Are you a fan of teen romance books? These are 20 of the best that will make you feel soft inside!
Teen romance books will always be one of my favorite genres. I love reading about love! especially first love. These young adult romance books are some of the best and most heartwarming books out there and I highly recommend them to everyone.
You are reading: Love books for teens
In addition, this selection of young adult romance books features a variety of diverse characters including different sexualities, ethnicities, social classes, and disabilities.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
lara jean’s idea of love comes from all the cheesy romance novels she’s read, but she’s never really had a boyfriend.
when he falls in love, he does it with force and has a secret box with a letter for each crush in his closet. These letters somehow end up being mailed to each of the guys and Lara Jean herself is mortified.
especially since one of those guys is the ex-boyfriend of her best friend and sister, josh.
To convince Josh that those feelings are a thing of the past, he strikes up a fake relationship with the school’s best lacrosse player in an attempt to make his ex jealous.
This is the kind of teen romance that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside and wish you had a friend like Lara Jean.
the netflix adaptation is also a must!
shopping all the boys i’ve loved before: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston
red, white & royal blue has a completely ridiculous premise. A fake friendship is staged between Alex Diaz, the first son of the United States, and Prince Henry, heir to the throne of England, after they are filmed fighting at a royal wedding.
At first, the two despise each other, but after being forced to work at each other’s companies, they realize that neither is exactly the same as their public image suggests.
I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did.
While the premise is so silly, it turned out to be a wonderful story of romance between two famous teenagers with a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. it’s funny, sexy and heartbreaking and one of the best gay teen love stories out there.
if you love enemies to lovers books, then this is for you.
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the fault in our stars by john green
the fault of our stars is one of the most heartbreaking young adult books ever written. follows the story of hazel grace lancaster, a patient with lung cancer (although she wouldn’t be too happy if she heard someone define her that way because of her illness).
After being diagnosed with depression, she is forced to attend a support group where she meets Augustus Walters, a handsome, muscular guy who for some unknown reason (to her) is interested in her.
They develop a close relationship, bond over their shared experiences and fears, and bring so much more color and excitement to each other’s lives than anyone could have hoped.
each can finally feel like a “normal” teenager as they discover the joy and pain of first love. Be careful, this book will make you cry your eyes out.
read more: review of the book the fault in our stars and quotes from the fault in our stars
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read more: the fault in our stars in amsterdam
kody keplinger’s duff
bianca piper is a cynical teen with a gruff demeanor and a bit of attitude. she’s not like the other girls in her high school who preen up before parties and shake their hair in front of the boys.
bianca thinks she’s above all that.
However, her tough exterior is put to the test when wesley, the most popular boy in school, refers to her as the “fool”. duff means designated friend, ugly and fat. and no matter how tough you are, that title has to hurt.
but bianca’s home life is a bit messy and she somehow finds herself in an enemies with benefits situation with wesley.
Sleeping with him is an easy way to forget everything else that’s going on, but of course the feelings start to build.
Both deny their chemistry and things start to get complicated.
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when dimple met rishi by sandhya menon
When Dimple Met Rishi perfectly captures the struggles of an Asian American in terms of love, upbringing and family.
dimple is looking forward to a summer program for aspiring web developers and thinks she’ll finally have a break from her mom and dad’s obsession with finding her the perfect Indian husband.
Little does she know that the guy her mom wants to set her up with is attending the same show.
While Dimple rebels against his family’s ideals, Rishi is a firm believer in tradition and truly wants to fulfill his parents’ wishes when it comes to marriage.
but first he’ll have to win over dimple and that won’t be easy. This book is about more than just first love, it’s about chasing your dreams, embracing your culture, and finding your identity as a young second-generation immigrant.
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anna and stephanie perkins french kiss
anna and the french kiss tells a story most teens can only dream of. It begins when Anna is reluctantly sent from the United States to Paris for boarding school.
She’s completely bummed about missing her senior year in Atlanta, but then Étienne st. Clair walks in and suddenly life in Paris becomes a lot more exciting.
He’s a fellow American, but he grew up in England and, of course, he’s also fluent in French.
There’s only one problem: he already has a girlfriend.
anna and the french kiss is a complicated love story and you will be torn between wanting to talk some sense into the characters and then swooning over their blossoming romance.
Set against the backdrop of Paris, this book is irresistibly romantic and will take you to Notre Dame Cathedral, the Catacombs and more.
related: 28 best books set in paris
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the geography of you and me by jennifer e. blacksmith
yours and mine’s geography has to do with long-distance relationships. Lucy lives in a fancy New York apartment, while Owen is the son of the construction company’s manager.
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They’ve never spoken before, but after 30 minutes trapped in an elevator together, they realize their first impressions of each other were wrong.
They spend the night walking around new york before falling asleep lying next to each other on the roof of their building. But when Lucy wakes up the next morning, Owen is gone.
Shortly after tonight, both families are forced to leave the building.
Despite being on opposite sides of the world, the two continue to send each other postcards, but both wonder if the distance between them, both metaphorically and physically, is too great.
Not a fast-paced romance, but a story about how the smallest moments can become life-changing moments.
read more: the geography of you and me book review
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pushing the limits by katie mcgarry
pushing the limits is, on the surface, a typical bad boy/good girl love story. however, it turns out to be much more than that.
echo goes from being one of the most popular girls in school to being the girl with the scars on her arms that no one dares to talk about. Noah seems like the typical teenage womanizer, but he ends up being an understanding and caring soul.
Both characters carry a lot of emotional baggage, but together they begin to move forward and come to terms with their difficult, even devastating, family circumstances.
The story is written from the alternate perspectives of echo and noah, so you really get to know both characters inside and out.
This is a tough teen romance novel that’s sometimes heartbreaking, other times sultry, but it’s certainly not a light read.
related: dare to write a review
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dash & lily’s book of challenges by david levithan and rachel cohn
the premise of dash & Lily’s Book of Challenges is the kind I’m sure many book lovers have dreamed of. Dash stumbles upon Lily’s notebook, wedged on a shelf in his favorite bookstore, next to his favorite book. Inside, he finds a list of things to do, if he dares (and of course he does) and so begins their special correspondence.
dash and lily are misfits who are much more comfortable writing things down than saying them out loud, making them the perfect couple.
They learn about each other through their exchanges in the notebook and don’t even know each other until about three-quarters of the way through the book.
This story forces you to think about what you’re really looking for in that special someone and warns you not to get too caught up in someone’s idea, which is a very important lesson.
read more: dash & lily’s book of challenges book review
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the truth about forever by sarah dessen
sarah dessen is one of the best writers of teen romance novels and the truth about eternity is one of her best. Macy is about to spend the summer working in the library while her boyfriend goes to mind camp.
She thinks she loves him, but after he brutally dumps her via email, she realizes she needs to make some changes in her life.
The truth is that she has been a bit stuck since her father passed away, but then wes comes into her life and she begins to come out of her shell and learns to move on.
This story will take you on an emotional whirlwind with a mix of heavy stuff surrounding grieving at a young age, but also fun and romantic aspects.
related: the moon and more book review
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the wrath and dawn of renée ahdieh
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh is a retelling of the Arabian Nights with a unique premise. every day king khalid marries a different girl and in the morning she is dead.
Shahrzad volunteers as his next bride so she can punish the boy king for inflicting this horrible fate on so many women.
On her first night in the palace, she tells Khalid a story, and then instead of killing her, he asks her to come back the next night. this continues night after night and the two develop feelings for each other.
but shahrzad is conflicted.
How could this man be the same king who murdered so many women before her?
There is more to King Khalid than rumors suggest and Shahrzad has to wrestle with his growing feelings as he tries to get to the bottom of it all.
This book ticks all the boxes: lovable, well-developed characters coupled with a complex and intriguing plot.
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related: already fantasy books like throne of glass
normal people by sally rooney
marianne and connell attend the same school but their social lives are worlds apart. While Marianne is something of a social outcast, Connell is part of the popular crowd.
They strike up a secret romance that turns into an intense relationship that shapes their lives forever.
Normal People starts out as a teen romance novel, but we follow Marianne and Connell through their college days and beyond.
No book before this has captured so well the pain of first love, the anguish, the isolation that one experiences as one goes from being a teenager to a young adult.
This isn’t as light as the other teen romance books on this list, but it’s a must read.
read more: books like normal people
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my life next door to huntley fitzpatrick
My Life Next Door is a popular contemporary teen romance novel that is based on characters, rather than plot. Samantha Reed seems to have the perfect life: an influential mother, excellent grades in private school, yadda yadda yadda.
right next to them are the attics, a family that couldn’t be more different. Big, sprawling, warm, open, Samantha’s neighbors have always intrigued her. in fact, she secretly wishes she could be one of them.
Then one night, Samantha is sitting on her rooftop perch when none other than Jase Garrett climbs in next to her.
The romance that develops between them is sweet and slow, the epitome of a first teen romance. While this book may sound like light fluff, the suspense builds throughout the novel, ending on a note that can’t be predicted.
See Also: New Chapter Books to Keep Your Kids Reading (Ages 9 – 12)
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geekerella by ashley poston
geekerella is a must for any self-confessed nerd and fanatic. She takes the classic story you know so well but this time Cinderella is a geeky girl who is obsessed with the sci-fi series Starfield (basically Star Trek).
when she sees a starfield cosplay contest where she could win a ticket to the cosplay ball and meet and greet with the star of the new version of starfield, she knows she has to enter. and win the problem is that her stepsisters are also entering.
Meanwhile, there’s teen actor Darien Freeman, who’s grown a little disillusioned with fame.
He loves cons and has dreamed of starring in Starfield, but fans of the series have written him off as nothing more than a goofy teen heartthrob who makes him question what he’s doing. that is until she walks into his life.
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noughts and crosses by mallory blackman
noughts and crosses is the most powerful book on the list and a book that will stay with me forever. if you only read one book on this list, make it naughts and crosses.
The premise is that the “crosses” (black people) are privileged and the “zeros” (white people) are seen as inferior. sephy and callum grew up playing together and are the best of friends.
but sephy is a cross and callum is a zero.
As they grow older and approach adulthood, their relationship becomes more complicated.
There’s clearly an element of romance there, but their very different social statuses and the prejudiced world they live in mean the odds are stacked against them.
This is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching read that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. It’s about first love, race, inequality, family, and more.
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heartstopperby alice oseman
heartstopper is the only graphic novel on this list and one of the more wholesome and moving tales.
focuses on charlie spring, a gay teenager at an all-boys school. He’s a sensitive teenager and a big thinker, so it’s a surprise to everyone when he strikes up a friendship with Nick Nelson, a popular rugby player.
The two spend more and more time together and soon become the best of friends when Nick realizes that his other rugby friends aren’t all of them. but is there more than friendship here?
These two young teenagers slowly fall in love and this novel captures the struggles of first love, dating and exploring one’s sexuality to perfection.
this is the kind of book you can read in one sitting (before immediately ordering volume two).
If you’ve never tried graphic novels before, this is a great place to start.
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callie and kayden coincidence by jessica sorensen
Callie and Kayden attended high school together, but were never friends. Callie is a social recluse and Kayden is the boy with the football scholarship, but they both have hidden traumas they can’t or won’t talk about.
Four months before starting college, Callie sees Kayden and her father have an argument that results in Kayden’s father violently beating him.
Callie doesn’t like to talk to anyone, has no friends and hates social interaction, but she steps in and stops her father.
The story then jumps to the present. college is just starting and kayden runs into (literally) callie and a romance begins to blossom.
This book is more than just a love story. it’s quite heavy in places, as both characters carry a lot of baggage, but over time you see them grow, learn to trust again, and get over their past traumas.
read more: callie and kayden’s book review coincidence
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I believe in something called love by maurene goo
i believe in a thing called loveit’s about desi lee, the perfect student in every way. she has amazing grades, is good at sports, and is applying to stanford.
but she’s never been good with boys. She has no idea how to talk to guys, but she decides to solve this problem by coming up with a step-by-step plan to get a boyfriend inspired by the plots of Korean dramas.
This is a very cheesy romance book, but desi failures when it comes to love are often hilarious and hilarious, and this is a quick and entertaining read.
Also, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw an Asian girl on the cover of a popular young adult read!
The many references to K-Dramas, the acceptance of K-Dramas by non-Asian desi friends, and the portrayal of his father as a completely unbelievable immigrant father were truly remarkable.
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anna k by jenny lee
anna k is a sassy mashup of gossip girl and anna karenina that adds a modern twist to a classic tale.
focuses on an elite group of ridiculously wealthy teenagers who do what rich teenage heirs do best: throw lavish parties, shop at the most exclusive places in New York, and gossip like no other.
The lead is Korean-American Anna K, who seems to have the perfect life and the perfect boyfriend. at least on paper.
in real life, it’s hopelessly boring.
So, when Count Vronsky (no, I’m not making this up) walks into her life, she’s thrown into teenage chaos as she weighs how much of her seemingly perfect life she’s willing to give up for the chance to be with him. .
this is all about first love and heartbreak set against the dazzling backdrop of upper class new york.
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cute tweet by emma lord
tweet cute is a teen romance book for millennials. Pepper’s family owns the huge major league hamburger food chain, whose Twitter account they secretly manage.
Then there’s Jack, whose family owns a local deli. When Big League Burger steals one of Grandma’s iconic recipes from him, he doesn’t let it go. he becomes a keyboard warrior, battling big league burgers one tweet at a time.
the battle is available online which generates a lot of public interest and people even end up submitting them. Little do they know that they attend the same high school and are talking to the same person they have fallen in love with on an anonymous chat app!
This book is for the digital generation who don’t go anywhere without their phones and trust that they can fall in love over the internet.
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And that concludes my list of the best teen romance books to read this year! Do you have any other teen love story books to recommend? Leave your favorites in the comments below!
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