Day: January 31, 2022

Since I did friends I had to do a Romantic Duos too, since we are leading up to Valentine’s Day next month. I’m not big on romance but I’ve run into a few that I think are great so here are my top five. Also this list is kinda queer.

1) The Henna Wars

This was one of my favorite romantic books of a few years ago. I deals with not only issues of romance but of identity, culture, family and finding yourself.

Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat decide to showcase their talent as henna artists. In a fight to prove who is the best, their lives become more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush, especially since Flávia seems to like her back.

As the competition heats up, Nishat has a decision to make: stay in the closet for her family, or put aside her differences with Flávia and give their relationship a chance.

Amazon: The Henna Wars

2) Tea Dragon Tapestry

This series of books shows a lot of sweet romantic pairs but the one I identified with most was with Greta and Minette I enjoyed seeing the sweet conclusion of their romance that started in the Tea Dragon Society and left the ending open ended so you could imagine a romantic ending for the two in the future.

Join Greta and Minette once more for the heartwarming conclusion of the award-winning Tea Dragon series! Over a year since being entrusted with Ginseng’s care, Greta still can’t chase away the cloud of mourning that hangs over the timid Tea Dragon. Meanwhile, Minette receives a surprise package from the monastery where she was once training to be a prophetess. Told with the same care and charm as the previous installments of the Tea Dragon series, The Tea Dragon Tapestry welcomes old friends and new into a heartfelt story of purpose, love, and growth.

Amazon: The Tea Dragon Tapestry

3) Sweet and Bitter Magic

Both the main characters I loved for different reasons and they come together perfectly as a romantic couple though they don’t realize it at first. Their personalities just match, even though I will say I have bit of a soft spot for Tamsin because of her rough edges. The world and the magic system are also super well thought out. I can’t the author’s next book.

Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.

Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.

When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.

Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don’t kill each other first.

Amazon: Sweet and Bitter Magic

4) The Infinity Courts

The world was key to making this romance work, for the main character to fall in love with her significant other the world has to be set up in a certain way. Also the interplay between the two characters in the seeming love triangle was excellent. Why is it not April already so I can read the SEQUEL!?!?

Eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto is certain her life is just beginning. She has a great family, just graduated high school, and is on her way to a party where her entire class is waiting for her—including, most importantly, the boy she’s been in love with for years.

The only problem? She’s murdered before she gets there.

When Nami wakes up, she learns she’s in a place called Infinity, where human consciousness goes when physical bodies die. She quickly discovers that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife and is now posing as a queen, forcing humans into servitude the way she’d been forced to serve in the real world. Even worse, Ophelia is inching closer and closer to accomplishing her grand plans of eradicating human existence once and for all.

As Nami works with a team of rebels to bring down Ophelia and save the humans under her imprisonment, she is forced to reckon with her past, her future, and what it is that truly makes us human.

Amazon: The Infinity Courts

5)Skin of the Sea

This Black Woman Magic version of the Little Mermaid that deftly weaves in West African mythology the original tale and 15th century history. It was one of last years favorites and it also needs a sequel right now. Like now. The romance between the Simi and Kola is very sweet though as the original tale says not meant to be though we’ll see if they find a way around that in the sequel. They face gods, monsters and they do it together along with a great group of friends all for the love of their respective families and maybe love for each other.

Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata—a mermaid—collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.
 
But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable—she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods.
 
To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail . . .
 
Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she fails, she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it

Amazon: Skin of the Sea

Who are your favorite romantic duos? Tell me in comments!