I thought I would have plenty of recommendations, but this is actually harder than I thought.
The Half Life of Valery K springs to mind, but it might not be the kind of romance you are looking for, although the plot is very interesting.
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway might suit better.
thisisntshakespeare on
Time and Again – Jack Finney
orangedpm on
Tress of the emerald sea… she needs to rescue her love interest.
floridianreader on
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
pascalsgirlfriend on
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Bechimo on
One of my reading sweet spots, all good adventures with at least one romantic subplot.
Agent of Change by Lee & Miller (free ebook on Baen.com).
1632 by Eric Flint. (also free @ Baen).
Conquistador by S. M. Stirling.
A Brothers Price by Wen Spencer.
Redshirts by Scalzi.
I haven’t read 11/22/1963, so I honestly don’t know how these compare, but I’ve read a few the last couple years.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries – the romance may be a little more present than the others, but it’s not sappy and is not introduced immediately.
Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab – the romance may also ve more present, but it’s not sappy here either. The books are well-written and it’s a really good fantasy/adventure series. It appeals to a wide range if ages.
Legacy of Orisha series by Tomi Adeyemi – This is also fantasy. It’s really good and can be enjoyed by YA readers and older readers. In a society where non-magic users have mostly eradicated magic and oppressed magic-users, one girl rediscovery magic and helps her people find it too. A revolution begins and she forms complicated bonds.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ‘ Excellent high fantasy but we have been waiting over a decade for the final book in a planned trilogy.
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher – a modern fairy tale where the princess is trying to kill the prince to save her sister from a bad marriage. There is some absurdism, so it’s a must-read if you like that, but it’s not too heavy. The book includes all the elements you love in a fairy tale but the heroes, their motivations, and their quest is very fresh.
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill – If you like magical realism, read this. If you’re not sure if you like it, When Women Were Dragons is a great example of the genre. The romance is not sappy but does bring comfort to some characters. This is an LGBTQ and feminist book and there is some obvious commentary about how society responds to the unfamiliar, but it’s magical realism so it isn’t didactic.
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec – This may be a little heavier on the romance but it’s well-told. This is a re-telling of Loki’s and Angraboda’s love story. It is a well-researched book and a good choice if you like History and mythology.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – This is set in World War 2. Two sisters struggle to survive and both choose two very different paths. One develops an attachment to the German soldier billeting in her home and the other helps allied pilots escape Nazi-occupied France.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – The Nightingale was good but this book blew me away. A young woman is in a loveless marriage when The Dust Bowl begins. To survive, she and her children migrate to California during The Great Depression to work on migrant farms. They eventually meet a Communist and join the fight for workers’ rights. This book has very few happy moments but they are significant. (one of the happy moments is the only time a book has ever made me cry). This is not a happy book or a book that will make you feel good.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built – There is no romance but I included it because the portrayal of human intimacy is stunning. It’s also a short book.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle – Single women migrating to Montana were called Lone Women. Montana allowed women to homestead without a husband or parent and the state didn’t have any restrictions regarding race. Adelaide Henry drags a steamer trunk and settles outside of Big Sandy. I don’t usually read horror, but this was a stand-out read for me this year. One romance is short-lived and the other is introduced later in the book. This book is also LGBTQ and feminist but not as explicitly as When Women Were Dragons.
A History of Wild Places by Shea Earnshaw – After a years-long search, the parents of a missing children’s writer hire a PI with a connection to the supernatural. During his search, he also goes missing. Members of a small, secluded community discover odd trinkets and recall memories that fewl both distant and familiar. Unraveling the mystery of Pastoral will help the missing people be found. This has The Village by M. Night Shyamalan vibes. I recommend the book often, but always disclose that I hated the ending. I can be picky about endings though.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann – This is non-fiction about the Osage murders in Oklahoma. A movie is coming out next month. The book is an really good read. The romance doesn’t unfold the same way it would in a novel meant to make your toes tingle.
amandavalleee on
Thieves’ Gambit! It’s very much Mission Impossible vibes
AgeScary on
Water for Elephants
boxer_dogs_dance on
Lions of Al Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay,
Dorothy Sayers mysteries have a romance. Starting with Strong Poison,
momof21976 on
John Sandfords Prey series is pretty good. Light on the romance but good stories and characters.
JD Robb’s In Death series is good as well. Cops/crime/romance, but they are heavily geared towards women, so not sure how you would feel about that.
SpedeThePlough on
Georgette Heyer wrote very good murder mysteries, and several of them have romance as a secondary plot.
17 Comments
I thought I would have plenty of recommendations, but this is actually harder than I thought.
The Half Life of Valery K springs to mind, but it might not be the kind of romance you are looking for, although the plot is very interesting.
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway might suit better.
Time and Again – Jack Finney
Tress of the emerald sea… she needs to rescue her love interest.
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Dracula by Bram Stoker
One of my reading sweet spots, all good adventures with at least one romantic subplot.
Agent of Change by Lee & Miller (free ebook on Baen.com).
1632 by Eric Flint. (also free @ Baen).
Conquistador by S. M. Stirling.
A Brothers Price by Wen Spencer.
Redshirts by Scalzi.
[Baen Free Library](https://www.baen.com/catalog/category/view/s/free-library/id/2012)
I haven’t read 11/22/1963, so I honestly don’t know how these compare, but I’ve read a few the last couple years.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries – the romance may be a little more present than the others, but it’s not sappy and is not introduced immediately.
Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab – the romance may also ve more present, but it’s not sappy here either. The books are well-written and it’s a really good fantasy/adventure series. It appeals to a wide range if ages.
Legacy of Orisha series by Tomi Adeyemi – This is also fantasy. It’s really good and can be enjoyed by YA readers and older readers. In a society where non-magic users have mostly eradicated magic and oppressed magic-users, one girl rediscovery magic and helps her people find it too. A revolution begins and she forms complicated bonds.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ‘ Excellent high fantasy but we have been waiting over a decade for the final book in a planned trilogy.
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher – a modern fairy tale where the princess is trying to kill the prince to save her sister from a bad marriage. There is some absurdism, so it’s a must-read if you like that, but it’s not too heavy. The book includes all the elements you love in a fairy tale but the heroes, their motivations, and their quest is very fresh.
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill – If you like magical realism, read this. If you’re not sure if you like it, When Women Were Dragons is a great example of the genre. The romance is not sappy but does bring comfort to some characters. This is an LGBTQ and feminist book and there is some obvious commentary about how society responds to the unfamiliar, but it’s magical realism so it isn’t didactic.
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec – This may be a little heavier on the romance but it’s well-told. This is a re-telling of Loki’s and Angraboda’s love story. It is a well-researched book and a good choice if you like History and mythology.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – This is set in World War 2. Two sisters struggle to survive and both choose two very different paths. One develops an attachment to the German soldier billeting in her home and the other helps allied pilots escape Nazi-occupied France.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – The Nightingale was good but this book blew me away. A young woman is in a loveless marriage when The Dust Bowl begins. To survive, she and her children migrate to California during The Great Depression to work on migrant farms. They eventually meet a Communist and join the fight for workers’ rights. This book has very few happy moments but they are significant. (one of the happy moments is the only time a book has ever made me cry). This is not a happy book or a book that will make you feel good.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built – There is no romance but I included it because the portrayal of human intimacy is stunning. It’s also a short book.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle – Single women migrating to Montana were called Lone Women. Montana allowed women to homestead without a husband or parent and the state didn’t have any restrictions regarding race. Adelaide Henry drags a steamer trunk and settles outside of Big Sandy. I don’t usually read horror, but this was a stand-out read for me this year. One romance is short-lived and the other is introduced later in the book. This book is also LGBTQ and feminist but not as explicitly as When Women Were Dragons.
A History of Wild Places by Shea Earnshaw – After a years-long search, the parents of a missing children’s writer hire a PI with a connection to the supernatural. During his search, he also goes missing. Members of a small, secluded community discover odd trinkets and recall memories that fewl both distant and familiar. Unraveling the mystery of Pastoral will help the missing people be found. This has The Village by M. Night Shyamalan vibes. I recommend the book often, but always disclose that I hated the ending. I can be picky about endings though.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann – This is non-fiction about the Osage murders in Oklahoma. A movie is coming out next month. The book is an really good read. The romance doesn’t unfold the same way it would in a novel meant to make your toes tingle.
Thieves’ Gambit! It’s very much Mission Impossible vibes
Water for Elephants
Lions of Al Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay,
Dorothy Sayers mysteries have a romance. Starting with Strong Poison,
John Sandfords Prey series is pretty good. Light on the romance but good stories and characters.
JD Robb’s In Death series is good as well. Cops/crime/romance, but they are heavily geared towards women, so not sure how you would feel about that.
Georgette Heyer wrote very good murder mysteries, and several of them have romance as a secondary plot.
Dark Matter – Blake Crouch
Science fiction with an underlying romance plot.
The End of Eternity. lsaac Asimov.
*The Cartographers* by Peng Shepherd!!
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith