14 Of The Most Swoon-Worthy Romance Reads For Valentine’s Day

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“It was aggravating, being in love with someone who could see all of your secrets in your face except for the ones that mattered the most.”

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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and there’s no better way of celebrating the season than with a swoony romance read that makes your heart flutter. Whether you’re in the mood for enemies-to-lovers tension, friends-to-lovers sparks, or a second-chance romance that pulls at all your heartstrings, this curated list of romance recommendations has something for every reader. From contemporary love stories to fantasy-romance adventures and even mystery-infused romances, brew a cup of tea, sprinkle some rose petals and join us at What We Reading as we pull together our favourite books for cosying up with this Valentine’s Day! 

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Between Friends & Lovers – Shirlene Obuobi

Kicking off our list of the best romance recommendations this Valentine’s is Shirlene Obuobi’s Between Friends & Lovers. To her countless Instagram followers, Josephine Boateng is the dazzling Dr Jojo. Her message is clear: be significant, and do not put up with foolish men. However, behind the camera, her life is far more complicated. She’s hung up on her best friend, nepo-baby, and romcom hearthrob, Ezra Adelman. When Ezra shows up with her childhood bully on his arm, however, Josephine realises it’s time to prioritise herself for once. 

No one is more surprised than Malcolm Waters when his debut novel turns him into a critic’s darling. But he knows he’s no good at rubbing elbows with people. He’s just about to throw in the towel when he’s rescued by none other than Dr Jojo. But, in a world where the lines between private and public are as blurred as those between friendship and love, can they risk it all for something real? 

When Javi Dumped Mari – Mia Sosa

On the eve of their college graduation, best friends Javier Baez and Marisol Campos swore never to date someone the other doesn’t approve of. Now, a decade later, Javi has a problem. Mari, the woman he’s secretly pined for since sophomore year, is planning to marry – and Javi didn’t even get the chance to vet this Pedro Pascal knockoff. 

Mari, a successful entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, is no longer looking for Javi’s dating advice or waiting for him to declare his love for her. With his life and theatre career finally on track, Javi’s ready to confess his feelings. Except Mari’s changed the script and moved on without him. Which means he has eight weeks to convince her this marriage is a flop. And if Javi needs to ruffle some feathers to help Mari avert a disaster, well, he’s up for the challenge. After all, isn’t that what best friends are for? 

Fallen City – Adrienne Young

Luca Matius has one purpose – to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher puts him in the middle of a catastrophe. Maris Casperia was raised within the inner workings of the Citadel. Yet her years of serving the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War have made her envision a different future for her city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives. 

As a secret is brought to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become a symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown on opposite sides. As their fates diverge in this forbidden romance read, they learn they are the centre of a story the gods are writing. 

Ghosting: A Love Story – Tash Skilton

Dumped by his fiancée, Miles is not only couch-surfing across New York City but has set up shop in a local cafe. He no longer believes in love, which is problematic, given his career helping people find love as a ghostwriter for a failing dating site. Zoey’s eccentric LA boss sent her packing to New York to “grow.” But beneath her chill Cali demeanour, Zoey’s anxiety makes her terrified to venture beyond the cafe across the street into the big city. 

Finding themselves competing for space at Cafe Crudite, the only thing Miles and Zoey think they share is their daily battle for the last day-old biscotti and a shared dislike of one another. They don’t know they’re both writers, creating “authentic” profiles for rival online dating services. They think they have nothing in common, until they meet anonymously online while pretending to be their clients… and sparks fly. Light, hip and hilarious, Ghosting is the perfect millennial spin on a classic enemies-to-lovers trope. 

Ladies In Hating – Alexandra Vasti

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an enemy: Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course. However, unmasking doesn’t quite go according to plan – because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s teenage infatuation. 

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning, pretentious Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival. But, when the two novelists find themselves trapped in an eerie manor together, the pair come face-to-face with real danger: the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along. 

Icebreaker – Hannah Grace

Anastasia Allen has worked her whole life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she receives a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills, and lands a place on their competitive skating team. Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team – including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him. But when Anastasia’s partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot in this classic sports romance recommendation perfect for Valentine’s Day. 

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We Who Will Die – Stacia Stark

Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down. Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. 

She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armour is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court. With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle is forced to ally with the man who once shattered her heart, and with the emperor’s son, Rorrik – two vampires whose motives are impossible to call. In this vampires-themed romance pick, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself. 

The Dramatic Life Of Jonah Penrose – Robyn Green

Jonah Penrose is the new shining star of London’s theatre scene. But Jonah’s successes can’t erase the pain of a recent breakup, fix his self-doubt, or remedy his father’s ailing health. Enter stage right, Dexter, the West End’s golden boy, and someone Jonah finds to be intolerable and arrogant. Worse yet, while Dexter was supposed to play Jonah’s enemy in their next show, his role switches to his love interest after a bout of illness temporarily sidelines half the cast. 

Jonah’s plans to keep away from Dexter are thwarted when fans mistake their on-stage tension for romantic chemistry, and tickets begin selling like hotcakes. While pretending to be head-over-heels for his co-star is the last thing Jonah wants, the longer he spends in Dexter’s company, the more he discovers there’s more to him than meets the eye. And as his feelings become less of an act, he must choose if he’s willing to entrust his heart to someone again. 

Love In Focus – Lyla Lee

When her seven-year-long relationship suddenly falls apart, relationship columnist Gemma Cho is convinced that love doesn’t really exist. As a bisexual woman who’s had zero luck with either men or women, she’s about ready to give up when she gets paired up with Celeste Min, a world-renowned photographer, on a highly visual, potentially career-saving piece on modern love. 

Celeste would be the perfect collaborator and rebound for Gemma if it weren’t for one small fact: she’s Gemma’s ex. Despite working on a project together about what constitutes love, both Gemma and Celeste are tripping over each other’s feet and into each other’s arms. One of the best romance recommendations for Valentine’s Day, Love in Focus is a sapphic second-chance love story by Lyla Lee. 

Sweet Heat – Bolu Babalola

Three years after their break-up, Kiki has worked hard to forget her first love. But, just as she thinks she’s got her life under control – jumping into the distractions of her romance-by-calendar-invite boyfriend, and plans for her best friend, Aminah’s wedding – Kiki’s career implodes, the family business teeters on collapse, and Malakai returns. As Malakai takes up his role as best man opposite her maid of honour, suddenly, Kiki can think of nothing but their simmering chemistry, what went wrong, and why it is now impossible to act normally around each other. 

Juggling a new job, the prospect of her parents’ restaurant being sold, and keeping her best friend from going full-on bridezilla, dealing with The Ex is the last thing she needs. But somehow the spark between them is only getting hotter – and threatening to ruin everything. 

An Academic Affair – Jodi McAllister

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, whereas Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position. 

When Sadie notices that the job offers a partner hire, however, she hatches a plan to get them both the job. All they need to do is get married. It’s a simple win-win solution, but when sparks begin to fly in this marriage-for-convenience romance read, it becomes clear that these two may not have this whole thing thought through. 

One Last Stop – Casey McQuiston

For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train. 

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible, making it a perfect pick for Valentine’s. 

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The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang

Stella Lane believes that maths is the only thing that unites the universe. She’s excelling at her career, but badly floundering in the dating department. It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s. Her conclusion: she needs a lot of practice with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her steamy lesson plan. 

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership begins to make a strange sort of sense. And the pattern that emerges will soon convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic in this bestselling contemporary romance pick from Helen Hoang. 

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Check Out How To Read The Kiss Quotient Series In Order 

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No Ordinary Love – Myah Ariel

Ella Simeone’s popstar life is what dreams are made of. Her eight-year marriage to renowned music producer, Elliot Majors has helped her garner the hits, awards, and adoring fans to prove it. But when Ella tires of Elliot’s many infidelities, she decides to fight for her independence. But an awards show wardrobe snafu and a quick rescue by Miles Westbrook, MLB’s most eligible player, send the tabloids into a frenzy. Amid tricky divorce proceedings, Ella’s magnetic connection with the charismatic pitcher might just be her downfall. 

Now the pressure is on to turn a scandal into an opportunity and give their teams what they a picture-perfect performance that will shore up both Ella and Miles’ reputations. But as the lines between reality and PR begin to blur, Ella will either stick to the choreographed life she knows so well, or surrender to a love that might set her free.