If you’re staying in with the girls and eating waffles, going out for dinner with your significant other or treating yourself to a hot bubble bath and some chocolate for Valentine’s Day, February is the perfect month to take the time to sit down and read a love story.
Here are some of my personal favorites for this love-filled month:
1 “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen: This is the OG love story. Written in 1813, the plot follows Elizabeth Bennett and her family. Filled with more humor than you might expect, petty conversations and an unexpected romance between two very opposite people, this book is one you shouldn’t miss out on.
2. “After” by Anna Todd: Although this is the first book of a series, it’s your typical young adult romance. If you’re not willing to sit down and read the series, watch “After” on Netflix – and then read the book anyway.
3. “One For the Money” by Janet Evanovich: If you’re working through a heartbreak yourself and don’t want to wind up crying your way through a cliche romance, this is your book. Although there is much more adventure and humor than romance, you’ll fall in love with heartthrob Joe Morelli and laugh out loud at the situations antagonist Stephanie Plum gets herself into.
4. “Sing, Unburied Sing” by Jesmyn Ward: This leans more toward literary fiction and will make you think a little, but it’s a novel you won’t ever forget. Leonie and Michael have two kids, Kayla and Jojo, who are raised by their grandparents Mam and Pop. This focuses on a different kind of love between families and siblings. Your heart will melt at Jojo’s love for his little sister.
5. “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare: If I asked you the first love story that came to your mind, it would hands down be this one. The play has been adapted and told over and over again because, well, it’s the ultimate story of love. Although it’s a tragedy, there’s a reason all of us girls keep saying, “I need to find my Romeo.”
Love is the underlying message in some way shape or form in many works of literature, so pick up one of your favorite books if none of these speak to you before February comes to an end. Focus on what we can learn from love, and remember it’s all around us.
