5 Romances Enhanced by Epistolary Elements
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Letters, emails, text messages—there are so many ways to communicate. The added benefit of communicating in writing is that it’s a lot easier to confess secrets and avoid any immediate embarrassment. Some things that people are afraid to say or do face-to-face are much easier to say on a screen or on paper. In these romances, epistolary elements allow the characters to get a little bit more personal…in all sorts of ways.
{{ product: 9781617739545 }}30 Days, by Christine d’Abo
If PS, I Love You had more of an erotic plot, you’d get 30 Days. After losing the man she sees as her soulmate, Alyssa Barrow isn’t sure how she can move on in life and in love. Much to Alyssa’s surprise, before her husband’s passing he wrote her a letter for whenever she was ready to get back in the saddle. Two years pass before Alyssa musters up the courage to tackle her late-husband’s letter as well as an extra surprise: a series of thirty cards with rather…explicit instructions.
Almost Like Being in Love, by Steve Kluger
Two opposite high school seniors—a jock and a nerd—have the unfortunate luck of falling in love right before they leave for college. While they try to maintain a long distance relationship, the time apart gets the better of them. Twenty years later, Travis realizes what his life has been missing and that’s Craig. With an older couple at the center of the romance, it’s utterly charming and unconventional, especially as Craig and Travis’ love story is told through things like journal entries and emails that complement the narrative.
The Dare and the Doctor, by Kate Noble
The Dare and the Doctor begins with a series of letters between longstanding friends Dr. Rhys Gray and Miss Margaret Babcock. Their letters span an entire year, revealing personal thoughts and confessions. But once reunited and with Rhys helping her dreams of becoming a renowned horticulturalist, it becomes clear that their time spent exchanging friendly letters had more of an affect than either of them thought. Though the epistolary element helps kick off Rhys and Margaret’s romance, it doesn’t consume the entire book. Admittedly, the letters between the two of them are adorably sweet.
Hold Me, by Courtney Milan
Maria Lopez and Jay na Thalang pretty much hate one another. A professor and close friends with Maria’s brother, Jay already knows that Maria is off-limits. He also thinks she’s a bit of a ditz. What Jay doesn’t know is that Maria is the genius behind one of his favorite science blogs. While preserving their anonymity online, Maria and Jay’s geeking out turns quickly to flirting. As their identities are revealed to one another, they must address their perceptions of one another and what feelings to them are more genuine: love or hate?
Way Down Deep, by Charlotte Stein and Cara McKenna
Way Down Deep answers the question of what would happen if an erotic romance were told entirely though text messages. For many people, texting is a primary form of communication, but what if a personal message you sent reach the wrong person? And then you received a response in return? What starts as a mistake quickly turns into something else between two people who have never spoken to each other before, let alone seen each other in person. The execution is irresistibly unique as the two mystery texters, Malcolm and Maya, engage in an unconventional kind of romance.
What epistolary romances do you love?