Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Self Discovery, War
Tags Romance, Fantasy
Romance
"The course of true love never did run smooth," wrote William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream—and he knew what he was talking about. A text from this study guide collection might be just the thing to remind you of the bliss and pain of love.
Children of Fallen Gods
Children of Virtue and Vengeance
China Rich Girlfriend
Chocolat
Chosen
Christy
Cinder
Cinderella is Dead
Circe
City of Ashes
City of Bones
City of Girls
City of Glass
City of Gods and Monsters
City of the Beasts
Cleopatra and Frankenstein
Clockwork Angel
Code Name Hélène
Cold Mountain
Comfort & Joy
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Self Discovery, War
Tags Romance, Fantasy
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Power & Greed, Love, Forgiveness, Grief, The Past, Fathers, Mothers, War, Good & Evil, Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Mythology, Trauma & Abuse
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Economics, Social Class, Shame & Pride, Love
Tags Humor, Satirical Literature, Romance, Asian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Chinese Literature
China Rich Girlfriend is an adult novel published by Doubleday in 2015, the sequel to Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan’s internationally bestselling romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2013) and second in a trilogy which concludes with Rich People Problems (2017). Billed as a satire, a mock-epic, and a sprawling family saga that peers into the lives of the ultra-wealthy in Asia, China Rich Girlfriend depicts the efforts of Rachel Chu, a Chinese-born American university professor, and... Read China Rich Girlfriend Summary
Publication year 1999
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Religion & Spirituality, Joy, Family, Community
Tags Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy, Food, Modern Classic Fiction, French Literature, Historical Fiction
Chocolat by Joanne Harris was first published in 1991. It is in the magical realism genre, presenting a realistic, recognizable world but with magical or fantastical elements, blurring the lines between realism and fantasy. Chocolat follows Vianne, a single mother who arrives in a small French village and opens a chocolate shop despite opposition from the local priest. Many of the villagers find new experiences and connections in her indulgent, magical chocolaterie.Chocolat won multiple awards... Read Chocolat Summary
Publication year 1990
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Race, Birth, The Past, Family
Tags Lyric Poem, US History, Trauma & Abuse, African American Literature, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Religion & Spirituality
Marilyn Nelson is part of a coterie of writers who published in the late-1970s and 1980s after the revolutionary fervor of the Black Arts Movement. Though the period during which Nelson wrote is less acknowledged than those aforementioned, it was a time when diverse Black poetic talents emerged. Nelson’s contemporaries included Afaa Michael Weaver, Yusef Komunyakaa, Rita Dove, Ntozake Shange, Melvin Dixon, and Essex Hemphill. Their work grappled with the aftermath of the Vietnam War... Read Chosen Summary
Publication year 1967
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Place, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality
Tags World History, Religion & Spirituality, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Christian, Romance, Inspirational
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt
Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale & Folklore
The fairytale “Cinderella” provides the foundation for Marissa Meyer's 2012 novel Cinder, which puts a futuristic and dystopian twist on the classic tale of love and the complexities of social class. Cinder lives her life as a cyborg: she is part human and part machinery. Although part of a social class that takes a place low on the social hierarchy, Cinder uses her personal machine structure to benefit her work as a mechanic. Equipped with... Read Cinder Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Self Discovery, Good & Evil, Justice, Truth & Lies
Tags Coming of Age, Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+, Fairy Tale & Folklore
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Gender Identity
Tags Mythology, Gender & Feminism, European History, Historical Fiction, World History, Fantasy, Romance
Published in 2018, Circe retells the story of the eponymous Greek mythological figure. The novel is also popular among the online BookTok community. Although traditionally viewed as a heartless, savagely beautiful witch who lures sailors to their deaths, the Circe of Madeline Miller’s imagining is quite different. This Circe is a multidimensional, flawed, and empathetic character struggling to find meaning and worth in her immortal life. Through Miller’s detailed and honest first-person narrative, which takes... Read Circe Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Family, Good & Evil, Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
City of Ashes (2008) by Cassandra Clare is the second novel in the six-part Mortal Instruments series. The book follows 16-year-old Clary Fray, who has recently discovered that she is not an ordinary mortal, but a Shadowhunter, part of a group who saves the world from demons. In City of Bones (2007) the first book of the series, Clary also learned that she is the daughter of rogue Shadowhunter Valentine Morgenstern and that her romantic... Read City of Ashes Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Revenge, Appearance & Reality
Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Romance, Action & Adventure, Social Class, Love & Sexuality, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Grief & Death
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007) is the first in the Mortal Instruments series of young adult urban fantasy novels, followed by City of Ashes. The book follows a seemingly ordinary 15-year-old girl as she learns she is descended from an ancient race of demon hunters. City of Bones is a New York Times bestseller and inspired several media adaptations, including a graphic novel of the same name (3rd World... Read City of Bones Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance
City of Girls is the third novel by author Elizabeth Gilbert, published in 2019. Gilbert is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Stern Men (2000) and The Signature of All Things (2013). A noted writer of nonfiction, she has also written a biography entitled The Last American Man (2002), as well as several memoirs including Eat Pray Love (2006), Committed (2010), and Big Magic (2015). Eat Pray Love became a worldwide bestseller... Read City of Girls Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Truth & Lies, Friendship, Daughters & Sons, Siblings
Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Romance, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (Walker Books, 2009) is the third installment of the young adult urban fantasy Mortal Instruments series and chronicles an epic Shadowhunter battle against an old foe’s return. City of Glass was a finalist for the Teen Choice Book of the Year and for the 2009 Goodreads Choice Awards. Clare was born in Iran to American parents. She spent several years traveling before she settled in the United States, where... Read City of Glass Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Love, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Environment, Family, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt
Tags Fantasy, Romance
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies, Appearance & Reality
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Isabel Allende’s novel City of the Beasts tells the story of Alex Cold, a fifteen-year-old boy from California who accompanies his journalist grandmother on a life-altering journey through the Amazon. Allende is also known for the novels The House of the Spirits (1982), Of Love and Shadows (1984), and A Long Petal of the Sea (2019).The narrative opens with Alex at home in California, angry and frightened over the illness of his mother, who is undergoing cancer... Read City of the Beasts Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mental Health, Friendship, Art
Tags Romance, LGBTQ+, Relationships, Depression & Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness
Publication year 2010
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Gender Identity, Good & Evil
Tags Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality, Romance, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse
Clockwork Angel is the first book in Cassandra Clare’s historical fantasy trilogy The Infernal Devices, a prequel to the internationally bestselling series The Mortal Instruments. Clockwork Angel was first published in 2010, followed by Clockwork Prince in 2011 and Clockwork Princess in 2013. The trilogy follows Theresa (Tessa) Gray, an American girl in Victorian London, who discovers she is a member of the Shadow World, the hidden world of supernatural creatures, angels, and demons. Clockwork... Read Clockwork Angel Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Marriage, Gender Identity, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Femininity
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Romance, Military & War, World History, French Literature
Publication year 1997
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Memory, Perseverance, Love, The Past, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, American Civil War, Military & War, Literary Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Survival Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction
Cold Mountain (1997) is a novel by Charles Frazier. It tells the story of W.P. Inman, a deserter from the Confederate Army who attempts to return home to his romantic partner, Ada. The novel won the National Book Award and was adapted into an Academy Award–winning film of the same name. This guide refers to the 2011 Sceptre edition. Content Warning: The source text contains discussions of racism, violence, abuse of women and children, and... Read Cold Mountain Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Femininity, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, Death, Future, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Romance, Special Occasions