Romance Reads for Your Valentine’s Day Pleasure

Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day is a very weird holiday in that people experience it wildly differently. For some, it is a day to spend with your significant other. Some people use it to celebrate all kinds of love. Some resent it as a capitalistic exploitation of love and simply look forward to the candy. And for the book lovers among us, it’s just an excuse to read romance books. February just puts you in that romance mood, but if you don’t know where to start, here are some different books for you to check out.

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Spice Level: low
Pepper is your standard overachieving high school senior trying to get into the college of her dreams, except for the fact that she is running the official Twitter account for her parents’ fast food chain. When a small grilled cheese shop accuses them of stealing a recipe, Pepper becomes engaged in an all-out Twitter war. Little does she know, the person on the other side of that Twitter account is her classmate, Jack. Jack is goofy, obnoxious and maybe just a little cute. Can the two manage to find a happy ending without their respective family businesses getting in the way?
This is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s a cute, funny and relatable young adult romance that I highly recommend.

Trigger warnings: bullying, divorce

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Spice level: medium
Seattle public radio host Shay Goldstein loves her job, but is struggling to get her sexist manager to give her the beat she deserves. When he finally supports her idea — a podcast on relationship advice from two exes — it seems like her big break. The only problem? She has to pretend to be exes with her infuriating new coworker, Dominic Yun. The two have clashed since Dominic first started at the station. But the more time they spend together working on the podcast, the better they get to know each other, and the more they find that they can’t ignore the connection they have. Can they handle living a double life?
I first read this one last year and I absolutely loved it. It is such a fun enemies-to-lovers romance, plus I loved the other, non-romance aspects of the book of navigating adulthood.

Trigger warnings: mentions of parental death

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

Spice level: high
Lucy Muchelney  is a great astronomer, but no one knows because she has been doing it under the name of her father. Now that her father is dead, her brother threatens to take everything she knows away from her. So when she receives a letter from Lady Catherine St. Day, asking Lucy if she knows anyone who would be able to take on a new astronomy project, Lucy decides she must go to London and convince Lady Catherine that Lucy herself can do the work. What she doesn’t expect is a captivating woman who might just be stealing her heart.
This historical romance between an astronomer and an artist is all about art and science, women fighting to be heard and, of course, love.

Trigger warnings: past spousal abuse, death of a parent, misogyny, racism

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Spice level: high
Eve Brown has been given the ultimatum by her parents: after her most recent business venture has failed, she must move out and get herself a job — without any allowance from her parents. Eve applies to the first place she finds, a quaint bed and breakfast, only to promptly run over the owner with her car (it was a light bump!). But with a broken arm and no other other decent applicants, B&B owner and perfectionist Jacob has no choice but to hire her. The two instantly clash, but is that spark animosity or something else?
The final book in the Brown Sisters trilogy, this book can be read entirely as a standalone (although I do recommend you read the others as well!). It is a fun and sexy grumpy/sunshine romance with a Black lead and autistic representation. If you are a romance fan, you have to read this book.

Trigger warnings: car accident, parental abandonment

What is your favorite romance book? Will you be reading anything in honor of Valentine’s Day? If I get the chance, I am going to try and re-read One Last Stop for my Valentine’s Day. Until next time!