Looking for a fun contemporary romance to read this Valentine’s Day?
Look no further than our read-alikes display featuring authors and books
like popular romance maven Emily Henry!
Valentine’s Reads!
Tag: romance
A Hanukkah Romance
Read it for the multifaceted, quirky, disabled, best selling author heroine, the successful, handsome hero, the vibrant cast of supporting characters. Relish the way the author incorporates both cultural and religious Jewish experience, shaped by her own life and observances, just as she does for the heroine’s chronic illness. Cheer every appearance of the heroine’s mother and the hero’s grandmother, both formidable and deeply caring women.
Brace yourself for over-the-top shenanigans, because the heroine and hero are still, at heart, the kids who pranked each other and fell in love one summer at Jewish camp. The lights and wonder of Hanukkah are at the heart of the story, as old traditions are adapted for the modern era.
If you need more romantic comedy to brighten your life, Meltzer’s Mr. Perfect On Paper runs with the story of a a modern-day Jewish matchmaker, her beloved grandmother, and the encounters with the love interests over the course of the Jewish High Holidays.
TLDR: A lovely melding of contemporary romance tropes with refreshing twists, highly recommended. #OwnVoices
By: Lauren Van Dyke
Read-Alikes: Beatriz Williams
If you like Beatriz Williams’ dual narratives that explore the past, try these authors:
Sarah Blake
Chanel Cleeton
Kristin Harmel
Kate Morton
Jennifer Robson
Karin Tanabe
Penny Vincenzi
Read-Alikes: Colleen Hoover
If you like Colleen Hoover’s new adult fiction and contemporary romances, try these authors and books:
Helen Hoang
Christina Lauren
Jojo Moyes
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rebecca Serle
Sally Thorne
Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
My Way to You by Catherine Bybee
The Life She Wants by Robin Carr
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
If You Stay by Courtney Cole
The Cactus by Sarah Haywood
Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
The Book Drop – Emily Henry
While You Wait for This Popular Title:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Agreeing to a holiday escape to the country, literary agent Nora keeps running into a bookish, hardheaded, arrogant editor she knows from Manhattan, and wishes she didn’t, even as she discovers they have more in common than previously thought.
Try one of these!
Playing with Matches
by Hannah Orenstein
Both are heartwarming, romantic comedies with characters that are sympathetic, thoughtful, and flawed.
My Favorite
Half-Night Stand
by Christina Lauren
Both are delightfully engaging takes on the classic “enemies to lovers” trope.
The Roommate
by Rosie Danan
Both feature likeable characters that are insightful, introspective, and authentic.
The Book Drop – Colleen Hoover
While You Wait for This Popular Title:
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters,
this is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.
Try one of these!
Tell Me Lies
by Carola Lovering
Both are first-person narratives that are romantic, high-drama, and feature characters that are sympathetic.
If You Stay
by Courtney Cole
Both are heartwrenching, moving, gritty and have characters that are relatable.
Under Her Skin
by Adriana Anders
Both are compelling, contemporary romances about women with histories of abuse and tender men offering hope that healthy relationships are within reach.
From the Reference Desk – Romance and Fandom
Sometimes, you just love something whole-heartedly. If you think this applies to romances and fandom equally, you’re in luck with these books from our shelves.
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
This YA romance melds multiple trends – a food-truck business, a TV show with nods to Star Trek and Firefly, a cosplay contest, a fan convention, and several adorable matches – into a book that’s not only a joy to read, but also beautifully designed. The romances are carefully built, so that you will be cheering them on long before the end. Grief is part of the story, as is a complicated, less-than-ideal stepfamily. There are more books in the series if you wish to seek them out.
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
Rather read about adults? Spoiler Alert gives us two successful people who still choose to keep the fandom going, albeit anonymously as fanfic writers. Until, that is, April decides to post her cosplay and Marcus asks her out, partly because he hates the backlash she got for being zaftig, and partly because he thinks she’s gorgeous. But how long until they discover they already know each other? Not to mention whether their first date can make it over the hurdle of him starring in her favorite show, and all the attention that brings… Both are complex characters, along with many of their friends and co-workers, and face significant personal struggles over the course of the story, including parents whose ideals get in the way of loving their children as they are. No need to worry – this still has a happy ending, and if you love this book, the author’s sequel, All The Feels, is already on order.
A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole
The third full novel in the Reluctant Royals series gives us a playboy prince with a tender heart and good intentions, a royal cousin (to the heroine of the first book) with a love of dating sims, and a fake engagement. What more could you ask for? How about heaps of backstory, major character growth for the hero, heroine, and their families, and a warm, caring happily-ever-after to leave you sighing? Cole delivers, as usual, a rich, multi-layered, multi-cultural tale that revels in the warmth of family and acceptance. Bonus: the dating sim the heroine loves most is inspired by royals depicted in the books, including the hero…
Written by Lauren Van Dyke
Want More Bridgerton?
Bridgerton, the new Netflix drama based on Julia Quinn’s Regency romance series, has made a splash for its diverse cast, witty script, lush costuming, and, of course, the scorching scenes and high production values one has come to expect from Shonda Rhimes, who brought us Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder.
Understandably, there’s been a sharp rise in demand for the books. We’re more than happy to add you to the hold list (or give you any left in the building), but if you’d rather not wait, we’ve got you covered.
Want more historical romance and happy endings? Check out these authors from our shelves:
Jane Ashford
Jennifer Ashley
Mary Balogh
Lenora Bell
Amy Rose Bennett
Jo Beverley
Kelly Bowen
Celeste Bradley
Grace Burrowes
Loretta Chase
Marion Chesney (who also wrote as
M. C. Beaton)
Alyssa Cole
Manda Collins
Tessa Dare
Suzanne Enoch
Megan Frampton
Amelia Grey
Madeline Hunter
Eloisa James
Sabrina Jeffries
Stephanie Laurens
Margaret Locke
Vivienne Lorret
Sally MacKenzie
Sarah MacLean
Courtney Milan
Amanda Quick
Vanessa Riley
Maya Rodale
Cat Sebastian
Sherry Thomas
Martha Waters
Lauren Willig
Want more information? Check out some of these: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2020/01/04/bridgerton-readalikes-booklist
Prefer something shorter? Poetry documents many love stories, successful and otherwise, with depth, verve, and drama. Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are one of the great love stories of the literary world, and we have multiple books with their poetry and correspondence. John Keats and Fanny Brawne give us another, more tearful, romance (adapted for film as Bright Star). Want something as diverting and brief as the Whistledown papers? We have anthologies and collections of all sorts of stories to suit your mood. Some are already renowned; others you may need to spread the word about yourself.
Or if you’d rather something else to watch, check out some of these DVDs!
Fair warning: not all of these have happy endings, unlike the romance novels – ask us and we’ll check for you so you don’t get an unpleasant surprise.
ANZAC Girls (NR, series)
Belle (PG, based on a true story)
Boardwalk Empire (TV-MA, series)
Bright Star (PG, based on a true story)
The Chaperone (TV-14)
Colette (R)
Cranford (NR)
Downton Abbey (series and movie, NR and PG)
The Duchess (PG-13)
Emma (PG-13)
The Girl King (NR)
The Golden Bowl (R)
Howards End (PG)
Little Women (NR)
Murdoch Mysteries (NR, series)
Outlander (TV-MA, series)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (R)
Poldark (NR, series)
Possession (PG-13)
A Room with a View (NR)
Songcatcher (PG-13)
The Tudors (TV-MA, series)
Tulip Fever (R)
When Calls the Heart (NR, series)
The White Countess (PG-13)
Victoria (NR, series)
Check Out Our Displays! – February 2020
The Secret Ingredient Is Always Love – Romances and Other Books about Baking
African-American History Month (also on display in Audio Fiction)
Celebrate Mardi Gras! – Books and Music honoring this New Orleans tradition
From the Reference Desk
Please enjoy some romantic reviews…
Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series continues to be delightful. The second book, A Duke By Default, follows the adventures of Portia Hobbs, best friend of Ledi (who starred in A Princess In Theory) as she leaves behind New York and continues her quest to build a life free from her past mistakes. The book kicks off with sass and assertiveness, and it rollicks merrily along towards the end with all the ups, downs, and loop-de-loops of a roller coaster. Bonus: not only do we get Portia’s point of view, we also get Tavish’s. If you like second-chance romances, smart, capable characters aware of their flaws, and contemporary romance that not only riffs off the tropes but emphasizes the obligation of those in power to serve the people, read these. Also, Tavish’s family is multi-cultural and fabulous, and the author has so many delightfully geeky jokes in the book. (Book 3 is slated to star Ledi’s cousin Nya and the prince who comes to help Tavish deal with being a duke. All signs point to another good story on its way…and hopefully more books after that, because there are multiple other major supporting characters I’d love to read as main characters.)
I Thee Wed by Celeste Bradley is a historical romance. However, we get a heroine who is not the only woman with a degree in her family (historically accurate), an antagonist with sadly realistic villainy, and a hero who yearns for orderly quiet only to find that he misses the chaos of his family and needs to use a social script to function in most situations. Between science, bewildering feelings (neither main character is initially pleased by the disruption of attraction), and Orion’s youngest sister Atalanta, who is a force to be reckoned with and equally at odds with society’s expectations as her brother, there’s always something happening. Plenty of drama, yes, but in the end there’s happiness to spare.
RA at Rolling Meadows Library 