12+ Favorite YA Romance Books

My Double Life by Janette Rallison
I recommend Janette Rallison all the time when people ask for clean book recommendations. She’s so funny and her books are just 100% delightful! For me, her books are laugh-out loud funny and this one about a teen girl who takes a job doubling for a rock star, is a delight.

P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
I recommend Kasie West’s YA books all the time for readers looking for YA titles that are romantic and super clean. This one features two teens in high school chemistry that share a desk but in different classes so they don’t know who the other is, but they quickly strike up a pen-pal friendship with notes left in their shared desk each day.

The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Selection by Kiera Cass is the first book in The Selection series. This dystopian romance stars America Singer who is selected as one of 35 girls competing for the hand of the prince in this Cinderella-meets-the-Bachelor young adult novel. I blew through the whole audio series after my third baby was born and loved this frothy series.

Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl & Melissa de la Cruz
This is a TERRIFIC Little Women retelling that I blew through in about 2 days and then included on the 2021 Summer Reading Guide. It takes place after Jo March publishes her first novel about her and her sisters. Now her fans are clamoring not only for a sequel (as is her publisher) but they all would VERY much like their new favorite heroine to end up with the charming boy next door. And in her real life, Jo is dealing with that boy next door who would also like nothing more. Even worse, Jo might also want to end up with Laurie. But will she be too stubborn to let it happen?

Ella Enchanted by Gail Levine
This clever, funny, and sweet retelling of Cinderella might be one of my top five all-time favorite books! Ella was cursed shortly after birth to obey any order given to her and there doesn’t seem to be any way for her to break the curse on her own. Which means she’ll need to track down the elusive fairy that cursed her in the first place and convince her to remove the curse. And don’t forget about dreamy Prince Char, who absolutely adores Ella. Their chemistry is adorable and their banter the sweetest!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer 
The first book in this series was the August book for the 2023 Everyday Reading Book Club and it was so delightful. YA fantasy novels aren’t my normal cup of tea, but I loved this fractured fairy tale version of Cinderella. Each book in this 4 book series tells the story of a different fractured fairy tale: Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
This was one of the very first books I ever wrote about on Everyday Reading and it’s still one of my all-time favorites. The plot is certainly basic enough fairy-tale material, but Hale makes it something really wonderful. Perhaps the thing I appreciated most was a heroine I really liked and could admire (so much so that I used her name for second daughter’s blog name!). Ani is a very real character, well-developed, with actions and emotions that feel natural and uncontrived. (Full review here) 

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Fantasy is not my genre of choice but I like to push myself occasionally to read things outside my normal reading comfort zone. This is worth the push. Elisabeth is an apprentice librarian at the Great Library, where her task is to keep an eye on the grimoires, books that are living and breathing. If these books are made angry, they’ll transform into monsters. When an attack sets the most dangerous grimoire loose, she will uncover a plot that threatens the entire kingdom that no one may be able to conquer. (Full review here)

Matched by Ally Condie
I read this one quite a while ago and I couldn’t NOT like this YA dystopian novel. The Giver plus romance? Sign me up. I still can’t believe Ella is old enough to be reading some of the YA books that I have really loved. (Full review here)

Beauty by Robin McKinley
I’ve always loved a good fairy tale retelling and this is one of the ones I remember best from my childhood. My mom read this Beauty and the Beast retelling aloud to us and I woke up in the middle of the night to see her reading it in the hallways because she couldn’t wait to see how it would turn out! I love that this one gives you way more backstory for Beauty’s family and I really love her sisters and their sweet relationship. It has such great character development and it’s just a delight all around.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl arrives at Micah High and enchants everyone with her strange and wonderful personality, particularly the narrator, Leo. But when she begins cheering for both the home team and the opposing team, the school turns on her. And Leo, desperately in love with her, pressures her to conform. I read this one during my masters in library science and absolutely loved it. (Full review here)

A Heart Worth Stealing by Joanna Barker
This one is such a delight to read. After her father’s passing, Ginny is devastated when his treasured pocket watch goes missing. When she hires a special investigator, Jack Travers, to help find the watch, he discovers there is more going on than just a missing watch. As Ginny and Jack work together, of course, there will be romance. This is a fantastic whodunnit story with snappy dialogue.

Edenbrooke by Julianna Donaldson
Marianne is invited to visit Edenbrooke by her twin sister who intends to marry into the family that owns the country estate and Marianne, mourning the loss of her mother and lonely in Bath with her grandmother, quickly agrees. She has no interest in romance herself, but is very anxious for a change of scenery. Lucky for her, she’s going to get both. I especially loved the snappy dialogue in this one. (Full review here).