Now, I know what you may be thinking – Sydney?! Romance novels?! And, admittedly, yes – they are my guilty pleasure. Romance may be dead, but books live forever. So, if you (like me) plan to sit in your room on February 14th and avoid countless Instagram stories, Facebook posts, and Tweets, you can at least celebrate the holiday with some fictional romance! To help you join me and countless other loners in curling up with a good book this Valentine’s Day, here are the recommendations of a romance novel connoisseur! I’ve rated them in terms of overall content (stars) and then in terms of adult themes (fuegos).
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne 4.5 stars 3 fuegos
The Hating Game tells the story of rival coworkers Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman who are both up for the same promotion at work. After their competition gets to a boiling point, they’re forced to reckon with just how strong their hate is for each other – that is, if it is really hate. I actually really enjoyed this one – it’s smart, funny, and if you’re into enemies to lovers this is definitely a book for you. Plus, they just made a movie version of this starring Lucy Hale. It’s absolutely amazing and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would!!
The People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry 3.75 stars 2.5 fuegos
This novel is about best friends Alex and Poppy, who took a vacation together every year – that is, up until two years ago when their friendship mysteriously broke apart. When Poppy feels stuck in her job and life, she texts Alex to ask him if he wants to go on vacation again, and he shockingly says yes. When the two travel together to a friend’s wedding, old feelings become unburied, as well as the ones they used to hide. Honestly, I was kind of lukewarm on this book. It didn’t have that same spark others did, and it felt a tad long. However, I do know tons of other people who really loved it, so don’t count it out.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood 4.6 stars 4.5 fuegos
Ok. This one is one of my favorite books, but it’s a bit of you hate it or you love it. Basically, Biology graduate student Olive Smith tells her best friend that she’s fine with her dating her ex because she actually has a date that night. When her best friend shows up at the lab where Olive is working and NOT on a date, to cover her tracks, Olive kisses the first person she sees. That person happens to be Professor Adam Carlsen (who I might add does not teach her personally), who then agrees to fake-date her until she can convince her friend that she’s truly over her ex. Now, if you’re like me, you have qualms. I definitely had qualms. You’re probably like, omg isn’t that such a strange power dynamic? What about the age gap (It’s only 5 years)? Doesn’t that set a not-so-great precedent in the post Me Too era? And the answer is yes, those things are present and they are issues. But, the book is really cute and charming and fun to read, so I tried my best to ignore those things because we as humans are nothing if not complicated. Sooooo if you’re okay with casting ethics and morals aside, please read this book – it’s great!
Meet You in the Middle by Devon Daniels 4.5 stars 3.75 fuegos
If you’re into bipartisan romance, this is definitely the book for you. This novel centers around liberal senate staffer Kate Adams, who after sparring with conservative staffer Ben Mackenize over childcare legislation realizes that she may have to rethink her predispositions about the other side of the aisle. Now, obviously me enjoying this book so much is comical considering that I, too struggle to *ahem* understand views that aren’t my own – but it’s really good! On a more analytical note, this book was actually written right after the highly polarizing 2016 election, and I think that it somewhat serves as a relic of a time where people were at least hopeful of a chance of bipartisanship, which makes it an interesting read nearly 6 years later.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren 4 stars 2 fuegos
The Unhoneymooners is a super cute read about sworn enemies (and now in-laws) Olive Torres and Ethan Thomas, who end up on an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii after their respective siblings get food poisoning at their wedding and miss their honeymoon. The only issue is that the two need to impersonate their (married) siblings in order to not be caught – which leads to some uncomfy situations. What this book lacks in sizzle it certainly makes up for in steak. If you like the whole pretend relationship trope, this is a great one and it’s interesting because it doesn’t just have the happy ending, it also gives you fallout and breakups (along with eventual makeups). If you’re going on vacation soon, this is a perfect tropical read!
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