Emily Henry: How I fell in love with romance novels
Never thought romance was for you? Emily Henry, author of Beach Read, You and Me on Vacation, Book Lovers, Happy Place and now Funny Story used to think the same – now she can't believe she missed out on so much. Here, she lists the books to get you started.
At least once a week, I think to myself, I am so grateful for romance novels. I’ll be sitting in the sun, smiling to myself over a good book, and it will occur to me how thoroughly everything else has melted away. No worrying about the future, no stressing over the minutiae of daily life. When I’m basking in a great love story, for a while I feel entirely safe, warm, happy.
Alongside I am so grateful for romance novels, there’s another thought: I wasted so much of my life not reading romance novels. I came of age in the heyday of the quintessential romance cover – a woman in a falling-lower-by-the-second dress wrapped around a shirtless man named Fabio – and while I was aware of how popular these kinds of books were, I was also aware of the way the greater culture sneered at them, along with the women who read them.
So maybe I was too ashamed to pick one up, or maybe I was just intimidated by those lusty covers, but either way, the end result was the same: I never read a single romance novel until 2016, when I picked up Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game. My life has been so much better since.
Whenever I’m anxious, melancholy, or overwhelmed, I pick up a romance novel and feel an almost instant reprieve. No other genre offers such a safeness, a world in which things may go wrong but, in the end, everything will be all right. So if, in this time of extreme uncertainty, you find yourself longing for that happy ending, then maybe now’s your chance to fall in love with a good romance novel.
Where to start with romance novels (three perfect meet-cutes* with the romance genre)
*A ‘meet-cute’ is the term given to a particularly unlikely if endearing encounter between two people who go on to fall in love. Which is to say: these are the books to start with.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
So many new romance readers discovered their love for the genre via this book about Josh and Lucy, two coworkers who hate each other, competing for the same promotion. Thorne’s writing is delightfully playful, bright, and clever. Reading her books gives me the feeling of walking into a nicely air-conditioned sweet shop on a sweltering summer day. There are borderline slapstick paragraphs right alongside heart-swelling, tears-in-your-eyes sentences, and I’m honestly not sure which Thorne does better. She’s a star.
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
Dunmore’s brilliant debut follows destitute scholar and activist Annabel Archer as she attempts to win over the famously cold Duke of Wellington to the cause of women’s suffrage. This book is incredibly sexy, but it’s also impeccably researched. Rather than using time period as set dressing, Dunmore roots the story into the history. The suffragist movement – and the early days of the women’s colleges at Oxford – are integral pieces to Annabel and Wellington’s love story. Once you read this one, you’ll be be hooked on historical romance and ready for a deep-dive into the subgenre.
Essential romance novels (three more for when you're hooked)
The must-read, unputdownable heavy-hitters.
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
Once you’ve been inducted into the world of historical romance, you must pick up this gripping story about Elle Burns, a spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War, who – while posing as a slave in the Confederate South – meets Malcolm McCall, a detective trying to infiltrate the confederacy. Cole’s writing is sheer perfection, a seamless blend of gut-twisting action and heart-swelling romance. This will give you a new appreciation for the immense amount of work and talent required to write within this genre.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Hoang’s debut is largely agreed upon to be one of the hottest books in the last 10 years, in multiple ways. Stella, a woman with Aspergers syndrome, who works in STEM, decides to take charge of her sex life. She hires Michael Phan, a handsome escort, to teach her the ropes, but it’s not long before emotions enter the equation. It’s a racy premise and a decidedly sexy book, but it’s also emotionally complex and full of heart.