Are you looking for some love story to let yourself be overwhelmed and dream of your prince or your blue princess too? Or are you simply looking for a light reading to be “thoughtless” and enjoy some relaxation without necessarily reading a demanding book?
This is the section for you, with some beautiful romance novels to read and in which you can often find yourself a little bit, your love stories, your relationships because there really is something for all tastes and nuances.
And if we want to talk about nuances, we just have to catapult ourselves into reading the most popular hot saga where there are fifty and their darling EL James has just produced another book from the unpublished point of view of Christian Gray.
If you want to stay passionate about the colors you can get from a classic like Wuthering Heights, or launch yourself on Julia Quinn and the series of Bridgerton. And if you are still looking for succulent novels from which the two cult TV series of this season starring Can Yaman have been taken, you just have to read The wings of the dream. Daydreamer 2 or Bitter Sweet. Ingredients of love.
For some unmissable classics you can instead launch yourself on The Pages of Our Life by Sparks which is always a guarantee or Me before You by Jojo Moyes. The new releases, however, suggest Camilla Boniardi aka Camihawke or Jane Riley both in novelstores with their debut novel and already big bestseller.
Choose the romance novel that’s right for you and good emotions!
Table of Contents
Best romance novels of all time to read right now
Loves, stories that begin and end, or continue, hiding from the protagonists the difference in dimension that is created between being happy and being happy together: the love stories that we have chosen to group on this page touch many shades of one of the noblest feelings, sometimes increasing it and confusing it with the dimension of true friendship. They are novels that – in our opinion – deserve to be read.
These are books in which to recognize oneself or to rediscover past stories and in which identification will occur naturally and thus the same emotions and sensations of the protagonists will be experienced, in an extremely natural way, making the book not just a simple reading but something more. If you are looking for a romantic story, in which to recognize yourself, you are in the right place.
1. Anna Karenina, Lev Tolstoy
A novel that weaves an intense love affair that takes place in the luxurious setting of Russian high society at the end of the 19th century. Anna, an enchanting protagonist and pupil of the aristocracy of the time, is married to a government official with whom she has already had a child. Despite this, he is fascinated by none other than a count, Count Vronskij; a story of betrayal, despair, and carnal passion follows.
In a crucial moment, the terrible blackmail of Anna’s husband, who, discovering her infidelity, threatens to take her son Serëža away from her if he does not keep the relationship with Vronsky hidden. Anna will find herself isolated, captivated by her exhausting jealousy for the count, and pushed to despise her own life, to the point of extreme consequences.
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – The public has consecrated it as the love novel par excellence. I have a difficult relationship with this novel, whose story takes place in the Regency era and involves gentlemen of English society. I read it in Italian when I was younger, more recently in the original language, and I always felt a little out of the chorus of adoring readers.
Elizabeth Bennet, full of prejudices towards the proud Mister Darcy, is a smart, rational, easygoing and likeable character, a protagonist with whom an intelligent woman can identify, despite the gap between our era and the one in which the novel is set.. Still, I have always struggled to appreciate the troubled, but not so much, love story between her and Darcy.
The subplot, just mentioned, has always seemed richer in possibilities, which concerns Elizabeth’s younger sister, Lydia Bennet, and her husband Wickam. On the other hand, without a doubt, Jane Austen has made a novel that is still capable of giving goosebumps to many readers today.
3. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brönte
Famous novel that among other things inspired a long series of film adaptations – I remember with pleasure the Italian miniseries with Franco Castellano in the role of Ivory, who I followed as a young girl. The story is truly poignant, and the ending deserves to be read without being revealed. Suffice it to say that the love affair between the bourgeois Catherine and the gypsy foundling Heathcliff has nothing to envy to the Shakespearean story of Romeo and Juliet.
4. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
A love story that unfolds over the decades, and that resists the erosion of the river of time. In particular, the determination of Florentino Ariza remains impressed, dedicating his life to the attempt to conquer his Fermina, with which he fell in love at first sight. And it doesn’t matter if he has to wait years and years for her to become a widow. In the end, their love will be sealed by a boat trip, unforgettable for both of them.
But love stories can also take more particular paths. They are stories that veer towards obsession, or eroticism, or autobiography. These are stories in which we go beyond the simple love story contrasted and we reach a conflict that involves the very psyche of the protagonists. An internal and devastating conflict. This kind of obsession permeates a classic like:
5. Pamela, or the Rewarded Virtue, Samuel Richardson
A story of passion and torment, in which the gentleman Mr. B feels such an intense attraction towards his fifteen-year-old servant Pamela, a beautiful girl, that he keeps her segregated for forty days in an attempt to obtain the virtue. And, despite the terrible situation, Pamela finds something fascinating in Mr. B.
6. Lolita, Nabokov
The story told is well known: Humbert Humbert, professor of French literature, is struck by little Dolores, whom he calls Lolita in the morbid intimacy that binds him to her. Humbert is obsessed, overwhelmed by Lolita, and he is also in a certain sense in love with her, but at the beginning of the novel, when the passion explodes, she is only twelve years old.
7.The lover, Marguerite Duras
During a ferry trip along the Mekong Delta, a young French girl falls in love with a 27-year-old of Chinese descent. Their love affair is troubled: the protagonist is unable to accept the feelings she feels for the man older than her, and is willing to get paid as if she were a prostitute in order to deny the love that unites them. A story that investigates in depth the contradictions of the human being.
Finally, a personal addition: a novel in which the sentimental subplot is not at all preponderant, but which itself contains a poignant love story full of pathos.
8. 1984, George Orwell
In this novel, 39-year-old Winston Smith, employee of the terrifying Ministry of Truth, and 26-year-old rebel Julia, a girl with a determined character who finds in carnal passion an escape from the despair of the dystopian world created by Orwell, fight until at the last to defend their love from the steel grip of Big Brother.
It is a hopeless struggle, yet it deserves to be fought because the clandestine relationship between them is a light, the only spark of true feeling that illuminates the meaningless life of these two officials of a gray and human aimless enterprise.
Theirs is definitely the love story that moved me most, and even if it does not fit into the academic definition of a romantic novel, I couldn’t help but mention it.
9. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
This is not a novel, but it is undeniable that the two young lovers from Verona have influenced centuries of romantic literature. And they have moved legions and ranks of readers.
However, I recommend attending a theatrical performance instead of limiting yourself only to the direct reading of the text of the tragedy, often bare and not involving as it can be played on the stage by good actors, the purpose for which it was born.
10. Free. Fifty Shades of Red by Christian, E. L. James
It is not a real love novel if it does not somehow break out in the most heated passion and this is well known by EL James who with his novels has conquered millions of readers all over the world. Aware of the great success of his Fifty Shades saga, EL James has well thought of giving his fans another hidden part of his famous story: the point of view of him, of the sinful Christian.
Thus we discover with Free the story from the male point of view, of his psychological reflections and his relationship problems with his father that led him to some choices. A hot proposal for the freest spirits.
11. The Lost Sister, Lucinda Riley
Final chapter of the saga of Lucinda Riley’s sisters, in which perhaps the six girls will be able to find out what happened to Merope. In reality they do not even know who she may be and therefore the news about her begins to be more and more overwhelming and insightful, inviting the group of sisters to travel the length and breadth of the world in search of their unknown sister.
Do not miss the romance and pink side with stories that entangle the minds and passions of every single girl. A compelling book but also romantic at the right point!
12. For all the Rest of My Mistakes, Camilla Boniardi
Camilla Boniardi – known most as the influencer Camihawke – made her debut in bookstores with For all the rest of my mistakes and the book became a bestseller in a few weeks.
His meetings with the public to sign and talk about the book sold out within a few hours. The book is liked because it is not the classic romantic novel but it also reveals in itself many of the worries and sufferings of a young girl struggling with the sense of inadequacy that our age imposes.
Boniardi writes a novel in which to identify oneself, in which to review and search for oneself and this is the key to his inexhaustible success.
13. Every Breath, Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is back with an overwhelming love story, a story destined to last beyond time, to sweep across continents and to challenge the whims of fate.
Each breath is a profound novel about the different faces of love, about heart-breaking regrets and hopes that never die, about the effects of time and the duration of a dream. Which can become infinite. True has never been to California and decides to go there the moment he receives a letter and wants to find out about his family’s past; Hope, on the other hand, is tired of the eternal child who finds herself as a boyfriend and therefore decides to take a few days to Sunset beach.
Here the meeting between True and Hope takes place and something magical is inevitably triggered. Every breath speaks of an encounter desired by chance and a story of a love that takes your breath away.
14. The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks
Would it really be a roundup of the best romance novels without The notebook at the top of the list? If you love the movie, Allie and Noah’s written story will drive you crazy. You can find more about the movie here.
15. Like a Hurricane, Nicholas Sparks
We are in North Carolina, in 1988. Adrienne, mother of three and already a grandmother, decides to tell her depressed daughter what happened fourteen years earlier. She was a separated woman at the time, as her husband fell in love with a colleague.One day she was contacted by a friend, who asked her to replace her in the management of her inn and she decided to accept.
On that occasion she met a doctor named Paul, for a few days the inn’s only customer, with whom she began a tender friendship also thanks to the arrival of a hurricane.
She convinced the man to solve his problems with children, residing in Ecuador, with a promise to meet again. But fate turned out to be cruel.
16. The Distance from Helsinki, Raffaella Silvestri
Viola and Kimi are very different. She is fifteen, lives in Milan and is restless. He is Finnish, shy and obsessed with order. The two know each other in London, where they are following an English course and find, despite everything, many points in common. A difficult love is born between them, marked by silences rather than words and destined to disturb the lives of both.
17. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah
Why we recommend it: it presents a very emotional story that deals with themes such as love, survival and freedom, through the gaze of two women who fought against Nazism.
This novel is set in France, during World War II. Vianne lives with her family and her husband has to go to fight at the front. When the Nazis invade France, Vienne will be forced to risk everything, even living with the enemy, to protect her daughter.
Meanwhile, Isabelle, Vianne’s sister, falls in love with Gaëton, a partisan for whom she joins the resistance to fight the war.
18. We, by David Nicholls
At the end of the 1980s, the 30-year-old Douglas, a doctor of biochemistry dedicated to work, meets a charming and elegant girl who loves to hang out with artists at the home of his sister Connie.
After more than twenty years we find them married and with a son named Albie.
Despite the passage of time he loves her like the first day, but unfortunately one evening, as they are about to fall asleep, the cold shower arrives: she tells him that she is about to leave him.
19. Love When There Was, by Chiara Gamberale
Amanda Grimaldi discovers that Tommaso’s father, her ex who she herself had left for no reason twelve years earlier, has died and then sends him an e-mail of condolences.
The two begin to feel again, intrigued to find out what happened to the other.
He seems happy with his current life, but the same cannot be said of her who always feels dissatisfied.
20. One Day, by David Nicholls
It is July 15, 1988. Emma and Dexter have just graduated and ended up in bed together, but the next day they will have to say goodbye to follow their paths, the polar opposite.
But July 15th will always remain a special date for them: wherever they are, whatever they are busy with, the spark of that summer night will shine again. And so it happened for twenty years.
21. I Just Wanted You Next, by Ronald H. Balson
It is the premiere of the Chicago Opera and everyone is waiting for the arrival of Elliot Rosenweig, the richest and most important patron in the city.
Suddenly an elderly man appears in the crowd, pointing a gun at the latter’s head, accused of actually being a Nazi criminal.
The man is stopped, but not his anger – and as he asks young lawyer Catherine Lockhart for help, we learn of a love story that has overcome unimaginable difficulties.
22. The Girl You Left Behind, by Jojo Moyes
We are in France, in 1916. Sophie, wife of the painter Édouard Lefèvre (a pupil of Matisse), was left alone after her husband left for the front at the outbreak of the Great War.
When she finds out that he has been captured, she is willing to do anything to get him back, even offering what she holds most dear – the girl you left behind.
We are then in London, 2010.
23. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Why we recommend it: Obsession and ambition are present in this novel that presents an atypical and fascinating love story that teaches us that not all endings are happy.
It is an epic story set in 1861, in the midst of the Civil War. Scarlett O’Hara is a capricious young woman who is in love with Ashley Wilkes, her cousin Melania’s fiancé. For his part, Rhett Butler is interested in Scarlett. But the girl accepts her commitment to Melania’s brother, for whom they have no interest.
When the war ends, Scarlett has to face adversity and deal with hunger, pain, and loss of property.
Novel winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. It is a work that has generated controversy in recent times like its homonymous film adaptation, so it is important to understand it in context.
24. Longbourn House, by Jo Baker
Inspired by the unspoken of Pride and Prejudice, Longbourn House tells the rather eventful life of the Bennet household in England in the early nineteenth century.
Our guide will be the frank and judicious Sarah, an eighteen-year-old waitress who grew up in the Bennet house after a childhood spent at the orphanage, who struggles with the countless chores to attend to.
Unfortunately, she has never had time to dream, unlike Mr. Bennet’s daughters, but when a young man named James Smith appears, everything changes.
25. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote
Before the cult film starring Audrey Hepburn, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” tells a different, particular love story between the protagonist, Holly Golighty, and the novel’s narrator; he sees and listens to all the events in which Holly is involved, between acquaintances with wealthy men and gangsters of the underworld, up to the marriage with the Brazilian politician Jose, who wants to take her to South America.
When the paths of Holly and the protagonist seem to divide, she invites him to a ride, but his horse goes wild and Holly, to save him, loses the baby she was carrying, son of Jose.
26. Outsider (Outlander Saga), by Diana Gabaldon
It is the first book that makes up the well-known Outlander saga. The novel is contextualized in 1945, at the end of World War II, and focuses on Claire Randall, a nurse who participated in the war, who is going on a honeymoon with her husband to Scotland.
During an excursion, the young woman approaches some stones that make up a circle. This serves as a portal to travel to another era and is transported to Scotland in 1743. Soon, the girl meets a man with whom she falls in love and will have to decide whether to stay there or go back to her time.
27. The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald
In the roaring New York of the 1920s, the shy employee Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, as soon as he arrives buys a house near the sumptuous villa of the enigmatic Jay Gatsby, a young billionaire of whose past little or nothing is known, but well known in the area for away of the wonderful parties that he organizes in his own home.
Gatsby soon forms a strong friendship with Nick, to whom he is certainly linked by a sincere affection but who is above all the cousin of Daisy Fay, a girl he had met years ago, before leaving for the war, and to whom he had sworn to marry her.
Slowly Nick realizes that all the glitz, the worldliness and the beautiful things surround Gatsbythey are only means he needs to attract Daisy’s attention, in the hope of bringing her back to him; but things are not that simple.
