Sure, Valentine’s Day is a holiday designed for capitalists, but I like to use it as an excuse to buy more books. You know, to help benefit the economy and all. Plus, Barnes and Noble agreed to be my Valentine this year so I have to celebrate appropriately. But if you’re not sure what to read, or if you just want to pass on some recommendations, here are 10 books that are way better than generic pink greeting cards.
This Is How You Lose the Time War – Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
If you’ve been here before then you already know my thoughts about This Is How You Lose the Time War. It was the first five-star review on Page + Pixel, and it remains as one of my favorite books of all time. Beautiful prose, time-traveling sapphics, a high-stakes epic romance… what’s not to like?
“I love you. I love you. I love you. I’ll write it in waves. In skies. In my heart. You’ll never see, but you will know. I’ll be all the poets, I’ll kill them all and take each one’s place in turn, and every time love’s written in all the strands it will be to you.”
Bitterthorn – Kat Dunn
Bitterthorn was a pleasant surprise. I managed to pick this up during a trip and ended up reading it in one sitting. Mina is the lonely daughter of the duke. When the Witch demands her next companion, Mina offers herself up and becomes trapped in a web of mystery and a love that defies all odds. It’s a compelling, gothic, and deliciously sapphic romance that atmospherically captures feelings of loneliness, loss, and true love.
“I don’t understand love,’ I said, submerging the cloth in the water. ‘I don’t know how it works or what it is for. I’ve read poetry and novels and listened to music and viewed art all about love but it was like another language. I thought it must be something that wasn’t meant for me. Until I met you.”
A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas
If we’re talking about modern romantic fantasies, it would be negligible to leave out A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. If A Court of Thorns and Roses is an appetizer then A Court of Mist and Fury is one huge part of a succulent entree. The second book of the ACOTAR series follows Feyre, who is haunted by the events of the first book. Her time is split between the Spring Court, where her marriage with Tamlin is quickly approaching, and the Night Court, where she upholds her previous bargain with the feared High Lord Rhysand. Insert a roller coaster of adventure and fantasy.
“If you were going to die, I was going to die with you. I couldn’t stop thinking it over and over as you screamed, as I tried to kill her: you were my mate, my mate, my mate.”
Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros became a worldwide phenomenon and became instantly grouped with other recent romantasy hits like A Court of Thorns and Roses. If you like dragons, military academies, found family, and a nice enemies-to-lovers trope, Fourth Wing should be at the top of your list.
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was once destined to enter the Scribe Quadrant like her father before her. Instead, she’s tossed into a pool of candidates striving to become dragon riders. But unlike the other cadets, Violet is untrained and physically brittle. When death lurks around every corner, Violet is forced to use her wit in order to survive.
“I would rather lose this entire war than live without you, and if that means I have to prove myself over and over, then I’ll do it. You gave me your heart, and I’m keeping it.”
Divine Rivals – Rebecca Ross
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross became a quick and heartwarming read that I’ll always hold close. The gods are at war, but 18-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to keep her family together. With a mother stuggling with addiction and a brother lost from the front lines, Iris’s best chance to help them is to win a promotion as a columnist at the Oath Gazette.
Using a typewriter, she writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath the door of her wardrobe like they used to as kids. But they somehow magically end up delivered to Roman Kitt, Iris’ rival at the Oath. Roman begins anonymously writing back, forging a connection with the girl fighting for the promotion he wants, but when Iris makes the heavy decision to leave for the front lines, Roman follows her.
“It’s not a crime to feel joy, even when things seem hopeless. Iris, look at me. You deserve all the happiness in the world. And I intend to see that you have it.”
One Last Stop – Casey McQuiston
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston was the first book I bought on Kindle and hardcover (and the beautiful Collector’s Edition). This modern sapphic romance introduces a fresh twist that ups the stakes without making things feel bleak.
August moves to New York City where she finds a group of weird roommates and a job at a 24-hour pancake diner. Alone and cynical, romance isn’t something August believes in. But then she meets the charming and mysterious Jane on the subway and develops a crush. There’s one catch: punk rocker Jane is actually displaced in time from the 1970s, and August becomes committed to helping her escape, but doing so could mean losing Jane forever.
“But, you know, that feeling? When you wake up in the morning and you have somebody to think about? Somewhere for hope to go? It’s good. Even when it’s bad, it’s good.”
Wolfsong – TJ Klune
Wolfsong isn’t like the others in this list. There’s angst, death, intense mate connections, and a werewolf hierarchy that gave me some faint True Blood vibes. Klune’s writing in this is gripping in its simplicity, and I adore the found family theme (packpackpack) that fuels the story. Ox is a fantastic protagonist who begins feeling worthless but blossoms into his own in such a beautiful way.
“So he pressed his forehead against mine and breathed me in and there was that sun, okay? That sun between us, that bond that burned and burned and burned because he’d given it to me. Because he’d chosen me. And I got to choose him back.”
The Fiancée Farce – Alexandria Bellefleur
I couldn’t create this list without including a steamy, marriage-of-convenience rom-com. The Fiancée Farce became a surprise favorite of mine, simply because I’m not the biggest rom-com fan (I’m forever addicted to fantasy romances).
Tired of being questioned about her dry love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by a cover model on a bestselling book she has in her bookshop. It’s not like they’d actually meet, right? Gemma is an outcast of a wealthy family, but she’s now the latest heir to Van Dalen Publishing. But in order to inherit the title, she has to be married. So when Gemma discovers that Tansy has been fake dating her, she capitalizes on the opportunity by announcing their engagement.
Enter the expected delicious blur between convenience and true love.
“Come on. Indulge my domestic fantasies, darling. I want to share a Costco card with you.”
Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston
Red, White & Royal Blue made waves after it was adapted into a movie on Amazon Prime Video and for good reason. Alex Claremont-Diaz is the First Son of the United States, but a public confrontation with his nemesis Prince Henry threatens to dissolve American/British relations, which is even more troublesome for President Claremont, who is approaching her reelection bid. To fix this, the two men must publicly play nice. Insert a falling in love montage.
One of my favorite things about this story is how compassionately the author handles the bisexual awakening of a character, and even though the political views are unsurprisingly weighed against the new couple, there is still a heartwarming theme of hope that keeps this story from falling into dread. It addresses real life issues of sexuality without succumbing to them, a balance that is often impossible for some novels to reach.
“Do you feel forever about him?” And there’s no room left to agonize over it, nothing left to do but say the thing he is known all along. “Yeah,” he says, “I do.”
The Fall That Saved Us – Tamara Jerée
If you’ve read some of my earlier reviews, you’ll find that The Fall That Saved Us became a quick favorite. There’s no way that I could ever possibly pass up a book about sapphic forbidden love, especially between a nephilim and a succubus.
Cassiel is a nephilim, but she’s left her duty and family behind. She tends to her trauma by spending her days working at her bookstore, New Haven Books, where she tries to carve out a normal life, but her past isn’t ready for her to move on.
A succubus named Avitue appears on a mission to claim Cassiel’s soul, and forces the nephilim to choose between the knowledge of her past life and her growing attraction to the succubus. While navigating the threatening powers of an eternal war between angels and demons, the two can’t help but fall for each other, but their forbidden love could have grave consequences for both of them.
Despite some minor pacing issues, The Fall That Saved Us is a fun love story that I know I’ll keep coming back to.
“I wanted her to say she’d miss me. I wanted an affirmation that we’d made this life less terrible for each other.”