Valentine's Day books are a delightful way to celebrate love, kindness, and connection. These books often focus on themes of friendship, romance, self-love, and the many forms love can take. Whether you're looking for heartfelt tales, playful stories, classic romances, or a bit of spice there's something for every age and taste.

From YA reads exploring first love, self-discovery, and the emotional rollercoaster of relationships. To timeless love stories and swoon-worthy romances to humorous takes on relationships and poignant explorations of love's complexities, our Valentine’s Day Collection will have it all.

It also features some cracking non-fiction reads focusing on cultivating self-love, understanding relationships, and celebrating all kinds of love beyond romance.

The Good Ol' Rom-Com

We're starting things off with a Valentine's Day classic. Unapologetically filled with humour and romance, the rom-com is as quintessential to Valentine's Day as hearts and flowers. Author of LoveReading highlights The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and The Library of Lost and Found, Phaedra Patrick has just released The Year of What If. Featuring a bride-to-be, a fortune teller, too many ex-boyfriends and a life-changing European adventure, pick this book and see if Carla's future can be rewritten. 

If you are looking for a kind-hearted and tender rom-com for fans of Ali Hazelwood’s geeky romantic men and Beth O’Leary’s try out Rebecca Ryan's The Philosophy of Love. Two former philosophy students make a bet about whether love is a function of the brain, rational and predictable or creative, irrational and unable to be studied. Check out who wins.

The Witchy Romance

Enjoy the magic of falling in love more literally this Valentine's Day with romances that have a witchy vibe. These spell-binding reads have charmed us and left us totally bewitched (all the puns intended). 

Breanne Randall's charming debut novel The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is the perfect book for anyone loves curling up with a cosy, witchy romance. It's perfect for fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls. It's also a standalone but a great place to start before diving into Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things, Breanne's new YA romantasy that's Pride and Prejudice meets Charmed in a thrilling tale of romance, magic and sisterhood - out on the 27th February.

The Romantasy 

Speaking of Romantasy, we could go on at length about out love for this sub-genre. We do in our Romantasy collection. So here we'll keep it brief with a couple of recent highlights that would make perfect Valentine's Day reads. Readers who loves To Kill a Kingdom will love Capitana by Cassandra James. A captivating and swashbuckling YA romantasy where seafaring pirate hunter Ximena Reale faces a dangerous quest to prove herself as her family's pirate legacy continues to haunt her. 

For readers looking for Romantasy outside of the YA audience, we adored Quicksilver by Callie Heart. It's an action-packed, magic-filled epic world you can dive into with a tortured male main character to fall in love with and add to your book boyfriend roster. Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek is another suggestion that you might not have already seen everywhere on Booktok. This spellbinding twist on Beauty and the Beas is steeped in Slavic folklore, secrets and gothic romance. 

The Sporty Romance

Any avid romance reader is probably familiar with the sports romance category. Whether two sports collide in a rivals-to-lovers sensation like Icebreaker or only one of the main characters brings sports to the story, these romances have all the drama and tension of watching your favourite team play and more. This Valentine's Day why not pick out a new sports romance to enjoy? Unloved by Peyton Corinne is the brand new sports romance follow up to the TikTok sensation Unsteady where hopeless romantic Ro and Freddy, a player on and off the ice, form an unexpected bond during their tutoring sessions. 

The latest in the Off the Ice series by Bal Khabra is sure to have readers in a spin. Spiral is a fake-dating sports romance that follows a newly drafted hockey player struggling with the spotlight and an aspiring ballerina with a chance to change her fortunes.

Enemies-to-lovers / Rivals-to-lovers

If you're looking for a book where sparks fly for Valentine's Day, there's sarcastic banter and A* chemistry, look no further than a rivals or enemies to lovers romance book. It's a popular trope that we have a full collection of recommendations to swoon over. Fans of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game will enjoy Katie Holt's Not in My Book a spicy rom-com where rivals must collaborate on a grad school class while competing for a career changing opportunity. Staying at school, Sarah Adams' Beg, Borrow or Steal sees two feuding second-grade teachers becoming unlikely allies and neighbours. 

Author of many romance series including Talking Dirty and Nine Circles, Jackie Ashenden's Book People sees warring bookshop owners in an English village forced to work together. 

Friends-to-lovers

On the flip side, we have friends to lovers. Another trope we have a collection of picks for, this time full of secret crushes, slow burn and yearning abound. Author of Thank you for Sharing Rachel Runya Katz has released Whenever You're Ready, a “sizzling”, diverse, friends-to-lovers Sapphic romance all about family, friendship and the kind of love that could change everything - if only you are willing to take a chance.

Reconnecting romance

Perhaps you're not in the mood for wanting to read the start of an unfolding romance. What about what happens after the happily ever after? Reconnecting romances are about just that. In Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young a married couple joins a week-long gruelling wilderness expedition to help them reconnect. Readers love Bonam-Young for her swoon-worthy storylines and her diverse representation and this companion novel to Out on a Limb continues to deliver. 

You could also pick up Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey, or even Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar, a forced proximity romance where a couple who married in Vegas on a drunken whim are stuck together in a hurricane. 

Non-fiction books about love and relationships

Stepping away from all the brilliant romance reads on the shelves at the moment now. If you're wanting to focus more on personal development this Valentine's Day why not have a look at some non-fiction highlights. Valentine's Day is dedicated to sharing love with a special someone, but what if you're still looking or wanting t improve your relationships the rest of the year? 

It Begins With You by beloved relationship coach Jillian Turecki reveals nine core truths to self-acceptance, providing powerful self-healing techniques to help repair our relationships with ourselves and start building the rewarding relationships we deserve. 

Selected from 15,000 anonymously submitted true love tales as part of a project called Lockdown Love Stories, Philippa Found has created It's Complicated. Consisting of 250 confessions of love and dating that peel back the layers of modern dating. A mosaic of human connections and stories about love that prove you're not alone.

Have you ever wondered what the most statistically-effective flirting technique is? Or why everyone on earth fancies George Clooney? Science writer and TV presenter Stefan Gates seeks to answer these questions and more in Loveology. Combining evidence based research to take you on an enlightening journey filled with surprising facts, flirting techniques and answers to life's big question. It's the perfect book for Valentine's Day. 

The very short stories

Ten-Word Tiny Tales of Love is a book without age limit. Following on from the success of Ten-Word Tiny Tales, poet Joseph Coelho has created a unique compendium designed to spark the imagination this Valentine's Day. You'll also find two creative writing challenges in the back, you could have a go and create your own tiny tale for a loved one. The love we have for siblings, nature and even pets all feature in this book, making it the perfect Valentine's Day book for the family and every story is illustrated by a different artist.

The Alternative Valentine's Day

We know not everyone resembles the heart-eyes emoji every time February 14th comes around, so if you're looking for an alternative to the typical Valentine's Day read we have a few suggestions for you too. Blob by Maggie Su is a funny, sharp, and strange novel which might just be the perfect alternative Valentine's Day read in 2025. Vi Liu's life is a mess. Until she makes her perfect man from a sentient blob. Self-Contained by Emma Joh is a witty bitingly honest memoir experiencing the meaning of being single in a world that doesn't want you to be. And Instructions for Heartbreak by Sarah Handyside may be our winner for best title. It's a razor sharp debut that follows four female friends living in London, exploring female friendship and how to survive a broken heart.

Keep scrolling for some more love-ly Valentine's Day book recommendations. Shop with us and feel the love by receiving 10% off RRP and know you'll be sharing the book love with UK schools by donating up to 25% of the cost of your purchase.

For more books on love and romance, take a look at these collections below:

What to Read After Bridgerton - The Books For Fans of Regency Romance

Exploring Romance Tropes: Really Fall for these Fake Dating Romance Novel Recommendations

Exploring Romance Tropes: Fall in Love with these Friends to Lovers Romances

Exploring Romance Tropes: Discover 30+ Enemies to Lovers Books Romance Readers Swoon Over.

A Roundup of Romantasy Reads - Whether You're a Sarah J. Maas Fan or New to the Magical World of Fantasy and Romance