5 Romance Recommendations Based on Your Love Language

Did you know there are five love languages? Some people believe that everyone has two—a primary and a secondary—and that these dictate the way you most desire to be loved. Do you desire quality time above all else? Is a partner who gives gifts the one who will win your heart? Do you express your love by cooking elaborate meals or setting up bookshelves? Are compliments your kryptonite? Finally, is a simple kiss the easiest way to your heart? There’s a love language for everyone, and here are five romances that embody each of them!

Words of Affirmation
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer has some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read in romance. If you are someone who is attracted to wordsmiths both on the page and IRL, this one is for you! Georgian romances are about 20 years before the Regency, but still have all the social rules and courtly behaviors one must adhere to—meaning banter, and lots of reading between the lines. The Duke of Avon has thrived in the corrupt court of Louis XV in France. In a scheme of vengeance, he plucks a red-headed urchin from the streets to make her over…but when Leon becomes Leonie, romance begins to bloom between them. But of course, there’s a catch: Leonie wants to know who her parents really were, and the only one who can tell her is the Duke’s nemesis. Would she betray him for the truth?

Acts of Service
Lady Sophia’s Lover by Lisa Kleypas contains two beloved romance tropes: the hero falling in love with the servant, and maintaining a false identity. Lady Sophia Sydney wants to ruin Sir Ross Cannon’s reputation because she believes he is behind her brother’s death. And so she pretends to be a servant and dissembles as one of his household. Ross has been mourning the loss of his wife since she died, but finds himself tempted by Sophia, which is exactly what she wanted. Falling in love with him was not part of the plan. What starts as Sophia pretending to serve Ross winds up becoming true, as her love is the greatest act of service she could provide: freeing him from the burdens of his past.

Receiving Gifts
Of course I chose a Billionaire Romance for this love language! Dirty Filthy Rich Men by Laurelin Page (aside from having the best title ever) is the fantasy version of this love language. IRL, it gifts don’t have to be in cold cash form, but in fantasy romance world, it can be the quickest way to a heroine’s heart. Donovan Kincaid is a billionaire after Sabrina’s heart—but they have a lot of history. Sabrina’s been broken down by Donovan before, a decade ago, when she had her eyes on Weston King, his best friend. Sexy and sensuous with scenes that pack a serious punch!

Quality Time
Okay, irony here: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is my pick for quality time. (Because, you know, time-travel.) But it’s true: When Claire travels back to Highland Scotland from post-World War II, she never intends to fall in love with another man. She has a husband back in her own time, waiting for her. But spending time with Jamie Fraser—a lot of time, in the woods, watching his rugged strength, you get the picture—causes Claire to consider that he might be her soulmate, in this and any other time. (If you haven’t read Outlander yet, now’s the time before season 3 premieres on Starz!)

Physical Touch
Forbidden by Elizabeth Lowell tells the story of Amber the Untouched, spelled with a curse that prevents her from touching others. Because when she does, a dangerous magic unleashes—she can tell whether they are telling the truth, which is always a painful thing, since people often lie. But it also means something else: she can never have love, because if she were to touch the man she is prophesied to love, it would destroy them both. But when she meets a man who has no memory of his past and she heals him with her touch, she finds his is the only touch that gives her pleasure, instead of pain. Full of angst, magic, and romance, this fantasy is about how physical touch: what it does to our psyche when we go without it, and how beautiful it can be when we let it back in.
Which is your love language?