14 Canadian books about love to read this Valentine's Day
CBC Books | Posted: February 14, 2024 2:35 PM | Last Updated: February 14
Warm your heart with this list of swoon-worthy stories, featuring books ranging from fiction to poetry to nonfiction to young adult!
Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue
Learned by Heart is a riveting account of the boarding school romance between Anne Lister, a brilliant and headstrong troublemaker, and Eliza Raine, an orphaned heiress banished from India to England. The novel draws on Lister's secret journal and extensive research to craft the two womens' long-buried stories.
Donoghue is an Irish Canadian writer known for her novels Landing, Room, Frog Music, The Wonder, The Pull of the Stars and the children's book The Lotterys Plus One. Room was adapted into a critically acclaimed film starring Brie Larson.
LISTEN | Emma Donoghue on Anne Lister, young queer love and Learned By Heart:
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
In the romance novel, Meet Me at the Lake, Fern Brookbanks is constantly reliving the one perfect day she spent in her 20s with the charming Will Baxter. Now, as a 32-year-old, Fern manages her mother's Muskoka resort by the lake. Disillusioned with her life, Fern is shocked when Will shows up at her door, suitcase in hand, asking to help. Why is he here after all this time and more importantly, can she trust him to stay? Meet Me at the Lake is a heartwarming second chance love story which explores mental health and family relationships.
Meet Me at the Lake will be championed by fashion influencer Mirian Njoh on Canada Reads 2024.
Carley Fortune is a Toronto-based journalist and writer who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and Toronto Life. She is also the author of Every Summer After.
LISTEN | Romance on Canada Reads? Yes please, says panellist Mirian Njoh and author Carley Fortune:
Missed Connections by Brian Francis
Missed Connections is a memoir told through letters written 30 years after author Brian Francis put a personal ad in the newspaper. In 1992, as a university student, Francis was still in the closet and decided to write a personal dating ad into a local paper — 13 of 25 letters were never answered. In writing his responses now, Francis reflects on how his experiences as a gay man have changed over time, as well as examining a generation of queer people just after the height of the AIDS epidemic.
Brian Francis is the author of novels Fruit, Natural Order and Break in Case of Emergency. He is a writer and columnist for The Next Chapter on CBC Radio and currently lives in Toronto.
LISTEN | Brian Francis recommends 3 fashion books for style-conscious men:
The Haunting of Adrian Yates by Markus Harwood-Jones
In the queer YA romance novel The Haunting of Adrian Yates, Adrian's summer takes an unexpected turn when he meets a ghost named Sorel in the graveyard near the apartment he lives in with his dads. Adrian's best friend Zoomer is worried that Sorel, who becomes Adrian's boyfriend, might be keeping secrets from him. Adrian begins to meet with Sorel in secret and they start experimenting with consensual possession, which doesn't go according to plan.
The Haunting of Adrian Yates is for ages 13 and up.
Markus Harwood-Jones is a writer, artist and academic living in Toronto. His previous YA novels include In a Heartbeat, We Three and Confessions of a Teenage Drag King, which was named one of the best books of 2020 by CBC Books.
Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron
Jana Goes Wild is a romantic comedy about a woman named Jana who finds herself in an unideal situation — she is attending a destination wedding that her ex Anil is also at. However, although they had broken up on not-so-nice terms, Jana soon realizes that she might be falling for Anil again. With the backdrop of the Serengeti and wandering safari animals, hilarious chaos ensues as Jana tries to make it seem like she's got it all together.
Farah Heron is a writer based in Toronto. She is also the author of the books The Chai Factor, Accidentally Engaged and Tahira in Bloom.
LISTEN | Farah Heron on how diversity has changed the romance genre:
Love Language by Nasser Hussain
Experimenting with the idea of modern love poems, Love Language is a collection that was written during pandemic lockdowns as a way of escapism. Nasser Hussain plays with the forms and conventions of the English language while tackling complicated feelings of love and tenderness.
Hussain is a teacher, academic and writer currently based in England. He serves on the editorial board for Coach House Books in Toronto. He is also the author of the poetry collection SKY WRI TEI NGS.
Where We End and Begin by Jane Igharo
In Where We End & Begin, two star-crossed lovers named Obinna and Dunni reunite at a wedding, rekindling their old high school romance. They had broken up when Dunni left Nigeria to go to college in America. While things have changed, they are still drawn to each other. However, as they rediscover each other — bringing up secrets, and incidents from the past, Dunni must figure out if their love from their younger days is enough to keep them together.
Jane Igharo immigrated to Canada from Nigeria when she was 12 years old. She currently lives in Toronto. She is also the author of the novel was Ties That Tether.
Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin
Much Ado About Nada is about Nada Syed, who is almost 30 and still living at home with her parents. She dreams of making her app Ask Apa into a tech success, but her parents are focused on her finding a partner and getting married. Her best friend Haleema wants things to turn around for Nada and thinks there's no better place to do that than at a large Muslim conference downtown. But when Nada finds out Haleema's fiance Zayn and his brother Baz will be there, she knows she can't go. No matter what. Why? Because her and Baz have history.
Uzma Jalaluddin is a teacher, parenting columnist and author based in Ontario. She is also the author of Ayesha At Last and Hana Khan Carries On.
LISTEN | Why Uzma Jalaluddin writes contemporary rom-coms:
Who We Are in Real Life by Victoria Koops
Reality and imagination come together in the YA novel Who We Are in Real Life. Darcy has just moved to a small town with her two moms and misses her boyfriend and gaming friends. When Art invites her to join his Dungeons & Dragons game, they grow closer and he becomes conflicted. Can he stand up to his conservative father who's trying to put a stop to Darcy's queer-straight alliance club? Meanwhile, in the fantasy world of the game, they fight alongside one another against corruption.
Who We Are in Real Life is for ages 13 and up.
Victoria Koops is a Saskatchewan-based author and practicing counsellor. Who We Are in Real Life is her debut novel.
LISTEN | Victoria Koops discusses her debut novel on The Morning Edition:
Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite
Goddess Crown is a YA Afro-fantasy novel set in the kingdom of Galla. Kalothia was raised in secret — in a woodland outside of the kingdom where she learned to fish and hunt and look after herself. On her 16th birthday, she is forced to flee her home after it is invaded by attackers and she ends up in the king's court, where she gets caught up in dangerous power struggles.
Goddess Crown is for ages 13 and up.
Shade Lapite is a British Nigerian writer living in Toronto. She runs a blog called Coffee Bookshelves, which celebrates and promotes writing by authors of colour. Goddess Crown is Lapite's debut novel.
The Catch by Amy Lea
When influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on Canada's east coast, she's taken aback by the burly and grumpy bed-and-breakfast owner Evan Whaler in the romance novel The Catch. Weren't Canadians supposed to be nice? After a boating accident sends Evan to the hospital, his family mistakes Melanie for his fiancée. The two strike up a deal: she'll fake their engagement for one week if Evan helps her create some social media content.
Amy Lea is an Ottawa-based contemporary romance writer and Canadian bureaucrat. Her previous novels include Woke Up Like This, which was on the Canada Reads 2024 longlist, Exes and O's and Set on You.
Time to Shine by Rachel Reid
In Time to Shine, hockey player Landon Stackhouse has just gotten his call up to the big leagues from the Calgary farm team, though he doesn't get to play much. When Calgary's star player Casey Hicks hit it off this bromance evolves into a romance between the two. But what will happen to the budding relationship when Landon's time in Calgary comes to an end?
Rachel Reid is a romance writer and die-hard hockey fan from Nova Scotia.
Secret Sex edited by Russell Smith
Secret Sex is an anthology of writing from 24 Canadian writers, all writing sex scenes anonymously. With pieces from Heather O'Neill, francesca ekwuyasi and Michael Winter among others, readers can guess who wrote what or simply enjoy the uncensored scenes veering from graphic to surreal.
Russell Smith is a Toronto-based novelist and acquiring editor at Dundurn Press.
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki
Set on a trip to New York City in 2009, Roaming is a graphic novel that follows best friends Zoe and Dani during their first year of college. As a queer romance blossoms between Zoe and Dani's classmate Fiona — who tags along — friendships get put to the test and all three girls learn more about who they are set against the backdrop of the big city.
Mariko Tamaki is a writer based in California. Her other books include the YA novels (you) Set Me On Fire and Saving Montgomery Sole. She's also the author of many superhero comics for DC Comics, Darkhorse and Marvel.
Jillian Tamaki is a Toronto-based cartoonist, illustrator and educator. With her cousin Mariko Tamaki, she co-created the YA graphic novel Skim, which was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award. Another collaboration, This One Summer, won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — illustration.
LISTEN | Mariko and Jillian Tamaki discuss the make-or-break experiences of travelling with friends: