I would really love to find a great love story – the problem is I don‘t like 99% of books marketed as romance. I really can’t stand the tropes, the corny ‘banter,’ the unrealistic characterizations. I find that too many of them are overly saccharine or constantly winking at the reader (or both). I also for some reason dislike books with chapters that go back and forth between the two main characters in the first person (which most romance novels seem to do).
I know I sound like a grinch but I really love to read about complex relationships! Hoping the collective brilliance of Reddit can recommend a great romance for me to read this summer.
Books/authors I’ve enjoyed:
– Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
– The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje
– Jane Austen (P&P and Emma are favorites)
Books/authors I didn’t like
– Heart the Lover by Lily King
– Emily Henry
– Sally Rooney
by FewAcanthopterygii95
12 Comments
Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf!!!!
A “Spicy” romance with an interesting plot is “Indigo”; it’s about an abolitionist and a conductor on the Underground Railroad. I don’t read enough romance to know what tropes it follows.
“Outlanders” isn’t romance-centric in spite it’s sex scenes, and it’s all a bit awkward because she’s married in her present but gets zapped back in time and forced into a marriage, but comes to love her new man, but I found it a compelling story.
“Cloud Cuckoo Land” isn’t a romance by any stretch, but there are some instances of romantic love. Really just read that book because it’s wonderful, romance aside.
I assumed you’ve read Sense & Sensibility?
And hear me out: I reread all the Anne of Green Gables books as an adult , and Anne’s relation with Gilbert through her young adult years and into marriage is quite lovely, IMO.
Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
These might sound a bit unhinged as they’re really not typical romance/love stories at all but they are beautiful depictions of love and desire and relationships.
These don’t necessarily have happy endings but I think you’d like them based on your list. Love Giovanni’s room!
This Is How You Lose the Time War
All Fours
The Remains of the Day
Mrs. S
Wellness
I’ll be following as I also want recs for literary fiction love stories!!
If you want to try a capital-R Romance novel, it sounds like you just have to get away from super recent booktok stuff. That’s where first person POV, alternating chapters, etc. has become super trendy.
I like historical romance novels, usually 90s/00s and some more recent ones that happen to have a similar style. They’re still “tropey” but it’s a pretty different set of tropes from what’s currently popular (in both contemporary and historical romances).
Commonly recommended (and one I like a lot despite not loving the ending): Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. It’s frequently listed as one of the best historical romance novels. You might hate it! But I think it will give you a good example of what a really well-done story looks like in that genre.
Some random other HRs that I think have really good character work, which is what I care about most in a romance: Flowers From The Storm by Laura Kinsale (another slightly older one that’s on a lot of “best of” lists). A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran (has a ridiculous premise and sells it with really good dialogue and psychological detail).
Weird sci fi/fantasy that’s kind of also romance/relationship/focused: Archangel by Sharon Shinn (part of a series, they’re wacky but well-written and have a cool weird premise). Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (takes a while to get going, honestly almost stopped reading maybe a hundred pages in, but really glad I pushed through it because it does some really bizarre and cool things). Anything other than this is how you lose the time war which is garbage from hell.
The House in the Cerulean Sea! It’s an incredibly heartwarming story with light romance.
If you’re interested in giving traditional romance novels another go (as opposed to focusing on literary fiction that contains romance) I highly, highly recommend Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series. They are straightforward regency romance novels with some of the best, most compelling heterosexual relationships I’ve ever read. I also really enjoyed her Worth Saga novels! I haven’t read any of her contemporary romance novels, so can’t speak to those.
I’m really, really not into the books marketed as romance novels by ie booktok, and these are definitely not “booktok” romances.
I am going to second the rec for {Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale}
Another historical romance with a slightly different premise and some interesting characters is {The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley} Considering your likes and dislikes, my favorite historical romance might not be to your taste, even though it generally tops the lists of most popular historical romances. So I’m just gonna throw {Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas} out there. Just… uh, because. lol
As for contemporary romance, you might find {How to Walk Away by Katherine Center} to be of interest. Another contemporary romance that I like because of its academic setting is {An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister}.
A rather strange science fiction romance that many romance readers might not consider to even really be a romance is {The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee}. Some people hate the author’s writing style in this book. Personally, I quite liked it.
Edited for typos.
Almost all of the historical romance sub-genre is in 3rd person.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is great.
If you’d rather given contemporary another try, since you like Austen, try Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin, which is a retelling of Persuasion.
mhairi mcfarlane – very well written characters (think bridget jones’ friends), imaginative scenarios. ex. running into an old crush who doesn’t recognize you from your ugly duckling phase, proposing to your boyfriend only to discover he’s sleeping with someone else and wants to break up, fake office romance based on ulterior motives (her-salvage dignity and him-career advancement) etc.
if I never met you – mhairi mcfarlane
it’s quite obvious from the outset that A will end up with B, naturally the fake romance will turn into something else, but with mcfarlane it’s the story she spins along the way that makes her stand out in her genre.
the unsinkable greta james by jennifer e smith – kind of a crap title for a story that is hard to describe without spoilers. an indie musician who had a flame out onstage might find redemption in an unlikely place, while on a cruise with her estranged father
romantic comedy by curtis sittenfeld – main character sally milz is a sketch writer for a late night live comedy show that airs on saturday nights. it is a fascinating look behind the curtain of how such a show is produced.
one section is epistolary – email correspondence during the ‘deadly global sh!tshow’
sally is whip smart, self deprecatingly funny, and nary a word is mentioned about her looks, what a refreshing concept.
hrm… 1930s? The Thin Man by D Hammett
1940s: The Heart of the Matter by G Greene
I mean, 1950s gotta be Pasternak’s Dr Z, (and your already read Giovanni’s Room – so good!), but I’m gonna put a vote in here for The Crucible by Arthur Miller… not a romance the way the other two are, but still…. or if you’re willing to consider the relationship between a pig and spider romantic… nah, Charlotte’s Web is too much of a stretch
1960s! Woo Hoo, Free Love! Left Hand of Darkness by Leguin! Fight me! (or, The Magus by Fowles)
1970s Fear of Flying by Erica Jong? Or is that not romantic? How About one of the Chelsea Quinn Yarbro vampire novels? The Palace is from 1978
1980s – Out past curfew reading…. Norwegian Wood by Murakami, (What? You thought I’d pick John Irving or Prince of Tides or something?)
Waiting to Exhale was published in 1992 (Yes… all the Nick Hornsby stuff is great… and Yes, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is a transcendent love story… fine, add those)
2000s = Twilight; can’t recommend, but what are we gonna do?
2010s – G Zevin brings us The Storied Life of A J Firky! Now that’s the good stuff
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY and we’re done with the last hundred years
Phew!
Jane Eyre