In the spirit of February’s most loved/hated holiday, Valentine’s Day, I had a little look through my reads and realised I don’t read a lot of books that you’d put directly in the romance genre. This might be because I’m not a huge fan of cheesy, smushy romance stories.
However, I am a huge fan of fantastic love stories. The ones where the chemistry between the characters is the beating pulse of the story and the love between them restores your faith in humanity. So, here are 5 books for you to enjoy this Valentine’s:
5 (absolutely not cheesy) love stories
/ Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Inspired by the relationship of Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham – this is a completely addictive story of rock ‘n’ roll, friendship and yes, love, all to a heady backdrop of the 70s music scene. You will not regret reading this.
/ This Lovely City by Louise Hare
For a book that has racism and its consequences as an overarching theme, the fact that Lawrie and Evie’s love story is what sings from the pages tells you everything you need to know about how wonderfully This Lovely City is written.
/ Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Yes, this Gothic, haunting classic has a love story at its heart. The unnamed narrator is a woman in love, a woman who will do anything for the man she loves… Not to mention the love Mrs Danvers has for Rebecca, that’s, perhaps, the true love story of this book.
/ The Metal Heart by Caroline Lea
Putting some historical fiction into the mix (set in 1941 in the Orkney Islands, Scotland). I love this book. It blends real events with the poetic licence of fiction. Mix in Caroline Lea’s amazing ability to weave a heart-wrenchingly emotive love story – both the romantic kind and the one between sisters – and I’m hooked! Oh and a special shout-out to the wonderful Italian church too.
/ The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
To close off this list, I had to include this one. Basically, The Flatshare is the book that made me realise I enjoy a brilliantly written love story. Funny, clever, moving and has something a little different to offer. You must spend a few hours in Tiffy and Leon’s company, I urge you.
What do you think? Let me know your favourite love story below!
Books on the 7:47 
A good looking list! I am not a fan of mush so will be adding some of these to my to read list!
I have a couple of favourites The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (boring I know!) and The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn. I was disappointed by the first Bridgerton book so set my expectations lower for this second one, but it was amazing!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/
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I haven’t read any of those – thanks for the recs!
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Love this!☺️✨
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Thank you!
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