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What 2021 Romantic Book Should You Read Based on Your Enneagram Type?

Emily Martin

Contributing Editor

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.

Bloom Books, an imprint of Sourcebooks.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of the decade, when Christian Grey will make Anastasia Steele his wife. But is he really husband material? His dad is unsure, his brother wants to organize one helluva bachelor party, and his fiancée won’t vow to obey… Their passion for each other burns hotter than ever, but Ana’s defiant spirit continues to stir Christian’s darkest fears and tests his need for control. As old rivalries and resentments endanger them both, one misjudgment threatens to tear them apart. Can Christian overcome his childhood nightmares, and save himself? Can Christian finally be freed?

According to the Enneagram of Personality, there are nine different (but interconnected) personality types, and all of us can identify with one of them more than others. Learning your Enneagram type and learning to understand yourself based on your Enneagram type is said to have a lot of benefits. For instance, believers in the Enneagram types claim that understanding your type can lead to better productivity and interpersonal relationships. So if your Enneagram type can do all of that for your business and personal life, why can’t it also help you with your literary life? If you want to find your next favorite romantic read, let your Enneagram type lead the way. Unsure what your Enneagram type is? Take the test to find out. Then, once you’ve figured that out, come back here and find the romantic book for your Enneagram type.

1. The Reformer

Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic

cover image of The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Type 1s are organized, orderly, and they have high standards. So it makes sense that a 1 would be the type of person to gravitate towards The Soulmate Equation, a book that brings logical reasoning, statistics, and data into the world of romance. In this book, single mom Jessica Davis is reluctant to jump back into the dating world. But then she hears about GeneticAlly, a DNA-based matchmaking company that promises to find your soulmate through DNA. How can science get this wrong?

2. The Helper

Generous, Empathetic, Sincere, and Sentimental

Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau

Type 2s love to be the kind of person others can lean on, which is why they’ll love the romance story in Donut Fall in Love. Actor Ryan Kwok is taking a break from the fast-paced movie star lifestyle after the sudden and unexpected death of his mother. Ryan is trying to be there for his family during this difficult time, but while he’s supporting everyone else, who’s supporting him? Enter Lindsay McLeod, an innovative baker who will help Ryan heal through baking and, yes, donuts.

3. The Achiever

Self-assured, Charming, Driven, and Image-Conscious

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Driven and ambitious 3s are all about a good success story, so they’ll love Seven Days in June, a story of two best-selling/award-winning authors who get a second chance at love. Eva is an erotica author with a large readership, and Shane is a literary author who’s a critical darling. Although they exist on opposite sides of the literary world, 20 years ago they spent one whole week madly in love with one another. Still, all these years later, their chemistry is undeniable.

4. The Individualist

Expressive, Creative, Sensitive, and Self-Absorbed

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Type 4s often feel like outsiders, much like the heroine of Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After. As a Japanese American in a mostly white northern California town, Izumi Tanaka has never felt like she fits in. But when Izumi uncovers her father’s identity, that’s he’s the Crown Prince of Japan, Izumi realizes she’s actually a princess. But when she travels to Japan to meet her father and get introduced to a life of royalty, will she fit in here, either? Type 4s long to find a sense of identity and purpose, and that’s exactly what Izumi is searching for in this story.

5. The Investigator

Intense, Cerebral, Curious, and Innovative

One Last Stop cover

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Inquisitive 5s will love the sense of mystery and intrigue in Casey McQuiston’s latest novel One Last Stop. August’s world is turned upside down when she meets Jane, a mysterious, gorgeous girl in a leather jacket with swoopy hair who just so happens to be on the same subway train every time August takes her morning commute to work. Jane seems absolutely perfect and it’s pretty much love (or at least deep lust) at first sight. But the more August learns about the strange girl on the subway, the more she realizes something about her seems…off. And she soon realizes Jane doesn’t just dress like she’s from the 1970s. She actually is from the 1970s.

6. The Loyalist

Committed, Trustworthy, Cautious, and Anxious

Meet Me in Another Life cover

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey

Where are my fellow 6s? This book is for us. Type 6s like to feel like they have security and support from others. Well, in Meet Me in Another Life, the two main characters share a connection with one another through multiple lives. Thora and Santi are two kindred spirits who connect in different lives in multiple ways: as a teacher and prodigy student; a caretaker and dying patient; a cynic and a believer. Sometimes they’re friends, sometimes they’re lovers, but they’re always destined to connect. Talk about committed!

7. The Enthusiast

Spontaneous, Extroverted, Versatile, and Undisciplined

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

Michelle Amato, the successful, talented, and versatile graphic designer who’s also commitment-phobic? Yeah, she’s probably a Type 7. In A Lot Like Adiós, Michelle lands the branding campaign for a trendy celebrity gym…that just so happens to be owned by her childhood friend and longtime crush Gabriel Aguilar. Could this be the guy who finally convinces Michelle to settle down?

8. The Challenger

Confident, Willful, Resourceful, and Confrontational

Hana Khan Carries On book cover

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Confrontational 8s were born to read enemies-to-lovers romance stories. And Hana Khan Carries On features the type of strong, resourceful lead character 8s are sure to love. Hana Khan wants nothing more than to have her own radio show so she can give herself and her fellow Muslims a voice. But family comes first. So when her family’s halal restaurant struggles to compete against a rival eatery that just opened across the street, Hana jumps to help them out. Even though the owner of the rival restaurant is kind of cute.

9. The Peacemaker

Creative, Optimistic, Supportive, Complacent

Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola

Type 9s have the ability to bring people together, heal conflicts, and solve problems. And that’s one of the things Bolu Babalola is doing in her short story collection Love in Colour. These stories update love stories from history and mythology with an emphasis on uplifting the stories and mythology from places that colonization has attempted to erase. These are beautifully imagined stories that also work towards healing and decolonizing traditional romance tropes. Is Bolu Babalola herself a Type 9? Could be.