“When you know that something is finite, it makes it that much more meaningful.”
Tillie Cole is one of the world’s most acclaimed and beloved romance novelists. Her contemporary works explore the traumatising power of love and is renowned for incorporating elements of Dark Romance, YA and New Adult aspects into her tales. A Thousand Boy Kisses is one of her most treasured books, telling the story of two star-crossed lovers whose connection is forged during their childhood. Separated for years, it is a powerful look at the transformative impact of love, and how long a single kiss can linger. Join us at What We Reading as we look through the best romance books like A Thousand Boy Kisses!
A Wish For US – Tillie Cole
Where better to start in a list of books like A Thousand Boy Kisses than with the acclaimed follow-up from Tille Cole, A Wish for Us? A powerful tale of hope, triumph and music, the book follows nineteen-year-old Cromwell Dean, the rising star in the electronic dance scene. But, for all the thousands of fans who idolise and adore him, Cromwell knows that no one truly ‘knows’ him. That is until he encounters the woman in the purple dress.
Swapping out the grey skies of England for the South Carolina heat, he is shocked when he encounters the woman again. Bonnie Farraday lives for music, letting every note into her heart and knowing that he is keeping his past hidden. But, when a terrible darkness threatens to consume Bonnie, Cromwell will have to conjure up a symphony capable of bringing them both together.
A Walk To Remember – Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk To Remember is a whimsical contemporary romance following North Carolina native Landon Carter. Casting his mind back to 1958, he recalls meeting Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the Baptist minister and the last person in the world anyone would fall for. And yet, as fate would have it, the two would be paired together for the homecoming dance and Landon would find his world being forever altered.
The beloved bestselling storyteller of The Notebook and Message in a Bottle gives readers another heart-wrenching examination of the fragility of our most powerful emotions, and how one interaction can remain with us for the rest of our lives.
All Your Perfects – Colleen Hoover
Nominated for a Goodreads Award for Best Romance, Colleen Hoover’s All Your Perfects is a profound story of a troubled marriage and how a forgotten promise might be able to save it. Quinn and Graham’s perfect love has been ruined by their imperfect marriage, with years of mistakes, secrets and white lies all building up to a daunting impasse.
In this heartbreaking page-turner, Colleen Hoover, author of It Starts With Us, asks: can love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime’s worth of imperfections?
Things I Wanted to Say, But Never Did (Lancaster Prep #1) – Monica Murphy
For a striking dark contemporary romance book like A Thousand Boy Kisses, Monica Murphy’s Things I Wanted to Say, But Never Did is the perfect go-to. In the first entry in the Lancaster Prep series, Murphy introduces readers to Whit Lancaster, a devilishly handsome, cold and heartless man roaming the campus that bears his name.
Readers follow Summer as she stumbles upon Whit one evening, bloodied and bruised. Taking him back to her room, the pair become entangled in one another, but when he leaves with her diary, she realises that he has access to all of her darkest hates and obsessions.
Archer’s Voice (Where Love Meets Destiny #1) – Mia Sheridan
Bree Prescott arrives at the sleepy lakeside village of Pelion in Maine hoping to find some peace from the torment she has been shackled by for years. During her first day in the town, she collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man hiding his secret agony.
Determined and compassionate, Bree endeavours to unlock the truth behind this man the rest of society has ignored In this touching and empowering exploration of how connection can cure any wound, Archer’s Voice is the perfect story that captures the feelings of sorrow, resilience and fate that come with the transformative power of love.
If He Had Been With Me – Laura Nowlin
Another romance book that explores the deep wounds left behind from past love, If He Had Bene With Me is a contemporary YA story from Laura Nowlin. A poignant and raw look at family, friendship and first loves, opens with the most heartbreaking chapters in the romance world and works back from there. Readers follow Summer and Finn, best friends who are inseparable through their shared connection.
One fateful night in August, that connection is severed in the most traumatic of circumstances, and it is only through the recounting of Summer that readers get to know the truth about the events and circumstances behind what happened.
The Things We Leave Unfinished – Rebecca Yarros
In Rebecca Yarros’ The Things We Leave Unfinished, readers follow twenty-year-old Georgia Stanton. Having given up her entire life in a messy divorce, she returns to her grandmother’s estate in Colorado and encounters Noah Harrison, the bestselling romance author and the man chosen to complete her grandmother’s final novel.
Through their shared love for Georgia’s grandmother’s work, the pair begin to unravel the hidden secrets behind her life. Having learnt that love never works out firsthand, Georgia is adamant that she will learn from her grandmother’s mistakes, even if the connection between herself and this literary Golden Boy becomes increasingly undeniable.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
