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.

Summer Romance

by Annabel Monaghan

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Perseverance, Grief, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Daughters & Sons, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Beauty, Order & Chaos

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction

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Summer Sisters

by Judy Blume

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Power & Greed, Family

Tags Coming of Age, Romance, Love & Sexuality, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Judy Blume is the author of the bildungsroman and romance Summer Sisters, which she published in 1998. A prolific author, Blume is famous for her young-reader books, including the canonized Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970), but Summer Sisters is for adults. The book follows the friendship of two girls from different socioeconomic classes from adolescence through adulthood as it addresses themes like The Elusive Power of Sex, The Fluidity of Families, and... Read Summer Sisters Summary

Sunburn

by Chloe Michelle Howarth

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Guilt, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Appearance & Reality, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, LGBTQ+

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Super Sad True Love Story

by Gary Shteyngart

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Satirical Literature, Science Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Humor

Gary Shteyngart’s 2010 novel Super Sad True Love Story is a futuristic tale of love, mortality, family, and technology. In the tradition of science fiction and apocalyptic storytelling, Shteyngart creates a world full of all-consuming technology that distracts from the fall of America and the rise of a new global economy. Told through the diaries of an old-timey Russian Jewish protagonist, Lenny Abramov, and the online messages of his youthful Korean-American love interest, Eunice Park... Read Super Sad True Love Story Summary

Sweet Tooth

by Ian McEwan

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Nation, Literature

Tags Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Relationships, Arts & Culture, European History, Politics & Government, British Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Romance

Sweet Tooth is a 2012 novel by Ian McEwan. Set in the 1970s, it tells the story of one woman’s involvement with MI5 and the world of literature. Themes include the balance of power, navigating lies and deceit, and conditional versus unconditional acceptance.Plot SummarySerena Frome grows up in a small, uninteresting English city. In the 1960s, her mother encourages her to study mathematics at Cambridge University even though Serena (a keen reader) would rather study... Read Sweet Tooth Summary

Swordheart

by T. Kingfisher

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Love, Regret, Femininity, Gender Identity, Midlife, The Past, Family, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Humor, Action & Adventure

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Taming 7

by Chloe Walsh

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Friendship, Safety & Danger

Tags Romance, Sports, New Adult

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Tell Me Lies

by Carola Lovering

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Love, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Mothers, Self Discovery, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Romance, Coming of Age

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Tell Me Softly

by Mercedes Ron

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Guilt, Family

Tags Romance

Tell Me Softly (2020), originally self-published in 2020, is a young adult romance novel by Argentinian author Mercedes Ron. It is the first installment in the Tell Me trilogy, which also includes Tell Me in Secret and Tell Me with Kisses. The story follows high school senior Kamila “Kami” Hamilton, whose carefully controlled life in the small town of Carsville is upended when her childhood best friends, brothers Taylor and Thiago Di Bianco, return after... Read Tell Me Softly Summary

Tell Me Three Things

by Julie Buxbaum

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Grief

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Tell Me Three Things is Julie Buxbaum's first young adult novel, published in 2017. Sixteen-year-old Jessie Holmes narrates this contemporary story in real-time over the course of two months, as she navigates the daunting halls of a new high school, a life without her mother, and anonymous messages from a classmate. Buxbaum intersperses Jessie's narration with digital conversations in the forms of text messages, emails, and instant messages (IMs), adding a modern epistolary element to... Read Tell Me Three Things Summary

Tender Is the Night

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publication year 1934

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Marriage, Love

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Dramatic Literature, American Literature, Mental Illness, French Literature, World History

In 1934, F. Scott Fitzgerald published his fourth and final (completed) novel, Tender Is the Night. Considered by the author to be his masterpiece, the book captures the same Jazz Age-prose style and Lost Generation philosophy as his previous novels, with the added depth of being arguably his most personal novel. Unlike The Great Gatsby, which was published in the middle of the 1920s, Tender Is the Night reflects upon the Roaring Twenties after they... Read Tender Is the Night Summary

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1891

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Social Class, Community, Environment, Shame & Pride

Tags Romance, Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature, World History, Victorian Era

Tess of the D’Urbervilles is Victorian writer Thomas Hardy’s 12th novel. It was first published in 1891 as a serial in the newspaper The Graphic; this serialized publication was followed by a three-volume edition in 1891 and a single volume in 1892. Like many of Hardy’s other realist novels, Tess is set in the fictional, southwestern English region of Wessex, using fictional locations closely modelled after real ones. Hardy’s sympathetic portrayal of a young woman... Read Tess of the D'Urbervilles Summary