Love Is In The Air. 5 Books To Read For Valentines' Season

Valentine’s Day, it’s one of the most commercially celebrated holidays of the year.

And after all, why shouldn’t it be? While the holiday does have it’s origins in celebrating the life and sainthood, and martyrdom of Valentinus (who may or may not be one of several men ranging from several time periods, including the third century), it is now a day used to celebrate love and all it’s encompassing trinkets.

Children make Valentine’s Day cards to share with their sweet elementary school crushes, stores hang an array of Papier-mâché décor that is painted in various shades of red and pink, and partners run to this florist or that, buying roses, tulips, and sunflowers to gift to their sweetheart.

And yes, while carefully crafted glitter cards, roses, and candies are fun and even touching gifts to receive, I stand by the opinion that no gift is better than a book; especially a book with a black or biracial female protagonist.

This Valentine’s Day season, we at Blk Girl Culture invite you to read one of, or all of, the following books. These books are contemporary romance novels written by black and biracial female authors.

These commendable women create worlds were women with brown skin and curly locks, secure not only fabulous careers, but wonderful partners who are successful and sexy in their own right.

1.) The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33815781-the-wedding-date

Jasmine Guillory makes audiences fall in love with the character of Alexa Monroe; a fictional woman who can only be described a black girl power house. Curvy, kind, and making moves in her political career where she serves as the chief of staff for the Mayor of Berkley, she’s everything that many women, black or otherwise, aspire to be. Life can’t seem better for the kind and high powered professional until she meets Drew Nichols, a pediatric surgeon living in Los Angeles. Though their relationship starts under false pretenses, everything changes after a series of spontaneous flights, cheesy boxes of pizza, and steaming cups of coffee (oh and sex, did we mention things change after they have great sex?).

2.) Intercepted by Alexa Martin

Source: https://www.alexamartinbooks.com/intercepted

While Alexa Monroe is only a fictional character in the world of Jasmine Guillory, Alexa Martin is a woman who is very real. This author introduces us biracial sweetheart, football fanatic, and all around loud mouth, Marlee Harper. From the outside looking in, Marlee is living most women’s fantasy. She’s basking in the luxury of the life of being a NFL girlfriend; a life that includes boujee WAG meetings, high energy football games, and mansions resembling gaudy palaces. But not everything is what it seems, and after a interesting turn of events, Marlee is booted out of her mini gold palace and into the arms of Gavin Pope, a swoon worthy super star quarterback that puts her ex to shame.

3.) Get a Life, Chloe Brown: A Novel by Talia Hibbert

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Life-Chloe-Brown-Novel/dp/0062941208

The sweet, geeky, and chronically ill Chloe Brown (and wealthy. Did we mention that this black girl is living in what can only be described as a familial mansion?), is someone that readers can’t help but to love. Talia Hibbert fuses together humor, reality, and romance in the most charming of ways when she introduces our beloved Chloe Brown to the sexy Redford ‘Red’ Morgan. Red takes Chloe on a consensual wild ride full of tattoos, motorcycles, and hidden art.

4.) The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Source: https://www.jasmineguillory.com/the-wedding-party

Hey, there’s a reason why two books by Jasmine Guillory are on this list. The short reason is because the character’s that she creates, are amazing. The long reason would include us having to dive into the lack of diverse black female representation in the literary community, especially when it comes to the genre of contemporary romance (which the vast majority of Guillory’s writing career is devoted to). But, we digress. The Wedding Party is funny, inspiring, and sexy. Guillory brings together Maddie Forest, a glamorous style expert, and Theo Stephen, a man with political ambitions that would even knock the socks off of our forever president, Barack Obama. These two keep readers on the edge of their toes with their bitchy quips, steamy sex scenes, and exciting career journeys.

5.) Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Girl-Marry-Andie-Christopher/dp/1984802682

Oh Andie, how could you, how did you, and why didn’t you write this book sooner? This witty novel follows the intertwining lives of Jack Nolan, a successful and attractive journalist, and career ladder climbing Hanna Mayfield. Jack Nolan, a man who can only be described as a true heartthrob, initially uses the savvy event planner as a stepping stone in the creation of his article, “How To Lose A Girl”. But, after getting to know the fiercely independent Hannah Mayfield (who by the way, has set her own deadline on their faux relationship, but we won’t spoil the reason why), Jack finds himself losing the motivation to complete his article.