Romances I Loved as a Non-Romance Reader
Books for every type of romantic out there, even the cynics
Generally, I avoid the romance section of a bookstore. For the record, I have nothing against romance as a concept, I actually am a very romantic person and tend to romanticize every aspect of my life. I do believe in finding “your person” and have been holding onto that fairytale for a while. It’s just that when it comes to romance books, I tend to find convention after convention; unrealistic portraits of people that are only put there as archetypes and plot points.
Don’t get me wrong, archetypes exist for a reason and if they are done well, can be wonderful. I mean, you can’t have a gothic tale without the Byronic hero (think Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights), or a bildungsroman without a mentor (think Dumbledore in Harry Potter). So, I understand that archetypes are often necessary when telling certain types of stories in certain types of genres. The thing I can’t get behind is conventionally attractive woman meets conventionally attractive man, both are often white, and they have a *moment,* maybe a shared kiss while it’s snowing (think the Hallmark channel), maybe one of them harbors a secret that is soon discovered and might rupture their budding relationship, but all in all everything ends up okay in the end. Happily ever after!
But, when I find a book that calls itself a romance that is unconventional with three-dimensional characters who are interesting and have cool backstories, I’m in. I love when the idea of romance is turned on its head and made real. To me, the best romances reflect reality and feel far removed from fiction.
Here are some of my favorites for (I think) every type of romance reader.
*Quick note: I am not a fan of a lot spice. If you’re here looking for spice levels, you’re in the wrong place. Also, I am sure that some of you will contend whether or not all of these are romances. Even if they aren’t technically in the romance genre, they all include wonderful romances between characters that I love.*
For period piece fans who like stories that are a battle of the heart or that focus on sisterly love: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
When talking about romance as a genre, we have to start with Jane Austen. She is the queen of romance for a reason! What I love about her stories is their focus on women at a time when your focus was to serve others, learn a few skills like piano or needlework, and to make sure you had money, either in your family or from your husband. Austen shines a light on women who wish they could love freely, and my favorite example of this is Sense and Sensibility. Many people know and love Pride and Prejudice, but I have often found S&S to be a go-to and favorite of mine because of the real central relationship in it: sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Their love lives are very different; the former is realistic about needing financial security although it pains her, while the latter is wanting passionate, ardent love no matter the cost. They each deal with their respective trials and battles of the heart, but the love for each other and their constant protection of each other is the greatest love in the story, which is why I enjoy it so much. *By the way, I highly recommend this one and its film adaptation from 1995, but check out all of Jane Austen’s bibliography! She has a lot of different types of romances for different romance readers.*
For those who love others emotionally and ardently and enjoy a touch of darkness: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
I’ve talked up Jane Eyre many times on this blog, and I’m not slowing down because any chance I get to obsess over this book I will. The story itself and Jane as a character is incredibly compelling, and seeing Jane come into her own as a young woman is fantastic, but the romance at the center of the novel is fascinating. When Jane goes to work for Mr. Rochester (Byronic hero!) as a tutor to his young ward, the two have a mutual respect and interest in each other, not to mention a flair for banter and the occasional spar. Many things threaten to get in the way of their possible romance, some things even beyond the natural world, but beautiful circumstances (and some damn good writing) bring them together. It’s a romance for the decades, and I loved it when I first read the book.
For gothic fans who want more horror with a just a lovely sprinkling of romance: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Whether you shy away from older texts like Jane Eyre, or you just want a sprinkling of romance and not a whole plot involving it, I have the book for you. Mexican Gothic is written in the style of many Gothic novels with twists and turns, but with a modern edge that was surprising and super fun. The protagonist, Noemí, travels to a manor her cousin lives in after her cousin sends her a frantic letter saying she thinks the family she married into is trying to kill her. Once Noemí starts living there to check on her cousin does she realize what horrors lie within the house. There is a romance that blossoms despite everything bad happening, and it is tender and very sweet, but this book is heavier on the horror aspects. I will say, though, that the romance was one of my favorite aspects of the story, and I often was rooting for the two characters to get together and escape.
For those who believe in soulmates and magic (or those who just like a lot of drama): The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia strikes again (she’s one of my favorite authors) and this time, with a completely different book from Mexican Gothic. In The Beautiful Ones, Nina is a country girl living during a time reminiscent of La Belle Époque. Sent to the city to live with her cousin and enter society as a young lady, she learns the proper etiquette and wears the right dresses, but seems to have trouble controlling her inexplicable telekinetic abilities. Enter Hector: an entertainer who has the same ability and profits off it by claiming he is a magician. He agrees to tutor Nina in her abilities, partly so that he can be closer to Nina’s cousin, an old flame he once ardently loved. What unfolds is a soap opera style love triangle, and I ate up every minute of it. I read this book in less than a week, that’s how much I enjoyed it! It has everything from high society gossip to duels by gunpoint to bitter sabotage and proclamations of love. Oh, and great bits of magic where Nina moves things with her mind that were super fun to read.
For readers who want a love story based in myths and legends: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Okay, okay, yes, another Silvia Moreno-Garcia book. She’s just THAT GOOD! This book revolves around a young woman named Casiopea Tun who works as a servant in her grandfather’s house (somewhat like a Cinderella story) during the Jazz Age in Mexico. After she accidentally frees the Mayan god of death from a chest in her grandfather’s room, she strikes a deal with him to help him return to his throne in exchange for her freedom. The story turns into an odyssey of them traveling from city to city and even venturing their way down into the Mayan underworld. It’s an atmospheric novel with many twists and turns, and the romance that unfolds at the center of the story had me hooked. Not to mention, I learned so much about Mayan gods and legends that I hadn’t known before!
For readers who love excruciating slow burns and “will they won’t they” stories: Normal People by Sally Rooney
Is this a romance? Some say yes, some say no. In reality, when I read this book, I didn’t think of the story between Marianne and Connell as a romance as much as a book about deep connection. Their lives fluctuate between friends, lovers, back to friends, strangers; they constantly weave in and out of each other’s lives, somehow always finding each other. The circumstances surrounding their relationship to me are irrelevant; what I love most about this story is the complexity of people’s relationship with love itself, and how Marianne and Connell are just two people navigating the world, sometimes with each other and sometimes without. It broke my heart and healed it back up several times.
For those who appreciate romance for its joy and its pain and know that you can’t have happiness without sadness: Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Gosh, how do I even begin to describe this book? It’s pretty short, basically novella length, and it told entirely in second person (“you” instead of “I,” “me,” or “he/she/they”). It focuses on two young people who meet through a mutual friend, both Black, smart, and artists who struggle to belong as people of color in their fields. Their romance isn’t sudden and passionate, rather tentative and tender. I don’t want to say much else so I don’t spoil a huge point in the story, but what I will say is that it’s a reflection on race, masculinity, and is a poignant look at what can bring two people together or apart. I had a friend of mine describe the writing in it as “ocean like prose” and I wholeheartedly agree. It ebbs and flows much like the tide, giving and taking, loving and learning. It’s a work of art.
For those who want a romance that defies time and space: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
When I first read The Starless Sea, I thought I was just getting into a magical realism story, and yes, that’s what it is at its core, but I wasn’t expecting a beautiful romance to blossom within it. Zachary, a college student, sees an unlabeled book in his campus library and when he begins reading it realizes that it is telling him a story from his own life. Intrigued by how the nameless author knows his history, he goes down a rabbit hole into a new world built on storytelling, magic, love, fate, and time. Who he meets in this book and falls in love with mirrors another larger love story in the book, and it was entrancing to read. I highly recommend this book if you daydreamed a lot as a kid, believed in magical worlds that exist right underneath our noses, and have a deep love for sharing stories and written word.
For those who are cynics but really want to believe in love: Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
Very rarely do I sit down with a book and then stay there for several hours reading because I’m sucked in. I can count on one hand the amount of times this has happened and one of those times most recently was while I was reading Alone With You in the Ether. I swallowed this book whole; devoured it, basically. The two main characters, Regan and Aldo, seem like an unlikely pair at first. She is a talented visual artist with a knack for doing counterfeits and he is a math TA who is very serious and honestly dull at teaching. He convinces her that six is a special number in the universe, and they agree that after six conversations they’ll assess whether it’s meant to be. The story if full of complex characters who have their vices, extreme passion, heartbreak, and reconnection. Not to mention, it takes place in Chicago, one of my favorite cities, so it resonated with me deeply. Both Regan and Aldo are skeptical of true love, but they start to convince the reader and themselves that it might be possible.
For the hopeless romantics who believe that everything is a sign: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Natasha, a senior in high school, is worried that she and her parents are going to be deported back to Jamaica in less than a day. Daniel, also a senior in high school, is worried about disappointing his traditional Korean parents if he expresses that he really doesn’t want to go to Yale to a doctor. The two, concerned about their futures, meet unexpectedly, and over the course of a day, have a whirlwind romance that could only have been planned out by fate or the universe itself. I often scoff at stories like this where everything seems a little too coincidental, but I couldn’t help myself, I got sucked in. The two main characters are funny, charming, and three-dimensional; I loved that they felt like such real people, not just carbon copy characters in romance novels. I didn’t expect or predict the ending, which made it even better. This is technically labeled a young adult novel, but I really enjoyed it.
Finally, for those who believe self love and the love of your friends is some of the greatest love you can have in life: Loveless by Alice Oseman
If I fell in love with anyone or anything this Valentine’s season, it’s this book. Seriously, my heart was bursting when I finished it. Georgia, a new freshman at Durham University with her best friends Pip and Jason, is concerned because she’s never had a crush. Never a kiss. Never been in a relationship. Going to uni is her fresh start, and she hopes she can breathe some life into her nonexistent love life. But after several failed attempts, she starts learning about new terms like asexual and aromantic, and realizes that her definition of what true love is warped, because it was right in front of her all along in the form of her closest friends. As a young person who is asexual, I’ve grappled with a lot of the same things that Georgia has, and even though our experiences aren’t exactly the same, this book was really affirming. Not to mention that so many of her college experiences were so relatable, from being an English major (like myself) to just wanting to stay in on weekends with pizza and friends instead of clubbing (usual weekends for me in college). This book warmed my heart, and became an immediate favorite.
Any genres or readers out there that I’m missing here? I’ll have to read more romances in the future! Tell me your favorites so I can add them to my TBR! :)
- Lillian