12 Books to Couple-Up With This Valentine’s Day
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which means really cute book covers, literary crushes, and indulging in lovey-dovey stories for the foreseeable future. It also means SweeTart Hearts, which are superior to non-holiday SweeTarts in every way. Don’t @ me. I’m so pumped for this season of reading; I’ve got some new books lined up, but am also going to try to tackle some oldies on my shelf that I haven’t read yet. If my V-Day reading is anything like my Christmas reading, it’s going to be so so good. And even though the holiday itself is often annoying, the reading doesn’t have to be!
Whether your book club is going the love story route for February, or you just want a heart-shaped literary escape, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some books to get you in the spirit. Some I’ve read and will recap for you, and some are on my list too for the coming weeks. There’s something for everyone––from royal relationships, to cute couples, to MATH, to exes who just won’t stay gone. Let’s get to it!
Pepper. Jack. A burger joint. A Twitter war. A secret love affair. Tweet Cute promises to delight with its rom-com vibes and love-hate relationship drama. Pepper and Jack are opposites in every way, so when Jack discovers that Pepper’s family’s burger business has stolen his family’s one-of-a-kind grilled cheese recipe, it's war. Twitter war, that is. But what’s public on Twitter has its counterpart, as the two unknowingly fall for each other after anonymously connecting on a more private platform . Also the characters’ names are Pepper and Jack and it’s about a fast-food restaurant chain. I love it. Brb gonna go make a grilled cheese.
Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
It’s a love story AND it’s PINK, so it’s naturally the perfect candidate for this list. The key players in this novel are Alex, is the son of the President of the United States (who, BTW, is a woman soooooo this book already wins) who has some bad blood with Prince Henry of Wales. When things reach a boiling point, a plan is devised for the two to make nice––or at least appear to. What was meant to be simply a peace-keeping tactic turns into something that neither of the boys saw coming. In the more hopeful (I think?) political time we find ourselves in now, this love story fits right in.
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
I have to admit I totally thought this was a Christmas book when I ordered it on account of the Christmas trees and snow on the front cover. Turns out, it’s not! While a brief portion of the story does take place over the Christmas season, most of it is set during other times of the year. I mean, I still included it in my December/Christmas reading stack, but the story will still be heartwarming no matter when you read it. It’s about Olivia (Livvy), an ousted pastry chef from Boston who–with nothing left to lose–accepts a job in a small Vermont town, leaving her city life behind for a while. As she settles into small-town life, she finds herself enjoying the solace that it brings her, the people she meets, and the person she is becoming. She’s got some tough decisions to make, but for her, staying for a while might actually mean staying forever. I loved this sweet story, and it doesn’t hurt that the front cover likens it to Gilmore Girls, so naturally I’m gonna read it. Anything akin to my Girls is a YES from me.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
True Confession: I don’t think I’ve ever read a Colleen Hoover book. I know, I’m missing out. Or at least that’s what everyone says! I am excited to dive into this one. And I’m sure I’ll be hooked on CH books from here on out, so I might as well just order them all now. It Ends With Us is the story of small-town girl Lily who moves to Boston and begins to make a life for herself. She meets Ryle and falls madly in love, but realizes her love story might be too good to be true, especially when her ex Atlas shows up. It sounds so good, and will probably be the one I start with.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Haong
Okay, I lied. Maybe I’ll start with this one. Is there a formula I can memorize that will make me good at holding hands and kissing and sex? Stella wants to know. After all, she’s put much more effort into putting numbers together than she has putting herself in the dating pool. She recognizes her inexperience, and she decides to do something about it. Enter Michael, the escort Stella hires to teach her how to do all the things she longs to eventually do with a partner. Turns out, she may be closer to that partner than she realizes. Humor, wit, and...math? This book promises it all.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
In a book that sounds very similar to The Kiss Quotient, self-proclaimed computer-geek Chloe is determined to start really living. But, she doesn’t know the first thing about being a carefree bad girl. That’s where Red comes in. Rough around the edges and no stranger to the wild side of life, Chloe is sure Red is the perfect recruit in her pursuit of a more carefree life. As it turns out, there may be more to both of them than meets the eye. Written by the talented Talia Hibbert, this novel is sure to make you laugh and believe in love.
Pride and Prejudice with a modern twist, Eligible is the story of the Bennett girls, who find themselves all back together at home in Cincinnati. Kitty and Lydia go about their lives, while Liz and Jane worry about their parents and about their family home. Their parents––mainly Mrs. Bennett––worry that they’ll never get married. The main concern here is Jane, who is almost 40 (gasp!). With some eligible suitors in their midst, are relationships just waiting to happen? This novel is funny and heartwarming, and anything by Curtis Sittenfeld is sure to be worth your time.
A love story with a bookstore setting?? Okay! I gotta say any story that happens in a bookstore now automatically makes me think of the show, You. But––unlike the show––this one luckily doesn’t seem to be very intense. It’s about Jack Collins, who is desperately trying to keep his dwindling book club alive; and Rex, the bookstore employee whose annoying jabs about Jack’s taste in books often make him insufferable. Unexpectedly, Rex joins the book club that is often the butt of his jokes. While Jack is initially aggravated by this, he soon realizes that Rex just may be the breath of new life that his book club needs. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s cute. Meet Cute Club is a delightful story of unexpected attraction. Check it out!
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
In the first book of the Friend Zone trilogy, Kristen is a no-nonsense gal with her eyes on the prize when it comes to finding just the right guy for her. She’s not messing around with good enough, she needs someone who checks every box, including the “doesn’t want kids” one. So when she meets Josh, who is perfect minus the “wants kids” thing, Kristen tries her best to keep him in the friend zone. Happy and sad, heartbreaking and heart-bursting, this novel will force you to redefine what you thought the friend zone was. TW: Infertility
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Did you know that Christina Lauren is actually TWO writers? It’s true! Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings are writing partners slash best friends who combine to form Christina Lauren. Don’t you think that’s got to be so fun but also so challenging? I have so many questions about how it works! They’ve written so many books together, including one of my favorites, In a Holidaze. The novel on my V-Day list, however, is The Unhoneymooners, a bridesmaid/best man hate-turned-love story. When some unexpected misfortune hits the wedding party, Olive and Ethan are the only ones who are spared. The pair soon find themselves on a Hawaii honeymoon that isn’t theirs, giving off those just-married lovestruck vibes that would be expected of honeymooners. What starts as an annoying and burdensome ruse turns into anything but an act as Olive finds herself actually enjoying being coupled up with Ethan. If you don’t read this one now, make sure you pack in your beach bag this summer!
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
This novel is getting so much buzz! It’s a chilling novel that follows Jane, a foster care runaway who now serves as the dog walker in an upscale community. Barely scraping by, Jane longs to live the life of luxury that she–so far–only gets a glimpse of in Thornfield Estates. But Jane knows what she wants, and that’s Eddie. Handsome, rich, and–oh yeah–super creepily not involved yet very involved in the disappearance (death?) of his wife, Bea, and her best friend, Blanche. While that doesn’t deter her pursuit of him, she can’t shake the feeling that their love affair is not as picture-perfect as it seems. Told in the alternating perspectives of Jane, Bea, and–at the end–Eddie, and drawing on the plot and characters from the classic Jane Eyre, The Wife Upstairs is sure to leave you with some feelings. It’s mysterious, suspenseful, and unsettling with an ending that might leave you with more questions than answers. Check it out if you’re going the thriller route this v-day!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (plus their sequels) by Jenny Han
Okay so this is technically three books, but I’m counting them as one because once you start, you won’t be able to stop. Without a doubt, my favorite YA love stories to read are these To All the Boys… books by Jenny Han. I just can’t get enough of Lara Jean and Peter Cavinsky. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll swoon, you’ll wish you were that cool in high school (just me?) as you follow their love story from beginning to end, with all its ups, downs, and in-betweens. It’s YA gold, trust me. Then, watch the movies! They’re all on Netflix, with the last one (Always and Forever, Lara Jean) releasing on February 12th, so mark your calendars for wine, popcorn, and the conclusion of the sweetest high school love story. It’s the end of an era! The movies are *almost* as good as the books.
There you have it! Twelve books that top my list for 2021 Valentine’s Day reading. The best part about these books is they’ll never go bad, so you can read them any time if you don’t get to them this February. Now if only chocolate-covered strawberries didn’t go bad, either. :) Here’s hoping you find the book love you’re looking for this year. XO
Happy Reading!
-Amy-
