Fall in love this Valentine’s with these romance books by Black authors.
I have always been a lover girl, and before I had real crushes in secondary school, before relationships and before my first heartbreak, romance books were my first escape into love. They taught me that love could be gentle or all-consuming, messy or steady, and romantic or affirming.
Through romance books, I learned that love does not have to look one way to be real. It could arrive as longing, growth, desire, friendship, grief, or self-discovery.
Romance books, especially those written by black authors, gave me language for feelings I did not yet have words for. They showed me versions of love that felt familiar, intentional, flawed, and deeply human. Even now, they continue to keep me believing in love, not because it is perfect, but because it is possible.
These are some of the romance books that have stayed with me.
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“Honey & Spice” by Bolu Babalola
Tropes: Fake dating, opposites attract, slow burn
This book shows what it’s like to fall in love while holding on tightly to your sense of self. Set on a university campus, “Honey & Spice” explores attraction, reputation, vulnerability, and the work that goes into having self-respect.
The romance unfolds with warmth and tension, and what stayed with me was how intentional the love felt. It understands that desire should never require self-abandonment, and that choosing yourself can exist alongside choosing someone else.
“Love in Colour” by Bolu Babalola
Tropes: Destined love, mythological romance, soulmates
This collection of love stories feels like a love letter to timeless romance. Each story reimagines a well-known myth through a Black feminist lens, centring agency, longing, and choice. I loved how expansive these stories felt. They remind you that Black love has always existed and been celebrated across time and culture. It can be sacred, rebellious, tragic, and transformative, all at once.
“You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” by Akwaeke Emezi
Tropes: Forbidden love, grief to love, age gap
This is a romance that does not shy away from discomfort. It explores grief, desire, timing, and the emotional risk of wanting someone deeply. The love story is intense and morally complicated, which is exactly what makes it feel honest.
This story stayed with me because it captures how love can be healing and disruptive at the same time, especially when you are still finding your way back to yourself.
“Seven Days in June” by Tia Williams
Tropes: Second chance romance, lovers to enemies to lovers, emotionally intense love
This story feels like unfinished business in the best way. It follows two people whose lives keep orbiting each other despite the hurt that they share. What stayed with me was how honest the love felt. Itwas messy, passionate, and shaped by growth. A reminder that some connections do not disappear; they just wait for the right moment to be understood.
“Under the Udala Trees” by Chinelo Okparanta
Tropes: Forbidden love, coming of age, first love
Set during and after the Nigerian civil war, this novel explores a tender but painful love between two girls in a society that refuses to make space for them. It is brave and deeply emotional. What stayed with me was its insistence that queer love is a love that should be acknowledged even when it must exist in secrecy.
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“Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert
Tropes: Grumpy sunshine, healing romance, opposites attract
This story is gentle, funny, and deeply affirming. At its heart, it is about learning how to live fully and allowing love to meet you where you are. The romance is rooted in care, patience, and emotional safety. I loved how kindhearted this book felt. It is a reminder that love without chaos is powerful. Sometimes, it simply needs understanding.
“Honey Girl” by Morgan Rogers
Tropes: Queer self-discovery, friends-to-lovers, soft romance
“Honey Girl” is a tender story about burnout, identity, and learning how to receive love. A spontaneous, alcohol-fuelled marriage becomes the starting point for a romance rooted in care, emotional safety, and chosen family.
Their love felt calm, affirming, and restorative. It was less about grand gestures and more about allowing yourself to be loved without guilt.
“Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?” by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Tropes: Self-love journey, modern romantic comedy, late-blooming romance
Yinka’s story is both humorous and painfully relatable. Centred on cultural expectations and societal pressure to marry, the book explores romance alongside self-worth and self-acceptance.
What I loved most is that it reminds you that being whole matters, and that choosing yourself is often the most important step before choosing a partner.
“Only for the Week” by Natasha Bishop
Tropes: Friends with benefits, forbidden love, vacation romance, fling‑to‑forever, fast burn
This is not a slow-burning story. It follows a woman who finds herself at a destination wedding ready to let loose, only to be pulled into a week‑long fling with someone she isn’t supposed to be with. What makes this story feel immediate and addictive is how quickly the chemistry takes over. I loved how quickly the romance moved forward with heart and heat. This book is perfect for readers who love passion that ignites fast.
“Queenie” by Candice Carty-Williams
Tropes: Self-discovery, messy dating, emotional healing
Queenie is raw, messy, and deeply honest. While not a conventional romance, it is invested in love in all its forms. Romantic love, familial love, friendship, and self-love. The dating experiences are complicated and sometimes painful, but they are real. This book stayed with me because it refuses to romanticise healing, while still insisting that love, especially for yourself, is possible.
Love does not always arrive wrapped in perfection. Sometimes it comes as longing, growth, discomfort, or self-discovery. These romance books remind me that love exists in many forms and that Black love stories, including queer ones, deserve space to be tender, complicated, and whole.
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