Romance is one of the most popular genres of fiction and yet I have never been able to get into it. I don’t generally like stories that are neatly tied up with a happy ending, I’m quite a cynical person and I’m not interested in solely following the highs and lows of the characters’ relationship. I find romance acceptable in a novel if it’s not the main focus and occasionally I like to read rom coms if they’re well-written or have an unusual premise. I once read a Mills and Boon novel just to see what it was like and thought it was one of the worst books I’d ever read! But to someone who loves romance and happy-ever-afters, it might be their ideal read. I’m therefore unable to recommend any purely romance reads this Valentine’s Day. However, some books I’ve enjoyed which have a romance element are:
Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson – a witchy rom com
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – an absolute classic
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn – warm-hearted contemporary drama
Four by Andy Jones – the complex relationships of two couples
Waiting for Saturday by Catherine Morrison – leaving a coercive relationship and finding true love
Gone by Min Kym – a romance between a girl and her violin
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary – a quirky rom com
The Land Where Lemons Grow by Helena Attlee – a passionate affair with citrus fruits!
Little Women by Louisa M Alcott – Jo and Laurie, Meg and John, Amy and Laurie, Jo and Professor Bhaer…
Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding – the pressures of being a single woman in the 1990s
The One by John Marrs – in this thriller, you can be genetically matched with your soulmate
The Bachelor by Stella Gibbons – a charming novel set during the Second World War
I also have a Valentine’s Day issue of The Indie Books & Authors Newsletter out today! Please do take a look and discover some new indie romance releases, including contemporary, historical and fantasy romances.
I am definitely open to a good romance as long as it’s not canned, predictable and schmaltzy.
I think it’s the predictability of romance that puts me off – I like a lot of twists in my reading and my favourite kind of ending is mysterious or unresolved – definitely not what you’d find in a book from the romance genre! But I’m open to books where the romance is one of the elements, along with a comedy, mystery or history plotline.
Romantic fiction isn’t really my thing either. I used to enjoy rom-coms but as I’ve got older I like something a bit more complex and emotional. But, like you I don’t mind if it isn’t the main theme. I liked Yinka Where is Your Huzband and Ten Years by Pernille Hughes is another good one.
Thanks for your comment. I read maybe 1 or 2 rom coms a year! And I don’t really like rom com films either. I haven’t heard of Ten Years, I will look it up.
I am also exactly the same, I don’t like the romance genre, I will read the occasional one if I like the premise, but even though with those I don’t think they are solely romance books. I don’t mind if there is a little romance, or feelings between a couple of the characters, but it must not be the full focus of the book. I am pleased you feel the same, I was always worried it was just me!
I’m glad we feel the same about it 🙂 I think a lot of readers do. Romance isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.