Every February,romance is in the air with Valentine's Day, ushering in a season of love with everything from the films we watch to the books we read. We're talking about pining over all things slow burn, spicy romps, and classic tropes like enemies-to-lovers. As luck would have it, we've narrowed down the greatest modern love books worth reading so you don't have to. Grab a cup of tea, curl up in your favorite blanket, and get ready for these romantic page-turners. Let's share the love!
See the greatest modern love books that make even The Notebook seem like puppy love!
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Anthony Bridgerton's finally ready to put his bachelor antics behind him by marrying Edwina Sharma. However, she's constantly shadowed by her sister Kate and this couldn't be more annoying to him. Truthfully, Kate's the bane of Anthony's existence and seems to know how to get under his skin. He wants her to stop trying to sabotage he and Edwina's marriage plans, but he also can't stop thinking about the defiant, very beautiful woman who challenges him.
It's not that Kate doesn't want her sister to be happy, but she doesn't want her to get hurt. The issue with that is her wild feelings for Anthony may be the biggest betrayal of all.
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Emma Blair was sure she and Jesse would be together forever. They even created a life they loved, but a tragic accident involving Jesse cuts their bliss short. Lost without the love of her life, Emma hightails it back to their hometown where she learns how to live and love again.
Falling for Sam reopens her heart and she decides to accept his proposal with the intention of having another shot at "forever." But when it's revealed Jesse survived, Emma is caught between the two men she's fallen in love with.
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Popular erotica author Eva Mercy is known for writing bestselling titles that make readers go feral, but her own love life isn't up to par on purpose. She'd rather make sure her daughter doesn't follow in her footsteps while managing her health, but all that changes when she runs into Shane Hall at a literary event.
It becomes quite clear to everyone that they have intense chemistry and the two later reveal they've been writing to each other all these years. However, Eva's not sure if she trusts Shane to be consistent after what happened when they were teens.
They can't deny the passion burning between them, but they'll have to tend to old wounds if they want to have something that's worth their time.
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Eileen Merriweather loves a rom-com that has a beautiful ending because they feel like a balm for the fact her own shot at happiness was dashed by a runaway fiancé. It's a place for her to escape for a while and it's also the reason she's excited to attend a yearly book club retreat.
Despite her best efforts, Eileen doesn't make it to her destination because her car fails her in the most idealistic town she's ever seen. As she explores it, she realizes she in one of the places from the books she loves the most and time is running on a loop. The only person that's out of place is the ill-tempered, but attractive bookstore owner who could care less about making sure the town gets a proper ending.
Unbeknownst to them, it could be the very thing everyone needs — including them.
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Romance novelist Felicity "Fizzy" Chen knows how to write about dazzling love, but she hasn't had much luck with it. Much to the dismay of her parents, she doesn't seem like she's close to tying the knot and it leaves them baffled. It's even starting to confuse her because how can she write about the beauty of romance when she's never experienced it? Enter documentary filmmaker Connor Prince.
Tasked with creating another mind-numbing reality TV show, Connor scrambles to find his opus until he meets Fizzy. Even though their initial production meeting doesn't go as planned, they agree to work together to create magic known as The True Love Experiment.
It's all about helping Fizzy find "the one," but she and Connor would be lying if they said their feelings for each other weren't making things complicated.
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Nora Stephens' eye for what makes books great is impeccable because she's a no-nonsense literary agent. The only soft spot she has involves her younger sister Libby which is how she ends up in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for unlimited "sister time."
She should be enjoying herself, but Nora keeps bumping shoulders with editor Charlie Lastra and his meticulous demeanor. They can't stand each other, so it's quite annoying that she can't seem to escape him. Yet, there may be a reason why fate keeps pulling these two serious career-minded individuals together.
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Delphie's not your usual protagonist because she doesn't start off alive. She's somewhere in the afterlife because a microwaveable meal cut her life short and she wasn't even wearing something "cute" when she passed. But that doesn't stop an attractive man from looking at her kindly and the moment they start talking is when she's okay with where she is. Too bad a "mistake" barrels him back to earth as she stands there wondering what just happened.
Sensing that she's distressed, Delphie receives another chance to be alive so she can find the man she hit it off with. There's just one problem: she doesn't have the slightest clue where to look.
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Yasmen and Josiah were supposed to be happily in love forever, but they've since lost their desire to maintain their marriage. No matter how hard they wanted things to work, there was too much trauma between them to save what they thought was solid. Agreeing to get divorced, co-parent, and still run their restaurant together sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen, but they manage to do it until their ability to lie to themselves starts wearing thin...
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The Ministry of Time is meant to be a historical novel, but it touches on the possibility of finding love over and over again.
At the beginning, readers meet a "civil servant" whose sole job is to help "expats" from various places in time acclimate to the present. Specifically, Commander Graham Gore ("1847") is placed in her care and they awkwardly try to interact with each other. Gore finds it strange to be around a woman who has much freer liberties than he's used to while the civil servant tries to be respectful of his POV. One conversation leads to another and it doesn't take long for them to start feeling something forbidden: love.
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Theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway's occupations have put her in a bind. As brilliant as she is in her adjunct professor role, it's not helping her fully pay her bills. To cover other expenses, she secretly solicits her "fake girlfriend" services to clients who are willing to pay.She's able to keep the two separated until Jack Smith realizes who she is. He happens to be related to one of her best clients and he runs the physics department where she works.
Knowing he could destroy her reputation, Elsie prepares for the worst and is surprised when it doesn't come. Could it be that Jack sees beyond the roles she's had to play in order to survive?
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Feyi Adekola is trying to rejoin the land of the living, but it's been hard not to mourn the death of the man she was in love with. She's gone on to open her an art studio and move in with her best friend Joy, but she chose to close her heart off until she meets someone who knocks her off her feet.
Their relationship seems perfect until Feyi meets her partner's father. There's no way he could be the answer to fully repairing her heart, right?
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Tessa Johnson probably shouldn't be thinking about love, but she loves reading romance books. She's so inspired by them that she's been crafting her own stories that only her best friend Caroline gets to read. This same enthusiasm lands her a coveted spot within a creative writing program, but she suddenly develops a bad case of writer's block. With the help of Carolina, Tessa starts researching what makes love stories great. However, between that, the moody Nico, and the charming Sam, Tessa starts to lose her grip on reality. Getting real with herself may be the very thing she needs instead of following someone else's formula.
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Nina works at the bookstore of her dreams and even has a perfect cat named Phil to go home to. In her mind, she doesn't need anything else because she's content with how life is. But she's suddenly thrust into close proximity to family she never knew were alive due to her secret father's death. And the guy who aggravates her during trivia? He wants to move beyond their surface level quips because he's...interested.
What could go wrong?
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Margot Noble's getting burned out from helping her brother run their family's winery. She half-heartedly asks for a proverbial break, but doesn't expect her life to be interrupted by Luke Williams. He's new to Napa and brings a ton of charm, sexiness, and passion with him. It's the perfect recipe for a one-night stand, but a horrible one when Margot realizes he's been hired to work at the winery...oops!
The reason Luke is there has everything to do with his experience with burnout. He's just not sure how he can tell his proud mom that her son no longer has the high-powered job she loved bragging about. The only thing he's certain of is that he's attracted to Margot beyond the steamy sex they had. He genuinely wants to be around her, but he's insecure about whether she'll think he's worth her time once she discovers the job he left behind.
It's a beautiful tale of starting over and taking chances in love!
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Laniah Thompson and Issac Jordan are besties who lives don't mirror each other at all. For one, Laniah loves being home while Issac thrives in the spotlight. And two? Their businesses are on opposite sides of the scale. Still, this doesn't stop Issac from trying to help Laniah when it becomes clear she and her mother's natural hair store is struggling. He decides to give Wildly Green a boost by telling the world he and Laniah are dating which greatly improves foot traffic. The goal is to "date" long enough for someone to invest in Wildly Green and then they can go back to normal.
But their plan comes with the reminder they've always been attracted to each other and it begins blurring the lines of reality...
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Danika Brown doesn't have time for love. She's a career-driven woman who knows that opening your heart ends in disaster and she doesn't have time for that. Instead, she'll accept a FWB (friend-with-benefits) that understands how to keep it steamy in the bedroom and distant outside of it.
When an accident brings Zafir Ansari into her life, Dani is sure he's the perfect FWB for her, but the internet has other plans. People want them to date which doesn't turn Zafir off. He thinks it's a great idea because his sports charity needs a boost so Dani says "yes" to this plan while secretly plotting to get him in her bed.
As the public falls for their fake relationship, Dani and Zafir's plans start to go awry when they realize they actually like each other.
If you still believe in love, we've rounded up even more romantic books that'll make your eyes flutter.
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