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A Few of My Favorite Love Stories

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Vanessa Diaz

Managing Editor

Book Riot Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz is a writer and former bookseller from San Diego, CA whose Spanish is even faster than her English. When not reading or writing, she enjoys dreaming up travel itineraries and drinking entirely too much tea. She is a regular co-host on the All the Books podcast who especially loves mysteries, gothic lit, mythology/folklore, and all things witchy. Vanessa can be found on Instagram at @BuenosDiazSD or taking pictures of pretty trees in Portland, OR, where she now resides.

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As a person who hasn’t been partnered on Valentine’s Day since George W. Bush was in office, you might not think I’d be a fan of this particular holiday. While I have not celebrated it romantically for some time, I’m a huge proponent of celebrating love in its many forms. So today, I’m sharing some of my favorite love stories in literature, including some treasured examples of platonic and familial love. Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s, Galentine’s, or Palentine’s this year, here’s to appreciating all different kinds of love stories—even the messy ones.

Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller: Alva + Sam

This is the book that made me a Capital-R Romance reader, thanks to an effusive recommendation by Trisha Brown of When in Romance. It’s a Gothic historical romance set in Gilded Age New York with a ghosty mystery at its core and proves definitively that consent is hot as hell. The communication, the clear respect for boundaries, and the enthusiastically consensual sexy times plus a really compelling mystery and beautiful partnership make for a perfect package. (tw: domestic violence)

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel: Tita + Pedro

Warning: I’ll be getting into some spoilers. In this historical novel, Tita’s lot in life as the youngest of three daughters is to care for her difficult, abusive mother. She isn’t allowed to wed, so of course she falls in love with a man named Pedro. Her mother forbids their union, so instead Pedro marries Tita’s sister—ya know, to be close to Tita. Que?!?! This plan is a dumpster fire from the start, but after decades of pining and disaster, Tita and Pedro find their way back to one another in an arc I can’t help but go all soft for. Truly could not be me, but here I am going, “awwww!” anyway. (tw: sexual assault, not graphic)

For a longer meditation on the book and some Mexican history, see my Deep Dive here.

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