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Best Books for Valentine’s Day: Classic and Modern Love Stories

Valentine’s Day is a good excuse for a love story. These books range from the great classic romances to light modern ones.

Each book has a one-line hook and a plain note on what you get from it, so you can choose without opening every page.

Best for: Readers who want romance, from tender to tangled.

This list: 15 books picked by hand for the season.
Order: Not a ranking.

15 books

1811
Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen
Classics · Warm
Two sisters, one sensible and one passionate
What you get: A charming, clever story of love and good sense that keeps you rooting for its heroines.
Amazon Description
1813
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Classics · Light
Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy and the problem of first impressions
What you get: Witty conversations, a romance worth waiting for and a heroine you cheer for from the first page. It is endlessly rereadable and gives you a happy glow.
Amazon Description
1847
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Classics · Dark
An orphaned governess meets her mysterious employer
What you get: A passionate, atmospheric story with a heroine whose courage and independence shine. It draws you into the mood of old Thornfield and leaves a lasting impression.
Amazon Description
1854
North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell
Classics · Melancholic
A clergyman’s daughter moves to a northern mill town
What you get: A satisfying, emotional story with a heroine of spirit and a slow-burning romance.
Amazon Description
1864
Wives and Daughters
Elizabeth Gaskell
Classics · Warm
A stepmother, a stepdaughter and a country town
What you get: A comforting, richly human story with charming characters.
Amazon Description
1874
Far from the Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
Classics · Melancholic
A farmer, a shepherd and a sergeant love the same woman
What you get: A beautiful, absorbing story of love and independence with lovely countryside scenes.
Amazon Description
1908
A Room with a View
E. M. Forster
Classics · Light
Lucy Honeychurch travels through Italy with her chaperone, where the unconventional Emerson family unsettles her expectations
What you get: A sunny, witty love story that makes you smile and long for travel.
Amazon Description
1921
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
Literary Fiction · Melancholic
A New York lawyer torn between his fiancee and her cousin in the 1870s
What you get: A beautifully observed love story full of longing and fine detail, with an ending that lingers.
Amazon Description
1926
The Blue Castle
L. M. Montgomery
Classics · Warm
A shy woman who decides to live a little
What you get: A delightful, heartwarming story about a woman who finally lives for herself.
Amazon Description
1934
The Convenient Marriage
Georgette Heyer
Romance · Light
A girl marries a stranger to save her family
What you get: A sparkling, quick-witted story with charm and a happy feeling.
Amazon Description
1979
Love Comes Softly
Janette Oke
Romance · Warm
A frontier widow and a lonely man
What you get: A warm, quiet story of two people building a home.
Amazon Description
1989
The Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro
Literary Fiction · Melancholic
An English butler takes a road trip and looks back on his years of devoted service
What you get: A graceful, deeply moving portrait that stays with you, told in a voice you will remember.
Amazon Description
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
2008
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Historical Fiction · Warm
A writer finds a friend in a Guernsey literary society
What you get: A heartwarming story of an island community and the comfort of books, told through lively letters. Full of charm and warmth.
Amazon Description
2010
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Helen Simonson
Literary Fiction · Warm
A widower and a Pakistani shopkeeper in an English village
What you get: A charming, funny story set in a village full of eccentric neighbors.
Amazon Description
2013
The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion
Literary Fiction · Light
A professor sets out to find a wife by questionnaire
What you get: Witty, warm and utterly charming, with plenty of laughs and a love story you will root for.
Amazon Description