Romance is the most cheerfully misjudged shelf in the shop - and the one readers devour fastest. These are love stories with proper writing: funny, sharp, occasionally devastating, and reliable joy from the first meet to the last page.
Editor's Picks
- Fourth Wing - the romantasy phenomenon
- Me Before You - the big-hearted weepie
- Red, White & Royal Blue - pure joyful escapism
01One Day
Emma and Dexter, same date, twenty years. Funny and true about how lives tangle - and famously, brutally moving. The modern British love story. Best read in a single trip, and quite different in effect from either screen adaptation.
02Beach Read
Two rival novelists swap genres for a summer in neighbouring lake houses. Henry writes banter with real feeling underneath - the queen of the smart rom-com. Start here for Emily Henry, then move on to People We Meet on Vacation.
03The Flatshare
Tiffy and Leon share a flat - and a bed - but have never met, trading Post-it notes across shifts. Warm, inventive and impossible not to root for. O'Leary's debut and still her best, with a premise that sounds gimmicky and is not.
04Fourth Wing
A brutal war college, dragon riders and an enemies-to-lovers slow burn. The romantasy phenomenon - read it and understand what everyone's on about. Book one of five, so be ready for the wait between releases if it hooks you.
05Me Before You
Louisa takes a job caring for the paralysed, furious Will Traynor. Big-hearted, funny and devastating - have tissues within reach. Read it before the sequels, and expect the ending to divide any group that discusses it.
06Red, White & Royal Blue
The First Son of the United States falls for a Prince of England. Pure joyful escapism with a surprising amount of heart. Now a film, though the book is funnier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should a romance sceptic start?
One Day - it's simply a great novel that happens to be a love story. If you want banter, Emily Henry's Beach Read converts doubters by chapter three.
What is romantasy?
Romance plus fantasy - love stories set in worlds with dragons, courts and magic, with the relationship front and centre. Fourth Wing is the one to try.
Are these all happy endings?
The rom-coms, yes - it's the point of the genre. One Day and Me Before You play by different rules; we've warned you.
What do heat levels mean?
An informal scale describing how explicit a book is, running from closed-door, where the bedroom scene is implied, up to open-door and steamy, where it is not. There is no official standard, so it varies by publisher, but reader reviews are generally reliable if it matters to you either way.
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