17 Literary Romance Recommendations: Books about Love, Life, and Time
For those wishing to explore the human heart and mind, for those that love to read about love, for the “hopefully” romantics: here are some throwbacks, classics, and recent releases from all around the world.
Regency Lovers
Jo Baker
Longbourn
Vintage, 2014
Food, Family, and a Spoonful of Romance
Laura Esquivel
Like Water for Chocolate
Trans. Carol and Thomas Christensen
Vintage, 1995
First Love
Sally Rooney
Normal People
Crown, 2020
Poetics
Hayley Grace
save me an orange
Hayley Grace, 2024
A Second Chance at Love
Gabriel García Márquez
Love in the Time of Cholera
Trans. Edith Grossman
Vintage, 2007
A Love Story Spanning the Sea of Time
Audrey Niffenegger
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Scribner, 2014
Witty, Sophisticated Chick Lit
Talia Hibbert
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Avon, 2019
Character Study Exploring Human Relationships
Hiromi Kawakami
The Nakano Thrift Shop
Trans. Allison Markin Powell
Europa Editions, 2017
Learning to Love Oneself
Morgan Rogers
Honey Girl
Park Row, 2021
A Romantic Comedy for the “Scientific”
Graeme Simsion
The Rosie Project
Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books, 2014
Childhood Friends, Pasts Rekindled
Haruki Murakami
South of the Border, West of the Sun
Trans. Philip Gabriel
Vintage, 2000
Autobiography: An Account of Legacy, Family, and Love
Susan Kiyo Ito
I Would Meet You Anywhere: A Memoir
Mad Creek Books, 2023
For the Love of Art
Elizabeth Kostova
The Swan Thieves
Back Bay Books, 2010
Love, Faith, and Medicine
Abraham Verghese
The Covenant of Water
Grove, 2023
Forbidden Love
Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Atria Books, 2018
Haunting Heartaches
Bryan Washington
Family Meal
Riverhead Books, 2023
Remembering
Zhang Ling
A Single Swallow
Trans. Shelly Bryant
Amazon Crossing, 2020
