Hi pals,

I’ve been on a bit of a romance kick when it comes to TV, Film and books partially as research for my own writing but also it’s just been really fun reading! For February I wanted to bring you my favourite Romances I read last year!

regular reminder there will be affiliate links in this post where you can purchase the novels mentioned via my bookshop links which support me as I earn 10% from each sale, and you are supporting indie bookshops.

Dream Harbour series

Now, I cannot lie to you, this series is more of a trashy fandom romance. It’s heavily inspired by Gilmore Girls (at least initially in book one with the MC being much like Lorelai and the LI being very similar to Luke) where there’s a bunch of quirky people in a small town with lots of cosiness and silly goings on. Sometimes, that’s what you need or want from a book (series) so whilst these books haven’t been particularly impactful to me, they have been a fun time. I’m now 5 books deep into this series where we get a new couple each book but still get updates about past couples… and I don’t really see myself stopping anytime soon. They’re easy to demolish in a short amount of time and an easy little brain massage requiring little focus. I’ve liked some books more than others but that’s mostly down to what the characters in the main couple of each book are like!

you can purchase the books here through my bookshop links

Full book series list

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe (book 1)

Dungeons and Drama

I accidentally read the second book before the first. 1) don’t read the second book it sucked, I almost didn’t read this book at all because of how bad I thought book 2 was. 2) the books aren’t even vaguely related so I’m not really sure why they are classed as being in a series. There’s no character crossover, location crossover or anything!

But Dungeons and Drama was far better as it seemed to actually be fully planned and fleshed out where the follow up was heavily relying on stupidity of the characters with no real issue. Dungeons and Drama is around a girl (Riley) who got in trouble for stealing her mum’s car before she passed her driving test and has to work in her dads board game shop/cafe (it’s not very clear coz not many people come in to shop, most people come in to play games in the back at tables but don’t seem to rent the tables… idk how this man is making money) and she meets the other teenager working there (Nathan) and they both find each other aggravating, but thanks to a fumble on Riley’s part they have to start fake dating. They’re faking it because Riley’s ex boyfriend is annoying as fuck and she wants him to leave her alone, and Nathan has a crush on some snooty girl from the other side of town who sometimes plays DnD with them. There’s some sweet side plots around Riley getting closer to her dad again which I really enjoyed, plus I liked the board game cafe/shop as the main backdrop for this book as I haven’t seen that done before (as this is kinda a new phenomena returning to our culture) I do feel like it could have (maybe should have) been aged up as some of the teenage school stuff felt a bit forced really? When the characters seem to act a bit older than high schoolers… this is where I’d have voted for a collage age-range instead, but otherwise an enjoyable romance for DnD nerds as well as theatre musical nerds.

You can grab a copy here on bookshop with my link

The Bride Test

This one was a bit more of a harder hitting romance to me. This is a follow up to Helen Hoang’s debut The Kiss Quotient which I also really enjoyed. Hoang writes about Autistic East Asian people in romance which I love, I love reading about different cultures (especially from people who belong to those cultures) and seeing how autism is reflected similarly but also differently to my own experience or the general Wester experience. Esme is brought to America to meet a potential husband (by his mother) she is told to live with him and basically try to seduce him. She honestly is only even humouring this idea to give her daughter and mother/grandmother (I can’t remember! I think mother!) a better life in America as she is unable to find well paying work. She meets Khai who is the autistic character (it is a split POV novel as most romances are) struggling to process the grief of losing a close friend and family member 10 years prior and being a bit of a family outcast. It’s definitely one I recommend!

You can get a copy of The Bride Test and The Kiss Quotient via my bookshop links

The Brown Sisters series

I’ve talked about these books a lot! Years ago I did a reading vlog on the final Brown Sisters book because it was around TWO autistic MCs and I LOVED it, it was the first experience I had of reading a novel and feeling really seen as an autistic person. Last year I read the two earlier books that follow Chloe and Dani. Chloe is a chronically ill web designer (idk shit about tech or web design so I might be lying) she has to deal with flare ups, chronic pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, and probably more that I can’t remember. This novel was another first experience for me feeling seen as a chronically ill person! These books have given me hope in romance honestly as a disabled person and given me an idea of what a good or healthy relationship can look like if you’re autistic and chronically ill/disabled. The follow up with Dani is more of a fake dating scenario which I find can only be done well in very few ways but I think this book pulled it off, the love interest is an ex pro-rugby player and a video of him carrying Dani out of the university (because of a fire drill?) goes viral and his relationship standing helps him promote his charity which focuses on helping boys in sport learn to process their emotions healthily. Dani is also bi and seems to have endometriosis. I really enjoy these books because I feel like they all tackle really important subjects, intersectionality, and marginalised groups really well but combined with a generally light hearted tone and, of course, happy endings for all. Some people have commented on finding these books triggering, but I found them very validating and heartwarming.

You can buy each of the books through my bookshop links: Get a life Chloe Brown, Take a hint Dani Brown, Act Your Age Eve Brown

Glitterland

This one is a bit more of a hard hitting romance as it is a bit depressing for a while but I feel like the tone sort of matched my own novel I’m working on which is introspective and a bit of a miserable MC until The One rocks up and shakes things about. I was recommended this book by Lizzie Huxley-Jones as something similar to my own work, and I loved this author’s other works like Husband Material (which is far more light hearted and inspired by Bridget Jones but for gays lol). This book is about an acclaimed writer Ash Winters who has been writing pulp crime novels whilst being a selfish depressed fool really. He is not very likeable, he’s not meant to be as he is mentally ill and showing it, and he is quite a snobby prick. He meets a beautiful man called Darian who is from Essex (!) Ash’s total opposite. He works (or is trying to work?) as a model, is a socialite, and generally very upbeat and positive. He knows he is not intelligent in the way that Ash is but he doesn’t feel insecure about this, until Ash starts making those kinds of remarks… remarks about his class, about his intelligence, about his sexual habits… yeah Ash is a bit of a prick for 80% of this book including being hung up on a guy who is marrying a woman soon, and ignoring the crush his friend has on him. But in the end Darian helps to change Ash for the better. This is one of the more gritty stories. Also features Brighton!

You can grab a copy through my bookshop link!

Honorary mention: This is How You Lose the Time War

I say this is an honorary mention because I tried to read this via audiobook but I was not following a lot of the world building. I got a general grasp of the plot and the love story, but I feel I need to revisit it and read the book itself! It’s a short novella, and the way people have pitched it to me in the past or that I’ve seen it described online isn’t quite accurate… A lot of people say it is told purely in letters back and forth between these two women time war agents on opposite sides, but it isn’t, there is also some traditional narrative in there. We switch POV between them where we see a little of what they are up to or in the middle of before they find the next letter and read it. If I’d know this, I’d have probably read the book sooner as I wasn’t super interested in the idea of JUST reading letters back and fourth.

But lots of people seem to really love it, and I do like short books here and there so I’d be keen to see more experimental or queer novellas do as well as this one did in future. (if you have any recs, leave them in the comments!)

You can buy a copy of This is how You Lose the Time War with my bookshop link

I hope you enjoy something from this list! And have a happy Valentine’s Day~

~ Artie

they/them

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