Candace Bushnell, Jasmine Guillory, Meg Cabot, and others reveal their favorite romance novels!
Recently, I rounded up many new and upcoming books that would fit the bill as perfect Valentine’s Days reads. I’ve interviewed 900+ authors on my podcast and read a lot. But I wanted to know what some of the most popular authors of romance, rom-coms, or relationship-driven novels would recommend. So I asked them. Here’s what many New York Times bestselling authors pick this Valentine’s Day. Enjoy!
Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, recommends:
“Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane. No other book has made me both cry and laugh so much as this ode to love in all its forms: love between friends, romantic love, self-love. McFarlane’s latest hit is pure catharsis, like having a good long cry followed by an ice cream sundae with your best and funniest friends.”
Listen to my podcast with Emily Henry.
Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of While We Were Dating and Party of Two, recommends:
“A favorite Valentine’s Day read is You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson. This young adult novel about two teenage girls falling in love is so much fun to read: heartwarming, funny, and just plain swoony. I adore it.”
Listen to my podcast with Jasmine Guillory.
Meg Cabot, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries and No Words, recommends:
“Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma, out March 15, 2022. Treat yourself to Sharma’s hilarious (but also wildly romantic and sexy) new rom-com Dating Dr. Dil, about a cardiologist who thinks heart health should be devoid of love (Dil means heart in Hindi!) and the woman who shows him just how wrong he is. What could be more perfect for Valentine’s Day?”
Listen to my podcast with Meg Cabot.
Jenny Judson and Danielle Mahfood, co-authors of The Last Season, recommend:
Danielle:
“Katherine by Anya Seton is an old-school classic medieval romance about an epic affair between a commoner and a royal that turns out to be a lasting love. This incredible true story of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, known as the Mistress of the Monarchy, sets the course for all of British Royalty, from the Tudors to the Windsors. Don’t be daunted by its length; I can’t help but read it over and over again. Katherine is a swoon-worthy love story that proves truth can be stranger — and more wonderful — than fiction. A must-read for any lover of historical romance.”
Jenny:
“Explaining how Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You is an uplifting and poignant love story is an exercise in futility. The novel is about a young man who has everything and who loses it all in a horrible accident that leaves him a quadriplegic — and his relationship with his caregiver, a befuddled but spunky young woman. None of that sounds romantic. It sounds like a total depressing mess. But somehow Moyes plays Cupid and aims her arrow straight at the reader’s heart. She had me rooting for the characters and their relationship with the conviction of a crazed football fan. As icing on the cake, the story even has notes of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth, Darcy, and Pemberly. While reading, I laughed – and cried – out loud, and could not put the book down. In the end, the story burrowed its way into my heart and made me believe in the power of love. It’s that good!”
Listen to my podcast with Jenny Judson and Danielle Mahfood.
Candace Bushnell, New York Times bestselling author of Sex and the City and Is There Still Sex in the City? recommends:
“Bridget Jones’s Diary: A Novel by Helen Fielding. Inspired by Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones’s romantic foibles are classic and still laugh out loud funny.”
Listen to my podcast with Candace Bushnell.
