Hi Everyone!
I know this isn't very imaginative but it means I can gush about some of my favourite books! These are books that are almost all not only romances but still have very cute relationships, some of which have a greater focus than others. I also wanted to include a range of straight and gay etc relationships, including one that isn't a romance at all! All relationships are important and Valentine's day is also about celebrating love for your friends and family.
Several authors are mentioned twice and for this I apologise, I tried so hard not to make this happen but I wanted to gush about these books and there was no way I couldn't include some of them! I have also included a summary of the relationships included to give you an idea of what kind of romance it is, some of them I had no idea had any LGBTQ+ representation until I got into them!
Another thing that was important to me was making sure there was a range of genres. I chose to make all of these YA rather than classics which if you don't know are the other category I read a lot of. Many classics have romance and I wanted to celebrate YA in this post! But there are murder mysteries, romances, contemporary books in general that all fit under YA in this post!
I hope this post brings you comfort wherever you are and you are having a good week so far!
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted weekly by That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week there is a new top ten theme, some of which are chosen by fellow bloggers!
I have chosen to write a bit about each book and link any posts about it so feel free to browse if you see something that catches your eye! I know some of them are a little excessive but maybe they'll be useful to someone!
1. Afterlove by Tanya Byrne
How could I not start with this? This is my YA Book Of The Month for February so I recently announced it and posted my review. This is a VERY CUTE girl-girl love story that takes a supernatural twist when Ash dies on New Year's Eve and joins a clan of fierce girl reapers. But all she wants is to be reunited with her first love, Poppy. UGH I love this! And I don't usually enjoy supernatural books but this was just amazing! It has an incredible setting and powerful characters, while exploring so many other ideas too with a very well thought out and beautiful ending...Every time I think about this book I just want to drop what I'm doing and reread it!
Romance(s): girl-girl
Link(s):
My Review of Afterlove!
2. The Paper and Hearts Society by Lucy Powrie
This is my favourite contemporary book series EVER so of course it is featured. It has not one but TWO romances in the first book and more as the trilogy continues. It is about a book club but it also tackles issues such as mental health and later in the sequels LGBTQ+ equality and autism. It includes a wonderful cast of characters who are probably my best friends and each book is filled with adventures and book club meetings too...This isn't very cohesive but I just LOVE this book so do yourself a favour and read it!
Romance(s): boy-girl (main), girl-girl
Link(s):
3. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
This is one of the cutest romances ever and I CAN'T TAKE IT. If you are looking for a book with multiple diverse romances then this is the one for you! It's such a comforting story with characters that, again, are my best friends. There are multiple romances, which are all (or nearly) LGBTQ+. They are such a lovely group of friends and as it is a graphic novel it is very easy to read and a quick one too. If you are daunted by the graphic novel format - DON'T BE. It's stunning. I've introduced it to several friends and they love it too...it's just so special! I can't believe a book can be so happy and yet also approach some tough and yet important topics.
Romance(s): boy-boy (main), girl-girl, trans girl-boy, mentions another boy-boy, mentions boy-girl
Link(s):
4. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
ROMANCE IS NOT A FOCUS OF THIS BOOK.
BUT it does feature a very sweet side romance which is talked about briefly, however you do see into this character's perspective so you get to know a bit about it. It was a real highlight of the book for me and this one was also a YA Book Of The Month for January. This book has so many layers and
I wrote a mini-discussion post about a few of the things I love about it and what they meant for reading it.
Romance(s): girl-girl
Link(s):
5. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
This has a very cute romance, it's your typical dimples and nickname romance! This is about Cath and Wren, twins who are going of to University where Wren wants to meet boys, make lots of friends and go to parties all night. Cath would rather bury herself in fanfiction she writes than do any of that. The romance in this book was predictable but in a comforting way and it left me grinning and it's just the ultimate description of cute!
Romance(s): boy-girl
Link(s):
6. A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
This is another irresistible romance, even if it doesn't appear so because it is a murder mystery! The sequels develop the romance further too although of course the focus is murder! This is about Pip who is determined to uncover the truth behind the murder of Andie Bell which affected her town five years ago. But as she is sent more and more threats, what cost to her will it be to continue? Unlike other murder mysteries this one is more believable and Holly Jackson is a true genius to have written books that interlink and work in that way!
Romance(s): boy-girl
Link(s):
7. Loveless by Alice Oseman
When I said at this start of this post that romance isn't the relationship in one at all, this is the one I meant. The title of course gives it away a bit but this is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be asexual aromantic and the journey to realising that friendships can be just as special and precious as romances. They are just as valuable and this book epitomizes that and really puts it in the spotlight. It is about Georgia who has never been in love, never felt those feelings towards anyone. So when she goes to university she thinks it will be her chance to find love. But as hard as she tries, it never feels right so when she hears the terms asexual aromantic, she is more unsure than ever. There is also a girl-girl romance thrown in, though this isn't the main focus it does impact the story.
Romance(s): girl-girl, (+strong friendships <3)
Link(s):
8. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
This is a very famous YA book and although I can see why, I wouldn't say I am a HUGE John Green fan, although I did enjoy this one. It follows Hazel who meets Augustus at a cancer support group. They fall in love and even take a trip to Amsterdam together. But soon their illnesses catch up with them and threaten to ruin everything they have. This is a little predictable but a very sweet romance all the same. There is one part I found very strange but apart from that, every time I think of this I just want to delve back into certain passages.
Romance(s): boy-girl
Link(s):
9. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's just...I can't even describe it! It is a fantasy, and I usually don't like fantasy that much but this...I don't know what it is about this book that made me love it so much! I wrote in
my review that i
t is about Simon Snow, the Chosen One to defeat the beast that has been sucking the magic out of the air, causing havoc in the magical world. He attends Watford School Of Magicks, where he only really has one friend, Penelope and his girlfriend Agatha. Then there's his infuriating nemesis Baz who Simon is sure is a vampire. But as he enters his last year at Watford, things aren't going his way: his girlfriend broke up with him, his mentor is avoiding him and his Baz didn't even bother to show up to school. It has so much more in it though! I was very hesitant going in and yet this book was a comfort and I wanted more and more of these characters!
Romance(s): girl-boy, boy-boy
Link(s):
10. One Of Us Is Lying by Karen.M.McManus
This is similar to A Good Girl's Guide To Murder as this is another murder mystery. It has a romance in it which I don't want to say too much about but I think it's a cute romance with an interesting background seeing as it is first and foremost a murder mystery. I remember really liking this when I read it and I've read other Karen. M. McManus books and I don't think I liked them as much as this one or the sequel, One Of Us Is Next.
Romance(s): boy-girl
Link(s):
I hope you have liked my take on the love freebie. This post was interesting to compile- it got me thinking about books that have romances that aren't the focus of the book but also books that just have those typical romances because sometimes they're all you want to read!
Thank you so much to the Top Ten Tuesday community for being so welcoming and leaving the most lovely comments!
Happy Top Ten Tuesday!
Let's chat!
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Do you have any recommendations for me?
Link your Top Ten Tuesday post below if you take part and I would love to check your blog out!
Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on my reviews by clicking here! Your support is very much appreciated :)
I love the romance in the Good Girl books because it isn't melodramatic like in most YA books and it also is very much a subplot. It never overshadows the mystery aspect of the books. Great choice!
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
Thanks! Yes, Holly Jackson does such a great job at it and I agree that it never becomes the focus of the story, although it adds yet another layer to this already complex book! Happy TTT! Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate it!!!
Delete