Playlist: Your Favorite Contemporary Romance Novels
Calling all bookworms and hopeless romantics! Revisit some of the most swoon-worthy book couples with this playlist full of love, longing, and just a little angst.
Written by Caroline Harrison
Illustrated by Kathy Chang
Whether you’ve discovered them on your own or gotten recommendations from a fellow bibliophile, contemporary romance novels have a way of immersing us in their worlds full of chance meetings, romantic tension, and (ideally) happy endings. Though they stick with us long after we finish the last chapter, these stories only give us so many pages to return to. What do we do when we want more of our favorite characters and tropes?
The right music can create the perfect pairing with your favorite fictional world. With common themes of love, longing, and angst, this 30-track playlist based on eight popular contemporary romance novels is sure to satisfy the most hopeless of romantics.
Playful, heartfelt, and vulnerable, the first three tracks immediately bring you to Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman’s story of rival co-workers to protective partners in Sally Thorne’s "The Hating Game." Lucy’s family farm, Sky Diamond Strawberries, is a key part of her identity and a large source of taunting from Josh. Thorne’s repeated references to the Beatles’ playful “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” makes this song, along with Caamp’s pensive “Strawberries,” perfect depictions of their sweet, yet teasing relationship. While Lucy and Josh are at each other’s necks the majority of the novel, Coldplay’s admiring words and light acoustic sound in “Green Eyes” also embodies Lucy’s gradual trust and adoration of Josh that’ll leave you swooning till the last word.
Covering serious topics like domestic violence, Colleen Hoover’s "It Ends With Us" is an honest and raw depiction of breaking through cycles of abuse. Lily Bloom’s journey to health and happiness is as heartbreaking as it is inspiring, and these next four songs sympathize with her situation and ultimate healing. A large part of Lily’s story revolves around her first love, Atlas Corrigan. In high school, Atlas shared his dream of leaving their small hometown in Maine for bigger and better things in Boston, Massachusetts. As Lily moves there with the same hope years later, Augustana’s melancholy, yet hopeful “Boston” encapsulates how both characters make names for themselves in the city, leaving their pasts behind. As Lily navigates an abusive marriage, Lana Del Ray’s desolate lyricism and vocals in “Happiness is a butterfly” and Hozier’s misguided “Cherry Wine” further contextualize the harsh reality of leaving a brutal partner. With Lily eventually breaking out of the cycle of abuse, Taylor Swift’s “Evermore (feat. Bon Iver)” is a cathartic parallel to Lily’s journey from pain to healing, leaving fans with hope and understanding.
When a stubborn Spaniard fake-dates her infuriating colleague in Elena Armas’ "The Spanish Love Deception," a slow burn romance full of fake dates, aggravating debates, and real passion is bound to happen. With feisty vocals and energetic instrumentals, Miley Cyrus’ “7 Things” and Florence + The Machine’s “Kiss With A Fist” sum up Catalina Martín’s refusal to admit her feelings for Aaron Blackford, her coldhearted co-worker. Once they grow closer and Catalina realizes she may not hate Aaron, “ya mi mamá me dijo que contigo sí” by Noa Sainz paints the vulnerable and passionate picture of their Spanish love story that’s no longer a deception.
Following these tracks, this playlist includes songs for other fan-favorites like Abby Jimenez’s "Life’s Too Short" and "The Happy Ever After Playlist,"Ali Hazelwood’s"The Love Hypothesis," Tessa Bailey’s"It Happened One Summer,"and Emily Henry’s "People We Meet On Vacation." While there’s nothing quite like reading a great romance novel for the first time, finding a new way to return to your favorite characters is a close second. Let yourself bring their love off the pages to carry with you wherever you go with this playlist.