Leesa Cross-Smith’s Romance Reading List
Celebrating Valentine’s Day with your significant other is great, but honestly, is there anything better than escaping into a good romance novel? Leesa Cross-Smith (author of This Close to Okay and self-proclaimed Janeite) has put together a list of some of her favorite romances to read over this cozy long weekend.
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in this fun and flirty multicultural romance debut by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory—author of the Resse Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick The Proposal.
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
A smart and delightful romantic comedy featuring fabulous female friendships and “a great love story.” –Jasmine Guillory, bestselling author of Party of Two.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages.
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
A rom-com-obsessed romantic waiting for her perfect leading man learns that life doesn’t always go according to a script in this delightfully charming and funny novel.
This Close to Okay
by Leesa Cross-Smith
BOOK OF THE MONTH DECEMBER PICK * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BOOK CLUB FEBRUARY PICK * ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2021 BY ELLE, TODAY (ACCORDING TO GOODREADS),THE MILLIONS, AND REAL SIMPLE * RECOMMENDED BY REFINERY29, MARIE CLAIRE, GLAMOUR, ELECTRIC LITERATURE, AND MORE
A powerful, vibrant novel about the life-changing weekend shared between two strangers, from the award-winning writer Roxane Gay calls "a consummate storyteller."
On a rainy October night in Kentucky, recently divorced therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man precariously standing at the edge of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and jumps out of the car into the pouring rain. She convinces the man to join her for a cup of coffee, and he eventually agrees to come back to her house, where he finally shares his name: Emmett.
Over the course of the emotionally charged weekend that follows, Tallie makes it her mission to provide a safe space for Emmett, though she hesitates to confess that this is also her day job. What she doesn’t realize is that Emmett isn’t the only one who needs healing—and they both are harboring secrets.
Alternating between Tallie and Emmett’s perspectives as they inch closer to the truth of what brought Emmett to the bridge’s edge—as well as the hard truths Tallie has been grappling with since her marriage ended—This Close to Okay is an uplifting, cathartic story about chance encounters, hope found in unlikely moments, and the subtle magic of human connection.