When I think about the types of characters that grab me by the throat and don’t let go, it’s always the yearners. I am a simple creature who is helpless in the face of a good, desperate yearn.
There’s something so delicious, so compelling, about a down bad character whose pining is palpable on the page. I want to feel their limitless devotion. I want them so barely held together that their yearning is just this side of pathetic (or maybe a toe or two on the other side). Because really, when I consider the best parts of a good love story, what’s better than a romantic hero who desires so deeply and intensely that they can barely survive it?
It’s no surprise then that in my debut contemporary romance Once, Again, Always Aster Bishop, our intrepid romantic hero, yearns so exquisitely that he sleeps on a hideous, uncomfortable antique sofa for months just to give his wife—who has forgotten the entirety of their marriage—the space to feel comfortable in their home. His yearning is the type I’m most feral for: quiet, tense, and barely held together.
Lucky for me, I’m not alone in my obsession with down bad love interests yearning like their lives depend on it. The twelve books below are some of the best to ever do it, yearning to the ends of the earth no matter the genre. Historical? Sci-fi? Fantasy? Contemporary? There’s room in every story to yearn.
1. Persuasion by Jane Austen
Anne Elliot’s family moves to lower their expenses and reduce their debt by renting their home to an Admiral and his wife. The wife’s brother, Captain Frederick Wentworth, was engaged to Anne in 1806, but the engagement was broken when Anne was persuaded by her friends and family to end their relationship. Anne and Captain Wentworth, both single and unattached, meet again after a seven-year separation.
Dare I call Wentworth the blueprint? Eight years of wanting for a woman with whom he has a broken engagement? A love letter that declares he is “half agony, half hope?” Jane Austen is a classic for a reason, and if you’re only familiar with Mr. Darcy, I would very much like to introduce you to Captain Wentworth.
2. The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce
Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance.
There’s something about second-chance romance, in particular, that sets up a yearning opportunity like none other. It’s the knowing what-could-be element, feeling all that time and distance, and longing for closeness again. Which is exactly what The Ex Vows gives us when exes Georgia and Eli are forced to work together five years after their breakup. Chef’s kiss. I’ll take ten.
3. No Matter What by Cara Bastone
After a traumatic accident threatens the foundations of their happy marriage, a couple tries to rebuild and find their way back to each other—and themselves—in this tender, slow-burn romance.
Marriage in crisis, my beloved. Which is maybe a weird thing to lead with, but the potential for agonizing yearning and the stakes of possibly losing an entire marriage after surviving a traumatic event together? It’s the tastiest of yearning treats. Roz and Vin effectively mourning their marriage while quietly yearning for each other is so delicious it hurts.
4. Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything. It couldn’t save their marriage. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they be even better, the second time around?
The marriage is no longer in crisis; the marriage is over. Josiah yearning for his ex, Yasmen, despite everything they’ve been through—begging the question of when to really call it quits on an epic love—is peak second-chance romance perfection.
5. The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
A moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart.
I think about this book, and I make unintelligible noises. The yearning is so spectacular, woven into every version of their messy, knotted history together. If you’re a fan of the “I’ll love you in every timeline, every lifetime” trope, it doesn’t get better than this book. They literally rewrite history and die for each other, all while fighting against fate.
6. Merely a Matter of Time by June Harrington
June Harrington’s Merely a Matter of Time is a hammock-in-the-backyard, slow-burn love story between two outrageously gifted arcane scientists who fall back in time only to fall for each other.
If you like your yearning desperate yet restrained, carried through a working partnership and time travel shenanigans, then do I have a treat for you when this publishes next year! Francis De Montmort suffers greatly under the weight of his quiet yearning, and I thank him for it.
7. Lost and Found by Tarah Dewitt
Bea always wanted to be a mom. But she never expected she’d have to lose her best friend to do it. Armed with nothing but her best friend’s eggs and a bucket list to complete, Bea’s world is a sea of changes. When she needs a place to stay, her longtime friend Silas steps in to help. At first, they expect nothing. But as these two former sunshines knit together in a love that has been unfulfilled until now, a new beginning comes out of the ashes of the past.
Friends to lovers, my underrated queen. That liminal space between friend chemistry and romantic chemistry makes for some of the most delicious tension out there. Add years of yearning into that, plus an MMC doing his darndest to respect a complicated, grief-riddled era in the FMC’s life, and you have me sold. Silas and Bea have my whole entire heart.
8. This is How you Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
An enthralling, romantic novel spanning time and space about two time-traveling rivals who fall in love and must change the past to ensure their future.
This sapphic science fiction novella makes the perfect case for why yearning isn’t just for the men. The ultimate (literal) enemies-to-lovers setup, Red and Blue yearn across letters, battlefields, and timelines in this stunningly lyrical tale that left me gasping for breath on multiple occasions.
9. Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Two writers get a second chance at love in this romantic, sexy-as-hell New York Times bestselling novel.
I’m sorry, what do you mean it’s been fifteen years of them secretly writing each other into their books after spending a single week together falling madly in love? History so juicy I want to bite it. When the yearning breaks into double-digit years, you know it’ll be to die for.
10. Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews
High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye. But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster—Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him.
Sometimes the yearning is a little scary. A little codependent. A little desperate and obsessive and against a monstrous backdrop. This queer, YA psychological horror proves that yearning has a role in some of the darkest stories, too.
11. The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino
Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier. She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier’s to wield. They are bound together by blood and magic, but there is one truth Grey dare not reveal … not even to Kier. When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into a dangerous mission, Grey will need to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to protect her secret. For Grey is no ordinary magical well, and if she dies, all magic dies with her.
Mutual yearning when they were friends first? Delicious. Mutual yearning when they were friends first and their magic, world, and lives are on the line? Diabolical. Also, forbidden secret magic bonding. What more could you possibly need?
12. If Not You by Ellen O’Clover
Mattie French has always known how to tell a good story. It’s why she stopped at nothing to land her dream career as a copywriter at a scrappy independent advertising agency. Campbell Porter is a senior copywriter at Chicago’s slickest agency. Absurdly talented, incredibly aware of it, and the bane of Mattie’s existence since they were interns together. But when their agencies are pitted against each other to compete for a luxury resort account, it’s her chance to prove she can beat him—and earn the promotion she covets.
Campbell Porter’s yearning is a crime against my nervous system, and I mean that with desperate affection. There’s nothing more delicious than a contentious character dynamic from one POV where you know, you know, the other character has so much else happening beneath the surface. Ten out of ten, would suffer under the weight of this man’s yearning again.
Amanda Gayle, Author
At any given time, Amanda might be writing, reading, or spying on the birds in her backyard. She spends too much time on the internet, usually obsessing over fictional characters kissing. She lives in North Carolina with her two favorite people: her husband and toddler. Once, Again, Always is her debut romance.
Photo credit: Amy Stern
Feature graphic images credited to: Amy Stern, Cassie Kollmeyer | Dupe. Products included in graphics linked within article.
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