An Ode To The Romance Novels That Brought Me Out of a Reading Slump
Hey, friends!
Reading has always been self-care. More recently, I’ve started defining what self-care is to me personally; reading is a huge part of that, but more specifically, reading romance novels. Romance novels are light-hearted, fun, and, tbh, a lil steamy. They tend to run shorter, read faster, and are just easy to read.
And, if I’m being honest, romance novels have gotten me out of reading slumps. I have to admit, I’ve been in a few reading slumps this year alone. They’re not fun, especially for someone who treats reading as her self-care. But as I’m learning what self-care means to me personally is, instead of beating myself up for not reading, I’ll let myself watch re-runs of Gilmore Girls. And then I’ll pick up a book—specifically a romance novel—and read a few chapters when I feel like it. Reading romance novels, and these romance novels below, have helped me out of a reading slump and reminded me why I love reading in the first place.
So with that being said, I’m reading multiple books at once. As that type of reader, I am powering through the ACOTAR series, specifically the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury. And while I love the book, it’s long! So when I don’t want to read a long book one night, I pick up a romance novel that I can easily get through a chapter or two before I go to sleep. I finished If The Shoe Fits, a Cinderella retelling with a modern day Bachelor story, in approximately three days. I picked up You Had Me At Hola and 28 Summers, and excited to start reading these. (I already started You Had Me at Hola and I love it!)
So, these are the books—specifically romance novels—that have gotten me out of reading slumps. Let me know what books you’ve read, or better yet—what books have gotten you out of reading slumps? I’m always looking to add more books to my TBR.
Bridgerton: The Duke & I by Julia Quinn // Dearest reader, you will absolutely devour this book. Even if you didn’t watch the show, I absolutely recommend this book. And, I’m not even sure if this is a thing, but I picked it up at the grocery store! (I always wheel my cart to the book section in the grocery store, LOL.) Children of aristocrats, in the Regency London, learn how to address an earl and curtsy before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable … but not too amiable. The story follows Daphne Bridgerton (fourth child of the Bridgerton fam) and Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings. Daphne enters society and the annual tradition for eligible young ladies looking for a husband; no surprise, everyone loves Daphne for her charm and wit. But no one truly desires her. Enter: Simon. Recently returned to England, he intends to shun marriage and London society. However, he runs into an old friend who happens to be Daphne’s older brother. The pair (Simon and Daphne) enter into a fake relationship that benefits the both of them. What can go wrong?
Read if you loved Gossip Girl and of course, the show Bridgerton on Netflix.
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams // This book was so good, and I highly recommend it! It’s so good, I recommend the entire series (the fourth book just came out this summer!). With this book, I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters, Gavin and Thea. Nashville baseball player Gavin Scott’s marriage is in trouble. His wife, Thea, has always been faking it, and Gavin did not react to the news quite well. Now, Thea asks for a divorce and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him. Enter: The Bromance Book Club. This club was founded by some of his pals from the team and a few other Nashville bros. What do they do? Obviously, not talk about the book club. It’s like Fight Club, but with books—and steamy, regency romance books. The guys coach Gain on saving his marriage, but will romance books save Gavin and Thea’s marriage?
Definitely read for avid readers of romance novels and even the baseball fan.
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord // I read this at the beginning of quarantine, and immediately afterwards, I baked one of the book’s signature recipes, monster cake. (You have to read the book to find that one out.) This book was so funny and cute (very YA) and always brought a smile to my face. The book focuses on two high school seniors: Pepper and Jack—and their Twitter accounts. Pepper runs the Twitter account for her family’s big restaurant account, Big League Burger, while also being the swim team captain and maintaining her perfect grades and extracurriculars. Jack, a class clown and Pepper’s sworn enemy, runs the Twitter account for his family’s local deli. When Jack discovers that Big League Burger stole his grandmother’s beloved grilled cheese recipe, he goes after them on Twitter. Jack and Pepper go head-to-head in a Twitter war without either of them knowing who they are in real life. Oh—and here’s the romance kicker—they also don’t know they are secretly falling for each other on the anonymous chat app that Jack built. What can go wrong in this enemies-to-lovers book?
10/10 would recommend for this funny, witty, social media-friendly YA book!
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant // calling all aspiring writers, this book is for you! I must admit, I still think about these characters. The story follows 16-year-old Tessa Johnson, aspiring writer and author, who just got accepted to a creative arts school. She spends her time writing her novel and only ever shares them with her best friend, Caroline. But in her first days of this new school, she realizes she has to share her work—which terrifies her immensely. And the worst part? All of her inspiration, all of her ideas … are gone. She has no ideas, nothing to put on the page. She finds herself with writer’s block. So, her and her best friend Caroline devise a plan for Tessa to be in her own romance novel. They find a guy, Nico, aka the popular, broody guy in Tessa’s new school, and invent cute and romantic scenarios for Nico and Tessa to experience. But as Tessa checks off scenarios on the list, she finds herself furthering away from herself. She cast this perfect Prince Charming, but she risks losing everything around her, including the sweet friendship she has with next-door-neighbor Sam and the relationships she has with her family. What will she do?
Overall, this book is incredibly charming. Not only does it hit the YA romance tropes, it covers important topics like disabilities, being Black in a white-dominated neighborhood, and police/racial profiling. Highly recommend!
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren // this was my first Christina Lauren book, and I really loved it! It has the enemies-to-lovers trope, so if you love that type of romance novel, this one is for you. (Honestly, most of Christina Lauren books are in the enemies-to-lovers trope.) The book starts at a wedding—Olive Torres’s sister, Ami. Olive describes herself as extremely unlucky: a recent layoff and other mishaps. Basically, the opposite of Ami, who actually won contests to save money on her wedding and honeymoon. On the day of the wedding, however, the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, including the bride and groom, but excluding Olive and the best man, Ethan Thomas, who happens to be Olive’s nemesis. (See where I’m going here?) Now, Ami’s honeymoon that she won is non-refundable, so Olive and Ethan set off for the free honeymoon package to Maui. I mean, 10 days of pure bliss but with your nemesis? I’ll take that. As the “honeymoon” commences, Olive finds herself having fun. Could love happen on this honeymoon?
The book is one of the perfect books to get me out of a reading slump, so hopefully it can be for you, too! Christina Lauren books are fabulous when it comes to enemies-to-lovers trope, so you can’t go wrong here.
Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen // this is my FAVORITE book—like, of all time. And here’s why. Set in 1960s Manhattan, it follows the assistant to the new Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. The assistant, Alice Weiss, who is a budding photographer, takes this job to get her foot in the door. There, she witnesses the Editor-in-Chief, Helen Gurley Brown, who wrote the scandalous bestseller Sex and the Single Girl, and her work to redesign Cosmopolitan magazine with new editors and writers, article ideas, photo shoot ideas, all the while trying to please the big men in suits upstairs. Alice finds herself swept into lavish parties, five-star dinners, and men who are up to no good, but will she find herself through it all? With Helen Gurley Brown as a mentor, maybe she can. I loved this one because it’s historical fiction, but also so charming and full of New York City glamour and lavish fun that was 1960s Manhattan.
Read if you love Gossip Girl, The Bold Type, Younger, and/or Sex and the City, read Cosmopolitan (you’ll buy a subscription after reading this one if you’re like me), and you love historical fiction or New York City.
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London // aside from Park Avenue Summer, this one is definitely in my top three favorite books. This one is for the Bachelor and Bachelorette fans. The book follows plus-size fashion blogger, Bea Schumacher, who has amazing friends, family, and Instagram followers—but also a broken heart. After writing a blog post on the show and its lack of body diversity, she is approached by the reality dating show, Main Squeeze, to be its next lead. With no plans to fall in love but to grow her career and tear down society’s beauty standards, she accepts! However, she finds that things on the show are not what it seems. As she meets the suitors and finds herself at the center of several different Internet stories, she finds herself falling for some of the suitors.
Read if you love The Bachelor, follow plus-size influencers, body positivity, and reality TV.
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory // this one was my first Jasmine Guillory novel that I ever read, and I will say, my favorite! I love anything that Jasmine Guillory writes; when I pick up her novels, I just feel better instantly. The book follows freelance writer Nikole Paterson who just broke up with her actor boyfriend of six months after he proposed to her at a Dodgers game, so she has to get out of the cameras quickly. Enter: Carlos Ibarra. He swoops in at the baseball game and gets her out before anyone can ask questions. A handsome doctor, Carlos isn’t looking anything for serious. Nikole isn’t looking for anything seriously as she just broke up with her rather immature boyfriend. The pair start to hang out, and a relationship forms, but no commitments are made. However, as hookups start breaking the rules, will they continue to just hook up or will a relationship form?
I would consider this more of a friends-to-lovers trope. This was such a fun and easy read, and will definitely get you out of a reading slump.
Beth & Amy by Virginia Kantra // as a contemporary retelling of Little Women, I was initially wary of reading this one (and its predecessor, Meg & Jo). But, like Meg & Jo, I was pleasantly surprised! I found myself laughing and crying at different parts of the book. It follows Beth and Amy March (obviously) and their adventures in their twenties. The book is set between their hometown in North Carolina and New York. Amy goes back and forth between North Carolina and New York, while Beth moves back home to take care of herself after being on tour with her country singer boyfriend, Colt Henderson. Amy finds herself entangled with Trey Lawrence, the neighbor boy (he’s obviously a man as they’re all grown up here) and the girls’ best friend, whom she’s been in love with since she was 11 years old. After a rendezvous they had in Paris, Amy swore that she was done with Trey. But we all know in romance novels, two people who are meant for each other can’t stay away from each other. On the other side, Beth always grew up as the good girl in the family. As a talented singer/songwriter, she’s overcome her painful anxiety to tour with her boyfriend, Colt, but life on the road has taken a toll on her anxiety and health. Will Beth realize what she wants while she’s at home?
Overall, I finished this book in a week and it was very charming! The contemporary retelling of Little Women pleasantly surprised me. I was so excited to read this after loving Meg & Jo, and was not disappointed. Read if you loved Little Women.
TW: eating disorders, self-harm
You can catch up on what I’m reading currently by following my #bookstagram! I post what I’m reading daily and also fun book lists.
