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 Stolen Heir

by Holly Black

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Loyalty & Betrayal, Family, Appearance & Reality, Love, Hate & Anger

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore

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The Stories of Eva Luna

by Isabel Allende

Publication year 1989

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Love, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Femininity, Literature, Power & Greed

Tags Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Latin American Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction

The Stories of Eva Luna is a collection of short fiction by best-selling Chilean author Isabel Allende. The collection—first published in Spanish in 1989 and in English in 1991—is a follow-up to Allende’s 1987 novel, Eva Luna. Eva is the narrator of the stories in the collection, which is structured as a frame story with the Prologue harkening back to Eva Luna.Isabel Allende is famed for her work in the genre of magical realism and... Read The Stories of Eva Luna Summary

The Story of Arthur Truluv

by Elizabeth Berg

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Memory, Mental Health, Aging, Death, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

The Story of Arthur Truluv is a 2017 novel by Elizabeth Berg that revolves around the stories of three unlikely companions: Arthur Moses, an elderly widower who finds solace in visiting his wife’s grave, Maddy Harris, a troubled teenager who feels out of place in her own life, and Lucille Howard, Arthur’s elderly neighbor grappling with her own loneliness. The novel is narrated in the third person omniscient point of view. These three unlikely friends... Read The Story of Arthur Truluv Summary

The Storyteller's Secret

by Sejal Badani

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Colonialism, Social Class, Friendship, Community, Literature, Mothers, Love, Marriage

Tags Realistic Fiction, Indian Literature, Asian History, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance, Arts & Culture

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The Summer Book

by Tove Jansson

Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Love, Place, Grief, Grandparents, Childhood & Youth, Aging

Tags Grief & Death, Scandinavian Literature, Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

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the sun and her flowers

by Rupi Kaur

Publication year 2017

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Grief, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Beauty, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Forgiveness, Memory, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Fear, Perseverance, Conflict, Loneliness, Hope, Environment, Family, Immigration

Tags Lyric Poem, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Mental Illness

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The Sun and the Star

by Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Grief, Memory, Love, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Plants, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, LGBTQ+, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Psychology, Trauma & Abuse

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The Talisman

by Stephen King, Peter Straub

Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Fate, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Friendship, Mothers, Death, The Past, Future, Appearance & Reality, Animals, Space, War, Family

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Action & Adventure

The Talisman is a 1984 novel co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It is a fantasy novel with horror elements and has connections to the works in King’s Dark Tower series. The Talisman is a road trip book that tells the story of Jack Sawyer and his quest to save his mother. The Talisman examines themes of lost innocence, coming of age, friendship, the corrupting nature of power, and more.The Talisman has a sequel... Read The Talisman Summary

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

by Anne Brontë

Publication year 1848

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Romance, British Literature, Gothic Literature, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, World History, Historical Fiction, Victorian Era

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel written by Anne Brontë (1820-1849), the youngest of the three celebrated Brontë sisters. The novel was published in 1848 under Anne’s pseudonym, Acton Bell. Unlike Anne’s first novel, Agnes Grey (1847), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was an immediate sensation and stirred strong reactions to its subject matter, which touched on adultery, marital separation, alcohol use disorder, and domestic abuse. After her death, Anne’s... Read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Summary