The best books featuring super-sweet kisses and swoon-worthy book-boyfriends

Why am I passionate about this?

Even before I became a romance writer, I already devoured young adult love stories like others eat sandwiches for dinner. It’s that innocent, sweet built-up to the very first kiss of the hero and heroine that would keep me reading or writing all through the night. I believe it’s a rare talent to craft the perfect tension and balance between hot and sweet. And as I’m writing my own love stories by now, I’m still on the hunt for those rare gems within the sea of novels out there.


I wrote...

Seventeen Butterflies

By Anna Katmore,

Book cover of Seventeen Butterflies

What is my book about?

Sandy Cardington, the last unkissed girl in high school, is on a mission. Her master plan: land her first kiss at her 17th birthday bash while her parents are away. With an array of kissable boys invited, it seems simple - until her older brother and his annoyingly handsome hockey player friend, Thane Griffyn, crash the scene. 

As Sandy navigates these unexpected obstacles, she realizes Thane might just redefine what a first kiss truly means…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Avery Shaw Experiment

Anna Katmore Why did I love this book?

I practically inhaled this book when I first opened it!! The writing style of Kelly Oram is outstanding and what she does with her heroes is unique.

The book is about Avery Shaw who got dumped by her best friend since birth, Adrian Kennedy. To overcome her grief, she starts her own seven-stages of grief experiment, journaling every step of the way. But honestly, she would have never made it past step four without the wonderful help of Grayson Kennedy, Adrian’s older brother.

By spending time with Avery, he turns from a teenage heartbreaker to a determined lover. And while Avery stubbornly forges on with her experiment, Grayson gets on his own mission to win her heart.

By Kelly Oram,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Avery Shaw Experiment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

When Avery Shaw's heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how-scientifically. The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She's going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can't do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who…


Book cover of Daughters of Darkness

Anna Katmore Why did I love this book?

It’s the second book of the Night World series, and Ash Redfern was my first-ever real book-crush. Heck, it lasted until today, 25 years later!!

The story is about three vampire sisters seeking refuge in a small town. Ash, their arrogant brother, arrives to bring them home but then he meets the adamant human girl, Mary-Lynnette. Until that day, he never believed in love, but it’s outstandingly beautiful to watch him fall for Mary-Lynnette and try to convince her to let him change her into a vampire, too, so they can be together forever.

I read the pages of their first kiss under the star-studded sky like 10 times before I could even continue reading the book!

By L. J. Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daughters of Darkness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Love was never so scary... The Night World is all around. It's beautiful - and deadly - and it's so easy to fall in love...



Three sisters with a secret, on the run from their cruel and ruthless brother. Can innocent Mary Lynette resiste his powerful charm - and save the sisters and herself from a deadly fate at the hands of a werewolf?


Book cover of Anna and the French Kiss

Anna Katmore Why did I love this book?

Anna, a teenager from Atlanta, finds herself thrown into a new life at a Parisian boarding school where she meets Étienne St. Clair - charming, witty, and utterly swoon-worthy!!

Despite his complicated romantic status, their connection grows undeniable. While Étienne has a really sweet nature, he transforms into a smitten hero during the story. Whenever he was on the page, I had this really warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach. :) And then there’s that first kiss... Oh so unforgettable! 

By Stephanie Perkins,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Anna and the French Kiss as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Can Anna find love in the City of Light? Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her co-worker at the movie theatre, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Etieene St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken - and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic…


Book cover of Switched

Anna Katmore Why did I love this book?

I read this book so many years ago and still remember what an awkwardly sweet guy Wesley was.

There were so many laugh-out-loud moments in this novel, all thanks to him. He and Kayla concoct a plan to break up their best friends, the couple Talon and Reagan. Although this doesn’t sound like a nice thing at the beginning, you’ll see that Kayla and Wes have the best intentions. And when they finally fall for each other, there’s this smitten sigh you can’t hold back any longer, promise! :)

Book cover of Pretty Instinct

Anna Katmore Why did I love this book?

If you like Rockstars, you’ll love Cannon Blackwell.

Liz is traveling with her uncle, her brother, and her two best friends on a tour bus. I mean: tour bus! That alone already creates the perfect ambiance for a super cute love story, right?? So when the band suddenly finds themselves without a bass guitarist, Cannon rounds the corner and...bamm!

The story of Liz and Cannon is so emotional and lovely, you just can’t miss out on that one. I literally squeaked, when they finally kissed.

By S E Hall,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pretty Instinct as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new, standalone contemporary romance.


"If opposites attract, then I am nothing. Because you, you are everything."


There's no easy road traveled to such an intense sentiment, one I never dreamt I'd feel...


But I also never planned on Cannon Blackwell climbing aboard my tour bus.



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Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

By K.R. Wilson,

Book cover of Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

K.R. Wilson Author Of Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Novelist Reader History enthusiast Occasional composer Sometime chorister

K.R.'s 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

When King Priam's pregnant daughter was fleeing the sack of Troy, Stan was there. When Jesus of Nazareth was beaten and crucified, Stan was there - one crossover. He’s been a Hittite warrior, a Silk Road mercenary, a reluctant rebel in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, and an information peddler in the cabarets of post-war Berlin. Stan doesn't die, and he doesn't know why. And now he's being investigated for a horrific crime.

As Stan tells his story, from his origins as an Anatolian sheep farmer to his custody in a Toronto police interview room, he brings a wry, anachronistic…

Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

By K.R. Wilson,

What is this book about?

Long-listed for the 2022 Leacock Medal for Humour

When King Priam's pregnant daughter was fleeing the sack of Troy, Stan was there. When Jesus of Nazareth was beaten and crucified, Stan was there - one cross over. Stan has been a Hittite warrior, a Roman legionnaire, a mercenary for the caravans of the Silk Road and a Great War German grunt. He’s been a toymaker in a time of plague, a reluctant rebel in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and an information peddler in the cabarets of post-war Berlin. Stan doesn't die, and he doesn't know why. And now he's…


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