Romance

The following list contains books that have some element of romance in them, even if that is not the main concept of the story.  Most of these books can be found on other book lists as well, because most of them are Young Adult fiction and those authors have apparently figured out that the recipe for a good book often includes some sort of love interest.

Clicking on the book title will take you to the review/mini-review if I have one.  Also, be sure to read my note about reading and age appropriate levels at the bottom of the page.



A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper (series)
(6.5) (UG) (WWII, family, royalty)

Abandon by Meg Cabot (series)
(5.1) (UG) (the underworld, mythology in modern times, romance, mystery)

After the End by Amy Plum (series)
(5.5/5.6) (UG) (family relationships, secrets, supernatural abilities, romance)

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (series)
(4.6) (UG) (horror, ghosts, ghost hunters, romance)

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake (series) *
(4.5 ) (UG) (Greek mythology in modern times, friendship, family, action/adventure,
                   romance)

Altered by Jennifer Rush (series)
(4.4/4.3/4.5) (MG+) (genetic experiments, friendship, secrets, survival)

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott
(4.5) (UG) (alternate realities, amnesia, romance)

Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas
(5.1) (UG) (fairy tales, rebellions, Cinderella, romance)


Belle’s Song by K. M. Grant

(5.0) (MG+) (Canterbury Tales, Middle Ages, intrigue, love triangles, OCD)

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
(MG+) (pirates, Blackbeard, 1600/1700’s England, romance, family relationships)

Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien (series)
(5.4/4.6/5.2) (UG) (family, mystery, death, dystopian, romance)

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby *
(4.9) (UG) (mystery, supernatural, abductions, family relationships, romance)

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman *
(5.5) (UG) (family, friendship, child abuse, unexplained phenomenon, romance)

Crash by Lisa McMann (series)
(4.9) (MG+) (paranormal abilities, family relationships, romance, thriller/suspense, LGB)

Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick
(4.8) (UG) (witness protection program, secrets, romance, coming of age)


Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (series) *

(5.8/5.6/6.3) (UG) (seraphim, monsters, magic, romance, war, secrets)

Daughter of the Pirate King by Trisha Levenseller (series)
(4.4/4.6) (UG) (pirates, action-adventure, secrets, family relationships, romance)

Delirium by Lauren Oliver (series)
(6.1/5.4/5.1) (UG) (dystopian society, romance, rebellions)

Dreamers Often Lie by Jacqueline West
(MG+) (Shakespeare, fathers & daughters, romance, hallucinations)

Enclave by Ann Aguirre (series)
(4.8/5.5/5.9) (MG+) (post-pandemic, friendship, survival, romance)

Eve by Anna Carey
(5.2) (MG+) (Dystopian, romance, action/adventure)

Fateful by Claudia Gray
(5.3) (UG) (early 1900’s, Titanic, werewolves, romance, social classes)

Flutter by Gina Linko

(MG+) (romance, paranormal/supernatural, mystery, medical conditions)

Forget Me by K. A. Harrington

(4.2) (MG+) (mystery, family relationships, murder, romance)

Fortune’s Folly by Deva Fagan *
(5.3) (MG) (Middle Ages, family, fairy tales, adventure, romance)

Freak Magnet by Andrew Auseon
(5.0) (MG+) (romance, friendship, family relationships)

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (series)
(5.9/6.1/6.4) (UG) (assassins, adventure, romance, court intrigue, Middle Ages)

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
(4.2) (UG) (Salem, paranormal/supernatural, family secrets, magic, romance, ghosts)

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer *
(4.2) (UG) (paranormal abilities, magic, family relationships, romance)

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta *
(5.0) (UG) (family, romance, secrets, abandonment, surviving tragedy)

Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre (series)
(5.3) (MG+) (paranormal/supernatural, scifi/fantasy, life and death, romance)

Never Never by Brianna Shrum
(/) (UG) (Peter Pan story, revenge, romance)

Nil by Lynne Matson
(4.2) (MG+) (alternate worlds, survival, adventure, romance)

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
(4.8) (MG+) (paranormal abilities, invisibility, assassins, action, romance)

One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington
(/) (MG+) (paranormal events, family, romance)

Partials by Dan Wells (series)
(6.1/6.6/6.3) (UG) (post-apocalyptic, dystopian, super soldiers, mystery, relationships)

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (series)
(6.5) (UG) (time travel, family relationships, romance, action-adventure, secrets, LGB)

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
(6.0) (UG) (1930’s, Germany, Hitler, secrets, romance, family)

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman *
(4.4) (MG+) (Greek mythology, mothers & daughters, romance, coming of age)

Reboot by Amy Tintera (series)
(4.7/4.9) (MG+) (post-apocalyptic, “zombies”, relationships, identity)

Rook by Sharon Cameron *
(5.6) (UG-) (revolutions, spies, romance, action/adventure, retellings)

Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas
(/) (MG+) (fairy tales, rebellions, Sleeping Beauty, romance, LGB)

Ruined by Amy Tintera (series)
(4.9) (UG) (fantasy, prince and princesses, powers, action/adventure, romance)

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen
(4.4) (UG) (Robin Hood, Middle Ages, action/adventure, romance)

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier (series)
(5.3/5.7/5.9) (MG+) (fantasy, magic, oppression, rebellion, romance, adventure)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
(4.3) (UG) (dystopian, paranormal abilities, rebellions, romance)


Solitaire by Alice Oseman

(/) (MG+) (high school, sabotage, mystery, romance)

Stone Field by Christy Lenzi *

(/) (UG) (Civil War era, amnesia, family, identity, conformity, romance)


Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton *

(/) (UG) (magic, bargains, witches, family, friendship, sacrifice, love triangles, secrets, *)

Strange Sweet Song by Adi Rule *
(/) (UG) (supernatural, mystery, music conservatories, romance)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (series) *
(6.1) (UG) (fantasy, orphans, gods, magic)

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (series) *
(4.6/5.7/4.9) (UG) (alien invasion, survival, family, friendship, romance) 

The Archived by Victoria Schwab
(4.7/5.2) (UG) (death, ghosts, family, friendship/romance)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
(6.8) (UG) (murder, psychic abilities, romance, thriller/suspense)

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
(5.0) (UG) (OCD, murder, grief, family relationships, runaways)

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (series)
(4.5/5.0/5.3) (MG+) (curses, werewolves, family relationships, romance)

The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid
(6.2) (UG) (futuristic, intrigue, genetic engineering, romance, space society)


The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

(5.3) (UG) (romance, thrillers/suspense, family relationships, caving)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (series)
(5.8/5.2/5.7) (UG) (post-pandemic, undead, family secrets, romance)

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron (series) *
(4.8) (UG) (dystopian, mystery, memory loss, romance)

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum (series)
(4.8/4.8/4.8) (MG) (romance, time travel, Italian Renaissance)

The House by Christina Lauren
(6.0) (UG) (hauntings, mystery, abandonment, romance)

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
(4.5) (MG+) (play, Victorian era, humor, romance, impersonations)

The Inventor’s Secret by Andrea Cremer
(5.5) (MG+) (steampunk, family, romance, revolution, secrets)

The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth
(/) (UG) (paranormal abilities, murder, family secrets, romance, cults)

The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson (series) *
(5.5) (UG) (fantasy, royalty, romance, action/adventure, mystery)

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd (series)
(4.6/5.8) (UG) (Victorian era, mad scientist, family, romance, Gothic)

The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
(5.1) (UG) (1700’s, England, apothecaries, fathers & daughters, romance)

The Radiant Road by Katherine Catmull *
(5.4) (MG+) (Ireland, good and evil, fairies, family, magic, romance)

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain (series)
(5.3/5.7) (MG+) (Greek mythology in modern times, romance, action/adventure, family secrets)

The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli *
(4.0) (UG) (Italian Renaissance, women’s roles, family, romance, friendship)

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
(5.1) (UG) (angels and demons, suicide, romance)

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
(4.7) (UG+) (murder, mystery, siblings, survival, friendship, romance)

The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano
(UG) (magic, cutting, curses, family relationships, romance)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (series)
(4.3) (UG) (paranormal abilities, mystery, death, romance)

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
(/) (UG) (witchcraft, murder, romance, mystery)

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
(4.7) (UG) (Victorian era, murder, social classes, romance, mystery)

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel (series)
(4.9/5.0) (UG) (Frankenstein, 1700’s, twins, romance, mystery, Gothic)

Undertow by Michael Buckley (series)
(4.9) (UG) (sea-peoples, action-adventure, survival, conspiracies, romance)

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell
(/) (MG+) (Neverland, fairies, family secrets, friendship, romance)

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
(4.7) (UG) (special abilities, family relationships, secrets, romance)


Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (series)
(?) (UG) (magic, war, orphans, gods, secrets, intrigue)



Note:  Lists are arranged with Title, Author, Reading Level, Age Appropriate Level, and Descriptive Tags.
(Age appropriate level denotes the youngest readers that the book is appropriate for.  That doesn't mean that older readers will not enjoy the book!)

* =  books that I thought were GREAT

UG = upper grades  (contain sex, drugs, and/or very graphic violence; deal with mature subject matter such as rape, prostitution, child abuse, etc. )
MG+ = junior high  (may contain some profanity or sexual references; may deal with subject matter too mature for younger audiences)
MG = 4th through 6th grades (nothing inappropriate for children, but may not keep the interest of younger readers)
MG- = all ages (perfect for bedtime stories or read-alouds, or for precocious readers in the lower grades)

* = LGBTQ themes - characters, situations, or references to same-sex couples

Books included in this list are all ones that I have read myself and given a rating of at least 3 out of 5 Stars (why would I recommend anything less?)  When a book is part of a series, only the first title is listed, but the reading level for all books in the series is shown.  Lists will be updated periodically as I read new books.

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