As Valentine’s Day approaches, love is on many of our minds, and I wanted to celebrate love (of all kinds) by putting together a list of books about love — platonic and romantic — for all readers.

From emotional coming-of-age stories to a celebration of being single to steamy romances, and more, there are plenty of love stories to love. Whether you’re looking for yourself, your valentine, or your pal-entine, hopefully there’s something on this list you’ll love to read!

For The One Who’s Single by Choice…

Single: Living A Complete Life On Your Own Terms by Nicola Slawson

This is a highly researched and honest exploration of the joys and challenges of being single. Nicola Slawson’s Single explores what it means to be single in a world designed for couples. Whether you’re newly single, or you’ve been single for a while, whether it’s by choice, or a reluctant decision, this a book for single people. It explores all the different aspects of single life, from dating apps to navigating friendship when it feels like everyone but you has coupled up. It even explores more complicated topics like parenting after divorce, how to handle cancer treatments if you’re alone, parenting alone, as well as the rise of incels in society. 

For the One Who’s Going Through A Breakup…

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

Dolly Alderton’s Good Material was an unexpected DELIGHT. The concept was charming, and the execution was — at times — laugh-out-loud funny. This book follows Andy, who has just been broken up with by Jen, his partner of several years. And he can’t figure out why. Now, Andy is stuck without a home, with a standup career that’s not going anywhere, and he’s still in love with his ex. He’s also a bit of a knob, and as a reader, you see that pretty clearly. He shares his perspective on his story, and he’s self-aware — but not self-aware enough to realize what he’s leaving out and choosing to ignore. As readers, we may not always find Andy likeable, and may even find him annoying, but his story is compelling, and trust me, the journey is worth it. The writing is vulnerable and painful, and the characters are rich, vibrant, and multidimensional. This is a lovely story about heartbreak and mess, and much like a long-term breakup, we kind of had to go through it before we — as the readers — also got to a satisfying ending. 

For the One Who Didn’t Need to Buy New Cowboy Boots for The Eras Tour…

Holding the Reins by Paisley Hope

Paisley Hope’s Holding the Reins is a steamy cowboy romance following CeCe Ashby who is finally escaping the toxic relationship which has consumed her entire adult life. She returns to her hometown of Laurel Creek, Kentucky, to her family’s equestrian ranch, unsure of what the future holds for her. Nash Carter, newly retired Dallas Stars superstar, is Laurel Creek’s hometown hero. He’s a local business owner, and a notorious bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fourth sibling in the Ashby clan. It’s been years since his days of tormenting CeCe, alongside her older brothers Wade and Cole, so when CeCe needs a job, he decides to help her. The only thing is, he can’t seem to take his eyes off his best friend’s sister… and she’s staring right back at him…

For the One Who is STILL shipping Tessa and Scott…

The Favorites by Layne Fargo 

Layne Fargo’s The Favorites is an epic love story set in the sequinned and savage world of elite figure skating. Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to be an Olympic figure skater, despite not having a famous name, funding, or support. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. As they cling to skating, and each other, in order to escape their lives, they go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world until a shocking incident at the Olympics ends their partnership. As the tenth anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary begins to reignite the public obsession with the duo, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their friends and rivals. This is a gorgeous and sweeping story about love, ambition, and passion, perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six.

For the One Who Loves Yearning…

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan

It’s no secret that I am a Sue Lynn Tan fan, and she has knocked it out of the park with her latest standalone novel, Immortal, set in the same world as my beloved Daughter of the Moon Goddess duology. This gorgeous and sweeping fantasy story is deeply romantic, and full of lush worldbuilding, high stakes, and so much yearning. As Tianxia’s heir, Liyen knows that she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. When she’s summoned to the immortal realm, in order to protect her people, she forms an alliance with the one she should fear the most — The God of War. As they’re drawn together, an attraction blooms between them, one Liyen has to resist, so she doesn’t endanger all she’s fighting for. With dark forces closing in, Liyen must risk everything, even if it means losing her heart.

For the One Who Loves Reading Romance Novels (and wishes to star in their own)…

The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson

Melissa Ferguson’s The Perfect Rom-Com is just that — a charming and unputdownable romance story, that’s perfect for fans of Book Lovers and The Dead Romantics. Aspiring author Bryony Page has big dreams of selling her manuscript. However, after a disastrous pitching session at a writer’s conference, Bryony stumbles into the opportunity to correct another author’s work in a last-ditch effort to make a good impression on Jack, a literary agent. It turns out she’s pretty good at it. No one is more surprised than Bryony when Jack offers her the opportunity to ghostwrite for Amelia Benedict, the popular rom-com novelist. Bryony agrees, as long as Jack also sells her own book. What no one could have predicted though, was that Bryony’s books would turn Amelia Benedict into a household name, and a bestselling author with millions of copies sold around the world. And just like that, the agency can’t let her go. And on a personal note, Jack realizes he can’t either.

For the Romantasy Lover…

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

Nisha J. Tuli’s Trial of the Sun Queen is the first book in a fast-paced fae romantic fantasy series. Lor has endured twelve years of torment under the Aurora King’s rule. Her only desire is to escape, and get revenge for all the misery he’s inflicted. When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the rival Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight as she competes against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. The trials are deadly, but if she wins his heart, she’ll earn her freedom, and she can finally get her revenge. But Lor doesn’t belong in the Sun Queen Trials, she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court, and she still doesn’t understand why she was freed. But she knows that she needs to win, because if she loses, she dies, or worse, gets returned to the evil, now vengeful, Aurora King.

For the One Who’s REALLY into Mythology…

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

Aiden Thomas’ The Sunbearer Trials is a young adult fantasy adventure with high stakes, a deadly competition, and reimagined myths and legends, all centered in a queer and beautiful world, filled with queer and beautiful characters. As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky, keeping the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses are selected by Sol as the most worthy to compete in the Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser will be sacrificed to Sol, and their body will be used to fuel the Sun Stones and protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years. This year, Sol chooses our hero Teo, the 17-year-old trans son of Quetzal, the goddess of birds, and Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, the god of bad luck. Now, they both must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful, and better trained. This is one of my favourite fantasy books of ALL time.

For the One Who Loves Coming-Of-Age Stories…

A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson

Jen Ferguson’s A Constellation of Minor Bears is a powerful young adult story about a group of teens balancing friendship and resentment, as they try to move forward with a life that’s different from what they’d imagined. Molly used to be inseparable from her brother Hank, and his best friend, Tray. When an indoor climbing incident leaves Hank with a traumatic brain injury, Molly is filled with anger. While she knows the accident wasn’t Tray’s fault, she also knows she’ll never be able to forgive him for failing to stop it from happening. But she can’t forgive herself for not being there either. The trio had always planned to do a post-graduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, and even without Hank, Molly is determined to go. But her parents ask Tray to look after her, and now she’s stuck backpacking with the person she’s angriest at. This is a poignant coming-of-age story tackling heavy topics like grief, and rage, while also exploring the beauty of healing and the intensity of first loves.

For the One Whose Love Language Is Cooking…

How To Share an Egg by Bonny Reichert

Bonny Reichert’s How to Share An Egg is a moving and deeply poignant culinary memoir about the relationship between food, family, sustenance and survival. When you’re raised by a Holocaust survivor who once survived on potato peels and coffee grounds, you develop a pretty healthy respect for food. Bonny, a journalist, had grown up hearing stories about her father’s near-starvation, and ultimate survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau. When a chance encounter with a perfect bowl of borscht in Warsaw sends Bonny on a journey to unearth her culinary lineage, she begins to dig into the roots of her food obsession. Tracing the defining moments of her life, Reichert tells a story of scarcity and plenty, as she steps into the kitchen to connect her past to her future. How to Share An Egg is partially a woman’s search to find her voice, and partially a moving exploration of heritage and inheritance, tied together through food and flavour.

For the One Who Loves Feeling Connected With Something Bigger than Themselves…

Care Of By Ivan Coyote

Ivan Coyote’s Care Of is a stunning and transformative work of joy, healing, power and resilience. Coyote is a writer and performer, and they’ve spent decades on the road, telling stories around the world. For years, they’ve compiled the most special communications they’ve received from readers and audience members. From letters, to Facebook messages, to emails, to soggy, handwritten notes, tucked under their windshield wiper. They always meant to respond to them, but never had the time. Then, in the Spring of 2020, like artists everywhere, Coyote was grounded by the pandemic, and all their planned events were cancelled. They could finally respond to these letters, piled up over years. Care Of combines the most powerful of these letters, along with Coyote’s responses, creating an affirming and joyful reflection on compassion, empathy, community, and love, tying together themes of Trans identity and family fragility. Full of care and compassion, this is a timely, moving, and deeply intimate work that you’ll find yourself revisiting, over and over again.

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Ameema Saeed (@ameemabackwards) is a storyteller, a Capricorn, an avid bookworm, and a curator of very specific playlists and customized book recommendations. She’s a book reviewer, a Sensitivity Reader, a book buyer at Indigo Books & Music, and the Books Editor for She Does the City, where she writes and curates bookish content, and book recommendations. She enjoys bad puns, good food, dancing, and talking about feelings. She writes about books, big feelings, unruly bodies, and her lived experiences, and hopes to write your next favourite book one day. When she’s not reading books, she likes to talk about books (especially diverse books, and books by diverse authors) on her bookstagram: @ReadWithMeemz