The Greatest Romance Books Since 1980

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
166 Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel García Márquez 1985 Colombian Spanish
641 Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding 1996 British English
842 Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991 American English
947 Bel Canto Ann Patchett 2001 American English
1330 The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller 2011 American English
1367 Like Water For Chocolate Laura Esquivel 1989 Mexican Spanish
1561 Oscar and Lucinda Peter Carey 1988 Australian English
1675 The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger 2003 American English
1934 Corelli's Mandolin Louis de Bernières 1994 British English
2010 The Notebook Nicholas Sparks 1996 American English
2108 The Shell Seekers Rosamunde Pilcher 1987 British English
2329 Whitney, My Love Judith McNaught 1985 American English
2682 Twilight Stephenie Meyer 2005 American English
2897 Indigo Beverly Jenkins 1996 American English
2986 Tipping The Velvet Sarah Waters 1998 British English
3052 Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston 2019 American English
3105 Foreign Affairs Alison Lurie 1984 American English
3317 The Kiss Quotient Helen Hoang 2018 Vietnamese English
3405 Fifty Shades of Grey: E. L. James 2011 British English
3430 Get A Life, Chloe Brown Talia Hibbert 2019 British English
3580 Call Me By Your Name André Aciman 2007 Italian English
3598 The Wedding Date Jasmine Guillory 2018 American English
3599 Daisy Jones & The Six Taylor Jenkins Reid 2019 American English
3607 Virgin River Robyn Carr 2007 American English
3814 Dark Lover J. R. Ward 2005 American English
3842 An Extraordinary Union Alyssa Cole 2017 American English
3911 Salt On Our Skin Benoîte Groult 1988 French French
4065 The Princess Diaries Meg Cabot 2000 American English
4096 Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall 2020 British English
4123 A Very Long Engagement Sebastien Japrisot 1991 French French
4189 The Bridges Of Madison County Robert James Waller 1992 American English
4189 Flowers From The Storm Laura Kinsale 1992 American English
4304 A Court Of Thorns And Roses Sarah J. Maas 2015 American English
4306 It Ends With Us Colleen Hoover 2016 American English
4737 When A Scot Ties The Knot Tessa Dare 2015 American English
4928 Dreaming Of You Lisa Kleypas 1994 American English
4996 The Sun Is Also A Star Nicola Yoon 2016 American English
5013 Slave To Sensation Nalini Singh 2006 New Zealand English
5018 Me Before You Jojo Moyes 2012 British English
5036 Highland Velvet Jude Deveraux 1982 American English
5097 A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole 2006 American English
5223 Riders Jilly Cooper 1985 British English
5317 Eleanor And Park Rainbow Rowell 2012 American English
5331 Through A Glass Darkly Karleen Koen 1986 American English
5391 The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans 1995 British English
5464 Gift Of Gold Jayne Ann Krentz 1988 American English
5493 Royally Screwed Emma Chase 2016 American English
5507 Seven Days In June Tia Williams 2021 American English
5636 Book Lovers Emily Henry 2021 American English
5647 The Prize Julie Garwood 1991 American English
5705 Mondscheintarif Ildikò von Kürthy 1999 German German
5743 Can You Keep A Secret? Sophie Kinsella 2003 British English
5934 A Promise Of Fire Amanda Bouchet 2016 American English
5965 A Princess In Theory Alyssa Cole 2018 American English
6076 A Knight In Shining Armor Jude Deveraux 1989 American English
6095 True Betrayals Nora Roberts 1995 American English
6095 Tonight And Forever Brenda Jackson 1995 American English
6139 Tear This Heart Out Ángeles Mastreta 1985 Mexican Spanish
6169 Mrs. Miracle Debbie Macomber 1996 American English
6244 A Discovery Of Witches Deborah Harkness 2011 American English
6264 The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory 2001 British English
6265 Burning Patience Antonio Skármeta 1985 Chilean Spanish
6375 The Priory Of The Orange Tree Samantha Shannon 2019 British English
6404 Dark Prince Christine Feehan 1999 American English
6530 The Hating Game Sally Thorne 2016 Australian English
6618 Redeeming Love Francine Rivers 1991 American English
6650 Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake Sarah MacLean 2010 American English
6684 Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda Becky Albertalli 2015 American English
6707 The Mac Gregor Grooms Nora Roberts 1998 American English
6746 A Matter Of Feeling Janine Boissard 1985 French French
6817 Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid 2017 American English
6891 Bared To You Sylvia Day 2012 American English
6897 The Winter Sea Susanna Kearsley 2008 Canadian English
6901 Raymond And Hannah Stephen Marche 2005 Canadian English
6968 The Duchess Bertrice Small 2001 American English
6987 Lord Perfect Loretta Chase 2006 American English
7052 A Summer To Remember Mary Balogh 2002 British English
7079 A Court Of Mist And Fury Sarah J. Maas 2016 American English
7086 The Virtuoso Margriet de Moor 1993 Dutch Dutch
7122 Why We Love Helen Fisher 2004 American English
7135 To All The Boys I've Loved Before Jenny Han 2014 American English
7149 Magic In The Wind Christine Feehan 2003 American English
7149 Tempting The Beast Lora Leigh 2003 American English
7154 The Loneliness Of Sonia And Sunny Kiran Desai 2025 Unknown English
7164 Beijing Comrades Bei Tong 1998 Chinese English
7183 The Perils Of Pleasure Julie Anne Long 2008 American English
7183 The Winter Rose Jennifer Donnelly 2008 American English
7191 Heartstopper Alice Oseman 2018 British English
7580 The Midnight Hour Brenda Jackson 2004 American English
7636 Angels' Blood Nalini Singh 2009 New Zealander English
7636 Soulless Gail Carriger 2009 American English
7670 Shadow And Bone Leigh Bardugo 2012 American English
7691 Das Superweib Hera Lind 1995 German German
7696 It Happened One Autumn Lisa Kleypas 2005 American English
7761 Butterfly Swords Jeannie Lin 2010 Unknown English
7780 The Pairing Casey McQuiston 2024 Unknown English
7806 Lick Kylie Scott 2013 Australian English
7843 If Only It Were True Marc Levy 1999 French French
7887 The Courtesan's Daughter Claudia Dain 2007 American English
7887 The Vampire Queen's Servant Joey W. Hill 2007 American English
8052 Neon Gods Katee Robert 2021 American English
8075 The Map Of Love Ahdaf Soueif 1999 Egyptian English
8163 Loving A Lost Lord Mary Jo Putney 2009 American English
8163 To Catch A Bride Anne Gracie 2009 Australian English
8168 One Day In December Josie Silver 2018 British English
8238 Beach Read Emily Henry 2020 American English
8255 The Kraken King Meljean Brook 2014 American English
8267 A Caribbean Heiress In Paris Adriana Herrera 2022 American English
8267 Before I Let Go Kennedy Ryan 2022 American English
8267 Honey And Spice Bolu Babalola 2022 British English
8267 The Dead Romantics Ashley Poston 2022 American English
8267 That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon Kimberly Lemming 2022 American English
8267 You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty Akwaeke Emezi 2022 Nigerian English
8267 The Bodyguard Katherine Center 2022 American English
8376 Beautiful Disaster Jamie McGuire 2011 American English
8376 The Perfect Play Jaci Burton 2011 American English
8376 Never A Gentleman Eileen Dreyer 2011 Unknown English
8376 Belong To Me Shayla Black 2011 American English
8384 A Seditious Affair KJ Charles 2015 British English
8428 To Say Nothing of the Dog Connie Willis 1997 American English