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Why do we wait until February and Valentine’s Day to focus on love?
I can personally go for a nice love story any time of the year.
Lounging on the couch during a snow day, poolside on a sunny summer afternoon, you name it. Love (stories) knows no bounds.
All this valentines and love talk inspired me to round up a list of my absolute favorite and most charming love stories that you have to put on your reading list!
Some of these choices are actually on the list for my favorite reads of all time, so make sure to check them out.
The 9 most charming love stories on my reading list
1. Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
Ugh I love this book. I just really love it.
I don’t even want to write a summary, because you should just read it. But I will anyway.
This book is all about Sky and Holder.
Sky has been homeschooled her entire life, but when it comes time for her senior year she decides she wants to break out of her shell and experience public school.
This is when her life is turned upside down and she meets Holder, the broody boy who might be a ton of trouble.
Rumors swirl that he was expelled for brutally beating another student the year before.
But for some reason, Sky feels safe with him.
What she doesn’t know is that Holder is keeping secrets from her, secrets that have the ability to change everything.
What is she supposed to do when the person she loves is turning her life upside down?
2. What I Carry by Jennifer Longo
Ohhhhhhh. This book had me so up in my feels, I cannot even tell you.
The story centers around a young foster girl named Muir who has found herself in countless foster homes since she was an infant.
Bouncing around from home to home has taught her a valuable lesson – don’t get attached.
Muir makes it a point to never have roots. She is ready to move at the drop of a hat and she avoids emotional attachments like her life depends on it.
However, this way of life goes out the window when she finds herself at one final foster home where she has promised her counselor she will stay until she “ages out” of the system in a year.
It is here she finds the opportunity to live her dream, working at a nature camp for children in the woods.
Muir’s struggle with forming attachments made my heart ache, and it was so frustrating to see how badly she had been hurt in the past. I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down!
3. Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
This story follows sisters Kacey and Livie Cleary as they decide to start a new life in Florida after a tragic car accident that killed their parents and Kacey’s best friend and boyfriend (and almost Kacey herself).
Riddled by demons from her past, Kacey is determined to set a good example for her little sister Livie.
She can’t run from her past from long as the hot guy in the apartment down the hall, Trent, starts to melt her ice queen outer walls.
This book is an absolute roller coaster and the entire series is one of my absolute favorites!!
I love the second book, One Tiny Lie, almost as much as this one.
4. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
This book is about a girl named Macy and her first love, Elliott.
The book flashes forward between 10 years ago when they first met and present, when they run into each other after Macy has managed to ghost him for almost a decade.
The big mystery is obviously why?!
The road this story took was definitely not what I expected and it really tugged at my heartstrings.
5. Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
It has actually been awhile since i REALLY adored a Sarah Dessen book, but this one did me in.
I think I owe it all to Ambrose, the main boy in the book and definition of complete disaster.
He could not be any more opposite from Louna, the type A straight laced perfectionist. But sometimes that’s the appeal, right?
This one definitely tops my list for favorite love stories.
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
True story for you….. the day that this book was released (January 10, 2012) I faked sick and stayed home from school to read it.
This means that I am an OG TFIOS fan, meaning before the movie was even a speck on anyone’s map.
The movie is okay.
The book is definitely better.
John Green somehow knows how to rip your heart out, scramble it up a little, and then put it back together enough to finish the book and question your existence.
7. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
All of the Maddox brother books involve a lot of swearing, fighting, and sex.
That’s my kind of read, but understandably not everyone’s cup of tea.
This book tells the story of Abby and Travis, who are nothing short of a disaster.
Whether it is a beautiful one, I will leave that up to you.
Truthfully, I think I enjoyed the rest of the brothers books a little bit more, but this is a good one to start with.
8. Becoming Rain by K.A. Tucker
I’m breaking a cardinal rule by starting with a book that is in the middle of the series instead of the first one.
I read the entire “Burying Water” series, but this one was hands down my favorite so I have to list it on here.
If you plan to read the entire series you might want to read the first book, “Burying Water,” first. If not, then just read this one. You won’t regret it!
It focuses on the story of Clara and Luke, a relationship doomed from the start.
Clara is an undercover police officer who has been given one goal: infiltrate Luke Boone’s life and figure out what his shady uncle is up to.
The FBI suspects his uncle of running a car theft ring, and believe Luke may have the key to crack the case.
But getting the information she needs means getting close to Luke and gaining his trust. Will she be able to keep her cover?
Related Post: 11 Best Books to Gift (Or Read!) in 2020
9. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
I will admit that I read this book in high school. But I really, really loved it.
This is a story about a girl named Grace who watches the wolves behind her house every year.
Little does she know that the wolf with the yellow eyes, the one she is always looking for, is actually a boy named Sam.
Sam spends half the year living in the shadows of the woods as a wolf, and the remaining time enjoying his freedom as a human.
When he finally is able to connect with Grace, they never want their time together to end.
But Sam may not have a choice as winter approaches and the woods begin to call him back.
I usually really hate fantasy type books, but I was enthralled by this entire series!
There ya go! Make sure to check these reads out and let me know what you think in the comments below.
If you have any love stories that are on your “must read” list, let me know about those in the comments below as well! I’m always looking for new reads.
