34 Love Stories for Every Kind of Reader

Tis the season for love stories!

Feb 11, 2026

Hello friends and happy-almost-Valentine’s Day! I admit, I’m not a huge fan of the holiday – no particular reason, I just don’t have strong feelings about it – but I LOVE love stories and I love pink and red color combos, so here we are.

I guess the title is slightly misleading, because it’s technically only love stories for readers who have the same taste as me, but hey – that’s why you’re here right, personal recommendations? So you won’t find any sports romances or dark romantasies because they’re not my thing. But I do have several perfectly delightful (and some heartbreaking) love stories for you today. Let’s get into it!

Enemies to Lovers

You know, I never really thought of myself as an “enemies to lovers” person, but over the summer I read all of Emily Henry’s oeuvre, starting with Book Lovers and I realized… yeah, I am. The tension, the “do I want to punch him or make out with him?” feelings, the moment of realization. Delish.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

Emily Walker and her nemesis Jack Bennett – both teachers moonlighting as best-selling authors – reluctantly team up when Emily needs to steal back an accidentally-sent manuscript that could expose her side hustle. Their forced alliance threatens to turn their chemistry-fueled rivalry into something unexpectedly romantic.

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

Literature department rivals Sadie and Jonah enter a marriage of convenience to secure a coveted teaching job with partner hire – but their thirteen-year rivalry starts turning into something more complicated once they’re legally married.

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

Free-spirited Ari and ambitious, uptight Josh have absolutely nothing in common – except that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman. They never expect their paths to cross again, but years later, a chance encounter leads to a surprising friendship. Until one night, the boundaries of their friendship start to blur. It’s basically a gender-bent When Harry Met Sally, what more could you want?

Backslide by Nora Dahlia

Nellie has avoided seeing Noah for nearly twenty years. But now their best friends are planning a vow renewal, and Nellie has no choice but to be stuck on a scenic vineyard in close proximity with Noah. Despite the years and the awkwardness between them, the pair can’t shake the attraction they’ve always shared. Told in alternating timelines, we see the beginning (and end) of their relationship as teenagers in the 90s, and present day as they grapple with their feelings as adults.

Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane

Bel’s joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper from her indie podcast. Thirty-something Connor is going to back to the start as the new intern. The latest office news? They can’t stand each other. So of course Bel bumps into Connor when she’s working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she’s forced to improvise, pretending they’re a couple. A couple deeply in love.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Gus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. The only thing they have in common is that they’re both living in neighboring beach houses, bogged down with writer’s block. Desperate to get out of their creative ruts, they strike a deal – Gus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman

Two editors are forced to share a “hot desk” on alternating days. Having never set eyes on each other, Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath communicate solely by leaving passive-aggressive Post-it notes on their shared cactus. But when a literary legend dies, leaving his estate up for grabs, their banter escalates as both work feverishly to land this career-making opportunity. Their rivalry ultimately forces each to decide how far they’ll go to get ahead, and what they mean to each other.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Nora is a cutthroat literary agent with a soft spot only for her little sister, Libby. Which is why she begrudgingly agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, NC, for a month at Libby’s request. Much to Nora’s shock and chagrin, she immediately bumps into Charlie Lastra, a brooding editor from the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute. But as they’re thrown together again and again, what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Mayhaps one of the OG enemies-to-lovers? You already know the story – Lizzie meets Darcy. Lizzie hates Darcy, and Darcy isn’t too fond of Lizzie either. They keep running into each other, and come to find out that maybe they judged each other too harshly, too soon.

Friends to Lovers

Somehow, the friends-to-lovers trope is equally delicious to me as enemies-to-lovers. It’s two sides of the same coin, imo. But a close friendship that slowly evolves into something more is so sweet and it always makes me swoon.

Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter

Evie, a Foley artist, is offered a fellowship that would make her career. The only catch: there are no health benefits. Evie’s best friend Theo has a chance at his dream apartment – but there’s an income threshold, unless the tenant is married. The answer is obvious: Evie and Theo can get married, have a rent controlled apartment, and plenty of health insurance to go around. They’re best friends. It certainly won’t get any more complicated than that, right?

It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard

June hasn’t spoken to Adam, her former best friend and roommate, in five years. When she gets a cryptic email from the management company of the brownstone they shared, curiosity gets the better of her. It turns out, their former landlord left June and Adam the building – and if they can live there for a month to prove occupancy, it’s all theirs. If June can get over her unfinished business with Adam and stop running from her own happiness, she just might make it out the other side as a millionaire. Or maybe she and Adam will find something even more valuable…

Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely

Joni and Ren have been inseparable since childhood. When Joni moves across the country, the two make a plan to stay in touch: they’ll be each other’s plus-ones every year for wedding season. It works perfectly, until a line is crossed and their friendship is ruined. Now Joni is back for her sister’s wedding, and she’s determined to make everything perfect, even if it means faking a friendship with Ren. By the time the wedding rolls around, she’ll have to decide if loving Ren means letting him go, or if theirs is a love story worth fighting for.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

Shiloh and Cary were inseparable in high school; everyone thought they would end up together. The pair spent their time dreaming about the day they could get out of their hometown – Shiloh was going to be an actress and Cary wanted to join the Navy. Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. A divorced mom of two, back living in the house she grew up in, Shiloh’s life is nothing like she planned. When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there. Would Cary even want to talk to her, after everything?

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

Eve’s life is steady, if not exactly dreamy. She knows exactly what to expect each day – until she ends up pregnant after an uncharacteristic one-night stand. Now Eve’s best friend Willa is acting weird and distant, right when she needs her the most. Surprisingly, it’s Willa’s older brother Shep who steps up. He’s always been friendly, but now he’s checking in, listening to all her complaints, and is… kinda hot? Over the course of nine months, Eve begins to realize that family and love, in all forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Second Chances

I love a good second-chance romance because, well, I lived one. My husband and I were high school sweethearts who broke up when we went to college and reconnected years (okay, 18 months) later to find that we were still totally in love. :’)

The Do-Over by Suzanne Park

A routine background check for a new job reveals that Lily Lee is a few college credits short and never actually completed her degree (nightmare fuel). Lily returns to her alma mater, reliving her senior year of college a decade later. Adding insult to injury is the fact that her computer science TA is her old college boyfriend, Jake Cho. He’s handsome, charming, and appears to have his life together while Lily’s feels on the verge of falling apart. But most importantly – he’s single.

Set Piece by Lana Schwartz

Jack is a breakout actor still coming to grips with his newfound stardom. CJ is a bartender with big dreams about working in the film industry. The pair share a hot and heavy night together, and go their separate ways. Five years later, Jack shows up to set for his latest blockbuster, only to find CJ is the film’s production designer. But neither of them is the same person they were five years ago – CJ is a single mom, and Jack is a bona fide celebrity. Their chemistry hasn’t dimmed a bit, but is there room in their lives for anything more?

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, she’d rather spend her time buried in books. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the place that holds the dearest memories of her late mother. Joining a band of eccentric locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. Alex’s feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June…

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

Naomi has the perfect fiancé. They’re preparing for their lavish wedding in three months. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him. Naomi wants out, but there’s a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that her fiancé, Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them engage in a battle of pranks and emotional warfare. With the wedding date looming, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they’re finally being themselves – and it’s actually pretty fun.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job – or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, without a place to stay. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Chani Horowitz is a twenty-something writer looking for her big break. When she’s hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker – her ultimate celebrity crush – she thinks she’s finally found it. What comes next proves to be life-changing in ways Chani never saw coming. A decade later, Chani, now a successful writer, is still getting asked about her profile of Gabe Parker. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. But those seventy-two hours are still etched in her memory. So… she says yes.

Tearjerkers

I think it’s a bit telling that this is the largest category. What can I say, I’m a melancholic girly and I like a bit of tragedy as a side dish to my love stories. That said, I read One Day by David Nichols as a young teen when the Anne Hathaway movie came out and I had no idea how it was going to end – no spoilers, but I literally threw the book across the room. Now that I’m a bit more well-versed in these things, I want to revisit it (and maybe finally watch the movie, which I boycotted out of spite).

Heart the Lover by Lily King

In her senior year of college, our narrator meets two star students from her Lit class: Sam and Yash. The boys invite her into their intoxicating world of academic fervor, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. They nickname her Jordan, and she quickly discovers the pleasures of friendship, love and ambition. As graduation comes and goes, choices made will alter these three lives forever. Decades later, Jordan is living the life she dreamed of, and the vulnerable days of her youth are comfortably behind her. But when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into the present, Jordan is forced to confront the decisions of her younger self.

This Is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer

For fifty years Abe and Jane have been coming to Central Park, as starry-eyed young lovers, as exhausted parents, as artists watching their careers take flight. The Park has been their witness for half a century of love. But now Jane is dying, and Abe is recounting their life together as a way of keeping them going. Told in various points of view, even in conversation with the park itself, these voices paint a portrait as complicated and essential as love itself.

Talking at Night by Claire Daverley

When Will and Rosie meet as teenagers, they’re opposites in every way. But over secret walks home and late-night phone calls, they become closer – destined to be one another’s great love story. Until, one day, tragedy strikes, and their future together is shattered. As the years roll on, Will and Rosie can’t help but find their way back to each other. Time and again, they come close to rekindling what might have been.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, her friend since childhood. The four of them are still young – but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Amid daily reports of violence, Cushla lives a quiet life in a small town near Belfast. By day she teaches at a parochial school; at night she fills in at her family’s pub. There she meets Michael, a barrister who’s made a name for himself defending IRA members. Against her better judgment - Michael is not only Protestant but older, and married - Cushla lets herself get drawn in by him, and an affair ignites. Then the father of a student is savagely beaten, setting in motion a chain reaction that will threaten everything Cushla most wants to protect.

One Day by David Nicholls

It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day – July 15th – of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Aging, reclusive Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. From making her way to LA in the ‘50s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Connell and Marianne are total opposites; he’s popular and well-adjusted, she’s lonely, proud, and intensely private. But a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers. A year later, they’re both at college in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, their roles reverse. Throughout the years, Marianne and Connell circle one another, always magnetically drawn back together. As she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Dream State by Eric Puchner

Cece and Charlie are getting married, and Charlie has asked Garrett, his gruff and standoffish college friend, to officiate the ceremony. Cece can’t think of anyone more ill-suited to the task, but as she gets to know Garrett better, she grows increasingly uncertain about her future. As a contagious stomach flu threatens to upend the wedding, and Charlie and Garrett’s friendship is put to the ultimate test, Cece must decide between the life she’s dreamed of and a life she’s never imagined.

Supernatural & Cozy Fantasy

As it turns out, all those years reading Harry Potter fanfiction as a preteen has primed me to appreciate a touch of magic alongside my love stories.

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

When Francie arrives in Roswell for her friend’s UFO-themed wedding, she can’t help but scoff at all the talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one. Before long, Francie is joined by a colorful cast of fellow abductees. But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how – or even what the trouble is.

Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff

The founders of the idyllic town of Lake Argen made a deal with a dark force. In exchange for their service, the town will stay prosperous and successful, and keep outsiders out. For generations, it’s worked out great. Until a visitor goes missing, and his wealthy family sends a private investigator to find him. Now, Cassidy Prewitt, town baker and part-time servant of the dark force, has to contend with a rising army of darkness, a very frustrated town, and a very cute PI who she might just be falling for. And if they can survive the apocalypse, they might just find happiness together.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt from the dead, lost most of her magic, and was exiled from her magical Guild. Now she helps Aunt Jasmine run an inn, where she deals with the quirky guests and longs for the magical future she lost. When Sera learns about an old spellbook that holds the secret to restoring her power, she turns to Luke Larsen, a gorgeous historian. Luke never planned on getting involved, and certainly had no intention of letting anyone past his icy walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he not only agrees to help, but also finds himself thawing .

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, she’s now standing in her nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. The two of them are actually hitting it off, until someone comes running in yelling about a huge mistake and sends the dreamy stranger back down to Earth. When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to the living and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity. But to find him in a city of millions, she’s going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind.

Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

Between working at her beloved bookstore, preventing her toxic boss from running it into the ground, and concealing her witchcraft from non-witches – Belle is burnt out. When her 30th birthday brings a summons from her coven, Belle risks losing her magic forever. With a month to fix things, and signs that dark forces may be working against her, Belle will need all the help she can get – from her friends, an unlikely mentor figure, and an (infuriatingly handsome) coven watchman.