Best Love Interest Books

The highest-rated books featuring the Love Interest trope, ranked by readers and listeners. Browse 18 titles across Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance.

Read more

A love interest isn't just a romantic partner—they're the person who makes your protagonist vulnerable, who gives them something to fight for, who changes the trajectory of their entire story. Whether the relationship is requited, complicated, or aching with distance, this character serves as an emotional anchor. They can be a source of joy, conflict, hope, or heartbreak. What makes them essential is that their presence (or lack thereof) fundamentally alters who the protagonist becomes.

You'll find love interests across every genre imaginable: woven through epic fantasy quests, shadowing dark historical narratives, driving sci-fi plots forward, and of course anchoring romance itself. The books on this page span centuries and worlds, but they all understand that the deepest stories are often about connection—how we risk our hearts, what we're willing to sacrifice, and how loving someone else can unmake and remake us.

  1. 1
    Redeeming 6 cover

    Redeeming 6

    Boys of Tommen • Book 4

    by Chloe Walsh

    ★ 4.76 BLT Score (259.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.64 Goodreads (259.1K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  2. 2
    Loyalty in Death cover

    Loyalty in Death

    In Death • Book 9

    by J.D. Robb

    ★ 4.64 BLT Score (38.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.33 Goodreads (38.3K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  3. 3
    The Venice Sketchbook cover

    The Venice Sketchbook

    Constable Evan Mystery

    by Rhys Bowen

    ★ 4.46 BLT Score (82.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.25 Goodreads (82.8K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  4. 4
    Endymion cover

    Endymion

    Hyperion Cantos • Book 3

    by Dan Simmons, Gary Ruddell

    ★ 4.39 BLT Score (71.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.19 Goodreads (71.6K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  5. 5
    Summary : the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - (Taylor Jenkins Reid) cover

    Summary : the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - (Taylor Jenkins Reid)

    by Good Reads Publishing

    ★ 4.33 BLT Score (133 ratings)
    ★ 4.07 Goodreads (133)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  6. 6
    Penric’s Mission cover

    Penric’s Mission

    Penric and Desdemona (Publication order) • Book 3

    by Lois McMaster Bujold

    ★ 4.33 BLT Score (6.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.34 Goodreads (6.8K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  7. 7
    Reid cover

    Reid

    Vested Interest • Book 4

    by Melanie Moreland

    ★ 4.32 BLT Score (4.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.2 Goodreads (4.4K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  8. 8
    The Shadow of the Wind cover

    The Shadow of the Wind

    Cemetery of Forgotten Books • Book 1

    by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

    ★ 4.31 BLT Score (727.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.31 Goodreads (727.6K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  9. 9
    Lovely War cover

    Lovely War

    by Julie Berry

    ★ 4.27 BLT Score (70.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.22 Goodreads (70.5K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  10. 10
    In the Shadow of the Past cover

    In the Shadow of the Past

    Shadow • Book 1

    by J.E. Leak

    ★ 4.13 BLT Score (824 ratings)
    ★ 4.23 Goodreads (824)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  11. 11
    The Things We Keep cover

    The Things We Keep

    by Sally Hepworth

    ★ 4.09 BLT Score (36.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.94 Goodreads (36.6K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  12. 12
    What Dreams May Come cover

    What Dreams May Come

    by Richard Matheson

    ★ 4.01 BLT Score (15.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.96 Goodreads (15.1K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  13. 13
    To Paradise cover

    To Paradise

    by Hanya Yanagihara

    ★ 4.00 BLT Score (56.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.73 Goodreads (56.0K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  14. 14
    The Starless Sea cover

    The Starless Sea

    by Erin Morgenstern

    ★ 3.90 BLT Score (237.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.84 Goodreads (237.0K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  15. 15
    Hunter cover

    Hunter

    Hunting Her • Book 1

    by Eden Summers

    ★ 3.83 BLT Score (9.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.77 Goodreads (9.2K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  16. 16
    Death and the Joyful Woman cover

    Death and the Joyful Woman

    The Felse Investigations • Book 2

    by Ellis Peters

    ★ 3.82 BLT Score (1.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (1.0K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  17. 17
    Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love cover

    Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love

    Guardians #3.6 - The Demon Dancer

    by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Daniel Abraham, Jacqueline Carey, Lisa Tuttle, Linnea Sinclair, Mary Jo Putney, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Yasmine Galenorn, Diana Gabaldon, Jo Beverley, Carrie Vaughn, M.L.N. Hanover, Cecelia Holland, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, Marjorie M. Liu, Jim Butcher

    ★ 3.57 BLT Score (4.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.76 Goodreads (4.3K)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →
  18. 18
    Superman Returns cover

    Superman Returns

    by Marv Wolfman

    ★ 3.55 BLT Score (586 ratings)
    ★ 3.7 Goodreads (586)
    Get the Book → Start Listening →

Browse Related Lists

Love Interest Books Love Interest Audiobooks Ticking Clock / Race Against Time Political Intrigue Quest Conspiracy / Cover-Up Found Family Romantasy Dark Secret Coming of Age Cat and Mouse Redemption Arc Ensemble Cast Wrongly Accused All Tropes

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →