Romantic Novels for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is almost here and there are stories for the romantics, the hopeless romantics and the hopeful romantics. We are moving beyond Harlequin and Regency romances so grab a glass of wine and celebrate heart day with a book and with a box of chocolates.

Classic love stories include anything by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë. An epic love story to consider is Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. Don’t want to keep up with all those Russian names? How about Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell?

The Outlander, Diana Gabaldon's story of Claire Randall caught between two different men in two different centuries, will certainly make your Valentine’s Day special.

If you need some humor this Valentine's Day, try Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale. The novel follows three friends searching for real love in an age of casual sex and cheating men. I have always enjoyed Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum’s love interests in her storylines.

Two authors well known in the love-life world are Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel. The Notebook by Sparks is an intimate love story. A few more ideas: 

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: This Booker Prize-winning novel looks at the interlinked lives (and love lives) of four people at the end of WWII. At the center of this compelling story is that English Patient, a nameless and severely burned man who recounts his nurse with his life story, and about the one woman he loved so dearly but lost all the same. A work of great literature, The English Patient is one of the books that deserves to be read slowly and savored. So take up a copy in the bathtub, with a tall glass of wine, and you'll never look back. 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: This New York Times best-seller is a heartbreaking romance novel that has sold over five million copies. The story of Louisa Clark, an ordinary girl who takes a job taking care of paraplegic Will Traynor, is one that'll leave you in tears. Be sure to check out the sequel, After You. 

The Mistress by Danielle Steel: Currently the best-selling author alive with over 800 million copies of her books sold, Danielle Steel knows romance. Her latest book, The Mistress, is about Natasha Leonov's desire to run away and fall in love with Theo Luca, a brilliant painter. Under the protection of the ruthless billionaire, Vladimir Stanislas — who brought her in from the streets to be his mistress — she's anything but free to leave. She'll have to face the choice to stay or risk her safety for the man she loves. 

What are your favorite romantic novels?