Valentine’s Day reads

By IANSlife

New Delhi, Feb 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) We all have been yearning for a Netflix romance, or missing the classic movies! But reading these novels on Valentine's Day, help lift your spirits.

Someone Else's Shoes

'Delightful. Nobody writes women the way Jojo Moyes does-recognizably real and complex and funny and flawed' JODI PICOULT

'Very few authors have the power to make you laugh on one page and cry on the next. Moyes is one of them' NEW YORK TIMES

'A book we all need in our lives right now. A fabulous and funny romp' WOMAN & HOME

'A paean to women's solidarity wrapped up in a very funny revenge-fuelled caper' THE TIMES

'(A) captivating new blockbuster. Once you step into the lives of Sam and Nisha, you'll be racing through the pages. Relatable, memorable and engaging' DAILY EXPRESS

Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else's shoes?

Exes and O's

'Unapologetically romantic, wonderfully sexy, always brilliant' Ali Hazelwood

'The perfect book to lift your spirits' Beth O'Leary.

Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times, by ten different men. Nevertheless, she is still determined to find her perfect match. The only problem? Tara is a romance novel obsessive, and her standards are sky high.

Modern dating apps have killed the meet-cute, so Tara decides to revisit her exes - all ten of them-in the hope of finding her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance. And every heroine needs a sidekick, so she enlists her new flatmate, firefighter Trevor.

Trevor Metcalfe is the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn't his thing. But, the more time they spend together, the more Trevor appreciates Tara's authentic, dramatic self.

Can they break the habits of a lifetime and give their spark a chance?

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

A journey, in search of home

Charlie Mackesy's beloved The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has been adapted into an animated short film, coming to BBC One and iPlayer this Christmas.

This beautifully made hardback celebrates the work of over 100 animators across two years of production-with Charlie's distinctive illustrations brought to life in full colour with hand-drawn traditional animation and accompanying hand-written script.

"I made a film with some friends about a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse - their journey together and the boy's search for home. I hope this book gives you courage and makes you feel loved." Love Charlie.

Atlas of the Heart

In her latest book, five-time #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr Brene Brown, writes, "If we want to find the way back to ourselves and each other, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories, and to be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection." In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and lays out an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heart-breaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection. Over the past two decades, Brown's extensive research into the experiences that make us who we are has shaped the cultural conversation and helped define what it means to be courageous with our lives.

Atlas of the Heart draws on this research, as well as Brown's singular skills as a researcher/storyteller, to lay out an invaluable, research-based framework that shows us that naming an experience doesn't give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning and choice. Brown shares, "I want this to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves. Even when we have no idea where we are."

A Million Kisses In Your Lifetime

Wren Beaumont is a model student. Kind, clever and beautiful, she is loved by everyone at Lancaster Prep.

Everyone but brooding campus bad boy Crew Lancaster.

Son of the family who own the school, Crew's life seems easy - but with an overbearing father and high expectations, it's anything but. Which is why he has no time for people like Wren. But when their lives unexpectedly collide, Wren discovers there's more to life than good grades - and Crew finally understands what it's like to care about someone other than himself . .

Could they - should they - become the school's most unlikely couple?

Book Lovers

Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Her whole life is books.

Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers. And he's Nora's work nemesis.

Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she's the woman men date before they find their happy-ever-after.That's why Nora's sister has persuaded her to swap her desk in the city for a month's holiday in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. It's a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks, handsome doctors or cute bartenders, Nora keeps bumping into...Charlie.

She's no heroine. He's no hero. So can they take a page out of an entirely different book?

Boyfriend Material

His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything. To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship... and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened. But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go. Discover the LGBT romance about exact opposites falling in perfectly imperfect love that New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Christina Lauren calls "hilarious, witty, tender, and stunning."

Mr Wrong Number

Bad luck has always followed Olivia. But when a steamy text from a random number turns into the most entertaining relationship of her life, it seems things are looking up.

Colin has always considered Olivia his flatmate's annoying little sister. Until she moves in with them, and he realises she's turned into an altogether sexier distraction . . .

He's determined to keep his distance, but it isn't easy. Especially when he discovers she's the girl he's been secretly messaging.

Now, Mr Wrong Number must decide. Should he shut down the messages, before things get messy?

Or turn up the heat . . . ?

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

Source: IANS