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Best Emotional / Tearjerker Romance Books

Keep the tissues handy. Emotional and tearjerker romance books go deep into loss, sacrifice, and the kind of love that cracks you open -- then puts you back together better than before. Discover stories that will wreck you in the most beautiful way.

Keep the tissues handy. Emotional romance goes deep into loss, sacrifice, and the kind of love that cracks you open -- then puts you back together better than before.

Showing 100 Emotional / Tearjerker books
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It Ends with Us book cover

It Ends with Us

Colleen Hoover

Second Chance Forbidden Love Emotional / Tearjerker
It Starts with Us book cover

It Starts with Us

Colleen Hoover

Second Chance Healing Found Family
Ugly Love book cover

Ugly Love

Colleen Hoover

Friends to Lovers One Night Stand to More Forced Proximity
November 9 book cover

November 9

Colleen Hoover

Slow Burn Second Chance Forced Proximity
Confess book cover

Confess

Colleen Hoover

Secret Relationship Forbidden Love Forced Proximity
Verity book cover

Verity

Colleen Hoover

Morally Gray Dark Suspenseful
A Court of Mist and Fury book cover

A Court of Mist and Fury

Sarah J. Maas

Forbidden Love Slow Burn Second Chance
King of Greed book cover

King of Greed

Ana Huang

Second Chance Billionaire Boss CEO
Tears of Tess book cover

Tears of Tess

Pepper Winters

Kidnapping Captive Forbidden Love Forced Proximity
Things We Left Behind book cover

Things We Left Behind

Lucy Score

Enemies to Lovers Rivals to Lovers Childhood Sweethearts
Happy Place book cover

Happy Place

Emily Henry

Second Chance Forced Proximity Fake Relationship
The Kiss Quotient book cover

The Kiss Quotient

Helen Hoang

Opposites Attract Slow Burn Grumpy Sunshine
Act Your Age, Eve Brown book cover

Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Talia Hibbert

Grumpy Sunshine Forced Proximity Workplace Romance
The Bromance Book Club book cover

The Bromance Book Club

Lyssa Kay Adams

Second Chance Grumpy Sunshine He Falls First
Binding 13 book cover

Binding 13

Chloe Walsh

Slow Burn Athlete Brooding Hero
Keeping 13 book cover

Keeping 13

Chloe Walsh

Slow Burn Brooding Hero Athlete
Radiance book cover

Radiance

Grace Draven

Arranged Marriage Slow Burn Opposites Attract
Outlander book cover

Outlander

Diana Gabaldon

Time Travel Scottish Highlands Strangers to Lovers
Devil in Winter book cover

Devil in Winter

Lisa Kleypas

Marriage of Convenience Reformed Bad Boy Wallflower
Marrying Winterborne book cover

Marrying Winterborne

Lisa Kleypas

Opposites Attract Slow Burn Billionaire
Seduce Me at Sunrise book cover

Seduce Me at Sunrise

Lisa Kleypas

Forbidden Love Slow Burn Second Chance
Exodus book cover

Exodus

Kate Stewart

Love Triangle Dark Emotional / Tearjerker
Archer's Voice book cover

Archer's Voice

Mia Sheridan

Small Town Grumpy Sunshine Healing
Reminders of Him book cover

Reminders of Him

Colleen Hoover

Second Chance Single Parent Redemption Arc
Heart Bones book cover

Heart Bones

Colleen Hoover

Vacation Romance Strangers to Lovers Slow Burn
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo book cover

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Forbidden Love Sapphic Secret Relationship
Scandalous book cover

Scandalous

L.J. Shen

Age Gap Forbidden Love Dark
The Dead Romantics book cover

The Dead Romantics

Ashley Poston

Strangers to Lovers Slow Burn Second Chance
Ruthless Vows book cover

Ruthless Vows

Rebecca Ross

Pen Pals to Lovers Second Chance Forbidden Love
Taming 7 book cover

Taming 7

Chloe Walsh

Slow Burn Athlete Brooding Hero
Redeeming 6 book cover

Redeeming 6

Chloe Walsh

Redemption Arc Healing Emotional / Tearjerker
Saving 6 book cover

Saving 6

Chloe Walsh

Second Chance Childhood Sweethearts Forced Proximity
Daisy Jones & The Six book cover

Daisy Jones & The Six

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Found Family Forbidden Love Secret Relationship
House of Salt and Sorrows book cover

House of Salt and Sorrows

Erin A. Craig

Gothic Slow Burn Dark
Every Summer After book cover

Every Summer After

Carley Fortune

Second Chance Childhood Sweethearts Friends to Lovers
Meet Me at the Lake book cover

Meet Me at the Lake

Carley Fortune

Second Chance Strangers to Lovers Forced Proximity
This Summer Will Be Different book cover

This Summer Will Be Different

Carley Fortune

Forbidden Love Brother's Best Friend Slow Burn
If He Had Been with Me book cover

If He Had Been with Me

Laura Nowlin

Childhood Sweethearts Friends to Lovers Slow Burn
The Song of Achilles book cover

The Song of Achilles

Madeline Miller

M/M Romance Childhood Sweethearts Forbidden Love
Rival book cover

Rival

J L Weil

College / New Adult Emotional / Tearjerker
Future Perfect book cover

Future Perfect

Suzanne Brockmann

Emotional / Tearjerker Romantic Comedy Historical
Masquerade book cover

Masquerade

Maria McKenzie

Wholesome Billionaire Emotional / Tearjerker
Every Other Weekend book cover

Every Other Weekend

Abigail Johnson

Road Trip Emotional / Tearjerker
The Romance Fiction of Mills & Boon, 1909-1990s book cover

The Romance Fiction of Mills & Boon, 1909-1990s

Jay Dixon

One Night Stand to More Emotional / Tearjerker
The Price of Forever book cover

The Price of Forever

Ember Leigh

Bodyguard Protector Emotional / Tearjerker
His to Love and Protect book cover

His to Love and Protect

Grace Rawson

Bodyguard Protector Emotional / Tearjerker
Love in Translation book cover

Love in Translation

Joss Wood

Only One Bed Emotional / Tearjerker
How to Write a Love Story book cover

How to Write a Love Story

Catherine Walsh

Only One Bed Emotional / Tearjerker
The Promise book cover

The Promise

C Hallman, J L Beck

Secret Baby Emotional / Tearjerker
Babies & Promises book cover

Babies & Promises

J L Beck, Cassandra Hallman

Secret Baby Emotional / Tearjerker
Miller Brothers in Love: A Contemporary Western Romance Boxset (Books 1 - 4) book cover

Miller Brothers in Love: A Contemporary Western Romance Boxset (Books 1 - 4)

Erin Wright

Snowed In Emotional / Tearjerker
Sweet Love – Western Romance Boxset: Three Cowboy Love Stories book cover

Sweet Love – Western Romance Boxset: Three Cowboy Love Stories

Erin K. Wright

Snowed In Emotional / Tearjerker
Arrested by Love: A Grumpy-Sunshine Western Romance book cover

Arrested by Love: A Grumpy-Sunshine Western Romance

Erin Wright

Grumpy Sunshine Snowed In Emotional / Tearjerker
Arrested by Love: A Sweet Grumpy-Sunshine Romance book cover

Arrested by Love: A Sweet Grumpy-Sunshine Romance

Erin K. Wright

Grumpy Sunshine Snowed In Emotional / Tearjerker
Blizzard of Love book cover

Blizzard of Love

Rose Marie Meuwissen

Snowed In Emotional / Tearjerker
Undercover Love book cover

Undercover Love

Lucy Score

Undercover Secret Identity Emotional / Tearjerker
Undercover Lovers book cover

Undercover Lovers

Julie Kenner

Undercover Secret Identity Emotional / Tearjerker
Undercover Lover book cover

Undercover Lover

Katherine D. Jones

Undercover Secret Identity Emotional / Tearjerker
A Planned love story book cover

A Planned love story

Shalini Buddh Singh

Wrong Number Emotional / Tearjerker
The Color of Love book cover

The Color of Love

Rebecca Jackson-Towers

Wrong Number Emotional / Tearjerker
An Imperialist Love Story book cover

An Imperialist Love Story

Amira Jarmakani

Alpha Male Emotional / Tearjerker
Beautiful Messy Love book cover

Beautiful Messy Love

Tess Woods

Athlete Emotional / Tearjerker
The Book Lover's Guide to Florida book cover

The Book Lover's Guide to Florida

Kevin M. McCarthy

Bookworm Emotional / Tearjerker
The Book Lover's Quiz Book book cover

The Book Lover's Quiz Book

Gary Wigglesworth

Bookworm Emotional / Tearjerker
The Book Lover's Tour of Texas book cover

The Book Lover's Tour of Texas

Jessie Gunn Stephens

Bookworm Emotional / Tearjerker
The Poison of Love book cover

The Poison of Love

K R Meera

Bookworm Emotional / Tearjerker
The Semiotics of Love book cover

The Semiotics of Love

Marcel Danesi

Brooding Hero Emotional / Tearjerker
Love, Language, Place, and Identity in Popular Culture book cover

Love, Language, Place, and Identity in Popular Culture

María Ramos-García, Laura Vivanco

Brooding Hero Emotional / Tearjerker
Classic Love and Romance Literature book cover

Classic Love and Romance Literature

Virginia Brackett

Brooding Hero Emotional / Tearjerker
Women and Children First: Bravery, love and fate: the untold story of the doomed Titanic book cover

Women and Children First: Bravery, love and fate: the untold story of the doomed Titanic

Gill Paul

Brooding Hero Emotional / Tearjerker
The Love of Romance - 50 Books in One Collection book cover

The Love of Romance - 50 Books in One Collection

Stendhal, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Burton Egbert Stevenson, Charlotte Brontë, Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë, Henry James, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Walter Scott, Thomas Hardy, O. Douglas, Edith Wharton, Alexandre Dumas, Meredith Nicholson, Virginia Woolf, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gaston Leroux, Grace Livingston Hill, Theodore Dreiser, Kate Chopin, Earl Derr Biggers, Fanny Burney, Georgette Heyer, H. G. Wells, E. M. Forster, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Leo Tolstoy, Elizabeth Gaskell, P.G. Wodehouse, R.D. Blackmore, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Madeleine L'Engle

Cinnamon Roll Emotional / Tearjerker
Love is an Open Book book cover

Love is an Open Book

Chandra Blumberg

Cinnamon Roll Emotional / Tearjerker
Love Blooms book cover

Love Blooms

Jo McNally

Cinnamon Roll Emotional / Tearjerker
Everlasting Love book cover

Everlasting Love

Debra St James

Cinnamon Roll Emotional / Tearjerker
BOUND BY A PROMISE book cover

BOUND BY A PROMISE

Aleatha Romig

He Falls First Emotional / Tearjerker
Love in Riverbend book cover

Love in Riverbend

Aleatha Romig

He Falls First Emotional / Tearjerker
Mafia Men Need Love Too book cover

Mafia Men Need Love Too

Isabel Jordan

Morally Gray Emotional / Tearjerker Mafia
A Love to Call Her Own book cover

A Love to Call Her Own

Marilyn Pappano

Tattoo Artist Emotional / Tearjerker
Why Earls Fall in Love book cover

Why Earls Fall in Love

Manda Collins

Wallflower Emotional / Tearjerker Regency
Breaking the Alien Love Curse book cover

Breaking the Alien Love Curse

Veronica Scott

Sci-Fi Emotional / Tearjerker
Heart of an Assassin: A Science Fiction Romance book cover

Heart of an Assassin: A Science Fiction Romance

Felicity Heaton

Sci-Fi Emotional / Tearjerker
Runaway Hearts: A Science Fiction Romance Short Story book cover

Runaway Hearts: A Science Fiction Romance Short Story

Felicity Heaton

Sci-Fi Emotional / Tearjerker
To Love a Highland Laird book cover

To Love a Highland Laird

Collette Cameron

Scottish Highlands Historical Emotional / Tearjerker
Hearts in the Highlands book cover

Hearts in the Highlands

Mary Keir

Scottish Highlands Historical Emotional / Tearjerker
Heart's Conquest book cover

Heart's Conquest

Andromeda

Viking Emotional / Tearjerker
Black Love Matters book cover

Black Love Matters

Jessica P. Pryde

Diverse Rep Emotional / Tearjerker
The Love Con book cover

The Love Con

Seressia Glass

Diverse Rep Emotional / Tearjerker
Lies, Love, and Redemption book cover

Lies, Love, and Redemption

Kelli A. Wilkins

Redemption Arc Emotional / Tearjerker
Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels book cover

Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels

Sarah Wendell

Redemption Arc Emotional / Tearjerker
Love and Attachment book cover

Love and Attachment

Carol Tosone, Theresa Aiello

Trauma Recovery Emotional / Tearjerker
The Healing Power of Love book cover

The Healing Power of Love

John Colligan, Kathleen Colligan, Kathy Colligan

Trauma Recovery Healing Emotional / Tearjerker
Love You Always book cover

Love You Always

Aj Alexander

Brother's Best Friend Emotional / Tearjerker
When We Collided book cover

When We Collided

Emery Lord

Emotional / Tearjerker Royalty
A Passion for Prying book cover

A Passion for Prying

Nancy Mangano

Emotional / Tearjerker Detective Regency
Open Road Summer book cover

Open Road Summer

Emery Lord

Emotional / Tearjerker Friends to Lovers Road Trip
Iron Soldier book cover

Iron Soldier

Katie Ford, Sarah May

Amnesia Military Emotional / Tearjerker
Unwritten Rules book cover

Unwritten Rules

KD Casey

Baseball Fake Dating Second Chance
Roommates book cover

Roommates

Katherine Stone

Roommates Second Chance Fated Mates
The Single Parent Collection book cover

The Single Parent Collection

KL Donn

Single Parent Second Chance Royalty
Rescued book cover

Rescued

Catherine Alba

Age Gap Neighbors to Lovers Rescue

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep the tissues handy. Emotional romance goes deep into loss, sacrifice, and the kind of love that cracks you open — then puts you back together better than before. Emotional / Tearjerker romance is one of the most searched-for tropes in the genre, loved for its unique emotional arc and satisfying payoffs.

Colleen Hoover, Nicholas Sparks, and Jojo Moyes will make you cry. Keep tissues handy for love stories that crack you open and put you back together.

Both will make you feel deeply, but the flavor differs. Emotional/tearjerker romance is designed to make you cry -- loss, sacrifice, devastating revelations. Angsty romance is about the ache of wanting -- pining, near-misses, and the exquisite pain of almost. Tearjerkers break your heart; angst makes it ache.