Valentine’s Day

Do you have an annual Valentine’s Day or anti-Valentine’s Day read? We’ve gathered some recommendations to help you find your new favorite romance trope or not-so-happy ending, plus titles for the little readers in your life!

A Proposal They Can’t Refuse: A Novel
by Natalie Caña

Kamilah Vega is desperate to convince her family to update their Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into the Fall Foodie Tour. With the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, it’s the only way to save the place. The fly in her mofongo–her blackmailing abuelo says if she wants to change anything in his restaurant, she’ll have to marry the one man she can’t stand: his best friend’s grandson. Liam Kane spent a decade working to turn his family’s distillery into a contender. Now he and his grandfather are on the verge of winning a national competition. Then Granda hits him with a one-two punch: he has cancer and he has his heart set on seeing Liam married before it’s too late. And Granda knows just the girl…Kamilah Vega. If they refuse, their grandfathers will sell the building that houses both their businesses. With their futures on the line, Kamilah and Liam plan to outfox the devious duo, faking an engagement until they both get what they want. But soon, they find themselves tangled up in more than either of them bargained for.

Better Than Fiction: A Novel
by Alexa Martin

Love isn’t always by the book in this charming romantic comedy about a bookseller discovering how to be the main character in her story. As a self-proclaimed book hater and a firm believer that the movie is always better, Drew Young didn’t anticipate inheriting her grandma’s bookstore, the Book Nook. She’s in way over her head even before the shop’s resident book club, comprising seven of the naughtiest old ladies ever, begin to do what they do best–meddle. Bestselling author Jasper Williams is a hopeless romantic. When he meets Drew at his Book Nook signing event, he becomes determined to show her the beauty of reading. He curates a book bucket list in exchange for her help exploring the local Denver scene for his current manuscript. From going river rafting to trying local restaurants, Drew begins to connect with Jasper in a way she only thought happened in fiction. When messy family ties jeopardize the future of the Book Nook, Drew is caught between a bookshelf and a hard place. She’s reminded that real life isn’t always big dreams and sweeping romance. But Jasper is the plot twist she never saw coming and he’s writing a happily ever after just for them.

By The Book: A Meant To Be Novel
by Jasmine Guillory

Sometimes to truly know a person, you have to read between the lines. Isabelle is completely lost. When she first began her career in publishing after college, she did not expect to be twenty-five, still living at home, and one of the few Black employees at her publishing house. Overworked and underpaid, constantly torn between speaking up or stifling herself, Izzy thinks there must be more to this publishing life. So when she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who has failed to deliver his long-awaited manuscript, Isabelle sees an opportunity to prove her worth and finally get the recognition she deserves. All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a quick pep talk or three. How hard could it be? But Izzy quickly finds out she is in over her head. Beau Towers is not some celebrity lightweight writing a tell-all memoir. He is jaded and withdrawn and–it turns out–just as lost as Izzy. But despite his standoffishness, Izzy needs Beau to deliver, and with her encouragement, his story begins to spill onto the page. They soon discover they have more in common than either of them expected, and as their deadline nears, Izzy and Beau begin to realize there may be something there that wasn’t there before. 

Dating Dr. Dil : A Novel
by Nisha Sharma

Nisha Sharma’s hilarious new romantic comedy inspired by The Taming of the Shrew features a love-phobic TV doctor who must convince a love-obsessed homebody they are destined to be together. Kareena Mann dreams of having a love story like her parents, but she prefers restoring her classic car to swiping right on dating apps. When her father announces he’s selling her mother’s home, Kareena makes a deal with him: he’ll gift her the house if she can get engaged in four months. Her search for her soulmate becomes impossible when her argument with Dr. Prem Verma, host of The Dr. Dil Show, goes viral. Now the only man in her life is the one she doesn’t want. Dr. Prem Verma is dedicated to building a local community health center, but he needs to get donors with deep pockets. The Dr. Dil Show was doing just that, until his argument with Kareena went viral, and he’s left short changed. That’s when Kareena’s meddling aunties presented him with a solution: convince Kareena he’s her soulmate and they’ll fund his clinic. Even though they have conflicting views on love-matches and arranged-matches, the more time Prem spends with Kareena, the more he begins to believe she’s the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But for Prem and Kareena to find their happily ever after, they must admit that hate has turned into fate.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
by Ashley Herring Blake

Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls–nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her. When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all. Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other–so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations–including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé–Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to…

Gone Girl: A Novel
by Gillian Flynn

 On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media–as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents–the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter–but is he really a killer. As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Heartstopper : A Graphic Novel
by Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork. Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book. — Rainbow Rowell, author of Carry On Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn’t think he has a chance. But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.

Honey and Spice : A Novel
by Bolu Babalola

Sweet like plantain, hot like pepper. They taste the best when together… Sharp-tongued (and secretly soft-hearted) Kiki Banjo has just made a huge mistake. As an expert in relationship-evasion and the host of the popular student radio show Brown Sugar, she’s made it her mission to make sure the women of the African-Caribbean Society at Whitewell University do not fall into the mess of “situationships”, players, and heartbreak. But when the Queen of the Unbothered kisses Malakai Korede, the guy she just publicly denounced as “The Wastemen of Whitewell,” in front of every Blackwellian on campus, she finds her show on the brink. They’re soon embroiled in a fake relationship to try and salvage their reputations and save their futures. Kiki has never surrendered her heart before, and a player like Malakai won’t be the one to change that, no matter how charming he is or how electric their connection feels. But surprisingly entertaining study sessions and intimate, late-night talks at old-fashioned diners force Kiki to look beyond her own presumptions. Is she ready to open herself up to something deeper? A gloriously funny and sparkling debut novel, Honey and Spice is full of delicious tension and romantic intrigue that will make you weak at the knees. 

Neon Gods
by Katee Robert

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that’s ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city’s dark facade. With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity and makes a devil’s bargain with a man she once believed a myth…a man who awakens her to a world she never knew existed. Hades has spent his life in the shadows, and he has no intention of stepping into the light. But when he finds that Persephone can offer a little slice of the revenge he’s spent years craving, it’s all the excuse he needs to help her–for a price. Yet every breathless night spent tangled together has given Hades a taste for Persephone, and he’ll go to war with Olympus itself to keep her close…

Twisted Love
by Ana Huang

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape. Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart. But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest: A crack. A melt. A fire that could end his world as he knew it. *** Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember. But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want. Her brother’s best friend. Her neighbor. Her savior and her downfall. Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen-but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear.

Things We Never Got Over
by Lucy Score

Knox Morgan doesn’t tolerate drama, especially in the form of a stranded runaway bride.Naomi Witt is on the run. Not just from her fiance and a church full of well-wishers, but from her entire life. Although if you ask her, Naomi’s riding to the rescue of her estranged hot mess of a twin, Tina, to Knockemout, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way. . .with fists and beer. Usually in that order.Too bad for Naomi, her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves behind something unexpected: the niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s a guardian to an eleven-year-old-going-on-thirty with no car, no money, and no plan.There’s a reason this bearded, bad-boy barber doesn’t get involved with high-maintenance women, especially not Type-A romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least Knox can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble, he can leave her alone and get back to his quiet, solitary life. At least, that’s the plan.

A Crankenstein Valentine
by Samantha Berger
illustrated by Dan Santat

CRANKENSTEIN! He’s BAAAAACK! See what happens to an ordinary kid on the most lovey-dovey, yuckiest day of the year-Valentine’s Day! Cheesy cards, allergy-inducing bouquets, and heart-shaped everything? It’s enough to turn anyone into a monster! YECHHHH! But Crankenstein might just find a way to turn his sour day sweet… because even the crankiest monsters have hearts!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! : A Valentine’s Day Book for Kids
by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

Mouse and his friends from Numeroff’s If You Give . . . series celebrate Valentine’s Day together in this new board book.

Junie B. Jones #14: Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime
by Barbara Park
illustrated by Denise Brunkus

It’s a mushy gushy mystery!
Hurray! February 14 — Valentime’s Day, Junie B. calls it — is just around the corner. Junie B. can’t wait to see all the valentimes she’ll get. But she never expected a big, mushy card from a secret admirer! Who “is this secret mystery guy, anyway? Junie B. is determined to find out!

Let’s Say I Love You : A Valentine’s Day Book for Kids
by Giselle Ang
illustrated by Erica Sirotich

Teach babies to spread love in twelve different languages with this adorable multilingual board book! Get ready, everyone! LET’S SAY…I LOVE YOU. A perfect companion to Disney’s It’s A Small World and Shirley Ng-Benitez’s How Do You Say series, Let’s Say board books teach tiny tots warm and friendly words/phrases in several languages. Each book features: twelve diverse languages: American Sign Language, Arabic, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish vibrant and colorful illustrations easy-to-read pronunciations/demonstrations kid-friendly illustrations of everyday babies from around the world An ideal baby shower, Valentine’s Day, or first-day-of-school gift!

This Is Not A Valentine
by Carter Higgins
illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

This book is not a valentine. It doesn’t have lacey edges or sugary hearts. But it is full of lucky rocks, secret hiding spots, and gumball machine treasures. This is a book about waiting in line and wishing for cinnamon buns. About recognizing that if you care so much about someone not thinking you care, maybe you really do. But wait–isn’t that exactly what love is about? Maybe this book is sort of a valentine after all.