Happy Valentine’s Day!
At this moment, I am currently wearing the cutest shirt ever. Here, have a picture:
Hey, that’s me! Your friendly neighborhood writer/book blogger.
In the past, I’ve not always been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, and I’ve definitely been known to wear all black or listen to death metal, but in recent years, I’ve really grown to appreciate it. Some of my favorite stories are romantic one, and when there’s a romance snuck into another genre, I’m just over the moon happy. I love when people fall in love. Thus, I thought it’d be fun to share my top five (current*) absolute favorite books and movies that are either in the romance genre or just have the greatest love story ever.
*This is always subject to change. Some of these have been my faves forever, some of them are what I’m feeling right now. Truthfully, Atonement should be on this list somewhere, but I didn’t want too many sad romances.
First up, books!
Okay, if you’ve followed this blog for even a small amount of time, you’ve probably heard me talk about this book. I picked it up purely for the cover initially because those two are my aesthetic for sure, but then the concept? Penny, a brand new freshman in college, witnesses Sam, who is currently basically homeless, having a panic attack on the side of the street. She gets him all sorted and then decides that they need to be each other’s emergency contacts in case he tries to accidentally die again. They start texting for “emergencies”, and it quickly turns into more. UGH OH MY GOD. This will turn you into a bowl of mush. The writing is fantastic (Choi writes Deadpool comics!!!), the characters are so well done and work adorably together, and the story is so interesting because it takes twists and turns you’d never expect while still staying true to the romance at its core.
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I haven’t gotten my physical copy in the mail yet, but I love this story so much that after reading the entire webcomic in the span of a few days, I preordered volume one. UGH THESE BOYS. Charlie and Nick are friends in high school, though through a few choice encounters, they start to grow a little closer, and before long, Nick is seriously confused. He thought he was straight? HA YEAH RIGHT. This is adorable. Charlie’s face makes me want to curl up in a ball and scream (in a good way), and their relationship is just so freaking cute. Lots of cuddling and kissing and gooeyness.
I like teenagers falling in love, and that will continue to be a theme throughout this post. I’m past that age, but I never read any of these when I was that age, and I so vividly remember being that age that I just really enjoy traveling back in time. Because I do remember how fast and hard crushes are when you’re a teenager, and oh this. This does it justice. So far, I’ve only read two books by Rowell, but both of them have sucker-punched me in the feels. This follows Eleanor, who feels like an outcast, and Park, who just wants everyone to leave him alone, and them coming together through a shared love of comic books and music. I mean, what more could you want? To cry? Sure. To laugh? Definitely. To gasp? Oh, just wait. This book will also sucker-punch you in the feels. (That’s a good thing. I think?)
What is a post about love stories without the greatest one of them all? Not only is one of my cats named after Grace Brisbane, I have Sam’s name tattooed on me. It’s part of a quote, it’s not just his name, but you get the point. This is, hands down, my favorite book of all time (yes, more than HP), and it’s also one of my favorite love stories. Grace, bookworm, studious, and no nonsense, falls for Sam, werewolf, moody, and hopeless romantic. The problem? Sam is in his last year of humanity and will turn into a wolf forever, which of course means they need to find a cure so they can live happily ever after. ughhhhhhh it’s so good
One of the things I liked most about the book more than the movie was, truthfully, not the romance, but the little short book reviews that Maddie writes. They were hilarious. But also, the romance in this is so much more drawn out than in the movie. Obviously, they have more time in the book, but it just felt so rushed in the movie, so when I think of this story, I definitely gravitate toward the book. This story is about Maddie, who has a disease that does not allow her to go outside, and Olly, who moves in next door and falls in love with her through texting and basically charades through their windows. I have a thing for teens falling in love over text, clearly. This book will wrench your heart out.
And the movies!
I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days–three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain. Oh, this movie. Do you want to cry? Great, watch this movie. It’s the story of the romance between John Keats and Fanny Brawne, and as a fair warning, they don’t have a happy ending. (Let’s be honest, though, if he hadn’t died, they totally would have.) A lot of their romance is soft and quiet, little stolen moments here and there, and it’s just lovely.
Oh boy, this movie is something else. I was writing a Marvel college au fanfiction when I first watched this, and I remember so vividly, during the library scene (you know which one), Erin paused it, and we both just looked at each other like write this into the college au oh my god. It made it in, too.
I lovelovelove movies about writers. On the Road? That’s my jam. The Words? The movie that made me fall for Bradley Cooper. Dead Poets Society? Yessssss. (oh my gosh don’t Google movies about writers THOSE ARE NOT WHAT I MEANT) This is not only a great writer movie, but whew boy, you want some pining with a side of spontaneous kissing and longing gazes? HERE YOU GO. This is a little bit pretentious and a lot bit wonderful.
I’m gonna be real with you, this ^^^ scene is what broke me. Yes, I love all the mystery and the adorableness throughout, but when Simon pulled up and got five coffees instead of four, I legit squealed out loud in the theater. And I know this was a book first, but I love the book and the movie as their own separate entities and I only wanted to pick one for this list, and the visual of boys kissing made me pick the movie. I will always be a sucker for boys kissing. And boy, this movie will get you. Simon is adorable, first of all, and all the little ways he flails about Blue will ruin you, second of all. Every time he flops down into his pillows or tries to hide or just looks so awkward is set out to murder the general population with cuteness. AND BLUE??? Don’t even start. I can’t. This movie will have you giggling nonstop.
Oh boy, I might start crying during this post. It was really hard for me to decide whether to put the movie or the book for this. The movie has Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank, but the book is heartbreaking. Like, you think you cried during the movie? You have no idea. The book is so much worse. After the untimely death of her husband, Holly is trying to figure out how in the world she’s supposed to move on when she receives a letter in the mail–from her dead husband. Knowing that he was going to die, he wrote her a series of letters over the course of a year that would keep his memory alive, but also give her the space to let go. Also, Ireland.
This show has been a gift to this fandom purely for the representation (and again, visual of boys kissing) of Magnus and Alec. Yes, I’ve read the books and love them to pieces, but we don’t get a lot of direct point of views of this relationship, and this show made it not only a big focus, but one of their main pairings. When was the last time you saw a TV show that didn’t focus on the straight couple all the time? The epic love story of Magnus and Alec is so wonderfully done in the show, and sometimes even better than in the books. I appreciate that we’ve gotten to see them so much, and I will never stop loving these two.
HAPPY LOVE DAY!
Mary and the Words 
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