Funny romances for when dating is exhausting
Deleted the apps? Good. Five laugh-out-loud love stories where somebody else does the embarrassing part.
The Love Desk · 2 min read
Some weeks, dating is a comedy. Other weeks it's just tiring. For the second kind, we prescribe a book where the heroine's life is a much bigger mess than yours, and it all works out anyway.
All five are from our own shelves, all are low on spice, and all are best read in bed with something warm.
Can You Keep a Secret?
Sophie Kinsella · Boss romance · romcom
On a terrifyingly bumpy flight, Emma tells the stranger next to her every secret she has: the fib on her CV, her uncomfortable underwear, her doubts about her boyfriend. Then the stranger turns up at her office. He co-founded the company. The cringe is perfect.
SPICE ●○○○○ 1/5Read when: you overshared on a date
The Undomestic Goddess
Sophie Kinsella · Fish out of water · romcom
A high-flying London lawyer makes one catastrophic mistake, runs, and ends up as a housekeeper in a country house even though she can't boil an egg. Then there's the gardener. Pure escapism.
SPICE ●○○○○ 1/5Read when: you want to quit everything
Remember Me?
Sophie Kinsella · Amnesia · romcom
Lexi wakes up in hospital with three years missing. She's now the boss, she has perfect teeth, and she's married to a handsome millionaire she doesn't remember. Then a man she's never met says he's the one she really loves.
SPICE ●○○○○ 1/5Read when: you can't remember why you liked your ex
The Boy Next Door
Meg Cabot · Boy #1 · Mistaken identity · told in emails
Told entirely in emails. A New York gossip columnist, a neighbour in hospital, a dog that needs walking and the "nephew" who turns up to help, who isn't who he says he is. Fast, flirty and very funny.
SPICE ●○○○○ 1/5Read when: you've been catfished
Queen of Babble
Meg Cabot · Queen of Babble #1 · Summer abroad · romcom
Lizzie Nichols cannot keep her mouth shut. She flies to London to surprise her boyfriend and talks her way into disaster, then into a summer in France. A love letter to people who say too much.
SPICE ●○○○○ 1/5Read when: you sent the double text"I want the meet-cute, the banter, the slow realisation. If I wanted stress I'd open the dating app."
"Honestly, the guys in these are a great guide. They're funny, they show up, and they're patient with chaos."
Bottom line
When dating wears you out, let someone else have the disaster. A funny romance is cheaper than a spa weekend and better than a fourth date with a bore.
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