Finding romance books that are not sappy or cliché-driven can be pretty challenging. Luckily, with the variety of options available, we found some of the best YA romances on the market. These are great introductions to this genre if you are new to it, or they make great gifts for young adults who enjoy romance stories. Below, we take a quick look at each of our favorite options.
Best Romance Books For Young Adults
The Fault In Our Stars By John Green
This No. 1 bestseller by John Green is a must-read for all young people about this tragic love story. It is about this girl with an incurable tumor whose life has been about nothing but expecting the worst.
Cancer has been part of her body for most of her life, making her feel that her life has an expiration date. So the only thing that made sense in her life was to wait for the final moment—until she met August Waters.
Everything changed for Hazel when August showed up at her Cancer Kid support group; that day was a new beginning. But, despite the miracle of a shrinking tumor, her life was never about anything other than living only for the day.
Don’t miss this incredible love story between two young people who share the experience of setbacks and difficulties. This new plot, in the form of a handsome young August West, had the potential to rewrite Hazel Grace’s life story completely.
“The Fault In Our Stars” explores being in love and alive with raw insight and boldness. It would be best to read this book before watching the blockbuster movie with the same name so you can know the tragedy of these young lives.
This is a great story about young love regardless of the odds against it.
Felix Ever After By Kacen Callender
To think it all started with anonymous transphobic posts and the all-out revenge from Felix Love that followed after. Ironically, Felix Love has never been in love before, which could be why he chose that name.
An anonymous student posted Felix’s old name along with photos from before the change to the new Felix Love. Following that, he also received anonymous transphobic messages from another student, which caused him to retaliate with his own revenge.
This is the story of Felix, the black transgender student, and what followed after plotting the revenge. This story is about a young transgender person who falls in love for the first time while on a self-discovering journey.
The biggest fear in this teenager’s life was that he would never have a happily ever after. Everyone else around him had it so easy to find love, which made him wonder why he chose that name for himself.
This teenager was still grappling with his own identity and what the future holds when he unexpectedly discovered love for the first time. You will not regret beginning this journey of self-discovery with Felix, a story of falling in love and finding yourself.
You will love this story of self-discovery and finding love when least expected!
My So-Called Bollywood Life By Nisha Sharma
Everything you want in a romantic story for young people can be found in this book with all the makings of a beautiful love story. A pandit predicted that Winnie Metha would find the love of her life before she turned 18.
What was even predicted was that the name of the person she would find and fall in love with would begin with an R. When she met Raj, she was sure their love was written in the stars, but she was never really convinced that he was her soulmate.
Then the unexpected happened—they broke up. But as a self-proclaimed Bollywood authority, she knew this was not how the script should end. This sweet and funny romantic story has just the right amount of affinity you want in a love story with a happy ending.
This happens for Winnie in the form of a fellow movie geek who does not have the predicted requirements. But none of the boxes check with Dev, the person she could always rely on; he challenges her to look beyond her prophecy.
This leads her to look beyond any prediction and find love for herself, and more to choose her own destiny. See how Winnie finds her own perfect ending with the help of friends and unexpected help from a movie star.
These Witches Don’t Burn By Isabel Sterling
This fantasy story full of action, suspense, and bitter-sweet romance will make you turn the pages. Hanna’s limits will be tested during a supernatural crisis that comes to Salem while she has to deal with her ex-girlfriend, Veronica.
Hanna is a real witch, an Elemental with control over the elements, earth, water, fire, and wind, and so is Veronica. So, when an end-of-year school bonfire was interrupted by a brutal blood ritual, they had to work together to investigate.
The story’s pace will keep you hooked with all the action and magic that come with modern-day witches. But then, Hannah meets Morgan, a new ballerina in town, but trying to have romance and save the town is not easy.
With all that is happening with Morgan and the ex, Hannah’s story feels more like a romance than a fantasy story. But, Hannah’s resolve will be tested while the attack on the witches’ coven in Salem becomes more serious by the day.
While this story begins with the action and mystery of a secret witches’ cult, it ends in a beautiful romantic story. The modern setting in Salem makes this an exciting fantasy love story.
You will not be able to put this book down until the end: Be warned!
The Voting Booth By Brandy Colbert
If you are looking for a happy romantic story for young adults, look no further than this book. This story begins in an ordinary polling place where everyone has the right to vote, except Duke.
When Marva saw Duke had been turned away at the voting place, she took it upon herself to set that right. To Duke, this was just an annoying vote that needed to be done, so he just wanted it to be over.
Moreover, he wanted to return and prepare for his band’s first paying gig later that evening. But Marva, who was always driven to set wrong things right, was not going to let this wrong be left alone.
Together they set out to take on the system to make sure that Duke’s vote would be counted. Marva was born for this, so when Duke Crenshaw was turned away, she knew she had to right this wrong.
This is how this day and their story begin—after rushing through the city, standing in long lines, and looking for her missing cat. This story is about not waiting for the world to change but making it happen and finding love.
You will find this book by Stonewall Award-winning author Brandy Cobert an intriguing and happy love story.
Love From A To Z By S.K. Ali
This is a story about two Muslim teens who meet, each with their own baggage and difficulties they have to face in life. The first is the very angry Zayneb, the only Muslim in class with a teacher who hates Muslims.
She was suspended when she confronted her teacher, who reminded the class that all Muslims are bad whenever he could. Even though she is a Muslim, Zayneb is not bad, but she is angry, which leads to the confrontation.
Zayneb returns to her aunt’s home in Doha, Qatar, for an early spring break and to start a new, nicer life. This is where she met Adam, who is trying to deal with a recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis by creating art.
Adam is trying to face this setback in his life while trying to keep the memory of his mom alive. He also tries to keep this grave news from his grieving father while making life bearable for his younger sister.
Since the diagnosis a few months back, his life was not his anymore; everything he did was for his sister and father. Meet this young couple who are trying to make others’ lives better and forgetting about their struggles.
This is a heartwarming story of struggle and love and coping with life.
Long Story Short By Serena Kaylor
Live by the book is what Beatrice Quinn’s life is all about, or that is what this homeschooled genius math student from Berkeley, California, believed. Her whole life, she dreamed about going to Oxford University to find new mathematical and intellectual challenges.
But convincing her parents to let her go was one challenge she feared would be the most difficult one she ever faced. Making friends was another difficult challenge in her life, and growing up alone made this worse.
She had to prove to her parents that she was ready to go and would not spend her life in a library. Then, to fulfill her Oxford dream, she had to live as a typical teenager for six weeks in a Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy.
Unfortunately, teenage interactions, hormones, and love do not go by the book; she learned the hard way. When a group of theater kids adopted her, she found that there is more to life than can be found in textbooks.
However, early on, she made enemies with the camp founders’ handsome British son, which complicated everything. In “Long Story Short,” you will experience the life of this teenager who found herself completely out of her element.
A Million Junes By Emily Henry
In their hometown, Fivefingers, the Angerts, and the O’Donnells have lived with a few centuries-old feud, and no one knows what started it. This story begins with eighteen-year-old Jack “June” O’Donnell, who was an O’Donnell to the core.
With that rivalry deeply rooted inside her, she grew up with a good measure of hatred for the Angerts. But the problem starts when the son of her late father’s arch enemy, Saul Angert, returns to town after an absence of three years.
It seemed like fate didn’t want to let them live in peace; June couldn’t seem to avoid Saul whenever she went to town. Then the unthinkable happened—June found she didn’t really hate the rough sarcastic boy she had learned to detest.
The return of Saul to town started a chain reaction of events that were out of these young people’s control. This story is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet while she needs to decide whether she must let go of old hate.
When reading the story, you will find yourself drawn into the intricacies of overcoming old feelings and hostility. You will be unable to put down this well-written romance for young adults while you will be forced to choose their side.
The Sun Is Also a Star By Nicola Yoon
Natasha is a Jamaican immigrant girl who believes in science and nothing else, no destiny, no fate, just the raw facts. On the other hand, Daniel is a romantic, Korean-American poet who has always been a good son living up to his parent’s expectations.
But Daniel was unhappy with his life; his parents wanted him to become a doctor, but that was not his dream. Natasha is facing her own problem; she and her family are about to be deported even though the US is the only place she knows.
This story is about love at first sight; if you are like many people who don’t believe in that, this book will prove you wrong. The story is about a young couple who meet on a crowded New York street and fall in love in just one day.
Daniel finds that fate has something to do with love, and he sets out to use science to make her fall in love with him. The story is beautifully crafted and keeps you engaged until the last page.
All the Bright Places By Jenifer Niven
This beautiful story is about a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die and is drawn to death. While Violet Market lives for the future, Theodore Finch is drawn to death and thinks of many ways to kill himself.
Violet was counting the days until graduation so she could escape the dull life of a small Indiana town. She was also trying to escape the grief of her sister, who recently passed away.
This inspirational book will take you on a journey of contrasting emotions with both characters trying to end their lives. But, when they met on the ledge of a bell tower high above the ground, they’re not sure who saved who.
Finch was a funny guy who enjoyed life and found he could be himself with Violet. However, Violet felt that with Flinch, she didn’t want the days to be over and wanted to start living.
This best-selling love story is currently a movie on Netflix and was a New York Times bestselling love story. It is a complex but well-styled love story all young adults should read.
Conclusion
If you are looking for YA romance books you can enjoy or for someone in your life who enjoys reading the romance genre, you can’t go wrong with the above options. They all offer great stories, characters, and writing. And if you can’t decide on one, you could always get them all! Happy reading.