Not in the Valentine’s Day spirit? Sick of seeing romance books with their cutesy graphic covers and bright colors left and right? Want something a little different for your season of love? If you just aren’t feeling it and would prefer to avoid romantic tales, these books could help.
If you want something wholesome without the ooey gooey romantic love stuff, try Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.
This book follows Anne, a vivacious orphan girl with a penchant for daydreaming, as she navigates her life in the 1880s Canadian town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. This is a series that EVENTUALLY involves a romantic subplot, but the first book keeps a clear focus on Anne and her new family and friends. It is an easy read (as it is middle grade) and would be a beautiful way to spend a sunny afternoon, escaping the stress of classes for something sweet, without romance.
If you want something wholesome but with a bit of an edge, try The Maid by Nita Prose.
Molly Gray is your average girl, despite her difficulty with socialization and inability to read the intentions of others, but at least there is nothing she doesn’t understand about her work as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Until one day she finds one of the hotel’s patrons dead in his bed, and she is accused of killing him. While it is a murder mystery, the wholesomeness of the main character, and her interactions with those around her, makes this a light read with a very Clue-like vibe.
If you’re in the mood for some thrills and want to veer more towards satirical content, try The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix.
Nineteen-eighties housewives have never been seen as the heroines that they are, focusing day-in and day-out on their families and husbands just to not be taken seriously when they sense real danger. Hendrix has a phenomenal way of taking gritty horror and painting it with an approach that adds humor while the goosebumps crawl up your skin. Join the book club as they face the darkness that threatens their neighborhoods.
If you want to direct your anger at life into fictional characters, try Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins.
On a personal note, I put this book down for a month with only 100 pages left because the characters made me so mad. One may then think I’d say it’s not a good book, but I love it when books can make me feel really strong emotions –this thriller certainly did that. These four 20-somethings are just looking to enjoy a serene vacation on their own private oasis, but things go awry when they realize they may not be as alone as they think. Will the history of the island repeat itself?
If you’re looking to be spooked and don’t mind a book that takes a bit more investment, try Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
This classic novel follows an unnamed woman who falls for and marries a handsome, rich widower and gets whisked away to Manderley, his estate, to begin her duties as mistress of the house. I know what you’re thinking; that sounds like a romance. But this isn’t your typical love story, as her new husband’s late wife is still the ruling influence of her new home. Is this young wife going crazy or is the shadow of Rebecca threatening to obscure the new bride and all those who live at Manderley?
If you like the idea of a disturbing, psychological thriller and are not triggered by domestic abuse, try Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris.
On the outside, Jack and Grace are the ideal couple. The newlyweds are living the domestic dream and seeing their dynamic and love inspires awe and envy. Jack not only dotes on his wife but on her disabled younger sister as well. Grace is so enthralled with her husband that she never goes anywhere without him. Is that weird? Is it weird that she doesn’t work but never answers the phone? Or that she cooks elaborate meals but never gains a pound? Or that there are high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows? One might just start to wonder what’s going on with this “perfect” couple behind closed doors.
If you like literary fiction and a genius protagonist with a penchant for self-destruction, try The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis.
Beth Harmon wants to escape reality. One way she can do this is with the help of the little green pills she is given at the orphanage where she grows up. The other is chess, at which she has a prodigious talent. The game brings her purpose and success, but Beth has a tendency to self-sabotage that ups the stakes of her life on and off the chessboard. And after you’re done with the book, I’d also recommend the Netflix adaptation by the same name starring Anya-Taylor Joy.
If you don’t mind a heavier topic but want a bit of a twist, try The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
This isn’t your typical World War II historical fiction because this story is narrated by Death himself, and the war has made him busy. To distract himself from the misery, Death finds himself enthralled with the life of a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany after she begins stealing books. Liesel’s love for books and words grows with the help of her foster father, and she continues her book thievery wherever she can find them, even Nazi book-burnings. When her foster family chooses to hide a Jew in their basement Liesel’s world is both opened further and closed down.
If you enjoy urban fantasy and want to read about a diverse cast of characters, try The City We Became by N.K. Jemison.
New York City has grown so large that now it has truly been born. But the soul of this city is bigger than anticipated, and now five New Yorkers have the task of protecting her. The ancient evil that tries to kill new cities before they realize their power is already upon them, but will these fragments of her soul put aside their differences long enough to save her? I recommend the audiobook for this one as the narrator gives each character an individual voice and sound effects are added throughout (sometimes in place of words describing the sound).
If you’re feeling political intrigue and a glimpse into a new world, try The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
No, this is arguably not a romance, I don’t care what BookTok says. Yes, the trilogy has a romance subplot, but this first book barely touches on it. Holly Black takes you into the rough political terrain of the High Court of Fairie through the eyes of a stolen, human girl named Jude. The inhabitants of Fairie are beautiful but vicious and manipulative. To save her sisters and Fairie itself, Jude begins to resemble the enemy more and more.
Well, there it is, and let me tell you, it was not the easiest list to compile. You try finding books without romance in this day and age, especially as someone who (admittedly) reads a lot of books with romance and romance subplots. If you’re looking for alternatives to romance, this list is a place to start. Enjoy!
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