This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
We all know what day is this coming Saturday. You cannot escape Valentine's Day – sentimental signs of its imminent arrival are everywhere.. Personally, however, I like my romance in books or movies rather than screaming at me in the shops in bright Scorsese-Red.
So, of course, that got me thinking about romantic books. Naturally, there is Pride & Prejudice – both the book and the BBC adaptation with Colin Firth. But what romantic novels are beloved by my Novelicious colleagues? These are their picks.
1. The Pursuit of Happiness by Douglas Kennedy – This is Susan's favourite romantic book. In New York, post-Second World War, Sara attends her brother's Thanksgiving Eve party. She meets Jack, a US Army journalist, fresh from Germany, and a man unlike any Sara has met before. But life post-war is not always what it seems. And Sara finds herself fighting for survival. Against Jack as well as for him.
2. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – Not one, not two, but three of the Novelicious team, believe The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the most romantic books they've read. Of course, you all know the story by now. Man born with a rare genetic condition that finds him pulled through time, where he meets his future wife as a child, before they meet as adults. It is a beautiful and heartbreaking love story.
3. Polo by Jilly Cooper – "Does Jilly Cooper count?" asked Cesca when I put the question of most romantic novel to Team Novelicious. And you can understand why she'd ask. After all, Jilly is not particularly known for romance. Raunch, infidelity, horses, illicit sex – you know the score, but Cesca loves Jilly's ability to bring together characters you most wanted her to bring together. Like Luke and Perdita in Polo.4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – Claire is travelling to the Scottish Highlands with her husband Frank. It is 1945. A chance for them to be together post-war, a chance for them to get to know one another after the war changed them. Then Claire walks through some ancient stones and vanishes to 1743 where she meets a British army officer – her husband's six times great-grandfather. But he is nothing like her husband and Claire finds herself running from danger, when she falls into a group of outlaws, and into the arms of a strapping Scots warrior, who has a complicated past, too.
5. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks – Again, it is the end of World War Two. Noah returns to America from the war and puts his energies into restoring an old plantation home. He is reminded of the beautiful girl he met there 14 years before. But then these memories become real. He finds her again. And against much in their way, their love refuses to fade.
What's your favourite romantic book?