Romance

The essential romance reads, curated and ranked. How many have you read?

1

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

2

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte

4

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

5

Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte

6

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

7

Persuasion

Jane Austen

8

Emma

Jane Austen

9

Rebecca

Daphne du Maurier

11

Me Before You

Jojo Moyes

12

The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

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Essential Romance

Why romance matters: Romance is the genre most brutally dismissed by literary culture and most enthusiastically read by actual readers. Its core promise — that love is worth pursuing, that connection is possible — isn't sentimental. It's radical.

For contemporary romance: Emily Henry is the benchmark — Beach Read or People We Meet on Vacation are perfect starting points. Smart, funny, genuinely moving.

For historical romance: Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series and Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers quartet are the entry points. For something more literary, Eloisa James and Loretta Chase.

For darker romance: Penelope Douglas's work and Ana Huang's Twisted series represent the darker, more emotionally complex end of contemporary romance.

Romance Prompt Generator

Need a spark? Generate a romance prompt to get you started.