Curl up this Valentine’s Day with one of these sweet romance novels recommended by Jamie Fortin, who recently opened Friends to Lovers in Old Town Alexandria. The area’s first romance bookstore was destroyed by fire three days after it opened but now has a long-term pop-up location at 108 N. St. Asaph St. We asked Fortin to share her picks for the most romantic day of the year.
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
Aspiring screenwriter and rom-com lover Emma Wheeler gets the chance of a lifetime to rewrite a script for her personal writing hero, Charlie Yates. She asks her sister to step in as caretaker for their dad and heads to LA for six weeks — only to find that Yates is not thrilled to work with her. Fortin says the book is “all about love stories.”
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
On her way to a book club retreat, Eileen Merriweather’s car breaks down in the cute little town that her favorite author writes about. Fortin describes the book as “very much a cozy read for those who want to spend Valentine’s indulging in something joyful, hopeful, and full of love.”
Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
Fortin says the author’s collection of magical tales from Greek, West African, and Middle Eastern mythology and folklore is a “collection of beautiful short stories about love.”
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
After Chloe Brown, who’s chronically ill, survives a brush with death, she challenges herself to “get a life.” Fortin calls this book “a beautiful example of a partner showing up and loving someone through thick and thin.”
Here for the Wrong Reasons by Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang
“A sapphic love story about two women who fall in love while on a dating show similar to The Bachelor. The authors fell in love while writing it!” Fortin says.
Photos by Mike Ramm
This story originally ran in our February Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
