Nelson writes. This is only his second book, but it’s as good if not better than Open Water. He has such a poetic way of writing that evokes every emotion you can think of. Heartbreaking yet funny, but als...
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I’m not sure why, but I had the urge to read this at the beginning of February. This 720 page book has been sitting on my shelf for a long time and I couldn’t see another five-star review without knowing what was inside the book myself. So it was tim...
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
This tells the story of a 25 year old British girl trying to stay in New York as her visa is running out (relatable) and marries a man in his forties to do so. Their love story unfolds and with it comes issues with alcohol, drugs, depression, grief, ...
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Ok, everyone is obsessed with this book online and if you search the title you’ll see fansites and more with images mocking up the characters and videos that have been made for the book. The cheese and corniness dripping from the book was too much fo...
A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I’m not usually one for a soppy book, and I knew what to expect having already seen the movie, but I loved this book. So much so that I ordered the remaining two books in the series. It’s identical to the movie, like you’d expect, but it was funny, quirky, sad and heartwarming. A brilliant book.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
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Fantasy

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
I am not a fantasy reader and never really have been but I just had to see what the fuss was about with this book and oh my word, it did not disappoint. I’m so glad there’s a second book in this series and that it’s already available because this wil...
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Bride felt like a retelling of Twilight in a way. It involved vampires and werewolves, but I guess it would be if this was a story about Bella and Jacob, not Edward. Quite raunchy in parts too, but I found the storyline an enjoyable read.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I finally succumbed to the pressure of reading ACOTAR. Well, no one was putting pressure on me, but I felt like everyone else had read this series, so it was about time I hopped on it too. I’ve been enjoying fantasy books recently (like Caraval and F...
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
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Classics

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
I went into Giovanni’s Room not knowing much about the book or the author, but this book for me, definitely deserves the ‘classic’ title. A love triangle set in Paris in the 1950’s, this book was pushing ahead of its time and one that I didn’t want t...
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I've read this so many times I've lost count. A classic for a reason, I love this story.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Another classic book that sweeps you back into the olden days of love before the digital age. A firm favourite.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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LGBTQ+ Romance

 
Orlagh Claire profile picture
I had this book on my shelf for around two years I would say. I’ve heard all of the rave reviews, heard everyone claim this as a modern-day classic, but still couldn’t bring myself to read it. After reading Circe by the same author and low-key hating...
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
Wow. I’m not usually one for historical fiction, but this was incredible. A raw, real story of love, loss and the horrors of war and its aftermath. This was so incredibly written and I can see this being made into a movie in the future. I’ll be first...
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
I read Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo a few years ago and loved it, so when I saw another book by this author in the library I instantly picked it up. It definitely appeared to be one of her older books, but it was just as good as GWO. The ...
Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
You may have noticed in the introduction to this blog post that I claimed one of the books on this list to be one of, if not the best book I’ve read this year. Well, this is it. As you may have guessed by the 5-star rating. Even though this book is a...
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
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Orlagh Claire profile picture
This was a book I had seen recommended on Good Reads quite a lot and I just happened to stumble upon it in a Little Free Library in Brooklyn. The storyline for this book wasn’t anything I expected and I think this is what kept drawing me back to read...
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
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