I spent the majority of my twenties living and working abroad, and I've always been a sucker for a love story that crosses borders. I met my husband while living and working in Turkey, and now I write lighthearted romance novels inspired by the idea that you don't have to choose between catching flights or catching feelings - why not both? While I'm doing less traveling these days, I feel like I still get to experience different countries, cultures, and settings thanks to so many wonderful books that feel like vacations.
First of all, I love everything I've ever read from Helen Hoang.
Getting inside the heads of her characters feels like such a privilege, always providing a different way of viewing the world. In this book, watching the characters come to understand and love each other through neurodivergence, language, and cultural differences was so beautiful. I couldn't put it down!
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart...
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he's defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
I felt like I was on vacation in France while reading this book, and it was such a treat!
The setting was so beautiful, so alive, and it definitely piqued my interest in exploring a country I've never visited before. I think a book that feels like a getaway is such a delight to immerse myself in, and it's definitely cheaper than a plane ticket!
One (crumbling) French castle. Two enemies-at-first-sight. The holiday of a lifetime.
Merry DeLuca has a problem-a big problem. Her sister just married her best friend and the only man she's ever loved. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn't have an escape plan.
So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance. Merry knows her French holiday will fix everything-there will be mouthwatering pastries, delicious (meaningless) flirtations, and languid strolls through vineyards at sunset. Her holiday will be perfect.
Take one workaholic lawyer with six months to secure her promotion to law firm partner. Add an attractive, fun-loving neighbor next door who makes her laugh and tempts her with a different life. Is this a recipe for love or disaster?
I adored the premise of this novel so much—a wee Scottish cafe needs a volunteer to come run it? Yes, please.
The setting was utterly delightful, and I just love a small town full of colorful characters. It made me want to travel back to Scotland as soon as possible.
In this steamy tale by USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn, an American searching for her purpose escapes to a Scottish town but finds more questions than answers when she meets a brooding yet handsome handyman.
Freshly fired from her third job in a row, Bonnie St. James has lost her way. So when she and her best friend stumble upon a "help wanted" post to run a coffee shop in the Scottish Highlands, they apply on a whim. Who knows? Maybe traveling to a new place is just what she needs to figure out her next move.
I love that Royal Holiday features older characters—the main character in this book is the mother of the main character in another of the same series. Because yes, whirlwind love stories shouldn't be restricted just to the 20- or 30-somethings.
The maturity and self-knowledge of the main characters was so refreshing, and of course the setting is a part of why I love every single book on this list.
Reese Witherspoon, Oprah and Roxane Gay LOVE her! Readers love her!
Have you discovered New York Times bestseller and Reese's Book Club pick Jasmine Guillory yet?
'The queen of contemporary romance' OprahMag.com 'She writes the sexiest and smartest romances' Red Magazine 'Just as essential to a good summer holiday as SPF' Grazia
'Jasmine has done it again. A fun, engaging, light romance'
'The loveliest little snack from the talented Jasmine Guillory'
'Like a Hallmark movie in book form' ............................................................
IT'S THE CHRISTMAS ROMANCE YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS!
When Vivian Forest gets the chance to tag along on her daughter…
The Pact is a contemporary fiction novel about Australian sisters, Samantha and Annie, who are doubles tennis champions. This story amplifies the usual sibling issues and explores their professional partnership and personal relationships – similarities, differences, motivation, competition, abandonment, and grief – and how they each respond to the stress…
I see the phrase "roadtrip across Ireland," and it's an immediate "yes" for me.
There was so much that I loved about this story—the adventurous main characters and the shenanigans they get themselves into, an animal sidekick, and of course the setting. There were some parts near the end that made me a little teary-eyed, but in a beautiful and cathartic kind of way. I think it's time for a reread!
Carla Black's life motto is "here for a good time, not for a long time." She's been traveling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesn't do love and she doesn't ever go home.
Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but he's the one who's lost his sense of direction. He's unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled out-literally.
We Were Inevitable is an interactive romantic comedy, written in the style of a "choose your own adventure" story. Follow along with Melody, the main character, as she faces different decision points...and then make the choice you would enjoy reading the most. From the setting of the story to the tropes that will play out when she meets her leading man, it's all up to you.
Melody Critchfield is overworked and underappreciated at work, perpetually single in her personal life. When the opportunity comes along to stay put in Michigan or move to Turkey or Germany, things get interesting. Different career opportunities await her abroad, as well as different paths to encountering Ben, the leading man. The choice, dear reader, is up to you.
The House on Mountain Laurel Lane
by
Eileen Goudge,
A widow and mom of two struggles to let go of the past and embrace the future in a powerful novel about friendship, love, and taking risks by New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge.
Ever since her husband Sean’s death, Jo Myers just can’t move on. Until she receives…
Think how tough it is to reach adulthood in today's complicated world. Now imagine doing so in front of a global audience. That's what growing up in show business is like. Every youthful mistake laid bare for all to see. Malefactors looking to ensnare the naive at any turn. Each…
