BVBook Verdict

Fiction

Romance Worth Your Time

Love stories with real craft behind them.

14 books · ranked

  1. 1

    Beach Read

    Emily Henry · 2020 · Romance

    Two rival writers swap genres for a summer; sharp, funny, surprisingly tender contemporary romance.

  2. 2

    People We Meet on Vacation

    Emily Henry · 2021 · Romance

    Best friends, one ruined trip and years of will-they-won't-they; the comfort read of the modern rom-com revival.

  3. 3

    It Ends with Us

    Colleen Hoover · 2016 · Romance

    A romance that turns into a clear-eyed story about a difficult cycle; a phenomenon among readers.

  4. 4

    Red, White & Royal Blue

    Casey McQuiston · 2019 · Romance

    The First Son and a British prince fall for each other; a sunny, escapist political rom-com.

  5. 5

    Bridget Jones's Diary

    Helen Fielding · 1996 · Romance

    A single Londoner's diary of resolutions, cigarettes and Mr Wrong; the book that launched a genre.

  6. 6

    The Flatshare

    Beth O'Leary · 2019 · Romance

    Two strangers share one bed on opposite schedules and fall for each other by note; a charming high-concept romance.

  7. 7

    The Hating Game

    Sally Thorne · 2016 · Romance

    Two office rivals locked in escalating war; the enemies-to-lovers benchmark.

  8. 8

    Aaron's Rod

    D. H. Lawrence · 1922 · Romance

    An amateur musician leaves a coal mining town in the English Midlands, going first to London and later to Florence.

  9. 9

    Age of chivalry; or, King Arthur and his knights

    Thomas Bulfinch · 1858 · Romance

    Annotated, hyperlinked edition of Bulfinch's Legends of King Arthur.

  10. 10

    Anne of the Island

    Lucy Maud Montgomery · 1915 · Romance

    New adventures lie ahead for Anne Shirley as she packs her bags, waves goodbye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport,

  11. 11

    At Fault

    Kate Chopin · 1890 · Romance

    At Fault is Kate Chopin’s early novel about a young widow seeking to reconcile her own needs with those of the people she is responsible for. ([source][1]) [1]: https://www.katechopin.org/at-fault/ --

  12. 12

    Beatrice

    H. Rider Haggard · 1890 · Romance

    The autumn afternoon was fading into evening. It had been cloudy weather, but the clouds had softened and broken up. Now they were lost in slowly darkening blue. The sea was perfectly and utterly stil

  13. 13

    Betty Zane

    Zane Grey · 1903 · Romance

    I found this book one of Mr. Grey's finer writings, perhaps due to his emotional and familial attachment to the subject. The feel of the time is very real and still written with contemporary digestabi

  14. 14

    Corinne

    Germaine de Staël · 1786 · Romance

    "Corinne, or Italy (1807). A romantic novel by Mme de Staël. Oswald Nevil, and English lord, recuperating in Rome, meets the famous poetess Corinne, who, half-English and half-Italian, has exiled hers

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