Jenna suggests:
A Women’s Prize for Fiction-longlisted novel about a recovering love addict and the merman who changes her perspective on love and relationships. The Pisces is a hilarious story of modern love, astutely capturing the chaos that can ensue when a deep desire for human connection is coupled with a deep fear of emotional vulnerability. With the perfect amount of female friendship peppered throughout, this is the perfect read for Valentine’s weekend whether you’re single or in a relationship.
Ellie suggests:
Unfolding behind the scenes of an SNL-esque comedy show, Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy is clever, complex and truly laugh-out-loud. When jaded script writer Sally pens a sketch deriding the sexist social phenomenon that sees a disproportionate number of her average-looking male colleagues become romantically involved with high-profile, glamorous women, she finds her own rules unexpectedly upended after meeting famous pop star Noah. A rose-tinted romcom rewritten for modern times, the novel blends romantic yearning with awkward email flirting, and pits office satire against sharp social commentary. It’s perfect for fans of Nora Ephron and Richard Curtis films – and a screen adaptation of Romantic Comedy is in the works with Reese Witherspoon’s production company already.
Demi suggests:
For me, the best type of romance lies in fantasy and YA pages where the real world and magic only complicates romantic entanglements – never has this been more accurately represented in Tracy Deonn’s The Legendborn Cycle. Don’t sleep on YA! This series seamlessly blends Arthurian legends, romance, coming of age and Black American history; in Deonn’s world there are Rootcrafters (Black people who are able to use magic with help from their ancestors), Arthurian knights, demons and a love triangle that keeps me up at night. The classic golden boy versus dark and brooding bad boy, both of which are fighting over Bree, a beautiful Black girl who falls into a world of magic and hierarchy. Deonn has uncomfortable conversations regarding race in America and it’s violent history with slavery but somehow manages to balance this with a lovable cast of characters and tangible romantic tension. Also, the third instalment, Oathbound, is out in March 2025 so now is the perfect time to dive into the series!
Lisa suggests:
I’m dreaming of summer in these long feeling winter months and the perfect escapism for this drab Valentine’s Day weather today is Emily Henry’s Book Lovers which transports you to sunnier climes and brilliantly relatable characters (even if you don’t work in publishing like me and the protagonists!). It is a warm and witty enemies to lovers romcom, with a palpable push and pull tension and chemistry between the characters Nora and Charlie. But in addition to being a smart and sexy romcom it is also a wonderful tale of family and sisterhood. Working behind the scenes with books, we are really lucky to be able to get a sneak peak of them months before they come out and if you too are a fan of Emily Henry then you will love Turner Gable Kahn’s debut novel The Dirty Version (also featuring books!) which we are publishing in June in which heat rises and sparks fly when an author and an intimacy coordinator are thrown together to write new steamy scenes for a TV series based on the author’s hit novel.
VERVE suggests:
The team love queer fiction and we cannot go this Valentine’s Day without suggesting our must reads! Mrs S by K. Patrick is perfect for those of you that want something forbidden, secretive and sensual. Set in some unknown boarding school in an unknown town with a speaker who is also unknown, Mrs S follows the relationship between the headmaster’s wife Mrs S and the school matron who is a young, untethered Australian woman. The pair strike up an intense and electric affair, but as summer fades the question of ‘how long this can last’ begins to surface.
Exploring similar themes but from a coming-of-age narrative is Chloe Michelle Howarth’s Sunburn. Always out of place, Lucy begins to make sense of her feelings over a long hot summer and realises she is achingly in love with her best friend Susannah; but in a small village in Ireland in the 90s, how can she express this? Faced with multiple choices and devastating consequences, Lucy must make a decision that will change everything. This lyrical prose is THE romance to read for all the true yearners out there!
Reminder – Chloe Michelle Howarth’s new book Heap Earth Upon It is available for pre-order, and perfect for fans of Mrs S by K. Patrick, Julia Armfield’s Our Wives Under the Sea with the gothic undertones of Daphne du Maurier and Shirley Jackson’s fiction.