Valentine’s Day Books
Whether you’re the leading character of your own rom-com or planning to spend Valentine’s Day ordering yourself enough takeout for two, there’s no better way to treat yourself this pandemic Valentine’s Day than by ordering one of these highly anticipated new literary rom-coms. In Rachel Lynn Solomon’s TheEx Talk (Berkley), one of our most nostalgic mediums, public radio, is injected with a steamy twist when work frenemies Shay and Dominic are forced to play amicable exes to co-host a new program. How can you resist a rom-com that begins with its female lead ruining an expensive wedding? You simply can’t. In Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Avon, March 9) by Talia Hibbert, head- (and heart-) strong Eve meets her match in a calm B&B owner. Katherine Heiny’s latest romance-adjacent work of literary fiction has been compared to Jane Austen’s novels. In Early Morning Riser (Knopf, April 13), schoolteacher Jane and town lothario Duncan set the stage for an entirely unexpected ensemble cast of characters in the throes and on the edge of love. Fans of Casey McQuiston’s runaway success Red, White & Royal Blue will be titillated by One Last Stop (Griffin, June 1), a queer romance dripping with 1970s New York City aesthetic. The escapism of this time-bending tale will keep readers just as engrossed as the impossible (or is it?) love story at its center.
Valentine’s Day Movies
For a feel-good rom-com, check out Breaking Fast (video on demand), in which a romance buds between Mo (Haaz Sleiman), a gay practicing Muslim dealing with a recent breakup while observing Ramadan, and Kal (Michael Cassidy), an actor who decides to fast along with him for the holy month. In The Dating List (UPtv, February 21), Abby (Natalie Dreyfuss) makes a deal with her too-busy-for-dating boss: She’ll screen potential boyfriends in exchange for a promotion. But when she begins to fall in love, is she risking her promising career? A reality TV host (Bethanny Joy Lenz) returns home after being fired and takes on the town’s V-Day auction. The only problem: She’s running it alongside her ex-fiancé (Luke Macfarlane) in A Valentine’s Match (Hallmark). The third and final installment in the series, To All the Boys: Always and Forever (Netflix) shows fans how lovebirds Peter (Noah Centineo) and Lara Jean (Lana Condor) navigate their final year of high school, with college (and potential distance) just around the corner. In The Perfect Find (Netflix, release date TBD), based on Tia Williams’ 2016 bestseller, Gabrielle Union plays a beauty journalist vying for a fresh start with a new company, only to find herself at odds with her new boss. Things get even more complicated when she learns that her cute co-worker (Keith Powers), who becomes her confidant, is the boss’s son.
Romantic Movies Based on Real-Life Couples
The 1998 book A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar about genius mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., who had schizophrenia, and his wife, Alicia Nash, was adapted into this Oscar-winning 2001 film starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. In The Edge of Love (2008), famous poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys), his wife (Sienna Miller) and a childhood friend (Keira Knightley) are entwined in a messy love triangle that may or may not have happened. Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum star as Leo and Paige (based on real-life couple Kim and Krickett Carpenter) in The Vow (2012), who fall in love and survive a tragic car accident, only to have Leo wake up in the hospital with no memory. I Love You Phillip Morris (2009) is based on the real-life story of con artist Steven Jay Russell (Jim Carrey), who falls in love with another inmate (Ewan McGregor) while incarcerated. Next, 26 Fun & Flirty Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day Virtually
