The Litertarian Recommends… | Romance Edition

Valentine’s Day isn’t for everyone, but the feeling a really great love story gives you certainly is! I believe there is a book for every state of heart out there, and today I’m going to try and pair you up with a story that will match whatever your Valentine’s Day philosophy might be this year. This post is full of all my best romance book recommendations! Feel free to scroll to whatever section calls out to you and I’ll see you on the other side!

A few notes…

If I have already reviewed the book on this blog, I will link a review so you can read more of my thoughts if you’re interested!

Many of the titles below are currently included in the Kindle Unlimited membership. If you want to learn more about the membership, click here.

If you’re more of an audiobook listener and you haven’t tried Audible yet, you can click here to get your free trial! (I highly recommend them:: multi-task like a book nerd, lol)

Note: If you click on any of the book covers in this post it will take you to an affiliate link to the paperback. The membership links above are also affiliate links. Affiliate links cost you nothing extra if you place an order/opt into a trial, but the small commission I make helps support what I do here and is appreciated more than you know!

Without further ado, here are all my best romance book recommendations!


The Flirt

I like to think of romantic comedies as candy. Books so fun and satisfying that you gobble them up without reservation. Here are some of my favorites::

The Tourist Attraction | Sarah Morgenthaler
Click to Shop

[Review]

This book is so special. Zoey is on her dream vacation to Moose Springs, Alaska. Despite a very tight budget, she is determined to have the time of her life. Hilarious and charming as hell, Zoey’s trip and the disgruntled diner owner she meets there are sure to win your heart immediately. If you love a good romantic comedy, you do not want to miss this novel!

Wish I Were Here | Melissa Wiesner
Click to Shop

[Review]

Cat and Luca are so perfectly cast in this unforgettable big city romance. She is buttoned up and disciplined and doesn’t think very well of the doorman of her new building who is carefree, airy and dare-she-say reckless? But when she finds herself up a creek (figuratively), he’s the one who steps up to help her. Their story is *magic*

The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren
Click to Shop

[Review]

I didn’t love the ending of this book, but the rest of it is so good that I couldn’t keep it off this list. A vacation enemies-to-lovers style whirlwind romance. If you’ve never read a Christina Lauren book, girl, what are you waiting for?!

When in Rome | Sarah Adams
Click to Shop

I read this book a few years back and it is still stuck in my head. Rome, Kentucy is the idyllic small town of your rom-com dreams. Searching for a little respite from her world-famous persona, Amelia Rose disappears into middle-America for a few weeks. What she doesn’t expect is the grumpy pie-shop owner that changes everything…swoon.


The Hopeless Romantic

These romance books dig a little bit deeper, carving their own place out inside your heart. The love inside them is anything but ordinary. These stories feel so personal to me, but I’ll let you in on their magic in case you need a good romance to seep deep into your soul this season.

The Simple Wild | K.A. Tucker
Click to Shop

This is my favorite contemporary romance of all time. I’ve read dozens before and after and nothing hits quite the same as this beautiful story of unexpected connection and grief. Calla and Jonah are unforgettable – and look at that cover! One day I will write a review for this masterpiece to try and explain the depth of emotion I feel about it. For now I will just say, read it!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Click to Shop

Oh – a beautiful, devastating, and uplifting World War II historical novel that doesn’t really feel like a romance. Don’t worry, it still has a happy ending, but the focus isn’t fully on the love story. Instead, it is told through nothing but correspondence as a journalist from London gets to know a group of readers on the once-occupied channel island of Guernsey. This book has gotten me out of multiple reading slumps. It feels like an old friend. I hope you find as much heart in it as I have.

Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross
Click to Shop

[Review]

Divine Rivals reads as a historical romance, but it has a fantastical twist. An unlikely love story set in a time not dissimilar to the World Wars, Iris and her mystery correspondent fall in love through letters, then so much more. This is a powerful duology you don’t want to miss!


The One That Got Away

Second chances sometimes make for the most powerful love stories. The books below all return to my mind often.

The Girl He Used to Know | Tracy Garvis Graves
Click to Shop

I don’t remember how or why I picked up this book, but it changed me. Annika and Jonathan’s relationship in college was something sincere and transformative, but like most things do, it ended. When they meet again years later, he’s divorced, and she finally feels ready to explain herself. This is an immaculate book that blind-sided me in only the best possible ways.

In the Likely Event | Rebecca Yarros
Click to Shop

[Review]

I cannot say enough good things about this book. It was my favorite read of 2024, and I read a lot of books last year. It’s a second chance military romance that gave me chills after chills after chills. Don’t sleep on this book!

Hate Mail | Donna Marchetti
Click to Shop

[Review]

Another book about letters! I guess I have a type *blushes*
I adored this book about childhood pen pals who never had a nice thing to say to one another, and, as such, knew their deepest and darkest selves. After losing touch for years, Naomi gets a new letter and has to know once and for all if there’s something there, or if she needs to say goodbye forever.

Emergency Contact | Lauren Layne & Anthony LeDonne
Click to Shop

[Review]

Technically this is a holiday romance, so save it for the festive season if you must, but this book got me right in the feels. It’s a book about priorities, and openness, and family. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!


The Recently Uncoupled

Sometimes the timing of Valentine’s Day can be a little bit painful. Here are some books where the main characters recently got out of big relationships too.

Part of Your World | Abby Jimenez
Click to Shop

[Review]

This book is immaculate. Really. The romance is magnetic, the personal dramas are intense and organic, the characters learn and grow so much. Did I mention there’s a baby goat…in pajamas? This is a perfect Valentine’s Day book!

Work In Progress | Kat Mackenzie
Click to Shop

[Review]

A young woman goes to the UK to heal her broken heart, but the trip turns out so much differently than she ever imagined. It’s not just romance she finds on the tour, but friendships, too, that will last a lifetime!

Summertime Punchline | Betty Corrello
Click to Shop

[Review]

Delfina is down on her luck and returns home to NJ with her tail between her legs. She never thought she’d end up back there, but now that she is, it might not mean she’s a failure after all. My favorite thing about this book is that the characters choose to be together, even though it’s never been smooth sailing between the two of them. I adored this book!


The Friend With Benefits

IYKYK

Funny Feelings | Tarah DeWitt
Click to Shop

Farley is a stand-up comedian who has been in love with her single-dad manager, Meyer, as long as she can remember. It would be a big risk to make a move, but can they live this way forever? This was my first and remains my favorite book from Tarah Dewitt. It’s sweet and sexy and funny, too!

Business Casual | B.K. Borison
Click to Shop

[Review]

Nova is a badass chick opening up her own tattoo shop in her hometown. Charlie is a bigshot businessman from New York who can’t stay away from the idyllic community. She’s looking to burn off some steam, and he agrees to help, but once just isn’t enough and before they know it their simple arrangement is suddenly much messier than they ever anticipated. The ratings speak for themselves!

The Situationship

Sometimes the right person is the one standing right in front of you, amiright? Here are my best recommendations in workplace romance.

The Slowest Burn | Sarah Chamberlain
Click to Shop

[Review]

This book is so so good and I’m convinced Sarah Chamberlain is going to be a very well-known name very soon! The Slowest Burn is about falling in love while working on a new cookbook. The writing about food here is *chef’s kiss* and so is the romance!

The Rom-Commers | Katherine Center
Click to Shop

[Review]

Ah, the book I loved so much I brought my blog back to life just to have a special place to review it. If you’re looking for a book with realistically struggling characters and subtle intimate moments, boy, are you going to love it. Its portrayal of anxiety also read spot-on. Someone find me a strawberry hoodie, stat!

Perfect Fit | Clare Gilmore
Click to Shop

[Review]

Josie and Will run into each other just in time for him to swoop in and grab up the consulting job Josie’s brand is looking for. In high school he was her best friend’s brother. Now, they have a second chance to make the things that went wrong back then right again. So sweet – so romantic. Josie and Will give me the warmest of warm fuzzies!

Let’s Call A Truce | Amy Buchanan
Click to Shop

[Review]

Two single parents get off on the wrong foot and have a frenemies thing going for years before running into each other at an out-of-work event that makes them see one another in a new way. This one had me in a grip y’all.

The One Who Thinks ‘V-Day is a Conspiracy Created by Greeting Card Companies’

If you’re just not a Valentine’s Day believer, I even have a few picks for you!

Beach Read | Emily Henry
Click to Shop

My favorite Em Hen novel just can’t be beat! I’m drawn to books that aren’t always the happiest. The characters need to be going through it to really draw me in deep, and this novel fits that bill. August is struggling with his divorce, and January with the death of her father. Both are writers who feel blocked, so they propose a challenge to get things started again. The whole thing just has a vibe of skepticism and dwelling in pain you might just enjoy.

Christmas Is All Around | Martha Waters
Click to Shop

[Review]

You want someone who rejects holidays? I can’t think of a character who resents them more than Charlotte from Christmas Is All Around. Wrong holiday maybe, but still a great read!

How to Hide in Plain Sight | Emma Noyes
Click to Shop

[Review]

This incredible novel isn’t really a pick-me-up, so if you’re not feeling the love in the air, How to Hide in Plain Sight might be your best medicine right now. It’s down and dirty into mental illness and grief and guilt, but within the journey of this book is a beautiful friends-to-lovers romance that will make you weep with tears of empathy, sorrow, and pride. This book blew me away!

The Outdoorsy-Date Type

Okay, so I couldn’t come up with a better Valentine’s Day equivalent for sports romance, but I refuse to leave them out of a romance book recommendation list! I am not a sports person and I avoided sports romance for a long time because I thought I’d hate it.
I was wrong.

The Windy City Series | Liz Tomforde
Click to Shop
Click to Shop
Click to Shop
Click to Shop

[Review]

Each volume of this series runs a little longer than most romances, but it is 100% worth it. The relationships are so intimate and beautiful and the character growth in each one of them is really immaculate. They are connected through a larger friend group that develops through the series and includes sports players in several Chicago professional sports (hockey, basketball, and baseball). The best part? There is one more book still to come, later this year, and you know your girl has it on preorder!

The Fake Out | Stephanie Archer
Click to Shop

A random KU read turned into one of my favorite sports romances, and one of the better romances I’ve read, period. The relationship between Hazel and Rory is something special. It starts almost as an enemies situation, but quickly turns into a mutually beneficial friendship that blossoms organically into more. They support one another through the hards in their lives and there is no pesky third act breakup!

Six Summers to Fall | C.W. Farnsworth
Click to Shop

This one might not qualify as a sports romance because it is off-season and the characters are spending the time at a very outdoorsy wedding. But not just spending time there…they’re falling in love and ooo, it’s delicious.


The Fairy Tale Romance

Sorry, this category doesn’t mean retellings — these are my picks for things that are a little bit out of this world. Ghosts, okay? These have to do with ghosts, which I didn’t realize I liked so much until I was trying to fit these into a category. The last one doesn’t have ghosts, but it’s my favorite romance series OF ALL TIME (and has magic)!
Just read them, you’ll see!

Ghosted | Sarah Ready
Click to Shop

[Review]

When a girl finds out her New York City apartment is haunted, she hardly bats an eye. She needs this place, and she’s not going anywhere. Unfortunately, neither is he. But when they get to know each other, it turns out he can help her. Oh guys, this one is good. And long! It honestly feels like a two for one deal. If you read it, you’ll understand what I mean…

Haunted Ever After | Jen DeLuca
Click to Shop

[Review]

A haunted Florida town known for its ghosts? Why not buy your first home there! But it’s not so kitchy when she discovers the house she bought was inhabited by the meanest ghost in town. Good thing the hunky coffee shop owner is willing to help…

The Dead Romantics | Ashley Poston
Click to Shop

I was hooked on this book in the first chapter. A daughter in a family who owns a funeral home who can see ghosts? Who works as a….ghostwriter? And what a title! I absolutely love this book, and I hope you will too.

The Hidden Legacy Series | Ilona Andrews
Trilogy #1 | Nevada
Click to Shop
Click to Shop
Click to Shop

[Review]

A private investigator with the secret ability to tell when people are lying to her. The most powerful prime magic user in the city of Houston. And a conspiracy beyond anything they could have expected. Working together is dangerous, but not as dangerous as if they work alone.

Trilogy #2 | Catalina
Click to Shop
Click to Shop
Click to shop

Catalina’s magical abilities aren’t as direct or well-known as her sister Nevada’s, but it is her incredibly quick-witted brain that is her biggest asset. When an investigation for a friend spirals out of control, she finds an ally in the most unlikely place she might have ever imagined: her teenaged crush, Italian playboy (and dreamboat) Alessandro Segredo.


Galentine’s Day

Maybe this Valentine’s Day isn’t about a love interest, but a celebration of strong female friendships. I’ve got recommendations for those too::

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It | Elle Cosimano
Click to Shop

[Review]

Finlay Donovan gets herself into some serious hijinks in this series. It starts off with a bang with this book where Finlay is mistaken for an assassin and is hired to kill someone’s husband…accidentally. If you’re not in the romance mood, this hilarious contemporary mystery is sure to scratch an itch you didn’t know you had.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise | Colleen Oakley
Click to Shop

A teenager and a vigilante granny go on a road trip. This is the kind of medicine you just might need this time of year. Unexpected friendships are sometimes the sweetest. They’re certainly fun to read about! And hey, you’ll get a sense of what it’s like to drive cross-trip across America, too.

The Villa | Rachel Hawkins
Click to Shop

[Review]

If you’re a true V-Day skeptic, this is my #1 pick for you. It’s a contemporary gothic…kind of thriller? There are mysteries to unpack and revenge to exact. I frigging love Rachel Hawkins, and if you’re feeling bitter this month, read this.

The Christmas Inn | Pamela Kelley
Click to Shop

[Review]

This is the coziest book I’ve ever read. There is some romance, but this is more about all of the human connections, female friendships and mother-daughter bonding, too. It’s like a hug in a book and I highly recommend it!


Whew! That was a lot! I hope you found something in there somewhere that looks like a good match for you. Let me know your favorites and I will add them to my TBR for this year!

Happy Reading Romance Book Lovers!

xoxoxo
-E.

The Books That Built Me | Twig, Elizabeth Orton Jones

Welcome to a new series on the blog I’m calling The Books that Built Me. I will be featuring books I’ve found formative in my life as a reader. Each post will explore one book that changed my life. I’ll share my personal history with each book and why I chose it for this series.

It’s actually a really nice exercise to think back to all the books you’ve loved before (heh, that’s not a hint, I’ve never read that series). What are the books that stand out? Which books really had a profound influence on your thinking, for however long it might have been? What was the very first book you remember loving? For me it was Twig, by Elizabeth Orton Jones.


My First Children’s Chapter Book: Twig

Twig by Elizabeth Orton Jones Book Cover

The first thing I loved about this book was the cover. Our original copy of Twig, which I still have somewhere, has a brown packaging tape spine, and a binding tape corner. It might even be from the original printing. It’s a rusty red color, and has a small illustration of the protagonist. I can see it so clearly in my mind’s eye, and it brings me such a warm feeling to recall it.

I remember laying in bed with my mom, turning to the table of contents, and seeing all the chapter names. Because all we’d read before this were story books, I erroneously thought I could pick any chapter to start with. It blew my little child’s mind that we’d have to read them in order! What if we don’t want to read some of them? What if they sound boring!

Twig Table of Contents

It’s a chapter book, as I mentioned, but it is also illustrated, and with the cutest little drawings! The story is about a little girl living in an apartment building. They didn’t have much, so her whole little world was her family, their neighbors, and their little yard. It was written in 1942 so there is an ice-wagon horse in the alley behind the house, and an old cat who sits on the trash can, and a family of sparrows who’ve made the apartment building their home too.

Illustration of the apartment building setting

One day, Twig finds a brightly printed empty tomato can in the yard, and she decides to build a house out of it to attract a fairy next to a robust little dandelion in the yard! She finds other things, too. A thimble, a soda bottle cap, a gum wrapper. These things turn into the furnishings. And it works! Soon a fairy comes along who is learning magic! And it grants her wish to become a fairy, too!

The illustrations are just magic. The story was so clear and bright in my mind’s eye. Twig and her fairy friend became friends with Mrs. Sparrow and even helped to hatch her eggs while she went out searching for that naughty Mr. Sparrow.

Twig sitting beside the fairy house she built, and the tiny fairy who showed up to live there!

I’ll never forget that book. I bought a second hand copy in a panic when I couldn’t find the original (they also have an ebook version you can get here), and I read it to my own children last summer. They loved it too. It’s just a perfect example to me of how books can just be magic. Sometimes they find us at the right time and implant themselves into the fabric of who we’re becoming. Twig was that for me. If it weren’t for her, who knows where I’d be?

What is the very first book you can still remember?
Share with us in the comments…

Stick around…

Here are some of my favorite books from 2024::

In the Likely Event | Rebecca Yarros
The Most Fun We Ever Had | Claire Lombardo
Funny Story | Emily Henry
Amazing Grace Adams | Fran Littlewood
Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross
Maybe Next Time | Cesca Major
What the River Knows | Isabel Ibanez
Heartless Hunter | Kristin Ciccarelli

Most Anticipated Book Releases, Fall/Winter 2024

Spring and summer 2024 brought so many amazing books. So many of my preorders came in – it was like Christmas just about every Tuesday. Katherine Center, Abby Jimenez, Carley Fortune, Emily Henry, Tarah Dewitt…the season of romance (mostly)! I can only hope to have as great of a season next year! But what about the books still to come?

But there are some great books still ahead of us yet! These are some of my most anticipated book releases for the rest of the year. This is everything I personally have on preorder that come out in the remainder of 2024:

…looks like I’m going to have an exciting September, too!

Here One Moment | Liane Moriarty

Goodreads | Amazon (Hardcover) (eBook) (Audible)

Here One Moment, Liane Moriarty Book Cover

I love Liane Moriarty. Her deep character work and puzzle-style plot structures are so yummy. With a cover that alludes to the butterfly effect and a high concept premise about death predictions, I can’t wait to read this intriguing novel!

Release Date: September 10th, 2024

We Solve Murders | Richard Osman

Goodreads | Amazon (Hardcover) (eBook) (Audible)

We Solve Murders, Richard Osman Book Cover

The Thursday Murder Club was such a refreshing and humorous story about geriatric sleuths. I’ve been reading more and more mysteries and thrillers, and I’m hoping the tone of this one is similar to his other work. There’s something about investigating a murder! So compelling!

Release Date: September 17th, 2024

If I Were You | Cesca Major

Goodreads | Amazon (Hardcover) (eBook) (Audible)

If I Were You, Cesca Major Book Cover

Maybe Next Time was the first bowl-me-over book of the year. It hit me in all the feels at exactly the right time in my life. Automatic must-buy author for me after that. I actually got an arc of this book on netgalley, so I get to read it early. Another interesting premise, I can’t wait!

Release Date: September 24th, 2024

Intermezzo | Sally Rooney

Goodreads | Amazon (Hardcover) (eBook) (Audible)

Intermezzo Sally Rooney Book Cover

Beautiful World, Where Are You? Is a stunning book. I read it three times in a row. Normal People gutted me, then set my guts on fire. Not sure I can bring myself to read it again, ever. Sally Rooney’s writing is sharp and philosophical and at times damn poetic. Absolutely I’m going to read this…just might be through squinted eyes!

Release Date: September 24th, 2024

Where the Library Hides | Isabel Ibanez

Goodreads | Amazon (Hardcover) (eBook) (Audible)

Where The Library Hides Isabel Ibanez Book Cover

With the way What the River Knows ended, I’d be crazy not to be on the edge of my seat to continue the Secrets of the Nile series. I was pleasantly surprised by book one, and I can’t wait to see what happens next! If you’re looking for an accessible historical Egyptian fantasy with a strong female lead, don’t sleep on this!

Release Date: November 5th, 2024

Variation | Rebecca Yarros

Goodreads | Amazon (Paperback) (eBook) (Audible)

Variation Rebecca Yarros Book Cover

I read In the Likely Event this year and it absolutely blew me away. I loved every minute of it, and couldn’t put it down. Tears, chills, intense longing…makes this new contemporary romance release from Rebecca Yarros a must read on my list. Looks like it’s going to be on Kindle Unlimited, too!

Release Date: November 19th, 2024

Wind & Truth | Brandon Sanderson

Goodreads | Amazon (Hardcover) (eBook) (Audible)

Wind and Truth Brandon Sanderson Book Cover Placeholder Image from Tor Publishing

The fifth volume of the Stormlight Archive! The culmination of the first half of the series! More than 1,000 amazing pages practically guaranteed! I have recommended this series to so many people. It’s the most incredibly done fantasy I’ve ever read, and every book has surprised me in the best way. What a name, too!

Release Date: December 6th, 2024


What book releases are you anticipating most?

Do you have any of these on pre-order too?