Happy Valentine's Day! Or Forever Alone Day, you know, which ever you celebrate, I prefer the later but, hey, that's just me. So to celebrate and get you in the mood for this holiday or to fill the void created by this holiday, I thought I'd tell you guys about some of my favorite romances in books, but this means that these are books with romance in them but don't necessarily fall into the romance genre primarily. I will also be pointing out other books in the genre that I think are great romances but I'll only be going in depth with one book per genre purely due to laziness. Let's do this.
Fantasy
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is probably the most talked about fantasy series of the moment and for good reason. This series has a strong focus on romance but I don't think I'd consider it a romance first. There is defiantly a bigger picture to focus on but the relationships play a big role. I feel the need to caution you though, the relationships get crazy. It mirrors real life in the sense that a person goes through many relationships before finding the right one which I appreciate in terms of realism but I find it frustrating in terms of a fangirl. I mean, my OTP for this series went down and I think I'm more torn up about it than the people in the relationship were. Still, it's an amazing series that everyone should give a chance.
I also recommend Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. It's a high fantasy series that has some romance in it and some people say they didn't like how it ended but I still have to read the last books so I can't say much about that other than pass on the message that other's have told me but I think it's a really good series either way.
Contemporary
Anna and the French Kiss. Was there any question about it? This is the best contemporary romance I've read. The main reason I say that is because there is just enough drama to keep you engaged in the story but not enough to reach the point where it gets to be too angsty or where you think the teens are just asking for drama to happen. The second and more important reason is that this is probably the healthiest relationship I've read in a young adult novel, you know, just ignore the whole complications at the beginning where they spend a long time trying to get together. You can tell they are friends first, romantic partners second and I think that's the best way to start a relationship. They bring out the best in each other and they're just so freaking cute.
I also recommend Fangirl for a light hearted read that has a healthy relationship that isn't based off of lust like most are in YA or anything by Sarah Dessen because she's kinda the queen of cute contemporary that also has a positive theme about something like acceptance or family or something like that. Very cute, very positive.
Sci-Fi
I'm going to say The Lunar Chronicles for this one. It's a four book series and I've yet to read the last book but they have a really great romantic sub-plot. And yes, it is a sub-plot. Each book focuses in on a new character from a fairy tale to retell their story but it is one whole story that gets told over the whole series, it just adds on a new character and each has a love interest. I like this so much because they're all relatively simple relationships, you know, boy and girl like each other and so they date. In a world in which every book has a lust filled relationship, these kind stand out to me and I appreciate every one of them. It has nice romantic moments but it also has a great plot that has the main focus so it makes for a great combination, if you ask me.
I also recommend Across the Universe for this one because, again, it's a sub-plot and the main focus in this series is on a crazy mystery that you try to unravel but it gets more and more complicated. It's like a crazy game of who done it. It's so perfect. But the potential romance in this books is so sweet and fun that you look forward to these two characters interacting with one another because it's so unique due to their situation that they're in. I also, have only read the first book so this could go south for all I know but I did love this book for all it was worth.
Dystopian
I could choose a lot of books for this category but I'm going to go with Legend by Marie Lu because I know a lot of people love this series but since it ended a couple of years ago, I don't think I hear much about it anymore so, here we go. It reads so quickly, like a movie. The romance is there for sure but, again, sub-plot. A very prevalent sub-plot, but there are bigger things that are the focus in this series and, thank the lord, no love triangle. I mean, I guess you could make the argument that there is a love a triangle but it's a very weak one and we all know who wins. This relationship goes through ups and downs but they grow together and the end of this series is heartbreaking but is also somewhat gratifying to read.
Other great dystopians include The Hunger Games if you want action packed with love triangle. It is also my favorite dystopian series of all time. Divergent is also pretty cool. It's action packed but it has a much more simple relationship. It's not my favorite series but I know so many people who love this series so I thought I'd throw it out there. No, not Shatter Me. I did not like the romance in that series at all. Read my review to know why.
Urban Fantasy
Okay, this is the one that everyone has been waiting for. the one genre that I know better than anyone (only a slight exaggeration there). I have many recommendations for this genre but the one I'm sticking with this time is The Mortal Instruments because this is a romantic sub-plot but it's very relevant but it still doesn't over power the main plot of the books. I hope that makes sense. This is definitely a more hot and heavy romance but not all of the time. It has it's moments of being intense but at others you see it simmer down quite a bit. Now there is a love triangle and it gets super complicated at times but get through the first three books and I sweat it gets really good and less complicated.
If that isn't really your thing, there's the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series if you want a more innocent, friendship into relationship, slow burning type of thing. It's such a sub-plot though. It is by no means the focus of the books but that's something that I love because it makes the moments between the two more special. The two characters in this one grow with each other and they're kinda my OTP. There's also Die For Me that is a much more healthy relationship that you don't spend the entire series waiting for them to get together. You see their relationship grow and how they deal with issues which I think is amazing because in most books you wait the entire time to see them finally make their relationship official but when they get together, we don't see how it really ends up playing out but this series does which is something that I appreciate a lot.
Alright, those are all of the ones that I have this time around and in retrospect, I should have made this post last week so you could read these books to celebrate but, you know, lesson learned. I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day and celebrated with the ones you love or with books, because really, what's the difference. Personally, I went book buying and yup, that goal of only having thirty unread books went down. I'm over my limit by two books. It's like whenever I make good progress, some all powerful being is just like "nope, can't have any of that. Let's send her to a book store with good deals because we all know she has no self control. HAHAHA" Over dramatic? Only a little. Still, happy Forever Alone Day I'll see you all next week.
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