Read My Most Loved Books - Romance Edition

by Jessica Jones

In the spirit of Valentine's Day - I wanted to share some of my favorite books from the romance genre! These are all romance in one way or another, but may also be categorized as fantasy, contemporary romance, etc. 

First (and if you follow my bookstagram page, you know I am obsessed with these), I wanted to highlight the Ravenhood Trilogy - or series as some call it. 

These books were recommended to me by my fellow bookstagrammers, and I am so so glad that they found their way to me.

If you like romance, drama, and spice - you will love these. I still think about these books every day, and I wish I could reread them again for the first time.  

Next is Carley Fortune's debut novel, Every Summer After. I think that this may have been my favorite debut novel of 2022. This book felt like home to me and gave me that feeling of nostalgia that only a great story can. So if you like friends to lovers, then and now, and a bit of a coming-of-age story - this one is for you!

I am so grateful that my friend Kaitlin introduced me to Emily Henry last summer, when I was feeling down. These books, specifically Beach Read, brought me back to the romance genre after years of only reading thrillers and historical fiction.

Look how far we have come - writing a post dedicated to the genre. Nuff said. 

Same friend - different author - and another excellent recommendation. 

I'll be honest - when I started It Happened One Summer, I wasn't sure I could get into it. The main character was so different than me - it was kind of hard to connect.... but I am so glad I stuck with it because... WOW. Tessa Bailey is an auto-buy for me now, and I am working on adding some of her previous works to my collection. 

Look for my 'Secretly Yours' review coming soon :)

Another point for my friend Kaitlin for the amazing romance recs. This was my first experience with Christina Lauren, and I did not know how much I loved the fauxmance trope. Also - there's only one bed? ... perfection. 

I had never really read much of the fantasy genre as an adult. What an idiot I was. I purchased these after seeing all of the hype around them, I wasn't sure I would ever read them, but I really liked the colors and look of the paperbacks. During a team meeting, a coworker saw them in the background and messaged me about my SJM collection. I admitted that I had not read them - to which she explained that I needed to get on that and report back. 

I am so thankful I was peer pressured into reading these (lol at my people pleasing), because I am still so obsessed. What a captivating story, with twists you don't think you want - until you absolutely do. Definitely read them if you haven't - you're welcome.

Ali Hazelwood is an author who, upon jumping back into the romance genre, was very prevalent on booktok, bookstagram, etc.

I purchased The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain last fall - but they sat on my shelf for a few months while I was deep into my ACOTAR and the Ravenhood Trilogy series hangovers. 

The Love Hypothesis was my first read of 2023, and I read Love on the Brain just a couple of weeks after.

I loved the focus around women in STEM, love the fauxmance and enemies to lovers trope, and I really enjoyed the banter.

I just finished up Loathe to Love you in preparation for a Galentine's Day event at Rudolph Girls (my local bookstore), and if you read my last review - you know how much I loved the novellas!

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