BY ASHLEY MOTT
Arts & Entertainment Editor
It’s here ladies and gentlemen, that holiday for your special someone to be celebrated on one day of the year. For most of the population, that means taking your loved one on a dinner date, maybe a romantic night dancing or out on the town. However, for those who are single and enjoy a good read, we’ve compiled a list of books that are sure to make you smile in one way or another.
1. “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
Starting off this list, we have a newly found favorite. After catching a lot of buzz following its cinematic version appeared on Netflix just last year, “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” has been an inspiration to young girls everywhere.
Lara Jean Covey is an accurate representation of a period in life that many girls have gone through, the longing for someone who isn’t within reach anymore. Only, her story gets a little bit more complicated when love letters that she wrote, but never sent, do get sent out by her little sister after a dastardly fight.
While the book includes a little more detail on the reason why, the Netflix rendition does include a little bit of the dirty details in it. In the end, there is a happy ending that is set to be continued in the next two books of the trilogy.
2. “A Walk to Remember”
Next in our lineup is “A Walk To Remember,” one of Nicholas Sparks’ more classic novels, which also gained a lot more traction after the 2002 movie rendition of the romantic novel.
It follows the love story of a girl who is battling Leukemia and her unlikely love who, let’s face it, is the “bad boy” that most girls lusted over during high school.
While Landon Carter, resident bad boy in question, does have a sweet spot for the heroine Jamie Sullivan, it remains a story of love, loss and heartbreak in the end.
While not a typical choice for a romantic book this holiday, it fits the bill for those who want to wallow in their own heartbreak and shed a few tears with some friends.
3. “The Fault In Our Stars”
Not unlike the story of Sullivan and Carter, comes “The Fault In Our Stars” a more modern take on the underdog love story by John Green. While unfortunately both romantic interests are battling a form of cancer, their love sparkles with a flare that would rival many others. Leaning on each other after an unlikely friendship is formed, which eventually becomes romantic, their love story has something to be desired.
The ability to love without regard, without fear of the unknown future, or even if there is a future at all, is something that many can only hope to have. Many, in this day and age, are fearful of love and heartbreak because of the pain it causes. However, for our main characters, it is almost as if their limited time is what causes them to leap and love despite the inevitable end.
Now these love stories, sad and heart wrenching as they may be, are definitely the kind you want to curl up with a tub of ice cream with and have a good cry. However, the next few additions to our set of romance novels to read are stories that almost seem like a Hallmark movie waiting to happen.
4. “Melody’s Crush”
“Melody’s Crush” brings us the tale of a young, awkward high school girl who was always a little sheltered from life. The kind of girl that was smart, but wasn’t very popular and kept to herself and her best friend. The set up for almost every typical rom-com movie ever, right?
However, it takes a little twist when she’s assigned to be co-parents with the star quarterback of her resident high school football team.
Melody Jenkins, never having been alone in a room with another guy other than her best friend and secret crush Jake Kensington, was now forced to live with Kyle Warner for a week with a baby doll who was hell-bent on making them very, very grumpy.
Although he seemed to be a ladies man and a general heartbreaker, Warner soon shows his softer side, one that is caring and makes you swoon even when you want to roll your eyes and be annoyed with him.
Accepting her fate of being stuck with who she always considered to be enemy number one, Jenkins rolls with the punches. She eventually realizes that maybe Warner was exactly the medicine she needed to get over her best friend. Twists and turns of the whimsical high school heart are presented with every turn of the page.
It’s a story that is in the dreams of little girls everywhere, waiting for their chance at high school romance. If you’re looking to experience that dream you may have always wanted for your own high school experience, this is the book to pick up and live vicariously through Jenkins.
5. “One of the Guys”
Now, while “Melody’s Crush” definitely embodies some of those high school wants, “One of the Guys” by Dawn Doyle embodies another one of those stereotypical boy-girl relationships. While very unrealistic, they have been lusted over at one point or another during a lifetime.
Chase, resident gymnast and tomboy, is in love with her best friend who is too dense to notice it in the current point in their life. They’ve been friends for forever, and she’s not sure when it started to be more for her, but after a rough go of it with his baseball friends, she isn’t sure she wants to stick around anymore because she feels like she will always just be “one of the guys.”
Unfortunately for Logan, Chase leaving him behind in favor of some unlikely friends is what it takes for him to realize that he may be in love with her after all. The book will make you wonder if they will ever be friends again, if they will be more or if Logan lost his chance with Chase forever.
Chase takes the leap of faith to better herself and leave her old life behind in favor of becoming more true to herself and her new take on life, something that many people now are afraid to do.
With Valentine’s Day on the rise, it’s easy to see why people wouldn’t want to leave their security net, even if they aren’t actually getting what they want out of it.
However, it seems to be that everyone has a little bit of the gumption that Chase had and is definitely capable of making the moves that are best for themselves. If you’re looking for that confidence booster, a character to look at and know that being alone is OK, this book is definitely the one for you.
Settle down with a glass of wine, that is if you are legal, and a blanket because you are sure to laugh at Chase’s snarky comments and her witty sense of humor towards Logan and all the boys who always made her feel like she was just “one of the guys.”
Now, that said, we know that Valentine’s Day isn’t all about wallowing in a pity party or wishing over the life you’ve always wanted in the form of a book. Being adults ourselves, we are all aware of what goes on after the dinners have been had, the dances danced, songs sang and evenings ended. We all know what happens when the lights go out in the bedroom at the end of Feb. 14.
That being said, whether you’re in a relationship and looking to spice things up or single and looking for a little something to tide you over, the next two books are sure to do the trick.
6. “Sexy Berkeley”
First up to bat is “Sexy Berkeley,” the first book in the “Sexy” series by Dani Lovell. Traveling across the pond to the United States, Beatrice Hart is not the kind of girl who would ever think she would have a hot romance on a trip to Los Angeles with her best friend Tilly.
Nevertheless, she encounters a well-mannered, yet very intriguing businessman on her flight. Their encounter leaves her breathless and wanting more, despite telling herself that she is only there for a week and it is nothing more than a fling. Daniel Berkeley is a man after Hart’s own heart, even if he didn’t anticipate it at first.
That said, after a night out on the town, with dessert handled in bed, he doesn’t want to leave her alone. His best friend Luke Summers isn’t about to let him have all the fun on this trip, as he makes sure that Tilly is well taken care of as well.
This book brings the hot and heavy to the table as consenting adults take chocolate-covered donuts, sandy beaches and airplanes to a whole new level of experiences. You’ve never seen it like this before, a series to rival the original erotic novel that took over the nation just a few years ago in “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
7. “Fifty Shades of Grey”
That being said, you can’t go wrong with a classic like Christian Grey. Having a little in common with Berkeley and Summers, all three being very well off in the financial department, he takes pleasure in a whole other direction. While many argue that the book is simply “Twilight” fanfiction, who’s to say that makes it bad?
If you’re looking for ideas for this Valentine’s Day, the red-room is sure to spark some for the curious couple.
Whether you’re single, taken or in that oh-so-very-complicated stage of “I’m not sure what the hell is going on, but we’re rolling with it,” all of these books are sure to pertain to one aspect of your love life or lack-thereof, in some shape or form. So from us to you, enjoy these books this upcoming holiday and let us know what you think of them!
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