Romance fans are among the most voracious of readers. Is it any wonder they love novels about writers, bookstore owners, librarians, and people who work in the publishing industry? With Valentine’s Day coming up, here’s a selection of bookish romances for your reading pleasure.
Love Walked In by Sarah Chamberlain (St. Martin’s Griffin, Sept. 2): Is it everyone’s fantasy to find their happily-ever-after in a London bookshop? Maybe that’s just me. Mari Cole, an American bookstore consultant, certainly isn’t looking for love when she arrives at Ross & Co. to try to save the struggling business. Leo Ross, the manager and part owner, balks at her suggestions. They’re not going to stock bodice rippers, for one thing. Then Leo nurses Mari through a severe case of the flu, and their barriers begin to come down. “The novel is a paean to independent bookstores, the movie Notting Hill, and genre fiction, with reading recommendations peppered throughout,” says our review.
Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia (Cosmo Reads, Oct. 14): Joonie has a double life: By day she’s a copywriter, but online she creates fan fiction inspired by a popular romantasy series. When she sets out to meet the guy who was the model for the series’ hero, her brother’s best friend decides to tag along. Excerpts from the romantasy novel are interspersed throughout the book, and our starred review says that “while this 2-in-1 book means a double happily-ever-after, the real love story here is between a book and its reader. Hariri-Kia affectionately satirizes the romance genre and its tropes…while also genuinely extolling how wonderful and empowering romance stories can be.”
Isn’t It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz (St. Martin’s Griffin, Oct. 21): Yael Koenig is a public school librarian in Portland, Oregon, who hosts a secret podcast discussing high school reading. When it takes off, she hires Kevin Kisson, a producer in New York, to help her edit the show. They strike up a flirty, vulnerable email friendship. Then there’s this guy Ravi, the new volunteer for her after-school queer book club, whom she can’t stand. And guess which two guys somehow happen to be the same person? Our review says this is “an expressive, modern take on classic ‘meet-disasters’ like You’ve Got Mail, with characters who are refreshingly communicative and vulnerable.…This enemies-to-lovers romance has all the winning ingredients: compassion, spice, comedy, books, and more.”
Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver (Berkley, Nov. 18): Travel writer Mona Miller has been given the opportunity to go to Iceland to write a cover story for the magazine where she works. It’s a big step up, but the photographer assigned to go with her is Benjamin Carter, her childhood best friend and the man who broke her heart 14 years ago. Our starred review says “Oliver’s debut is a stunning achievement, full of unresolved emotion and angst.…Mona’s frequent reflection on her history with Ben is seamlessly interwoven with the present-day timeline, for which the Icelandic setting serves as the perfect backdrop, with vivid, descriptive imagery and intense, open-air experiences that push Mona beyond her physical limits.”
Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor.
