A trio of romantic reads that’ll put a song in your heart

With Valentines Day on the horizon, finding a fitting book for the occasion almost seems like a cliche.

However, this particular holiday is also a great opportunity for diving into some of the more recent additions to my TBR and while I might not get to them all before the day is out, rest assured that this trio of romcom reads is at the top of my sweetheart stack:

Lunar Love: This debut novel by Lauren Kuang Jessen introduces us to Olivia, who is taking over her family’s matchmaking business. Their tried and true methods of using Chinese astrology to find suitable soulmates for others hasn’t yet worked for Olivia but mixing business and pleasure is the last thing on her mind right now.

All of that changes when she meets Bennet, whose new dating app is practically a copy and paste of her family’s life work. Determined to fight back any way she can, Olivia challenges him to find her true love online before she can use her old school skills to do the same for him.

As incompatible as their birth signs are, Olivia finds herself feeling more inclined to connect with Bennet but does he feel the same and what does that say about their mutual interest in matchmaking in modern times?

Jessen’s novel was a January Book of the Month club pick that I decided to get in February as a rather picture perfect selection for the season.

 Also, the story has a bit of a Jane Austen energy (Olivia has a nice Emma Woodhouse vibe) mixed with the personal and professional rivalry of You’ve Got Mail, a favorite movie of mine, that makes my literary heart beat fonder for it indeed:

The Love Hypothesis: I’ve heard plenty of good word about Ali Hazelwood’s STEM set romance and thought it was time to see for myself the results of this experiment in love.

Grad student Olive wants her best gal pal to take an interest in a former boyfriend of hers and the only way to prove that she is over and done with that relationship is by impulsively kissing Adam, a professor known for making his research students cry before quitting his class.

With Adam needing to look more relatable at work and Olive wanting her friend to make a real live connection with her ex, the two of them agree to engage in some fake-dating.

While that mock romance brings about some benefits, they come at the expense of Olive’s professional reputation. Also, both she and Adam start to realize that their feelings for each other are far from fake. Is this a failed experiment or new theory of love that should be tested further?

I’m not a science person but chemistry is one subject that everyone is familiar with and the wave of book smart love stories that this book has inspired alone proves that this new take on the genre is worth researching there:

Something Wilder:

Christina Lauren has become a must read author for me lately and fortunately the backlist is readily accessible.

This particular book is one of their most recent titles and has a bit of an action adventure boost to the romantic proceedings.

Lily has been wanting to make her late father Duke’s life ambition come true by finding the lost treasure that he searched for for so long. Losing her boyfriend Leo on top of that made those dreams harder to fulfill.

Ten years later, Lily is still holding on to her father’s old maps while giving guided tours to the usual set of tourists. However , who shows up but Leo and a few of his buddies hoping to finally find that treasure.

Since she does want to buy back her father’s ranch, Lily agrees to work with Leo and company but a few unexpected twists along the trail makes this expedition more than a fun ride to fortune hunting.

Turns out that Lily and Leo have to put their past to the side and work together not only to discover the hidden treasure but to safely see the sunrise as well.

This does sound fun in a Romancing the Stone/Jewel of the Nile kind of way and definitely a nifty change of pace for my romance reading to be sure:

However you chose to celebrate it, I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day with plenty of half price chocolate and good books on hand. A nice love song or two is always appreciated as well , especially if it as well written as any classic story of hearts can be: