Valentine’s Day has us all thinking about love and chocolates, so if you’re looking for a book that will get your heartbeat going a little faster and satisfy your cravings, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are our picks for the swooniest romances for Valentine’s Day.
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
The Roughest Draft (Berkley)
by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
This is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance gem that kept me up turning pages into the wee hours of the night.
Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were literary stars when their co-written book topped the bestseller lists. But just as their careers hit the stratosphere, their partnership crashed and burned.
And neither one of them would say why.
Now, three years later, they haven’t spoken since they split up, and they’re forced to reunite (him for professional reasons, and her for personal ones). He can’t write a hit, and she’s not writing at all — but they owe their publisher one more book on their publishing contract.
Reluctantly, they return to the same beach house where they wrote their big bestseller, and their partnership fell apart, to write, you guessed it, a romance novel.
The chemistry in this book is to die for, and I loved the back and forth between past and present, so you’re finding out exactly what happened to make them stop speaking to each other right about the time you’re yelling at the pages, “OMG, please kiss already!!!”
Swoon factor: If you love forced proximity, second-chances, enemies-to-lovers and slow-burn romances, make The Roughest Draft your Valentine’s Day read.
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Weather Girl (Berkley)
by Rachel Lynn Solomon
If you loved Solomon’s The Ex Talk about dueling public radio producers, you’ll be over the moon for her latest, Weather Girl.
In this Parent Trap-esque take on romance, TV meteorologist Ari Abrams and sports reporter Russell Barringer hatch a plot to get their divorced bosses back together in order to solve their professional woes after a particularly disastrous holiday party.
One thing Solomon does right is inclusivity – mental health, cultural differences, and body positivity are all part of the package.
And, as you might hope, all this scheming together sparks some serious chemistry between Ari and Russell.
Ari struggles with depression and imposter syndrome thanks to her not-so-great childhood, and human cinnamon roll Russell has basically given up on dating as a single dad.
It may be impossible to predict the weather, but I’m pretty sure we all know how this one is going to turn out.
Swoon factor: If you love inclusive, slow-burn, office romances, let Weather Girl warm you up this Valentine’s Day. Read our review here.
Love at First Spite by Anne E. Collins
Love at First Spite (Graydon House)
by Anne E. Collins
When Dani Porter’s ex-fiancé cheats on her with their realtor, she does what any interior designer with a grudge would do: She buys the lot next door and plans to turn it into a vacation house to ruin their view and their vibe.
As revenge plans go, it’s not bad.
Dani needs an architect to draw up the plans for the new house, and we meet handsome and oh-so-grumpy Wyatt Montego. He agrees to draw up the blueprints if she’ll decorate his grandma’s house — but he has no idea he’ll be designing a spite house.
Dani, not surprisingly, has some trust issues, and Wyatt has been hurt before. So when these two finally get together, revenge couldn’t be sweeter.
Swoon factor: If you love enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, grumpy/sunshine romances, let Love at First Spite brighten up your space.
Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall
Something Fabulous
by Alexis Hall (Montlake)
How do I love thee, Something Fabulous? Let me count the ways.
This is, by far, one of the funniest rom-coms I’ve read all year. This is the kind of book that makes you snort-laugh in public, and it’s so good you don’t even mind.
Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, is ready to get married. He pops the question to Miss Arabella Tarleton as their two families have planned, but the Duke is looking for a marriage of convenience and Arabella is hoping for a love match.
She finds his proposal … lacking.
When she runs off, her twin brother Bonaventure “Bonny” Tarleton blames the Duke for her disappearance and enlists him to help track her down.
On the way to Dover, the Duke (who gives off some serious Mr. Darcy vibes) and Bonny find themselves on each others’ last nerves until the sparks start flying.
Swoon factor: If you love male-male, enemies-to-lovers, historical rom-coms, you’ll want to put Something Fabulous on your dance card.
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson
Ramón and Julieta (Berkley)
by Alana Quintana Albertson
I love this extra spicy retelling of Romeo and Juliet meets You’ve Got Mail, set in San Diego’s Barrio Logan.
Ramón Montez, a type-A heir to a thriving fast-food empire, and Julieta Campos, chef at her family’s Barrio taqueria have their first kiss on Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
Little did they know their families had been rivals for years. To make things worse, Ramón and his fast-food taco empire are suddenly Julieta’s family restaurant’s new landlord — a heartbreaking representation of the gentrification that is pushing families and family businesses out of Barrio Logan.
This is a story about family, food and figuring out who you are. And trust me, every page will leave you hungry for more.
One final note: Thankfully, unlike Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, our couple does manage to find their way to a happily ever after.
Swoon factor: If you love insta-love, enemies-to-lovers, rival families and workplace romances, Ramón and Julieta keeps the romance cooking.
