Our Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love Collection features titles centered on love and all of its complexities. This Collection represents authors who have grappled with romantic, familial, and other forms of love through writing. With titles ranging from contemporary romance picks to works by Shakespeare, this Collection has something to offer any reader who has ever lost or found love.
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Military / War, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Science / Nature, Romance, Religion / Spirituality
Ruin and Rising is the third and final book in Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy of young adult fantasy adventure/romance novels. Ruin and Rising was originally published in 2014. Bardugo has written 12 novels as of 2021, many of which are set in the “GrishaVerse” world first portrayed in the novel Shadow and Bone. The Shadow and Bone trilogy, combined with Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, has been adapted as a television miniseries. Before... Read Ruin and Rising Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Music, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance
Publication year 1920
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Play: Drama, Technology, Play: Tragedy, Drama / Tragedy, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) is a play by Karel Čapek. Čapek was a Czech writer who produced work in many genres, including journalism, essays, plays, short stories, novels, and translations of French poetry. R.U.R. premiered in 1921 at Prague’s National Theater. It is based on a short story by Karel Čapek and his brother Josef Čapek called “The System,” which was published in 1908. Čapek categorized R.U.R. as a collective drama, but it is generally... Read R.U.R. Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence
Publication year 2010
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, Love / Sexuality, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Relationships, Addiction / Substance Abuse, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Safe Haven is a novel by New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks. Written in 2010, Safe Haven was adapted into a movie of the same name in 2013. Like most of Sparks’s novels, the setting of this story is North Carolina. The author often uses his home state as a backdrop to his romances, incorporating the beauty and history of the state as a central motif. In this novel, Sparks contrasts the beauty and... Read Safe Haven Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Music, Identity: Gender
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Aging, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Literary Fiction, Humor, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Community
Tags Historical Fiction, Food, Romance
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Romance, Sports, New Adult
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1985
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Relationships, Race / Racism
One night, a husband and his wife are washing dishes in their kitchen. The couple talks about interracial relationships. The husband does not believe Black Americans and white Americans should marry. His wife, Ann, is upset by this and asks why he doesn’t support interracial marriage. He claims he doesn’t have anything against Black Americans, but he feels that white Americans can never understand Black people fully, claiming statistically most interracial marriages end in divorce... Read Say Yes Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Sports, New Adult
Publication year 1966
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Irish Literature
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Fairy Tale / Folklore, Fantasy, Romance, New Adult, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Climate, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Colonialism, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Japanese Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: The Past, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Romance, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1811
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Identity: Gender
Tags Romance, Romanticism / Romantic Period, British Literature, Relationships, Class, Gender / Feminism, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Sense and Sensibility (1811) was the first published novel of English writer Jane Austen (1775-1817). She published it anonymously, identifying herself only as "a lady." It tells the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who find love after their father dies and they are plunged into a more modest lifestyle. Sense and Sensibility’s continual presence in the cultural imagination is evident in its numerous film and TV adaptations, including the award-winning 1995 version... Read Sense and Sensibility Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Romance, Fantasy, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality