20 delightfully diverse romance novels recommended by Seattle-area experts

Need a gateway book into the romance genre? Here’s a delightfully diverse assortment, recommended by local experts.

Robin Bradford, Pierce County librarian, named Cathie Linz Librarian of the Year by Romance Writers of America in 2016:

• “A Bollywood Affair” by Sonali Dev. This contemporary India-to-America tale “is very much like a general fiction book that revolves around a relationship.”
• “night hawkby Beverly Jenkins. This novel from Jenkins (who’s been publishing Black historical romance for more than 25 years) is set in 1880s Wyoming. “If you must read a Beverly Jenkins and you must, that’s one of the ones that you need to read.”
• “An Extraordinary Union” by Alyssa Cole. “It’s a romantic suspense, it takes place during the Civil War, and they’re spies. Absolutely fantastic.”

Andrew King, bookseller at Secret Garden Books and organizer of the shop’s new romance section:

• “Delilah Green Doesn’t Care” by Ashley Herring Blake. “It’s just fantastic — a Sapphic romance taking place in small-town Oregon — so funny, so sweet, so cinematic.”
• “weather girl” by Rachel Lynn Solomon. From a local author, this tale of love and scheming is set at a (fictional) Seattle TV station. “She understands the vibe of Seattle completely. It felt like the perfect Seattle romance read.”
• “Fumbled” by Alexa Martin. This “second chance romance” between a football star and a single mom is “so good and so fun and I was so invested!” (And you don’t have to know a lot about football to love it.)

Joanne Machin, romance novelist, bookseller at Brick & Mortar Books, president of Emerald City Romance Writers:

• “The Kiss Quotient” by Helen Hoang. This tale of a woman on the autism spectrum and a professional escort is “one of my favorite romances of all time. … I shove it into everyone’s hands that I can possibly shove it into.”
• “Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert. This is the first in a rom-com series by Hibbert, a Black British author. “I just think it’s hysterically funny, and it’s really sweet as well.”
• “Love and Other Disasters” by Anita Kelly. A nonbinary contestant on a cooking show falls for a fellow contestant. “It’s really fun and it’s fluffy — it just makes you feel really good.”

Andrea Pangilinan, bookseller at Third Place Books and organizer of the Radical Romance Book Club:

• “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood. This popular grad-school romance “started out as ‘Star Wars’ fan fiction — it is adorable!”
• “Bringing Down the Duke” by Evie Dunmore. In this tale of suffragettes in late 19^th-century England, “you can feel the backbone of research and how the social issues they were dealing with at that time relates to the social issues that we deal with today.”
• “You Had Me at Hola” by Alexis Daria. This rom-com about two telenovela actors is “like ‘Jane the Virgin’ in a book — adorable, with a lot of sizzle and chemistry.”

Misha Stone, reader services librarian at Seattle Public Library; named Librarian of the Year in 2021 by the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America (now Emerald City Romance Writers):

• “Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny” by Rebekah Weatherspoon. A Black woman doctor, in need of a nanny for her kids, finds unexpected romance. “This is such a great one. … It’s about figuring out ‘what are the things I want in life.’”
• “Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake” by Alexis Hall. Just right for fans of “The Great British Baking Show,” this one features a bisexual single mom who risks everything to get on a popular baking show, complete with “snappy dialogue, and all that baking.”
• “Spoiler Alert” and “All the Feels” by Olivia Dade. Taking place behind the scenes of a Los Angeles television show, this “superfun and smart series” features plus-sized heroines.

Olivia Waite, romance author and New York Times romance fiction reviewer:

• “A Princess in Theory” by Alyssa Cole. Cole began her Reluctant Royals series with this tale of an American grad student and an African prince. “It’s a great starter romance because it’s fun — it’s a Cinderella story.”
• “Lotus Palace” and “The Jade Temptress” by Jeannie Lin. These romances set in Tang dynasty China are “so, so good. … The second one’s my favorite but it’s much better if you’ve read the first one.”
• “Indigoby Beverly Jenkins. Another historical novel from Jenkins (“Her sentences are so clear, they’re like little bells on the page”), set against the backdrop of the Underground Railroad.

Welcome to one of the most love-filled days of the year! Whether you’re riding solo or spending the day with loved one(s), here’s our guide to Valentine’s Day in the Seattle area: romantic and sweet-filled walks, date ideas, reader memories and more.