Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love

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.

The Program

by Suzanne Young

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Memory, Grief, Love, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Romance, Depression & Suicide, Fantasy, Mental Illness

The Program is a 2014 young adult dystopian novel by Suzanne Young. Young is a novelist specializing in science fiction, thriller, and romance novels in the young adult genre. The novel takes place in a dystopian society where the government declares mental illness an epidemic. The Program follows seventeen-year-old Sloane Barstow, who struggles to reunite with her boyfriend James after a treatment clinic called The Program erases their memories in an attempt to “cure” their... Read The Program Summary

The Queen of Nothing

by Holly Black

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Conflict, Forgiveness, Love, Nature Versus Nurture, Fathers, Self Discovery, War, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Gender & Feminism, Leadership, Relationships, Parenting, Trauma & Abuse, Fairy Tale & Folklore

... Read The Queen of Nothing Summary

The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink

Publication year 1995

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Guilt, Memory

Tags Historical Fiction, Holocaust, German Literature, World War II, Military & War, World History, Romance, Classic Fiction

Introduction Law professor Bernhard Schlink published The Reader (Der Vorleser) in Germany in 1995. Two years later, an English version arrived in the United States, and it became a bestseller and a selection for Oprah's Book Club. The German newspaper Abendzeitung named the book Stern des Jahres (Star of the Year), and it was also awarded the 1998 Hans Fallada Prize, given to works that address social or political issues. Translated editions of The Reader... Read The Reader Summary

The Recognition of Sakuntala

by Kalidasa

Publication year 400

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Love, Marriage, Community, Fate, Trust & Doubt

Tags Classic Fiction, Drama, Romance, Indian Literature, Asian Literature, Dramatic Literature

AbhijnanaSakuntala or The Recognition of Sakuntala is a Sanskrit play written by the playwright Kalidasa in the fifth century CE. The play follows the love story between forest-dwelling Sakuntala and the valorous king Dusyanta. When Dusyanta stumbles into a grove while on a hunt for deer, he meets the beautiful Sakuntala. Sakuntala and Dusyanta fall in love, marry in secret, and conceive a child. Called away for court business, Dusyanta promises to send for Sakuntala... Read The Recognition of Sakuntala Summary

The Red Shoes

by Sheila Black

Publication year 2014

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Grief, Love, Community, Conflict, Safety & Danger

Tags Narrative Poem, Confessional, Grief & Death, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Relationships, Mental Illness, Disability

... Read The Red Shoes Summary

The Red Tent

by Anita Diamant

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Mothers, Love, Grief, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Religion & Spirituality, Jewish Literature, Love & Sexuality, Women`s Studies, World History

The Red Tent (1997) is an adult historical novel by Jewish American author Anita Diamant. It describes the life of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, who appears in the biblical Book of Genesis. While her mention in the Bible only concerns her abduction by a Canaanite man and her brothers’ act of atrocity in response, Diamant imagines a full life for Dinah—including a childhood raised by several mothers, her first marriage, and life in Egypt, where... Read The Red Tent Summary

The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Love, Social Class, Self Discovery, Aging, The Past, Religion & Spirituality, Grief

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

The Remains of the Day is a novel by British writer Kazuo Ishiguro. Released in 1989, the novel tells the story of Stevens, who once worked as a butler at a stately home in England. In his old age, he returns to the house and reminisces about his experiences in the 1920-1930s. Most of the novel is told in flashback. The novel was adapted into a critically-acclaimed film of the same name, released in 1993... Read The Remains of the Day Summary

The Rest of Our Lives

by Ben Markovits

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Apathy, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Race, Aging, Midlife, Death, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Marriage, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Domestic Fiction, Relationships

... Read The Rest of Our Lives Summary

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Love, Family

Tags Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Mental Illness, Religion & Spirituality

The Rest of Us Just Live Here, a novel by critically acclaimed young adult (YA) author Patrick Ness, tells the story of Mikey, a high school senior living in a fictional town in the state of Washington. The novel follows Mikey as graduation approaches and he navigates the anxieties and uncertainties of love, friendship, and the fear of leaving behind everything he’s grown up with. Ness, the author of the widely lauded Chaos Walking trilogy... Read The Rest of Us Just Live Here Summary

The Return of the Native

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1878

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Love, Fate, Appearance & Reality

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

Thomas Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native was published serially in Belgravia magazine in 1878. Its setting, the formidable and unforgiving Egdon Heath, is based on the Wessex region of England where Hardy was born. Hardy provides a map that gives the locations that his love- and grief-driven characters visit as the story unfolds. The novel explores the themes of class, chance, fate, superstition, and social upheaval. This guide references the 2008 Oxford World’s... Read The Return of the Native Summary