Here are my top five recommendations for you to read all month long if you're looking for a romance read!
- The Bridgerton Series! I fell in love with the first season on Netflix and I still want to read the book, too! (life of a bookworm, haha). If you enjoy an English, historical time period filled with royalty, romance, and drama, this series is for you! If you prefer to watch it more instead of reading, it is a great series to binge! I think the book will be just as good but I can't wait to read it to compare the book versus the tv adaptation. The Duke and I is the first book in the series and the first season of the show. This story focuses on Daphne, the oldest daughter of eight who is seeking a husband, a common act of love during this time period of 1813. Daphne wants true affection though, someone to marry who loves her for more than her beauty. She believes she found the one when she meets Simon, the Duke who inherited this title from his father who has passed from an illness many years ago. They connect and fall in love and their story is filled with both drama and love, but it is so great!
- The Fault in Our Stars, is a John Green classic! I saw the movie and read the book; I enjoyed both equally. I remember at the time everyone was talking or sharing about it on Tumblr so I had to see what it was all about and now I understand. It is a beautiful romance story about two teenagers, Hazel and Augustus, who meet at what can be seen as a support group for those with cancer. Hazel has thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs, causing her to walk everywhere with an oxygen tank. Augustus had cancer in his leg but because it was previously amputated, he is now cancer-free and is at the meeting to support a friend. They bond over a book Hazel has read that she personally connects with called An Imperial Affliction since the character in that story is a girl who also has cancer. Hazel is furious with how the book ends and that the author who lives in Amsterdam, Peter Van Houten has not written a single thing nor continued the story ever since. Augustus finds a way to reach out to the author and they travel to Amsterdam for a spontaneous adventure of determination and love. I fell in love with this story and admired the characters' strengths to overcome their challenges of health while learning to enjoy and live in the precious moments of time. Go read it, okay? Okay.
- November 9 by the romance, taking over Booktok queen, Colleen Hoover. I discovered this author all over social media, Tiktok to be exact. Every fellow book lover like myself praises all of her books and I understand why. Her writing is simple, intimate, and strongly emotional. This is the second book of hers I have read and it's on the top of my list. I was teary-eyed by the end of this story. It is about two eighteen-year-olds, Ben and Fallon, who meet on, you guessed it, November 9th. An instant connection and friendship develop that results in an agreement to meet again for the next five years on November 9th and ONLY on November 9th. Between the dates leading up to each meetup, they also agree to have absolutely zero contact- no texting, no phone calls, no email, no sliding into DM'S, nothing! You read from their point of view on each November 9th as the time progresses and you learn why this date is so significant. I was filled with so many emotions; I laughed, got angry, sad, said "awe" at every beautiful line, back to angry and sad, and ended with a few tears. I think this book is a great start getting into this author of if you need a good cry!
- Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks, a timeless author. Nicholas Sparks was the most popular author during my high school days and this book is my favorite from him of all time. I remember seeing my classmate have this book on top of her pile of textbooks and she said I needed to read this book. She asked if I would like to borrow it and it made us connect by talking about it! I loved it. This dark love story follows Katie, a young woman who runs away to North Carolina with a secret. It appears that she wants a fresh start for herself. Her character is guarded and is reluctant to establish any connection with the people in the town until she meets Alex, a widowed store owner with two children, and her neighbor, Jo. She lets her guard down as the connection with Alex, his children and Jo develops strongly. The secret is eventually revealed and everything intertwines beautifully as every Nicholas Sparks book does. He writes a story that demonstrates strength, courage, and overcoming challenges that include making ultimate decisions to do what is best for YOU. I recommend this book and I also really enjoyed the movie adaptation of this as well!
- If you want a steamy read for the mood of love, I suggest reading Fifty Shades of Grey, a classic steamy book. This series became so popular back around 2011. I only read the first book a couple of years later because I was not allowed to read it at the time but I found a way to get my hands on it because FOMO (fear of missing out) was very much a thing back then too! I remember feeling that this book is much more than a dominating sex lifestyle; a relationship and feelings blossomed and the characters had very personal situations occur in their lives to get to where they are, more from Christian Grey specifically. Maybe I will re-read it and actually finish the series if the story development progressed positively. This erotic novel is about twenty-one-year-old Anastasia Steele, a college student who meets and interviews twenty-seven-year-old Christian Grey, a successful, powerful, businessman. The interview is for the college newspaper that Anastasia's roommate was supposed to do, but she was feeling ill and asked Anastasia if she can take her place to do it for her instead. Eventually, during the interviews, Christian and Anastasia get to know each other personally and Anastasia soon discovers the dominant, dark side of Mr. Grey.
Obviously, there are new books out now that are just as spicy or have the same kind of idea, but I recommend this one if you want a "throwback" dark romance book series to read! A similar kind if you do not want to read this specific series is called The Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day.
I hope you find your next read from this list or something you will enjoy! Let me know what you are reading this month!
Enjoy & happy reading!
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