The way I like my love stories:
Messy and complicated. Real love between real characters with all kinds of flaws and mistakes and challenges.- Part of a bigger story. Intimate personal connections are made all the more poignant by being part of something else–whether it’s the real world or an imagined one. The love story is one layer of many.
- Both emotional and physical. I believe in the soul connection, the deep inside you complete me kind of love; but I also like the reminder that we are physical beings. I don’t need a lot of nitty gritty details, but the reminder that there is a physical component to love.
Some of my favorites on this particular Valentines Day~in no particular order:
- CHIME by Franny Billingsley
- HOW I LIVE NOW by Meg Rosoff
- ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
- THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater
- WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler
- ASK THE PASSENGERS by A.S. King
- JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
- IF I STAY by Gayle Forman
- ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell
- THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson
- CORELLI’S MANDOLIN by Luis de Bernieres
- ANIMAL DREAMS by Barbara Kingsolver
- STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER by Tom Robbins
- SHINE SHINE SHINE by Lydia Netzer
 XXXXOOOO
Sarah Tomp
WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK
Love your list Sarah! So many of my favorites are here. I’d add (for my own personal favorite romances) All Rivers Flow to The Sea by Alison McGee (I know you loved that one too!) The Fault in Our Stars, Jane Eyre and Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. Happy Valentines Day!
Ha! I almost included each of those! But then thought it was too long of a list.
Gotta love love!