I have spent the last year relearning what I like as far as books are concerned. I read 149 books last year and a good chunk of those were in the romance category or romance adjacent. Here are some of my favorite ones and what I liked about them.
Sweet
Let’s start with books where the love story is the main character and the spice is either non existent or limited. These are the books that I enjoyed the most and didn’t make me dry heave or roll my eyes.
The Love Lines series on Audible
I swear to you that I didn’t expect to like these but I loved them. I then pushed them onto Hannah and she also LOVED them. They are 3 stories that are technically a series but can be read on their own (I personally read them all out of order and it was fine) about 3 different chance encounters between strangers. The cheese factor was a low/medium but I didn’t care because the stories were so well done. The characters were well developed and likable so they were easy to root for.
See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon - A new adult sci fi romance about a girl named Barrett who gets stuck in a groundhog day style time loop. It was cute, had queer rep, there was a sweet spicy scene. This book gives us such a sincere little moment in time with these two. I cried. Shut up. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - the coziest, sweetest, sapphic, slice of life, sci fi romance about an orc named Viv who is tired of war and violence so she moves to Thune and opens up a coffee shop 🥹 Every character is so cute and lovable. 5 Stars Book Lovers by Emily Henry - a woman goes on a trip to a small town with her pregnant, married sister and runs into her professional rival. The setting and sisters gave me Gilmore Girls vibes. I enjoyed the romance because it felt believable and I appreciated that the main character didn’t just want to get married and have kids. There was a bit of spice too, fun!
Salty
Books where the romance has some bite to it.
Anatomy A Love Story by Dana Schwartz - this book is set in the 1600’s where Hazel, a young girl, wants to be a doctor but since women aren’t people she has to resort to sneaking into medical classes and buying bodies from grave diggers to practice on. That is how she meets Jack, a resurrection man who provides her with cadavers. It’s a little darker than your typical love story but I really enjoyed it AND its sequel is coming out February 28! Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk - a sapphic, dark mystery novella with esoteric magic and demon deals. A woman sold her sold to a demon but now has a chance to get it back. I really loved this and may have just talked myself into another read through. Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler - Hear me out ok? I wouldn't classify this as romance even though there is a romantic relationship at the center of this book; this is an important thing to keep in mind. Plus, Colleen Hoover has made her entire career off of classifying books as romance when they aren't so here we go! Adelaide isn’t so much dark as it is heavy and frustrating but the gist is a woman loves a man, goes above and beyond for this man… but the man does the bare minimum which results in a lot of soul searching and big feelings that felt all too relatable as the former friend of a people pleaser who wasted energy on men who didn’t deserve her.
Spicy
Spice is newer terrain for me. Don’t get me wrong I love smut very, very much and I definitely want to read more of it but currently, I have a limited smut catalog.
The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert - An arranged marriage between a woman and a dragon prince. Monster smut isn’t something I thought I’d enjoy, but here I am… enjoying it. It really was a good time and the spice was fun! Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon - A woman crash lands on a planet of ice and is met by a large, blue, purring alien who wants to breed her. Again, not something I thought I would enjoy but it was spicy and funny and leave me alone! There are No Saints by Sophie Lark - A young artist falls in love with a serial killer so that makes this… serial killer smut - WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! This one is violent and spicy and I blame Tiktok for all of these but this one… why was it so enjoyable?! It was decently written, interesting, the main female character was very likable and I wrote a whole review about this book if you're interested in hearing more.
For February, Weirdo Book Club read 2 spicy books: Sing Me to Sleep by R.M. Virtues and Promise and Pomegranates by Sav R. Miller- reviews to come!
Sing Me to Sleep is a book about a woman who begins a sexual relationship with her sleep paralysis demon 👀 SMTS is also written by a Black, trans author.
Promise and Pomegranates is a spicy Hades/Persephone inspired mafia romance. I've never read mafia romance before so I'm wary but hopeful.
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