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When it comes to Valentine’s Day, I’m nostalgic for candy hearts and childhood crushes. But like many facets of adulthood, the holiday becomes more complicated as I grow older.
Whether you’re in a situationship or newly single, Valentine’s Day can be a tricky holiday to navigate. So, I asked for advice from the people who set the bar highest when it comes to love: romance novelists.
Through my conversations with five bestselling authors, I learned that there isn’t one perfect way to celebrate. Rather than extravagant candlelit dinners, their own Valentine’s Day plans included ordering heart-shaped pizzas and signing up for bystander intervention training for rapid response to ICE.
If you’re searching for a gift idea, don’t worry. They also shared a few of their favorite gifts and treats, including this luxurious hot chocolate maker and, of course, lots of books.
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Lynn Painter, author of Better Than the Movies
How are you celebrating this year?
My husband and I have a tradition to eat from this pizza place in our town that always does heart-shaped pizzas.
Do you have any tips for how couples should spend the day?
There’s so much pressure to get a reservation at the good restaurant and have this epic thing. When you write romance, a lot of the time, it’s setting up these situations where these two characters are having a terrible time. So they end up eating on the hood of his car. You set up these awful situations that end up being the most romantic.
What is your favorite Valentine’s Day candy?
I love a little Dove chocolate with the messages on it. I’m not bougie, I don’t have great taste. Give me a Milky Way, and I’m super happy.
Which of your books makes the best Valentine’s Day gift?
The super literal answer for me would be The Do-Over because it’s a book that’s set on a repeating Valentine’s Day. But Better Than the Movies is probably the most romcom-y sort of book of mine.
The Do-Over Book
Better Than the Movies Book
Talia Hibbert, author of Get a Life, Chloe Brown
How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?
My husband and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day. It was a friendship date, so a “friends to lovers” story arc. We went to the cinema and had pizza, so we do that every Valentine’s Day.
Do you have any tips for singles for celebrating Valentine’s Day?
Reading a good book, face mask, candles lit, just spending some quality time with yourself.
What are your Valentine’s Day gift ideas?
I’m one of those people who gives what I would like to receive. I always want books. I want chocolate. I want a scented candle.
What is your favorite Valentine’s Day treat?
I love Hotel Chocolat. They make this thing called a Velvetiser, which is like a hot chocolate maker that froths milk and melts chocolate at the same time.
Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser
Which of your books makes the best Valentine’s Day gift?
A Girl Like Her (coming March 2026). It’s pink, so it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day. It’s the core of what I love about romance, which is that it’s about people who feel as if they can’t be loved or don’t deserve to be loved experiencing this sweep-you-off-your-feet story.
A Girl Like Her Book
TJ Klune, author of House in the Cerulean Sea
How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?
My partner passed away in 2016, and he was very into Valentine’s Day. After he passed away, it kind of fell by the wayside. I’m in the middle of trying to find a love story with myself. On Valentine’s Day, I’ll most likely be doing what I love the most: editing and writing.
What is your favorite Valentine’s Day treat?
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. I will always get the holiday versions of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Which of your books makes the best Valentine’s Day gift?
How to Be a Normal Person is a book that I released back in 2014, and it’s the one I figured out my asexuality with.
How to Be a Normal Person Book
Meryl Wilsner, author of Mistakes Were Made
How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?
An organization within my town is putting on a bystander intervention training for rapid response to ICE on Valentine’s Day, and I am signing up for that.
Do you have tips for celebrating Valentine’s Day if you’re single?
Single or not, it can be an excuse to set aside a day to be really intentional about the time you’re spending. Whether that means taking yourself out on a date, having a lovely little bath with a bath bomb or buying yourself chocolates.
Which of your books makes the best Valentine’s Day gift?
My Best Friend’s Honeymoon. In the story, they go on a honeymoon in the Caribbean, so I think that’s an especially good one for right now when we’re all bogged down in the cold and the snow.
My Best Friend’s Honeymoon Book
Denise Williams, author of How to Fail at Flirting
Do you have tips for celebrating if you’re single?
It can sort of feel like this isn’t a day for me. And it totally is. We can love ourselves in so many different ways. And also, it’s pretty easy to get a single ticket to do something on Valentine’s Day.
What are your ideas for couples wanting to make a romantic gesture on Valentine’s Day?
In my first book, How to Fail at Flirting, the heroine mentions how she never got to see her name on a pencil, so he has pencils made for her. I love that gesture. I think the best gestures are something that’s going to mean the world to the person receiving it.
Which of your books makes the best Valentine’s Day gift?
The Fastest Way to Fall was my second book, and if someone’s new to romance or on a fitness or self-love journey, it’s great. It’s probably the slowest burn I’ve ever written.
How to Fail at Flirting Book
