Fans pick 100 books like Take Two

So, let’s go angsty first with a Melissa Brayden, an author who lures you in with light-hearted banter, beautiful characters and settings, then knocks you out with a punch of angst.

Small-town romance, Strawberry Summer, tracks two very different characters over several years and several chances and it’s almost painful how much you want things to work out for these two. Readers who like shouting at books for the couple to get it together, this is a good one for you. 

One of the things I love most about Melissa’s books, is the reveal that opens your eyes to another level in the story. You’ll be happily reading the romance, swept along, thinking you know where it’s all going and why, then she’ll pull back a layer and plunge you into an understanding of a character that makes sense down to your bones, and you can never think of that… show more.

I couldn’t write about sapphic second chance romances without including a Monica McCallan and I found it difficult to decide between two favourites, Then and Now and Back in Your Arms. She takes a different approach in each – and that’s something admire in writers too – authors who’ll play around with structure and characters.

Monica is so good at so many aspects – dialogue, characterisation, chemistry, appealing settings. It means she writes the most compulsively readable books. If you ever hear me say, “I’m just going to have a peek at this Monica McCallan book,” the next thing you’ll hear from me is, “I’ve finished it.”

And if you pick up one, many more will follow. Be warned. 

Equally, pick a sapphic romance trope, and Georgia Beers will likely have written one of my favourites.

She has a wonderful balance of cosy with enough tension and angst to keep you flying through the pages. She has written many, and I so admire that she’s still producing her best work. Her recent Camp Lost and Found is one of my favourites yet.

For second chances, I’ve gone with Flavor of the Month. This one has so many wonderful ingredients. Small-town setting, food focus, chemistry, angst. A romance to snuggle up with.

Purposefully Accidental is also by one of my favourite authors.

Sometimes that strand of history between a couple can be a relatively petty grudge, and this is what I love about Purposefully Accidental. G Benson, isn’t afraid to have her characters be very human and flawed and a bit bloody minded at times. You get a lovely sense of these two not being able to leave each other alone, even when they’re annoying. 

This epic romance brilliantly juggles a whole load of tropes – celebrity, doctors, fake romance. I think this one of her strengths – coming out with something unique by considering many aspects in a very convincing way. (Dead Lez Walking is an example – gore, comedy, and romance combined in a way I thought impossible before reading that book).

She mixes giggle-inducing scenes then breaks your heart the next moment in a wonderfully immersive story. Sigh.

It’s cruel to recommend a book with Whisper in the title because this romance hits like a hurricane. Lovers of angst will appreciate the depth of this book.

In one swoop, McKay crushes all that’s cherished until only wreckage and devastation remain. At times, I marvel at the main character’s redemption arc because it hardly seems likely. For a while, I wondered if McKay would be one of those authors who didn’t give her readers a happily ever after, but she seems to have as much love for Neve and Audrey as they do for each other. 

Talk about a book hangover. This book will wreck you, but in a good way. I walked around dazed for days. I recommend taking two Kallmakers and washing them down with a Beers. Call me in the morning.

Levig’s characters in Embracing the Dawn leap from the page. They’re fully realized, three-dimensional women with interesting backstories. It’s an unusual pairing, but that doesn’t decrease the swoon-worthy component any.

I’ve heard readers are fascinated with either E.J. or Jinx, myself no exception. Like in my last recommendation, I adore when a character can’t help herself from showing up time and time again, and this romance provides. 

Levig supplements her love interests with intriguing and complex side characters who are just as loveable as the main characters. Levig doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects, and how E.J. and Jinx support and strengthen each other makes their romance even more swoon worthy.

You’ll be ordering the second book in the series before you’re done with the first.

Set in post 9-11 days, Honor Reclaimed is best read as part of Radcyffe’s Honor series, a recommendation in itself.

The novel is packed with emotions and some angst, which always ups the ante. I rarely find romantic intrigue books swoon-worthy because so much of the book is dedicated to action and intrigue versus romance, yet Radclyffe works multiple romances into this book.

The pairings are unique, memorable, and will make your heart ache in a good way. I suffered alongside the couples as they overcame unimaginable hurdles. The sweet whispered yearnings and admissions between lovers make the book exceptional. Radclyffe writes intimacy like no other.

Sometimes, I crave a super sweet, short romance. Something that’ll be like a dopamine hit straight to the veins. This one was the perfect bite-size escape.

It is a second-chance romance set in a tattoo parlor after closing hours. The couple’s flaws and reasons for their breakup were realistic. They were nowhere near perfect, and that makes their happy-ever-after more beautiful. 

I love books with quiet and complex characters. This one follows an audiobook narrator who loves silence and an ice queen author who needs a successful book launch for her comeback.

Both characters think they have their lives all figured out. Meeting each other opens their eyes to a brighter, less lonely world. This book has a light enemies-to-lovers vibe for those of us (me) who enjoy just a little back-and-forth before the characters figure out they’re obsessed with each other.

This book had everything a book lover loves…a story about a bookstore seller, a romance author, and enough secrets to keep you on your toes. I rarely read sapphic romance novels about secret identities, and I kept wondering when the truth was going to come out about one of the characters.

This book was also a light and easy read, and even though it dabbled in a few tough subjects, it felt warm, sparkly, and cozy the entire time.