From time-honoured classics for the old-school romantics to modern tales of amour, we reckon there’s one here you’ll want to cuddle up to.

For the Studious Romantic

Strange Antics: A History of Seduction, Clement Knox

If your valentine is a history, sociology, art or philosophy buff this book will surely enrapture them as much as you do (almost)! Chronicling the art of seduction throughout the ages, investigating the most adept seducers such as Casanova as well as the representations and uses of sexuality and gender from The Garden of Eden right up to the Me Too movement, this is a highly scholarly yet wildly entertaining look at the sensual side of human life in all of its guises.

For the Modern Romantic

Adults, Jane Unsworth

Very much a novel of “now”, Adults is a searing, excruciatingly relatable look at life in the social media age told with much hilarity and verve. Following a young woman who portrays her life as near-perfect and enviable online, we quickly learn that not all is as it seems as her relationships begin to unravel and her fantastic job proves to be non-existent. A fearless and compassionate book that holds a love story full of ups and downs at its heart, this book is sure to appeal to those who still believe in love in this strange age.

For the Cynical Romantic

The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

Now a well-established and beloved entry in the romance genre, this hilarious and moving story follows Don Tillman, a thirty-nine-year-old geneticist who is perennially unlucky in love and decides to use his expertise to enact “Project Wife” – an attempt to find the perfect bride through scientific means. Enter Rosie, the most incompatible, chaotic woman Don has ever met and hilarity and budding romance ensue! A great story to show those love grumps that sometimes love can come from completely unexpected places.

For the Classic Romantic

Love Stories, edited by Diana Secker Tesdell

For those who love romance stories in the classic tradition, this collection has stories from a wide range of authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, D.H. Lawrence to Margaret Atwood and Roald Dahl and therefore something for every mood and any age. The collection covers romance in all its many forms – first love, unrequited love, marriage, obsession and passionate affairs and is sure to captivate those heartfelt believers in true romance!

All of these romantic reads can be found in our local Epsom’s Waterstones, thanks to Kate Goldsmith for curating this loved-up collection.