Here are 100 books that You, with a View fans have personally recommended if you like
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During my MFA, I learned to write family dramas and character-driven fiction, but I wanted more comfort, joy, and… romance! I knew the swoony and funny aspects of rom-coms could lift heavier emotional subjects like grief and loss, allowing readers to explore these resonant aspects of life safely, with a guaranteed Happily Ever After. All the books on this list explore a full emotional range of the human experience through extraordinary, utterly magical love stories about otherwise ordinary, flawed people. I hope they make you laugh, swoon, maybe shed a few cathartic tears, and come out the other side feeling better than when you turned the first page.
This enemies-to-lovers story about a romance writer and a literary fiction writer who strike a bet to write their next book in each other’s genre blew me away with its hilarious dialogue and realistic emotional stakes.
January struggles to write another Happily Ever After upon learning her recently deceased father had a secret life with another woman. She goes to deal with his beach house, only to find that her college writing rival is her neighbor for the summer.
As part of Gus and January’s renewed rivalry, they go on a series of dates to teach each other about their genre, and they develop mutual professional respect that bleeds into attraction.
One highlight is when they write flirty notes and hold them up through their neighboring windows. This is a true rom-com, so hilarious and sexy, but it commits to realism and reaches for heavy, heart-wrenching emotional stakes and the…
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION AND BOOK LOVERS!
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They’re polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
During my MFA, I learned to write family dramas and character-driven fiction, but I wanted more comfort, joy, and… romance! I knew the swoony and funny aspects of rom-coms could lift heavier emotional subjects like grief and loss, allowing readers to explore these resonant aspects of life safely, with a guaranteed Happily Ever After. All the books on this list explore a full emotional range of the human experience through extraordinary, utterly magical love stories about otherwise ordinary, flawed people. I hope they make you laugh, swoon, maybe shed a few cathartic tears, and come out the other side feeling better than when you turned the first page.
I adored this small-town romance about a former Michelin star chef looking for a second chance and the local sweetheart who can’t help but rescue hurt and neglected animals and is determined to beat her ex-boyfriend in this year’s pairs canoe race.
The staple silliness and absurdity of a small-town rom-com lift the emotional heaviness of both principal characters’ personal circumstances. Fisher is grieving the loss of his sister and his career while also suddenly responsible for his teenage niece, and her three brothers raised Sage after their parents died young.
Their romantic connection is mature and emotional but also playful and sweet. DeWitt’s expert use of comedy to cut against emotion is especially lovely in this book. I laughed and cried, often at the same time.
Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She's learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her friendships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win―something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs…
During my MFA, I learned to write family dramas and character-driven fiction, but I wanted more comfort, joy, and… romance! I knew the swoony and funny aspects of rom-coms could lift heavier emotional subjects like grief and loss, allowing readers to explore these resonant aspects of life safely, with a guaranteed Happily Ever After. All the books on this list explore a full emotional range of the human experience through extraordinary, utterly magical love stories about otherwise ordinary, flawed people. I hope they make you laugh, swoon, maybe shed a few cathartic tears, and come out the other side feeling better than when you turned the first page.
What’s better than a figure skating pair romance? One where the newly formed team are enemies! Jasmine has never reached the same elite level as Ivan, but now that she’s temporarily paired with him for one season, she’s determined to make the most of it, even if they spend their ice time bickering.
Jasmine has a supportive, close-knit family, but she’s not getting younger, and her divorced father pressures her to finally give up her skating aspirations and go to college. Jasmine is scrappy, snarky, and impossible not to root for. This slow-burn romance builds organically as Ivan’s arrogance quietly shifts to admiration for and loyalty to his new partner.
This book also has one of the swooniest micro trope moments: Ivan’s hidden feelings come out in an achingly sweet slip as he cares for Jasmine and calls her “baby.”
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.Including Ivan Lukov.
Mia Lark is running out of options. There is only one way to change the score: the fantasy planet Revivium.
Armed with the powerful magic in the helm and the friendly AI, Hex that goes with it, Mia throws caution out the window. It’s time to find the main guildhall…
During my MFA, I learned to write family dramas and character-driven fiction, but I wanted more comfort, joy, and… romance! I knew the swoony and funny aspects of rom-coms could lift heavier emotional subjects like grief and loss, allowing readers to explore these resonant aspects of life safely, with a guaranteed Happily Ever After. All the books on this list explore a full emotional range of the human experience through extraordinary, utterly magical love stories about otherwise ordinary, flawed people. I hope they make you laugh, swoon, maybe shed a few cathartic tears, and come out the other side feeling better than when you turned the first page.
City girl Calla reunites with the Alaskan bush pilot father she’s never really known following his cancer diagnosis. I love this classic fish-out-of-water story, set in rural Alaska, where Calla falls for the rugged, remote landscape and a gruff, bearded yeti “sky cowboy” named Jonah who flies with her dad.
This book had me kicking my feet, laughing, and then fully sobbing. While it is one of my favorite enemies-to-lovers romances, with incredible banter and sexual tension, the realistic last-chance repair of Calla’s relationship with her father is just as compelling.
The two storylines together create the perfect blend of emotional depth, sizzling chemistry, and significant character growth. This is a deeply cathartic, feel-good romance.
City girl Calla Fletcher attempts to reconnect with her estranged father, and unwittingly finds herself torn between her desire to return to the bustle of Toronto and a budding relationship with a rugged Alaskan pilot in this masterful new romance from acclaimed author K.A. Tucker.
Calla Fletcher was two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla's father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when her father reaches out…
I’m a lifelong reader who gravitates toward character-driven stories with a thread of hope. I’m a sucker for a good happily-ever-after, but I will read almost anything that rings true. I love books that make me feel deeply, and I believe stories are one of the best ways to develop empathy and compassion. I’ve been writing my own stories since I was eight years old making books with notebook paper and cereal-box covers.
The superb novel from the bestselling author of Half A World Away and All the Lonely People.
'A joyful celebration of life' - Heat
'Filled with warmth, tenderness and character. It really made me think, too - I love that it encourages us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. A gorgeous novel' - Beth O'Leary
'A keenly observed and warm-hearted tale of how people cope with loss and keep their dreams alive against the odds . . . a delightful read' - Ruth Hogan
Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the…
When my children were 1, 3, and 5, my husband and I adopted two teenage boys. Suddenly, I was a mom to five, trying to keep my head above water. I turned to other women for advice, friendship, and compassion. While bonding over our chaotic lives, I found stories. My friends offered new perspectives on my world. I learned that every woman is living life on her own terms, and no two tales are the same. This is the magic of listening to another woman. I'm passionate about telling these stories so we can all see the world from a unique perspective and look at our situations with new understanding.
I love this book for a few reasons. 1.) I love a book where the location becomes a character in and of itself. This book takes place in the San Yuan Islands of Washington State, a location that is near and dear to my heart as I grew up in the area. I spent most of my childhood roaming the shores and popping into the little boutique shops dotting the islands.
The vivid descriptions of the landscape brought me back to those days. 2.) I loved the way this story focuses on a mother/daughter relationship that isn’t the typical “happy family” dynamic. A sprinkle of romance and a touch of culinary had me turning the pages until the very end.
“Heartfelt, heartwarming, joyful, and uplifting. You can't go wrong with a Rachel Linden book.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
After a day of unrivaled disappointments, a promising young chef finds every bite of food suddenly tastes bitter. To save her career, she travels to the Pacific Northwest to reconnect with her estranged mom, and discovers a family legacy she never suspected in this delicious novel from the bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.
American chef Georgia May Jackson has one goal—to run her own restaurant in Paris. After a grueling decade working in Parisian kitchens,…
Winner of the 2024 New Mexico - Arizona Book Award.
In this deeply researched novel of America's most celebrated outlaw, Mark Warren sheds light on the human side of Billy the Kid and reveals the intimate stories of the lesser-known players in his legendary life of crime. Warren's fictional composer…
Long before I earned a degree in psychology, I was fascinated by human relationships and motivations. Since reading novels is an excellent way to delve into the minds of a variety of people, the library became my second home. I well remember my first binge-read—Nancy Drew. I devoured the entire series sitting under a catalpa tree in my grandfather’s backyard. So it’s probably not surprising that I’m now the author of 60+ novels in the romantic suspense and contemporary romance genres—none of which include sex, swear words, or gratuitous violence. Because as suspense superstar Mary Higgins Clark once said, you don’t need any of those to tell a compelling story.
I expected great things from this wonderful writer and was not disappointed. This was my first-ever split-time novel, and I was hesitant to pick it up because historical fiction isn’t my favorite genre. But this beautiful tale of love, duty, honor, devotion, and second chances seamlessly wove together two remarkable love stories—one present day, one Civil-War era—in a lovely, lyrical tapestry that tugged at my heartstrings. And as you can see from my list, it opened me up to other stories that use the split-time technique to tell generational stories.
New York Times bestselling author Linda Goodnight welcomes you to Honey Ridge, Tennessee, and a house that's rich with secrets and brimming with sweet possibilities
Memories of motherhood and marriage are fresh for Julia Presley—though tragedy took away both years ago. Finding comfort in the routine of running the Peach Orchard Inn, she lets the historic, mysterious place fill the voids of love and family. No more pleasure of a man's gentle kiss. No more joy in hearing a child call her Mommy. Life is calm, unchanging…until a stranger with a young boy and soul-deep secrets shows up in her…
My passion for female-led fantasy began from the time I was a young girl and spans across a lifetime of reading the genre—but not necessarily always seeing my own heart reflected in the tough-as-nails, devil-may-care girls and women who began to dominate the fantasy landscape once I hit my teens. By sharing about an array of fantasy female leads who range across a wide spectrum of origins, personalities, and perspectives, I hope to help other readers just like me find characters they resonate with and stories that stick with them for a lifetime—just like these ones have for me.
There is actually quite the cast of fantastic female leads in this multi-POV fantasy series! Clare, Serene, and Mia are just a few of the wonderful women who make up this cast. From decoys in training to rebellious princesses to captives with more to them than meets the eye, each female perspective in this book adds a new, profound layer against a backdrop of rich worldbuilding. No two women feel the same, and the insight brought on by each immersed me deeper into an ever-expanding, ever-enriching world. This was an instant favorite of mine from Clare’s very first chapter, and it only gets better with each subsequent one!
Clare made a mistake when she saved the princess’s life . . .
In one horrible night, Clare is forced to give up her life as a kitchen maid to become the princess’s decoy. Thrust into a dangerous new world of royals and deadly politics, she must learn how to be the princess’s perfect double to ensure her betrothal to an enemy prince. Desperate to survive, Clare throws herself into self-defense training, taught by her distractingly attractive bodyguard, Bennick. The spark between them is undeniable, though a relationship is forbidden. When a ruthless assassin begins stalking her, it becomes frighteningly…
I’m a CDQ (caffeinated drama queen) who does everything passionately, whether piping company’s initials into twice-baked potatoes or writing Christian romance. Dubbed the CBA’s “Kissing Queen,” I fell in love with romance at age twelve after reading Gone With the Wind. Today I write Irish-family sagas that evolve into 3-D love stories: the hero, the heroine, and the God that brings them together. As American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year, I’ve garnered 21+ romance awards, was Family Fiction magazine’s #1 Romance Author 2011, 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards, Best of 2014, 2015, and Essential Christian Romance Authors 2017-2021. So, I know passion—and these authors have it!
A friend once told me to read Becky Wade because her books were similar to mine.
I did and wow, I loved her style and immediately put everything of hers on auto-buy! Realistic temptation and passion mixed with heart- and soul-wrenching life lessons—home run for the Christian romance reader!
Winner of the Contemporary Romance category of the Christy Award
Winner of the Romance Category of the Kipp Book Award
Loving her is a risk he can't afford . . . and can't resist.
When acclaimed Bible study author Genevieve Woodward receives an anonymous letter referencing her parents' past, she returns to her hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains to chase down her family's secret. However, it's Genevieve's own secret that catches up to her when Sam Turner, owner of a historic farm, uncovers the source of shame she's worked so hard to hide.
Ramon Ramirez’s Dog is a collection of essays written over the years about the adventures and misadventures, mostly outside but occasionally inside the diplomatic career of a U.S. ambassador. Common threads weaving the stories together are a desire for a life well-lived, balancing career with family and friends, keeping physically…
As a historical fiction writer, every time I learn about an amazing woman, I instinctively want to write about her, to understand her life and bring her – often forgotten – story to a wider audience. It’s a wonderful way to live vicariously, and it’s a privilege to spend time in these women’s worlds for a brief period. There’s a Sylvia Plath quote that strongly resonates with me, beginning: ‘I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want…’. Reading and writing historical fiction allows me a glimpse into the worlds of different people living different lives in different eras, and for that I’m extremely grateful.
I struggled to pick just one Gill Paul novel as I’ve hugely enjoyed every one I’ve read.
Ultimately, I love to learn something new from a book and, whilst I’d heard of the Romanovs, I knew very little about Russian history and the Revolution. Obviously, with historical fiction, parts are invented – and the main plot twist with this is a theory that has been disproven – so you have to be discerning with what you take as fact.
But historical fiction is such a wonderful way to learn about different eras, and Gill Paul brings worlds and people to life so evocatively.
'A cleverly crafted novel and an enthralling story... A triumph.' DINAH JEFFERIES
A Russian grand duchess and an English journalist. Linked by one of the world's greatest mysteries...
Love. Guilt. Heartbreak.
1914
Russia is on the brink of collapse, and the Romanov family faces a terrifyingly uncertain future. Grand Duchess Tatiana has fallen in love with cavalry officer Dmitri, but events take a catastrophic turn, placing their romance - and their lives - in danger . . .
2016
Kitty Fisher escapes to her great-grandfather's remote cabin in America, after…
