Romance Reads That Will Make Your Heart Skip a Beat

While February takes the throne for being the month of all things love and romance with Valentine’s Day celebrated at the heart of it, August comes around six months later to remind us that love should be celebrated throughout all the seasons. On top of that, it’s also a reminder that there’s still more than enough time to catch up with your reading goals this year! So why not take this time to check out some of the love-centered stories on the shelves?

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered! From ‘enemies-to-lovers' fantasies to steamy romcoms, here are six novels that will satisfy your sweet and spicy cravings this Romance Awareness Month.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

Publication: April 2024, Avon Books | Adult Contemporary Romance

Do you know what we love more than writers writing about love? It’s writers writing a love story between two writers (say that five times fast!).

Yulin Kuang penned a sexy and heart-wrenching enemies-to-lovers romance between a bestselling author and a screenplay writer with a complicated history, who are somehow thrust into the same room to work on a TV show. Talk about writing yourselves some drama!

“How to End a Love Story” is an emotional rollercoaster about two people making peace with their pasts, the undeniable power of love, and its capacity to bring people together. The book features witty banters (we’re kicking our feet with all the tension!), angsty expositions that can tug at anyone’s heartstrings, and Asian American representation.

Kuang’s debut novel is the May 2024 Reese’s Witherspoon Book Club pick, as well as the April 2024 Book of the Month pick, and was featured in several high-profile publications such as Vogue, People Magazine, and Good Morning America. Whew! If that doesn’t convince you to pick up this book right now, we don’t know what will!

Trivia: Yulin Kuang is also a talented screenplay writer and has been recently tapped to write and direct a book’s film adaptation for an author on this list. Read on to find out who!

The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow

Publication: August 2024, Delacorte Press | Young Adult Fantasy Romance

In this soaring fantasy debut by Malaysian author Keshe Chow, we meet hopeful Princess Ying Yue who gets whisked away to an arranged marriage with the crown prince, who is far from the soulmate she had dreamed about. Now locked in a palace with her cold fiancé, she bids farewell to her dream fairytale wedding, and what’s worse is she’s hearing rumors about how the previous brides had all disappeared after their own weddings. Forget fairy tales, it’s a downright nightmare!

But on her birthday, Ying Yue accidentally opens a portal to a ‘mirror world’ and unlike in the real world, the ‘Mirror Prince’ is kind and compassionate, and well, who wouldn’t fall in love with that? Has the princess found her dream love? Or is there darkness in this world too?

Keshe's "The Girl with No Reflection" is a lush fantasy debut set in two parallel worlds — a story brimming with great worldbuilding, references to Chinese mythology, and a lovely romance for the ages.

Bite Me, Royce Taslim by Lauren Ho

Publication: May 2024, Disney Hyperion | Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Acclaimed author of “Last Tang Standing” and “Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic," Lauren Ho debuts into the Young Adult scene with a story set in Kuala Lumpur about two rivals who discover that there’s more to the competition than what meets the eye.

A nationally ranked junior sprinter, Chinese Malaysian Agnes Chan had it all planned out for her senior year — except the part where she gets into an accident that ultimately crushes her dreams of getting a college track scholarship. The worst part? Her archnemesis, the ever-so-perfect Royce Taslim, witnessed it all. However, fate gives her another shot at redemption which came in the form of a stand-up comedy contest for teens.

But fate also works in funny and mysterious ways because Royce is the last person she ever expected to be up against. Funny, witty, and cutely romantic, "Bite Me, Royce Taslim" is a fantastic addition to the rivals-to-lovers romance list!

The Encanto’s Daughter by Melissa dela Cruz

Publication: March 2024, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers | Young Adult Fantasy Romance

The #1 New York Times Bestseller of the “Blue Bloods” series and Disney’s “Descendants,” is back with a fantasy story inspired by Philippine mythology and set in an enchanted world called “Biringan.”

MJ Rodriquez has carried a heavy secret all her life, being half-human and half-encanto. But when her estranged father suddenly passes away, she discovers that she is also of royal blood and is next in line to the throne!

In Biringan, she finds everything in disarray in the absence of a ruler and discovers that her father’s death might have been inflicted by a curse. On top of coming to terms with being a monarch, MJ must also hunt down the sorceress behind it — all the while controlling herself from falling in love with a mysterious knight from a feared court she formed an alliance with. SWOON!

Filled with magical elements deeply rooted in Filipino culture, "The Encanto’s Daughter" is sure to give you all the feels.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

Publication: October 2023, Harper Voyager | Adult Fantasy Romance

Another Philippine mythology-inspired novel, “The Hurricane Wars” is the first book in Thea Guanzon’s adult fantasy romance which follows the story of Talasyn who possesses a rare light magic, and Prince Alaric, heir to the Night Empire, and how their powers merged together in a clash of dark and light that created a force that could be the only way to stop the war.

As this is a romance recommendation list, we can assure you that that’s not the only magic that’s going to happen in the story. Sparks will definitely fly, and you know what they say, there’s a thin line between love and hate *winks*.

If you’re looking for a good enemies-to-lovers romance set in a fantasy world, this is it! Its thrilling sequel, “Monsoon Rising” is also hitting the shelves later this year so it’s the perfect time to catch up if you haven’t picked up the series yet (rumor has it, it’s going to be a trilogy). You can preorder it here.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Publication: April 2024, Berkley Romance | Adult Contemporary Romance

Emily Henry needs no introduction in the romance book scene. Ever since her breakout adult romance debut, “Beach Read” (2020), her name has been synonymous with summer romances, having penned international contemporary bestsellers such as “Book Lovers” (2022) and “Happy Place” (2023).

In “Funny Story,” Emily introduces an amusing premise: how Daphne Vincent suddenly becomes roommates with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancé’s ex, Miles Nowak, after being dumped just months before her wedding (Who does that, right?! *shaking our heads*).

Emily’s characters have always been raw and relatable, and her plots may be simple, but they are deeply rooted with insightful lessons and emotional development, and somehow beautifully showcase the bluer side of human’s emotional spectrum through lighthearted stories set in small towns or secluded shorelines, coupled with realistic happy endings.

And “Funny Story” is just that. After all, breakups, as the author said in an interview with Elle magazine, “are horrible in the moment,” but “oftentimes later they’re very hilarious.”

Trivia: We mentioned earlier how Yulin Kuang is set to write and direct a book on this list. Well, she’s been tapped to direct the film adaptation of “Beach Read” and is also adapting the screenplay for Emily’s sophomore romance, “People We Meet on Vacation” (2021).