Romance for 16 year old

[Jezzabelle]

My 16 yo DD has always been a reader, but has only read the GCSE texts over the past year. I bought her Where the Cawbirds Sing recently and she's devoured it. I told her I thought she'd like Midnight Library, to which she replied that she would like to read a romance next. I'm not especially widely read myself, (dyslexic - she isn't) so was looking for age appropriately romances for her age please?

For young adult type stuff try Fangirl or Eleanor & Park, both by Rainbow Rowell.

Depends what you think appropriate. At age I was devouring Mills & Boon romances, but some do have sex scenes in. Maybe browse some Mills & Boon and see what she likes.

Meant to say at age 14 I was into Mills&Boon. Never stopped 😬

Georgette Heyer's romances are perfect. They are so well written, great characters and brilliant descriptions of the Regency period.

What about the classics like Jane Austen and the Brontes?

If she searches online she can find lists of cult books, too 50 novels to read etc. Half of the fun is finding a great new author.

She might like Sophie Kinsella's books. If she looks at her page on Amazon, then they will be links to other similar writers as well.

Or The Midnight Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Not quite a romance, but a beautiful tangle of a relationship. It's quite hard to describe, lots of magical/fantasy themes (but not fairy folk type magic).

Eva Ibbottson's books like The Morning Gift, The Secret Countess, and A Song for Summer. They generally follow a formula, a young emigrée who flees Russia/Austria for the UK at the outbreak of WWII. But they're lovely and very charming.

Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin, lovely romance set in current Nortern Ireland, so sectarian Romeo and Juliet. Brilliant

My DD (16) likes Colleen Hoover - contemporary YA

Ooo The Selection by Keira Kass!!

List of good ‘clean’ young adult fiction here

www.bookseriesrecaps.com/clean-ya-books-for-teens-and-tweens/

I loved the diary of a crush series(3 books) at that age. Still reread them now

I Capture the Castle

Teens seem to be crazy for the Heartstopper series of books too

I was going to say Georgette Heyer too.

Also, what about The Time Travellers Wife, or Sebastian Faulks?

She's 16, I don't think there's a romance that would be unsuitable. Crawdads has an attempted rape and a murder in it. At 16 she might like some of the following, there's quite a range of styles but I think that's a good thing at 16:
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. A light classic with young protagonists.
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden. Beautiful graphic novel, lesbian romance.
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey. Winner of the Costa a couple of years ago. Modern fisherman falls in love with an ancient cursed mermaid.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Superior page turner, try not to read any spoilers.
Normal People by Sally Rooney. People either love this or hate it but she'll need tohave an opinion.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This booktok favourite is a retelling of the Illiad.

My 14yo keen reader has read some of these and enjoyed them.

Thank you so much everyone! ❤ I have ordered a few and will work through your suggestions. She had Romeo and Juliet as a GCSE set text and loved it. She's doing politics at A Level so I think Guard Your Heart would be right up her street. Thanks again all!

This takes me back. I capture the castle is one of my all time favourites.

Booktok is basically 90 percent teenagers reading romance. A lot are borderline adults books (sex scenes etc) but I think 16 is probably old enough for most of them.

• Not seen a single person on there who didn't like Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or Song of Achilles.
• Colleen Hoover books
• Emily Henry books
• Red, white and royal blue
• Love and Other Words
• The ACOTAR (Court of thorns and roses) series