The best romance novels of all time
The top 3 according to 35 votes from people: The Notebook · Love in the Time of Cholera · Rebecca. (Updated Feb 11, 2025.)
From Jane Austen to Sally Rooney: the love stories that appear most on reader and bookshop lists, classic and modern.
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 20
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1
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks, 1996. A summer love that lasts a lifetime.
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2
Love in the Time of Cholera
Gabriel García Márquez, 1985. Florentino waits for Fermina for more than fifty years.
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3
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier, 1938. The shadow of the first wife at Manderley.
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4
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë, 1847. Catherine and Heathcliff, love and revenge on the moors.
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5
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy, 1877. A love that defies the Russian aristocracy.
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6
Norwegian Wood
Haruki Murakami, 1987. Love and loss in 1960s Tokyo.
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7
Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquivel, 1989. Love and recipes in revolutionary Mexico.
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8
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn, 2000. The first Bridgerton book.
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9
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen, 1813. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy.
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10
Atonement
Ian McEwan, 2001. A childish lie that separates two lovers.
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11
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë, 1847. The governess and the mysterious Mr Rochester.
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12
Me Before You
Jojo Moyes, 2012. Lou and Will, a story that made millions cry.
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13
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas, 2015. Romantic fantasy with faeries.
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14
Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen, 1811. The Dashwood sisters, head and heart.
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15
Persuasion
Jane Austen, 1817. A second chance eight years later.
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16
Doctor Zhivago
Boris Pasternak, 1957. Yuri and Lara in the Russian Revolution.
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17
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon, 1991. A nurse travels back to 18th-century Scotland.
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18
The Lady of the Camellias
Alexandre Dumas fils, 1848. The love of a Parisian courtesan.
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19
Normal People
Sally Rooney, 2018. Connell and Marianne, from school to university.
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20
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood, 2021. A fake relationship between scientists.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (1)
Ana Karenina la primera me parece demasiado triste para una lista romántica, yo pondría Orgullo y prejuicio