10 Favourite Love Stories

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I’ve been terrible at replying to comments and blog hopping in the last few weeks. Apologies I’ve just not had a lot of bandwidth for the blog recently. I’ve got lots to catch up with! Thank you to everyone who visits and comments, I do appreciate it!

This week is a love-themed freebie topic, which turned out to be more difficult than expected because I don’t read much that I find romantic!

Most Romance books are so generic they don’t leave a lasting impression on me, and what I wanted to do with this list was recall the couples that did leave an imprint. Not all of these are Romance genre books and not all these couples  ended up together, but I was deeply invested!

1. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas – Yes, I do go on about this one a lot. I just never expected to enjoy The Wallflowers series so much, especially this book. What I love about this love story is it is an unlikely slow-developing love based on the couple spending time together and really coming to understand and support each other, away from the judgement of the rest of their Society and the roles they’d been cast in.
2. Book Lovers by Emily Henry – This was the first Emily Henry I read and it is still my favourite for it’s subversion of tropes. This couple is just healthy! They communicate like adults, they understand and support each other and nobody has to give up anything they don’t want to, or change! Also, that scene in the river is HOT.
3. Anne of Green Gables (Series) by L.M. Montgomery – Anne and Gilbert don’t properly get together until book 5 (Anne of Windy Poplars) but that is what makes their relationship so special and believable. They meet as children in school and are rivals for a time, mostly on Anne’s side as she harbours the resentment of his calling her “carrots”, but over time they develop a beautiful friendship and eventual marriage. Gilbert is always so patient, so sweet and so supportive of her.
4. Persuasion by Jane Austen – I can’t believe I’ve still not written about this book, I’ve read it twice in two years! Jane Austen is a master of romance, but this one is different. It’s a quiet, mature, and often painful story of regret sand lost love between two awkward introverts! Anne watches and wonders whether Captain Wentworth still loves her nine years after she turned down his proposal, and the letter at the end is so worth it.
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I couldn’t leave this one off, it is a classic for a reason. Grand gestures and poetic declarations of love do nothing for me, I need a man who proves he loves me through his actions and that is what I find so romantic about Mr Darcy. I just love Jane Austen’s awkward introverts.
6. Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding – Yes, this is Mr Darcy again! Ha! With the new movie coming out I’ve been thinking about rereading these books because I’ve not read them since I was a teenager and I do wonder how different they may read now I’m closer (passed!) Bridget’s age! I never found Daniel Cleaver attractive, it was Mark Darcy all the way from the start!
7. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (Series) by Louise Rennison – These books are a part of my consciousness (and I will be bringing them up again for a future TTT prompt!), and they are probably the earliest books I read where I could see the protagonist make bad romantic choices and I wanted to scream at them! In the first book, Georgia is obsessed with the older boy Robbie (aka Sex God) who she has to pretend to be somebody else to impress. But then she always has a great time and gets to be her ridiculous self when she’s with Dave The Laugh. Come on Georgia! When I think about my favourite couples Georgia and Dave are on that list, and he was a great early model for a good boyfriend and what a healthy relationships look like (even if they’re only teenagers!).
8. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (Marvel Comics) – Especially when written by Brian Michael Bendis! Their relationship starts out as a casual thing in Alias, when Jessica is in the pit of her alcoholism and self-destruction, but over time they develop an amazing supportive relationship, and eventually marriage and child. Luke always Jessica to fight her own battles, and he’s always been there to support her through thick and thin. Plus they’re super hot superheroes!
9. The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn – I did enjoy the Bridgerton books, and I probably enjoyed Romancing Mister Bridgerton the best because I love Penelope, but… when I look back it was book 2, and Anthony and Kate who had the least problematic romance with the most equality and respect, easily the most healthily developed relationship!
10. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin – specifically Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. Look I don’t know if anything will ever actually happen with these two, but this is definitely a love story. They’re another odd couple, they started out adversarial and through time developed a partnership based on understanding and respect… with huge piles of delicious character growth for Jaime! And Brienne is just such a fucking cool character. God, she’s awesome. Their relationship/lives on a literal knife edge is one of the biggest killers among the several massive cliffhangers at the end of A Dance With Dragons.

I would love any recommendations for books with similar love stories!