Love Stories
Love is in the air, even at the library! As Valentine’s Day nears, we asked Hillary Copsey, book advisor at the Mercantile Library, to suggest stories perfect for the holiday.
The Mercantile Library is a great spot for book lovers. Founded in 1835, the library has 80,000 volumes, in a collection that includes e-books and audiobooks. The membership library hosts programs and events throughout the year, encouraging a passion for reading in our community. To find out more, visit mercantilelibrary.com.
All the rom-com novels by Emily Henry
Henry is based in Greater Cincinnati, and all her contemporary romances are superb, full of banter and swoon. Our favorite is Book Lovers, which turns a Hallmark romance on its head, but get on the library holds list now for Happy Place, coming out in April.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
This emotional second-chance romance is the February book for the Mercantile’s Black Experience Book Club. Fifteen years after an intense week falling in love as teenagers, two writers reconnect as adults. The spark remains but can passion survive their lives now?
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Cincinnati native Sittenfeld sets a modern version of Jane Austen’s classic enemies-to-lovers romance, Pride & Prejudice, in the Queen City. Elizabeth and Darcy go to Skyline! And Madison Bowl! Like Cincinnati chili, this book can be polarizing, but we think it’s a clever and charming update. Also, Sittenfeld has an April release to watch for: Romantic Comedy. A celebrity heartthrob falls for a regular-gal comedy writer. Can it work?
Persuasion by Jane Austen
If you’re going to read the Queen of Romance, we suggest her most grown-up novel. It’s a second-chance love story full of longing and the wisdom of knowing yourself. Also, Wentworth’s letter at the end is more romantic than even reservations at Jeff Ruby’s.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
A gentle romance full of sharp British wit, this novel is a reminder that love happens at all ages.
A Duke, The Lady, and A Baby by Vanessa Riley
If you’re looking for a Regency Era romance to fill the gap until the next Bridgerton season drops, Riley gives you all the dukes and rakes you want — with a side of intrigue.
Bringing Down The Duke by Evie Dunmore
Feminists want romance, too. In Dunmore’s Victorian era romances, British suffragettes find their political plans complicated — and eventually, complemented — by love.
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
Cole is the romance writer other romance writers rave about. This is romance with a side of American history, the start of a trilogy about Civil War spies. The story is fantastic, but Cole’s research endnotes show you it’s also plausible.