No matter how you feel about Valentines, whether you look forward to it or you think it is overly commercialised, one thing you cannot deny is the power of a great love story. There have been so many great examples written across centuries. From the classics that will never let you down to the contemporary novels that we look forward to seeing becoming those that stand the test of time. Our booksellers have chosen their favourite love stories, romantic or otherwise to celebrate this season of love.

First up, you cannot have a list of love stories and not include Austen…

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE BY JANE AUSTEN 

£12.99 | Chosen by Rosamund

“It may be cliché, but Pride and Prejudice is always impossible to resist and it is the perfect time to re-read with the new Miss Austen series show on iPlayer…”

Jane Austen’s best-loved novel is an unforgettable story about the inaccuracy of first impressions, the power of reason and, above all, the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions. A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice shows how the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet and the aristocratic Mr Darcy must have their pride humbled and their prejudices dissolved before they can acknowledge their love for each other.

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PERSUASION  BY JANE AUSTEN 

£12.99 | Chosen by Vicky

“Move over Mr Darcy – Captain Wentworth has arrived. A deeply romantic novel about love lost and found, because everyone deserves a second chance.”

Persuasion follows the story of Anne Elliott, who as a teenager was engaged to a seemingly ideal man, Frederick Wentworth. But after being persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that he is too poor to be a suitable match, Anne ends their engagement. When they are reacquainted eight years later, their circumstances are transformed: Frederick is returning triumphantly from the Napoleonic War, while Anne’s fortunes are floundering. Will their past regrets prevent them from finding future happiness?

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MANSFIELD PARK BY JANE AUSTEN 

£12.99 | Chosen by Sarah

“The often overlooked Austen that deserves more attention. A subtler romance than her others but you will find Austen’s satirical scrutiny of society is at it’s best here!”

Aged ten, Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthier relations, the Bertrams, at Mansfield Park. However, life there is not as she imagined. Treated with disdain by three of her cousins, she finds her only comfort in the kindness of the fourth, Edmund. As they grow, their friendship develops into romantic love – until the arrival of Henry Crawford and his charming sister Mary causes an emotional upheaval that no one in the family expects.

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THE CARETAKER BY RON RASH

£9.99 | Chosen by Jen

“Sparely written with a beautiful sense of time and place, this is a heartbreaking love story. Will love, be it parental, platonic or romantic, overcome betrayal and loss?”

Jacob Hampton’s wealthy parents disinherited him when he married Naomi, an uneducated hotel maid. Jacob has been called up to fight in Korea, leaving a pregnant Naomi behind. The only person he can trust to take care of her is his lifelong friend, Blackburn Gant. Blackburn, who tends the local cemetery, is an outsider too, his appearance irrevocably altered by childhood disease. Slowly the two outcasts grow closer and as they await news of Jacob’s return, a terrible, shattering act of deception derails all their lives. But no secret can stay hidden for ever.

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IN MEMORIAM BY ALICE WINN

£9.99 | Chosen by Rosamund

“Alice Winn throws us into the heart of each visceral moment, it’s a remarkable novel, even more so given it’s her first. The narrative grips from the first page, and the vivid, funny, sharply observed characters of Gaunt and Ellwood will stay with you long after the last page.”

In 1914, war feels far away to Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood. They’re too young to enlist, and anyway, Gaunt is fighting his own private battle – an all-consuming infatuation with the dreamy, poetic Ellwood – not having a clue that his best friend is in love with him too. When Gaunt’s mother asks him to enlist, he signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him to the front. Ellwood and Gaunt find love in the trenches – but just as war brought them together, it can tear them apart…

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TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS FROM NOW BY JASON REYNOLDS
£8.99 | Chosen by Jen

“Tender and honest, funny and real – Neon’s relationship with Aria, told in reverse, will touch your heart and leave you glowing. Boys deserve love stories too!”

Seventeen-year-old Neon is about to have sex with his girlfriend, Aria, for the first time. In 24 seconds to be precise. He’s hiding in the bathroom, nervous, wanting to do everything right….Rewind. To 24 minutes earlier. Rewind again. To 24 hours earlier . To 24 days earlier. To 24 weeks earlier. To 24 months earlier, when he and Aria first met. This wholesome piece of fiction discusses how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love.

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GLASGOW BOYS BY MARGARET MCDONALD
£8.99 | Chosen by Vicky

“Heartbreaking and hugely uplifting, this perfectly crafted novel explores vulnerability and acceptance. A love letter to friendship.”

Two boys can’t remember the last time they had a hug. Finlay’s studying for his nursing degree at Glasgow University, against all the odds. But coming straight from care means he has no support network. How can he write essays, find paid work and NOT fall for the beautiful boy at uni, when he’s struggling to even feed himself? Banjo’s trying to settle in with his new foster family and finish high school. But he can’t forget all that has happened, and his anger and fear keep boiling over. How can he hold on to the one good person in his life, when his outbursts keep threatening his already uncertain future? Can Finlay and Banjo let go of the past before it drags them under?

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CLEAR BY CARYS DAVIES

£12.99 | Chosen by Sarah

“By examining the importance of human connection and a way of life that has disappeared, Davies’ polished prose will have you savouring every word of this tender and atmospheric novel.”

On a remote Scottish island, Ivar, the sole occupant, leads a life of quiet isolation until the day he finds a man unconscious on the beach below the cliffs. The newcomer is John Ferguson, an impoverished church minister sent to evict Ivar and turn the island into grazing land for sheep. Unaware of the stranger’s intentions, Ivar takes him into his home, and in spite of the two men having no common language, a fragile bond begins to form between them.

You can find more of our favourite love stories over on our Bookshop.org list Love in All Forms. Click HERE.