February = Romance?

by Christine, Chapman Branch

Happy February! I recently had a conversation with a friend and the topic of romance as a genre came up. It isn’t my favorite genre and she pointed out that romance and relationships are just part of life and show up in books of all genres, not only as its own genre. I have been thinking about that, and some of my favorite books do indeed have a relationship as part of the story, and I thought we need a post about that for February! So even though this post is going live a bit after Valentine's Day I wanted to share a few books that have some romance in them. Some of these books come from fantasy, dystopian, or mystery genres while a few are more from the category of real life or even romance. And just like in real life, the relationships in these books can be complicated, messy, and even sweet. What are some of your favorite books about relationships? Share in the comments!

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An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 

​This is an exciting series set in a world inspired by Ancient Rome. Laia’s family is just struggling to survive, and not be noticed by the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, she risks everything to save him and agrees to become a slave at the Empire’s military academy, where she is a spy for a group of rebels. There she meets Elias, the school’s best soldier, someone who secretly wishes to be free of his role as soldier for the Martial Empire. Elias and Laia begin to realize that even though they come from opposing parts of the Empire, if they work together they might change their world.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Stevie Bell is a true crime aficionado who has just been accepted to Ellingham Academy, a private school for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. When the school  first opened, the wife and daughter of Albert Ellingham, the school’s founder, were kidnapped. Apparently, the only clue was a strange riddle signed by someone calling themselves Truly Devious. The crime was never solved and Stevie is determined to solve it during her time at Ellingham. But as the school year starts and she begins her investigation, someone turns up murdered and she is left to wonder if Truly Devious has returned to Ellingham.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Dimple Shah has just graduated from high school and is looking forward to the summer when she will have the opportunity to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers. It will be just the break she needs, to escape from her Mamma’s insistence that Dimple meet the “Ideal Indian Husband” and focus on her own goals she has for her future.

Rishi Patel, on the other hand, is a hopeless romantic, and unlike Dimple he is not opposed to the idea of arranged marriages. When his parents tell him that his future wife is attending the same summer program he is attending, and that he needs to try to “woo her”, he agrees to the plan. 
When Dimple and Rishi finally meet, they seem like complete opposites, but it turns out sometimes love has other plans.

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

Meade Creamery is the popular ice cream stand in Sand Lake. It was founded by Molly Meade and continues to be owned and managed exclusively by local girls. Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked there for the past three summers and this summer Amelia will have the opportunity to be “Head Girl” at the stand. But even before Amelia’s first day, Molly passes away and the future of the stand is in question. But then, Molly’s grandnephew Grady shows up and asks Amelia to stay and help run the business. The problem is that it seems he has some changes planned for Meade Creamery.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks

Every autumn, Deja and Josiah work together at the best pumpkin patch in the world, and they have become best friends. Then when Halloween arrives and the patch closes, they say goodbye until next September when they come back to work at the patch. This year is different though, because they are finally seniors and know that this is their last season and last Halloween working together. And on this Halloween, Josiah is feeling a bit sad about the whole thing. But Deja has a plan: they are going to spend their last night  eating all the treats and seeing all the sights at the pumpkin patch together, one last time. And maybe Josiah will finally figure out what his heart has known all along...

Release by Patrick Ness

Adam Thorn’s life is complicated, and the only good things in his life that are keeping him together are his best friend Angela (who always has his back) and his boyfriend (maybe) Linus. The knowledge that in one year, after graduation, he can finally move out on his own also helps. Adam’s life is complicated by his extremely religious parents who can’t know about Linus, his boss, and the love he still can’t stop feeling for his ex, Enzo. At least he has the party with his friends tonight to look forward to, if he can just get through this day. Adam’s day begins normally enough, running errands for his mom, but by the end of the day Adam will have to come to terms with who he is especially in relation to his family and their world view, his feelings for Linus and Enzo, and what to do about his boss’s unwanted attention. It’s a lot to come crashing in at once, but maybe if he can just let go and move forward, he might finally feel free from everything that is weighing him down. 

*Note: This novel includes some steamy romantic situations.