Romance books are my bread and butter. I love reading about romantic love more than anything else and over the years I’ve read hundreds of amazing books in this genre. I had fun reading all of them one way or another, but there are certain romance novels that stuck with me. I still think about them on the daily and compare everything to their magnificence.
So, here I am, to present you my absolute favorite, the very best of the best romance books the world has ever seen. You may know some of these, and some of them could be brand new to you, but I hope you find something to love either way.
See all books included (with notes on who they’re for)
- Normal People by Sally Rooney — Read this if you want to follow two people as they grow and change, continuously affected by each other. Incredibly melancholy and intimate.
- Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller — This is your pick if you love Greek mythology and crave beautiful writing.
- Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson — If you want a short read that’s lyrical and emotional, I cannot recommend Open Water enough.
- The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden — Read this if you enjoy enemies to lovers with real (well, ish) cause and very atmospheric books with unlikeable but fun main characters.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — A classic romance with enemies to lovers!
- Persuasion by Jane Austen — The most romantic Austen book, with second chance romance and probably the best love confession ever.
- The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery — Read this if you want a heroine that grows a spine and finds love in the most unlikely place.
- You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle — Read this if you want something really funny and heartfelt but also swoony!
- Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase — This book is legendary in the histrom subgenre, and has the best heroine ever written. Just try it, you’ll have fun!
- Black Silk by Judith Ivory — My personal favorite of the historical romance genre, read if you want beautiful writing and complex characters, with a very slow slow burn.
- The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas — This author will take you on an emotional ride and you won’t even know what hit you.
- The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow — My favorite, an epic tale of love and loss. Read if you want a complex love story and don’t mind time loops (also, this will hurt, I’m sorry).
- The Road of Bones by Demi Winters — My favorite romantasy series, read if you love slow burn, good writing, great worlds, and soft but capable heroines!
- The Bride by Ali Hazelwood — Read this book if you like Ali Hazelwood but want more fantasy. Also, if you read only fanfic normally, this will suit!
- Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long — One of the best historical romances ever written (and a recent release too). I recommend this one to all the eldest daughters out there, and anyone who loves a good slow burn.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
| Tropes | enemies to lovers, slow burn, class differences |
| Heat Level | nope |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | happily ever after! |
| Page count | 400 pages |
When Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr. Darcy, she immediately writes him off as arrogant, and he doesn’t exactly help his case. Watching those first impressions unravel, one stubborn conversation at a time, is basically the reason the enemies-to-lovers trope exists. And this is one of my absolute favorite classics! I love all the TV and movie adaptations, any rendition of P&P, and most recently — its expansion into the The Other Bennet Sister universe.
“You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.”
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
| Tropes | relationship in trouble, enemies to lovers |
| Heat Level | there’s one scene but it’s more emotional than explicit |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Happily ever after! |
| Page count | 368 pages |
Naomi and Nicholas are engaged and thoroughly sick of each other, but neither wants to be the one who calls off the wedding and eats the blame, so they each start scheming to make the other do it. Naturally, sabotage turns into something else entirely. This is my favorite contemporary romance book ever! I think I’ve re-read it dozens of times, whenever I have a bad day and need a pick-me-up.
It’s also one of the funniest, most heartfelt books I’ve ever read, and I highly recommend it. It’s told from Naomi’s POV entirely, and it really shows you how much those small, seemingly insignificant things mean a lot.
See my full review of You Deserve Each Other here!
“I say it all the time, I just say it very, very quietly. I tell you when you’re in another room, or right after we hang up the phone. I tell you when you’ve got headphones on. I say it after you shut the door behind you. I say it in my head every time you look at me.”
Normal People by Sally Rooney
| Tropes | on-and-off romance, opposites attract, miscommunication |
| Heat Level | there are spicy scenes, but the point is not to titillate the reader, if that makes sense, it’s more to show physical intimacy between the characters |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | It ends on a happy for now scene. |
| Page count | 273 pages |
In Normal People, two Irish teenagers from different class backgrounds move in and out of each other’s lives from secondary school through university, unable to communicate what they actually want.
This is one of the first books I read when I first got back into reading. People either love it or hate it, but you can’t deny the impact it’s had on literary fiction and how well it depicted the awkwardness, beauty, and vulnerability of intimacy.
For my part, I do love it a lot, but have since reading this leaned more towards Sally Rooney’s other books, Beautiful World, Where Are You in particular, and I would highly recommend that one as well, especially since it has not one, but two romances. Intermezzo by the same author is also great.
“I’m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.”
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
| Tropes | childhood friends to lovers, mythological retelling, tragic/doomed romance |
| Heat Level | There are a few spicy scenes, but it’s more emotional |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | to me, personally, it felt HEA, but I would say it depends on your interpretation |
| Page count | 408 pages |
The Song of Achilles will break your heart and mend it and do so many times. I honestly didn’t think I’d love it quite so much when I first started reading it simply because I didn’t think Greek myth retellings were my thing, but it turns out this book in particular definitely was.
You follow Patroclus (the book is in his point of view) as he sees Achilles run in a race and he is immediately fascinated by him. Later, when he accidentally murders a boy who bullied him, Patroclus is sent into exile, to live with Achilles’ family and there the boys become close friends. Their relationship develops and only grows deeper as they go into the mountains for training and then later into war.
It’s a stunning story, beautifully written and it feels as if there’s this golden haze over everything (that’s how good the prose is). I highly recommend giving it a try if you haven’t yet. Keep some tissues nearby and prepare yourself for suffering.
“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
| Tropes | friends to lovers, slow burn, artistic connection |
| Heat Level | understated, not explicit. |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | It’s a deliberately open, bittersweet ending. |
| Page count | 145 pages |
This book is about two young Black British artists in London, a photographer and a dancer who fall for each other in lyrical, intimate prose that lingers on vulnerability and trust. Open Water is so so good! I still get chills when I think about it (and I think about it often). I loved the love story in this one and how wonderfully tender and soft it was, and I especially loved our hero.
This is not a romance book in the traditional sense, but it is a love story and above all a masterpiece (in my opinion) that you should definitely read.
You are a breath, you are a heartbeat, you are an infinite poem I’ll never finish writing.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
| Tropes | enemies to lovers, slow burn, hidden past |
| Heat Level | Yes, but it’s, once again, more about the character’s emotions |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | HFN |
| Page count | 272 pages |
In 1960s Netherlands, a rigid, solitary woman is thrown off balance when her brother’s girlfriend comes to stay, and hostility curdles into an intense, unsettling attraction tangled up with buried wartime secrets.
The Safekeep has been on my TBR for the longest time before I finally decided to read it and I’m so glad I did. The prose in this book is stunning, absolutely mesmerizing to read. I could picture every scene so clearly, like I was watching a movie or right there with Isabel. And I loved Isabel, the main character. She was crotchety and odd but so fun to follow and to be in her mind.
You can find my full review of The Safekeep here.
She had held a pear in her hand and she had eaten it skin and all. She had eaten the stem and she had eaten its seeds and she had eaten its core, and the hunger still sat in her like an open maw. She thought: I can hold you and find that I still miss your body. She thought: I can listen to you speak and still miss the sound of your voice.
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
| Tropes | opposites attract, self-discovery, marriage of convenience |
| Heat Level | Nope |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Happily ever after! |
| Page count | 255 pages |
Valancy Stirling has spent her whole life being miserable and dutiful to her overbearing family. That is, until a health scare gives her nothing left to lose, and she finally starts living (and loving) on her own terms.
Blue Castle is definitely a comfort read for me, and it’s a wonderfully short and romantic tale to read. I love Valancy and how hard she works on herself, and I love that she finds a life she enjoys. I have to admit, I even kind of like her family, as annoying as they are, I thought they were funny!
“Love you! Girl, you’re in the very core of my heart. I hold you there like a jewel. Didn’t I promise you I’d never tell you a lie? Love you! I love you with all there is of me to love. Heart, soul, brain. Every fibre of body and spirit thrilling to the sweetness of you. There’s nobody in the world for me but you, Valancy.”
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
| Tropes | enemies to lovers, rake reforms, battle of wits |
| Heat Level | yes, there are some very spicy scenes |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Happily ever after! |
| Page count | 375 pages |
Dain has a well-earned reputation as the most depraved man in Paris and London, and Jessica Trent is the sharp-tongued, unshockable woman who decides she’s more than a match for him.
I truly loved this one. It’s full of wit and sensual moments, with Jessica and Dain arguing intelligently, both skilled in society and manipulating people. I highly recommend it if you’ve never read a historical before because it’s surprisingly modern while retaining its historical spirit. I’ve heard that the Last Helion by Loretta Chase is even better, so I recommend trying that one too (though I’ve yet to read it).
See my full review of Lord of Scoundrels here!
“He pulled away the glove, and at the first glimpse of her fragile, white hand, all thoughts of negotiation fled. “I don’t see how matters could become worse,” he muttered. “I am already besotted with a needle-tongued, conceited, provoking ape leader of a lady.”
Her head jerked up. “Besotted? You’re nothing like it. Vengeful is more like it. Spiteful.”
Black Silk by Judith Ivory
| Tropes | slow burn, opposites attract, forbidden desire |
| Heat Level | there are two spicy scenes, both near the end, but very spicy and amazing! |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Happily ever after! |
| Page count | 468 pages |
Black Silk is a historical romance which I’ve yet to recover from. It tells you a story about Submit, a young widow of a much older man, and her dead husband’s former ward, Graham. And where Submit is proper, stern, scholarly, Graham is wild, a rake who lives life to the fullest.
When they meet, they see they’re opposites, and neither is exactly looking for love — but it finds them anyway, despite their better judgement, as they spend more and more time together. First because of something Submit’s husband left for Graham (and ordered Submit to give it to him) and later because they end up becoming friends.
This is a true slow burn, and you’ll have to wait and wait for these two to get together (wondering if they’ll even be able to). Graham is not perfect (far from it), and Submit isn’t either. To paint you a picture, he gets sued by a scullery maid for paternity, and his lover has a husband. Submit is judgy and does something awful to Graham too (spoilers!). So, yeah. Watch these two imperfect people fall in love.
And the writing! Oh my, the prose is gorgeous in this book. It makes you imagine everything so perfectly and you want to linger and roll around in those lush descriptions. I loved everything about this, so I highly recommend it!
See my full review of Black Silk here.
The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas
| Tropes | marriage of convenience, opposites attract, hidden depths |
| Heat Level | Moderate to high. |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Happily ever after! |
| Page count | 276 pages |
Felix Rivendale, Marquess of Wrenworth, is society’s “Ideal Gentleman”, a golden reputation he’s built to bury a much darker, guarded reality, and he’s never let an affair get serious. Then Louisa Cantwell, who needs to marry well to support her family and refuses to be dazzled by his polish, sees straight through him, and he can’t seem to let her go.
Sherry Thomas writes some of the most angsty, heart-wrenching stories you’ll ever read, so just trust me, this one will break you and then mend you! The only issue I have with this is that it ends too abruptly, but the writing is sublime, and I guarantee you’ll love it. See my full review here!
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
| Tropes | time-travel romance, fated/doomed love, slow burn |
| Heat Level | not at all, really |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Happily ever after! |
| Page count | 320 pages |
Historian Owen Mallory has spent his life obsessed with the legend of Sir Una Everlasting, the knight whose death built a nation, until he’s flung back through time to actually meet her, and discovers the story he’s been told is nowhere near the truth.
The Everlasting is one of my favorite books ever written and I will sing its praises until everyone reads it. This is another excellent entry point to fantasy romance, especially for people who normally don’t read it because it definitely leans more literary and more light on the fantasy.
See my full review of The Everlasting here!
I have come to know you in time, and I have come to know you in eternity. What I am is this: your lover, in this life and in the next.
The Road of Bones by Demi Winters
| Tropes | enemies to lovers, forced proximity, found family |
| Heat Level | Spicy! There are several explicit scenes |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | Yet to be seen, but I hope HEA! |
| Page count | 500 pages |
Fleeing assassins sent by her own queen, Silla stows away with the notorious Bloodaxe Crew of Viking mercenaries and finds herself falling for one of them even as the road itself tries to kill them all.
I love this series so much! It’s like ACOTAR but better written and plotted, with an actually interesting world and characters. Just give it a try and you’ll see! It’s still unfinished, but there are three parts out (and they’re long) so you can kind of stretch it out a bit. I’m still waiting to start on part two because I don’t want to wait too long to finish the series.
See my full review of The Road of Bones here!
“You think yourself better than me because you smile and pretend the world is filled with good men? Because you believe everything will work out for the best? Your optimism is shallow and false, and one day, Sunshine, it will get you killed.”
The Bride by Ali Hazelwood
| Tropes | arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, opposites attract |
| Heat Level | spicy-spicy! |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | HEA! |
| Page count | 410 pages |
This is my favorite by Ali and one that converted me into a fan. Please research what omegaverse is and how it works before you get into this one. It’s very much a book for fanfiction readers, so if that’s you — great! If not, still give it a try, because you might become one!
From the first page, Bride charms you with its witty, morose heroine, Misery. She is a vampire on her way to marry a werewolf (bad) but not all is lost because she agreed to it in order to find her best friend, who may or may not be trapped in wolf territory.
She is taught that werewolves are aggressive and bad, but her new husband and his pack prove anything but. I mean, yes they’re aggressive, but to bad people, so it doesn’t count. And she finds that her new husband is actually great and more than willing to actually help in her search. Too bad he has a mate already… or does he?
They go on missions that require them to act like actual married people, and it’s all so delicious, yearning and longing and just ugh. I loved this book!
See my full review of Bride here!
“You think, but you don’t know. You don’t know anything about what it’s like to find your other half, I would take anything she chose to give me—the tiniest fraction or her entire world. I would take her for a single night knowing that I’ll lose her by morning, and I would hold on to her and never let go. I would take her healthy, or sick, or tired, or angry, or strong, and it would be my fucking privilege. I would take her problems, her gifts, her moods, her passions, her jokes, her body—I would take every last thing, if she chose to give it to me.”
Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long
| Tropes | class difference, sort of enemies to lovers, he falls first and harder, slow burn |
| Heat Level | I would say two out of five chilli peppers (it’s more about the emotions than physical intimacy). |
| Ending (HEA/HFN)? | HEA! |
| Page count | 384 pages |
This is one of the most recent romance books I loved and it’s definitely a book for my love story hall of fame. You wouldn’t expect it based on the synopsis or the cover, but this is one of the most tender, almost heartbreaking romances ever told, and I applaud this author for making me both laugh and cry this much.
Game of Rogues follows Ginny, the eldest daughter of her family, and the one who had to take care of her younger siblings all of her life after her parents died. Now her brother gambled away her sisters’ dowries and she is on a mission to get the money back. The mission takes her straight into the gambling den (or gentlemen’s club) of the notorious Gabriel Marchand, where she confronts him.
After he makes an indecent offer for some part of the debt forgiven, she escapes, but they end up sharing the same inn for two weeks as Ginny continues to search for a way to get the money back. Gabriel decides to help, if only so she doesn’t ruin the reputation of his club, and so they spend more and more time together. But Gabriel is not gentry, and Ginny is an Earl’s sister, so their budding feelings have no place in reality.
As I said, this is one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever read, and I highly recommend giving it a try if you want something very slow burn, very aching, tender, but also funny and light.
See my full review of Game of Rogues here!
“I am who I am, and you are who you are. I will give you the whole goddamn world. But I can’t change who I am.”
Final Thoughts
I hope you found what you were looking for on this list. If not, drop a comment below on what kind of romance you want, and I’ll do my best to help you. And if you don’t want to chat at all, there are other places on this blog where you can find your next favorite, like:
- If you want something more magical, check out the best fantasy romance books here.
- If you want more of that long ago swoon, my favorite historical romance books are here.
- If you’d rather read something set in modern times, the top tier contemporary romance books are here.
- If you want to be sure 100% that what you’re reading is not insta love, I recommend checking out some slow burn romance novels here.
- If you’re a fan of suspense in addition to all the love, then you should take a look at my top romantic suspense books here.
- If, on the other hand, you only care about a certain fated mate-y fantasy creature, you’ll find the greatest werewolf romance books here.
- But if you’re okay with vampires, witches, ghosts, etc. as well, then paranormal romance books are for you.
- If you don’t want to read quite this much and want something more… visual, I recommend checking out these amazing romance graphic novels.
What’s your favorite romance book (or love story) of all time? Let me know in the comments below and we can chat!
Thank you so much for this list! Absolutely loved the recommendations!
Hi the novels are fun
Like the novels
Ugandans truly love them
Thank you for all your recommendations.