It’s Valentine’s Day! Celebrate the day with the pleasure of reading a great love story.
The list includes all genres of romance novels. These books depict handsome Asian love interests, and power women carving out their role in the workplace and society at large. In media, Asians have been often viewed as quiet and submissive, Asian women feminine and passive, and Asian men geeky and unattractive. These books crush those stereotypes and are easy-to-read escapes for Valentine’s Day.
Grab a glass of wine, a box of treats, and savour these great romance books!
See also: 6 Queer Asian books we love
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
College student Tsuneo loves the ocean, and he dreams of studying more about the sea abroad. He works at a scuba shop, and he takes a part-time job as a caretaker for a young woman in a wheelchair. Getting to know Josee is difficult. She’s temperamental and closed off, but he slowly discovers her inner world and the challenges she faces. The two inspire each other to pursue their dreams, though Josee’s lack of mobility often discourages her from fulfilling her dreams.
When Tsueno is hit with a sudden turn of events in his life that keeps him from his dreams, he understands Josee’s fears about pursuing something that’s beyond her reach. In the darkest part of their lives, they remember to inspire each other to reach for the seemingly impossible. The manga is based on the animated film that preceded it. The film is also worth watching on Valentine’s Day with a large box of tissues.
Circling Back To You
Cadence Lim and Matt Escanilla climb the corporate ladder at Prism Realty, with their humorous chemistry and inseparableness as work besties. While Cadence tries to rekindle her relationship with her father after her mother’s death, Matt is being nagged by his loving Filipino family to settle down. A business trip together brings them to their hometown where their family lives intertwine with their professional lives. This intimacy releases the feelings they’ve kept hidden all their work years. However, when competing promotions threaten to separate Cadence and Matt, the two must face what matters the most to themselves.
The dialogue is witty, sarcastic, and hilarious, especially the spot-on and embarrassing conversations at family gatherings that feel true to life. Mundane office dramas push the plot forward instead of the usual high-stake ones in romances. This makes for a believable story between two coworkers who fall in love but are trying to carve a place for themselves in an ultra-competitive industry.
Sari, Not Sari
Manny Dogra is the CEO of Breakup, a highly successful company that helps people manage their relationship breakups. She is preoccupied with her business. She’s also planning her wedding to handsome architect Adam Jamieson while dealing with the loss of her beloved parents. She knows nothing about her South Asian heritage, and with her parents gone, she has no link to her culture.
An irritating client named Sammy Patel approaches Manny with an odd breakup request, that she refuses at first. But he insists. If they both agree to certain terms, he’ll give her a crash course in being “Indian” at his brother’s wedding. Manny’s sleek and hustling lifestyle is contrasted by the meaning and connection she finds in meeting the lovable, if endlessly interfering, aunties and uncles of the Patel family. Anyone who is trying to reconnect to their roots will find themselves in Manny’s journey for romance, belonging and family.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she must hide her magic and follow normie rules. However, Mika has an online account where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. An unexpected message arrives, asking her to teach three young witches how to control their magic in a remote location called Nowhere House. Mika meets the characters that come in and out of Nowhere House, including a handsome librarian named Jamie. As far as he’s concerned, an outsider like Mika is not to be trusted. Just as Mika settles into her new family, a threat comes knocking at their door.
This book is much more of a fantasy read, with romantic elements. It is for anyone who loves stories about difficult but satisfying female friendships, the fantasy romance genre, and witches and magic.
Dating Dr. Dil
Kareena Mann, a hobbyist mechanic and hopeless romantic, is still figuring out her life. Her father announces he’s selling her mother’s home. But Kareena makes a deal with him: he’ll gift her the house if she can get engaged in four months. It doesn’t help her dating life that she is the centre of a viral video, where she gets into an argument with Dr. Prem Verma, host of The Dr. Dil Show. Prem wants to build a local community health centre. But he needs donors, so the viral video also tanks his efforts. Kareena’s meddling aunties presented him with a solution: convince Kareena he’s her soulmate and they’ll fund his clinic.
The two clash in opinion and personality. Their explosive chemistry lead to some satisfying, erotic sex scenes, so headphones on the bus if you get the audiobook.
See also: Cold Tea Reads: Reflecting on Ali Wong’s Dear Girls
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