“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
These words of the legendary playwright William Shakespeare clarify why it is more important to have feelings, instead of senses, to understand what love is. Love is not something people can see or hear. Rather, it feels like the intuitive knowledge of the divine. Reasoning, logic, and other means of empirical knowledge are useless when it comes to comprehending love. And there are numerous romance novels and popular love story books that you can refer to in order to grasp the ephemeral tenderness of love. There are writers like Jane Austine, William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, and Emily Brontë who rule the field of classical romance literature. And there are others, like Helen Hoang, Tessa Bailey, and Emily Henry, who are famous for writing contemporary love stories. In this short work, we, BooksWagon UAE, have catalogued for you the most popular romance novels to peruse and discern the ethereal and intangible feeling of love.
The Forty Rules of Love
A story within a story, this book by Elif Shafak details the life of Ella Rubinstein, a Jewish-American housewife in her 40s, living a loveless and stagnant life with her Dentist husband, David, in Massachusetts. The story in the story is about Sufi mystics Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. The book effectively explains the nature of love through the philosophical beliefs of the Sufi sect of Islam.
The narrative begins with Ella, who, as a part-time literary reader, one day comes across a manuscript named ‘Sweet Blasphemy’ written by Aziz Zahara. As she delves into the treatise, she begins to connect with Aziz and starts to communicate with him through emails. But as things progress, one day, Ella gathers the courage to escape her empty life and meet Aziz, risking everything to find a chance at love.
The story of Rumi and Shams, as illustrated in the book, is about how Shams, a wandering ‘darvish’, one day shattered all the shackles of rigid and orthodoxical understanding of religion and ego that were limiting Rumi. He taught Rumi to love the divine with his heart and soul instead of applying worldly logic and rules to him. Because of Shams’ unorthodox influence, Rumi was getting closer to him, which many people of the town, including his son, Aladdin, did not concur with. This burgeoning discomfort ultimately resulted in the death of Shams, but Rumi kept on spreading his ideas of love that kept their bond intact.
The forty rules of love that Shams taught Rumi are the heart of both narratives. These rules are heavily rooted in the philosophy of Sufism and can be summarised under the following bullets:
- Intellect v/s Love: Intellect is conscious and cautious, while love is subconscious and ready to take risks.
- Acceptance and Transformation: Change comes from within. You have to be the change you want in the world while accepting your true self.
- Leave the Judgments: You cannot find true love if you have some prejudices or are afraid of judgments of society. Let them go and focus on yourself.
The Love Hypothesis
Written by Ali Hazelwood, ‘The Love Hypothesis’ is a popular romance book for young adults and narrates a love story between a Stanford PhD student, Olive and her professor, Adam Carlson, who accidentally and randomly fall in love with each other after a bizarre and unplanned incident. The whole narrative can be summarised as follows:
- The Accidental Kiss and the Deal: One day, to prove to her best friend, Anh, that she has moved on from her ex, Olive Smith, unknowingly kissed a man in a white lab coat, later revealed to be the notorious professor Adam Carlson. Later on, Olive clarifies the situation to Adam and asks him to get into a fake relationship with her, only to prove her point in front of her friends. Adam also agrees to the deal so that the university funding for his projects keeps coming, and he does not lose his job.
- The Science Conference: While travelling for a conference in Boston, Adam confesses to Olive that he has been following her academic career for a while and is a silent admirer of hers. There, the two share an intimate moment, which Adam stops to keep the vows of their agreement safe. Shortly after, Olive runs into Dr Tom Benton, mentor of Adam, who offered her a job in his lab, where, after some time, she finds that Dr Tom’s intentions are not as good as they seem to be.
- True Love and the Climax: After becoming aware of the predatory behaviour of Benton towards Olive, Adam becomes furious and unmasks him in front of the whole institution, including his own trauma of having an abusive academic past. This leads to the dismissal of Benton, after which Olive and Adam confessed their feelings for each other and got into an actual and respectable relationship.
Pride and Prejudice
A classical romance fiction novel by eminent writer Jane Austine, this treatise narrates the story of two people, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, and was published in 1813, during the Georgian era. The story navigates themes like social divisions and the associated judgmental nature of humans. The whole narrative can be grasped through the following points:
- The Ball and The First Meeting: Mr Charles Bingley, a rich young man, and his haughty friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, visit a local ball party where they meet Elizabeth Bennet and her older sister Jane. There, Bingley and Jane instantly fall in love and begin to dance, but Darcy declines the offer of dancing with Elizabeth and even insults her. This strengthens a prejudice in Elizabeth regarding Darcy.
- A Family Betrayal: The love between Mr Bingley and Jane keeps growing; this thing is unacceptable to Charles’ sister, who, with the help of Mr Darcy, conspires to divorce them because of the social difference between the two. Meanwhile, an ex-military man, George Wickham, comes to the town and befriends Elizabeth, to whom he tells that Darcy has denied him his rightful inheritance.
- The Letter: One day, Darcy, unexpectedly, proposes to Elizabeth, which she refuses furiously. Following this, she received a letter from Darcy that changed all of her views. In it, she comes to know that George is a gambling addict who tried to elope with Darcy’s teenage sister and that Darcy was trying to separate Jane and Charles because he genuinely believes that Jane was indifferent to his friend.
- The Elopement and the Resolution: Later on, Elizabeth comes to know that her little sister, Lydia, has eloped with George. Hearing this, Darcy, secretly, travels to London, tracks down the couple, and pays off George’s debt to secure their marriage. Eventually, Elizabeth finds out about Darcy’s selfless action, which changes her mind. Following this, she and Mr Darcy begin to date and live happily ever after.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Written by Sarah J. Maas, this fictional love story book talks about a 19-year-old Feyre Archeron, a mortal huntress who kills a faerie wolf, due to which she is forced to live in the magical Spring Court as her punishment. There, she fell in love with her captor, Tamlin, who is captured by a magical queen under a mountain. The following points briefly describe the plot of the whole narrative clearly:
- The Mortal Realm: Feyre lives in the realm of the mortals with her almost-blind father and two self-obsessed sisters, Elain and Nesta. She hunts in the woods near the wall that separates the mortal world from the magical world of Prythian. One day, she kills a large wolf, a High Fae in disguise, that’s gonna cost her a little more.
- The Spring Court: Following this, Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court, arrives at Feyre’s home and takes her with him as her punishment for the act. Initially, she resists, but gradually she begins to go on hunts with Tamlin and his emissary, Lucien, and her hatred begins to fade. She also comes to know about a mysterious, magical ‘blight’ due to which all the beasts have to keep some kind of mask on their faces.
- Underneath the Mountain: To keep her safe from the ‘blight’, Tamlin sends Feyre back to her home. But there she comes to know that the magical queen Amarantha has betrayed and captured Tamlin and Lucien ‘Under the Mountain’. Feyre volunteers to rescue them, for which she makes a deal with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, who protects her from Amarantha’s cruelty. To test Feyre, Amarnatha gives her three tasks, viz.
- Retrieve a magical key from the pond of flesh-devouring worms.
- Slay a monstrous beast in the arena.
- Whip Tamli almost to death.
- Death and Resurrection: During all these events, Amarantha killed Feyre. However, all seven High Lords, with their combined magic, resurrect her back to life as a powerful High Fae. However, due to her bargain with Rhysand, she is now secretly tied to him, although she returns to the Spring Court with Tamlin.
It Ends With Us
A lovely and one of the best romance novels by Colleen Hoover, this book follows the story of a young girl, Lily Bloom, who has just moved to Boston and opened a flower shop. There, she falls for a dashing neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, who initially looks charming but, with time, turns out to be abusive. The following points can be perused to grasp the whole narrative of the book:
- Lily’s New Life: After the death of her abusive father, Lily moves to Boston, where she opens a flower shop to start a new and fresh life. At her father’s funeral, she meets Rhyle, a charismatic neurosurgeon. Despite his ‘no dating’ rule, the two fall in love.
- Re-emergence of the First Love: One day, Atlas Corrigan, Lily’s high-school love, and Lily encounter each other in Boston. The coming of Atlas makes Rhyle insecure and jealous, which eventually leads to physical and emotional abuse.
- The Turning Point: One day, after a brutal physical assault, Lily lands in the hospital. Rhyle is feeling guilt and remorse and promises not to repeat such incidents. However, Lily’s trust and patience have been completely shattered, and the two eventually go for a divorce with shared custody of their daughter.
- Climax and a Happy Ending: After leaving her abusive and distressed life behind, Lily goes back to Atla, who, by now, has become stable and is ready to move on with her. The book ends with a ‘happily ever after’ climax and the reunion of Atlas and Lily.
Final Words
The genre of love story books and romance novels is abundantly filled with beautiful works by various eminent authors and playwrights like Jane Austine and William Shakespeare. These books provide an opportunity to surf diverse tides of love, like tenderness and obsession. If you are also looking for some treatises to explore such narratives, then you can visit BooksWagon UAE, one of the most trusted online bookstores in the UAE. There, you will get all kinds of books and popular romance novels at the most budget-friendly rates with intriguing exclusive discounts. We provide home delivery of books across the nation within a period of a fortnight without any hidden charges. By now, we have delivered over 50 million books to book lovers with assured authenticity and standards. So, without wasting any more time, visit bookswagon.ae, order your favourite love story, and dive into the world of pages that will extend your imagination and provide you with an ethereal adventure of reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1) What are the best-selling love books in the UAE?
Ans) ‘The Forty Rules of Love’; ‘The Love Hypothesis’; ‘Love, Theoretically’; ‘Wuthering Heights’; ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’; ‘Pride and Prejudice’; ‘The Great Gatsby’; ‘Every Summer After’; and ‘Twisted Love’ are the top romance books in the UAE.
Q2) Where can I order love story books in the UAE?
Ans) BooksWagon UAE is the one-stop solution for you to order love stories and romance novels in the UAE, that too at the best prices. There, you will get doorstep delivery of all international bestsellers across the nooks and corners of the country within a period of a fortnight.
Q3) What are the various genres of romance novels?
Ans) Sci-fi romance, historical love story, contemporary romance, dark romance and fantasy are some of the prominent genres of love books. While ‘Enemy-to-lovers’, ‘Grumpy & Sunshine’, ‘Fake dating’, and ‘Second chance’ are prominent romance book tropes.
