17 Short Stories & Novellas to Read in a Day This Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes, is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon, their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.

They’re falling in love, yet they’ve never met. Maybe fate can intervene in a heartwarming “what-if” short story about new beginnings by the New York Times bestselling author of Yours Truly.

Holly is dealing with the impending death of her grandmother and still reeling from a bad breakup. One bright spot: a Valentine’s Day card on Holly’s windshield—even if it wasn’t meant for her. An amusing mistake soon turns into a lovely exchange of anonymous notes, little acts of kindness, and a growing affection between two strangers. What happens when one of them has to say goodbye?

Princess Ilaria has had it up to her tiara with the paparazzi, her own wild reputation, and the public eye. Trading places with her assistant, Ilaria wants just one blissfully ordinary weekend. Then a handsome photographer with a sexy Scottish burr offers to be her guide. Sparks fly, but how long can they last? Ilaria’s secret has to come out—and it could ruin a perfectly serendipitous romance.

Serendipity works wonders for a woman and her seemingly unattainable crush in a funny and flirty short story by Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners and My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

When marketing consultant Veronica accidentally crashes the wrong Zoom meeting and brutally critiques their presentation, she’s shocked to receive a job offer from the company’s intriguing CEO. Their professional email exchanges quickly turn flirty, but Veronica’s mind keeps drifting to her reserved but gorgeous new neighbor. As Valentine’s Day approaches, she’ll discover that sometimes the most improbable meet-cute can lead to the perfect match.

When a mysterious time capsule leads a Toronto teacher to England, she discovers some loves are worth crossing oceans—and decades—to find, from New York Times bestselling author Hannah Bonam-Young.

When a history teacher receives a letter from her deceased grandmother revealing a secret love affair in the 1950s, it leads her to a time capsule hidden decades ago. But it’s the charming grandson of her grandmother’s lost love who changes everything, proving that sometimes the heart knows exactly where—and when—it belongs.

Two musical theater costars, separated by fate, reunite for a showmance to remember in a sizzling and banter-filled short story about second chances by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Soto.

When food poisoning takes out the lead in their Valentine’s Day production of Oklahoma!, TV sensation Colby J. Turner swoops in to save the show. But for leading lady Bex Hardgrave, this last-minute casting is more drama than she bargained for. Eight years ago, their onstage chemistry sparked real-life fireworks—until a misunderstanding brought down the curtain on their budding romance. Now they’re sharing the spotlight again, and their old connection is threatening to steal the show. As showtime approaches, Bex and Colby will have to decide if their second-chance romance deserves its own standing ovation.

A florist done with love and a football player off his game—this Valentine’s Day, they’re each other’s wild card.

After a disastrous football season, NFL star Joe Matthews retreats to his hometown, Honeysuckle Ridge, West Virginia, looking to escape the spotlight. The last person he expects to run into is Ella Banks—his quiet, quirky high school classmate, now the owner of the town’s charming florist shop. Ella’s sworn off love and sees Valentine’s Day as just good business, but when Joe walks into her shop, old sparks ignite. She’s anti-romance, and he’s scared to put his heart on the line, but sometimes love blooms in the most unexpected places.

Does Cupid have a nice list? Never mind. Forget it. I’m breaking up with Valentine’s Day.

It started innocently enough with a harmless inquiry about a cute guy at a coffee shop. The goal was to get back in the romance game. The search turned into a social media frenzy. #DesperatelySeekingDane was not available. Talk about a buzzkill.

Just when I thought things couldn’t become more dramatic, because of my five minutes of online fame, a TV production company reached out to me as a last-minute contestant in a dating contest. It was an instant yes because one of the three bachelors is a major movie star and my lifelong crush.

Here’s the I’m matched with the third-place prize, a daredevil hockey player I can’t stand. Let’s just say we have a brief but storied history involving shrill whistles, spilled coffee, and a bloody incident in an elevator.

However, turns out the date is only the opening act. We end up in each other’s debt, resulting in a meet-the-parents situation. But we kind of hit it off. As things heat up between us, sparks fly, and the ice begins to melt. Can I be falling for the guy I loathe?

Molly Graham doesn’t believe in love at first sight or fairy tales. She’s been burned too many times before. But when she stumbles across a very handsome British professor, Albert George, seeking refuge in her office during the Museum of Literature’s Valentine’s Day gala for the opening of their Austen exhibit, she can’t help but be drawn to the fellow introverted academic. Together, they ghost out of the event and embark upon a monthlong love affair. Just as she’s rethinking her stance on happily ever afters, he disappears.

Afraid something bad has happened, she searches for him only to discover there is no Albert George affiliated with the university. She’s been played for a fool. But when she travels to England to return the Jane Austen exhibition materials on loan from the Whitmore Estate, Molly is introduced to Earl Whitmore and his grandson Lord Insley – or, as she knows him, Albert George. She is shocked and dismayed to discover she’s fallen in love with a viscount in line to be an earl.

Although he had to leave her unexpectedly, he hasn’t been able to forget her, and he wants to win her back. But she refuses to be taken in twice. He’ll have to channel his inner Fitzwilliam Darcy to prove to her that love conquers all.

An Archer. A helicopter pilot. And an elevator in free fall.

They weren’t supposed to be in the same state, let alone trapped in the same elevator.
But when the floor drops out beneath them, and darkness closes in, Chance Lewis finally does what he should have done years he tells Tansy the truth… and puts his heart on the line.

Tansy has heard his promises before.
He walked away once, and she refuses to let him shatter her twice.

But fate isn’t done with them yet.

When an impossible challenge pulls them back into each other’s orbit, Chance wins the one thing Tansy swore she’d never give him time.

Now she’ll have to face her biggest fear, and it’s not the elevator, not the spotlight, not even the helicopter ride to get there…

But the dangerous possibility that Chance Lewis might still be the one.

Slow burn. Second chances. A man who refuses to walk away again—and a woman brave enough to find out if love can survive the fall.

It’s only love until . . .

There’s a dating pact with a Valentine’s Day deadline.

I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to serving a greater purpose. From my years in the Air Force to building my family’s prosthetics company into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse. Discipline, service, and ambition have always guided me. But love? That’s never been part of the plan.

Dating only complicates things. As far as I’m concerned, Cupid can keep his arrows.

But according to an outdated company bylaw my grandfather refuses to change, I can’t inherit the business unless I’m married. And apparently, being “married to the job” doesn’t count.

When my best friend Libby gets her heart broken yet again, I blindly propose an idea to fix both our problems. I’ll find someone who actually deserves her, and she’ll find me a wife in name only. No feelings. No drama. Simple. Or at least, it should be.

Except Libby doesn’t do anything halfway, especially not matters of the heart. She’s on a mission to prove true love is worth the effort and starts pushing me into one ridiculous meet-and-greet after another.

All I want is to secure the future of my company. But I have the growing suspicion one of Cupid’s glittery arrows is aiming right at me. And with my luck, I doubt I’ll see it coming until it strikes.

A perfect day…

Beck O’Brien is a financial whiz with a passion for horse breeding, and today he’s getting married. Maggie is the perfect bride. She’s steady when he’s volatile, kind when he forgets to be, and forgiving of his long hours. She’s everything Beck wants in a bride.

Until Kitty steps in…

Kitty Summer is certain that her sister Maggie is making the biggest mistake of her life. Beck O’Brien doesn’t love Maggie, but Maggie refuses to listen to reason. If Kitty can’t tell Maggie she’s making a mistake, then maybe she can show her. There’s only one way to prove that Beck is the right man for Maggie.

Can he pass the Kissing Test?

Karoline

There are only two things I loathe in this world: Valentine’s Day and Mason Kane. Valentine’s Day is actually Singles’ Recognition Day, and Mason Kane is the genesis of my contemptuous heart. I’ve totally moved on, and my life is great.

Just great.

Should I say it one more time so you’ll believe me?

That is, until both elements of my hatred merge together into a nightmare of epic proportions. One: heading the Valentine’s Day marketing campaign for my boss’s jewelry brand as a way to fulfill my internship class. Two: Mason Kane will be appearing in the commercials.

Ruining my life again.

I can’t mess this up, but how can I pretend everything is fine after how Mason disappeared from my life three years ago?

Mason

I never thought I’d build a vacation home in Mississippi, but one reason is all I need: Karoline Wright, my childhood best friend, lives there, and I realized a little too late that I was in love with her. But all my grandiose plans to reunite with her are tossed out of the window when I’m ushered into her sphere sooner than expected.

Why did I agree to star in a jewelry commercial for Valentine’s Day, and why on God’s green earth is Karoline heading up the campaign?

Now, I have to figure out how to get all this boiling hot water between us under a very big bridge. Stat.

It’s now or never. I have to weasel my way back into her life and prove myself changed against her rightfully earned suspicions and doubts. And maybe—just maybe—the bricks will crumble away from the mile-high wall she’s built over the past three years.

Josie Carter didn’t mean to lie.

One little slip about having a Valentine’s date turned into a full-blown story her friends believed… and suddenly her co-worker and best friend Tanner is volunteering to be her boyfriend.

A weekend away. A cabin full of friends. And a fake Valentine that feels a little too real.

Josie Carter fakes Valentine’s Day is a swoony small-town rom-com about friendship, fibs, and the kind of love you can’t fake.

It was hate at first sight.

After a run-in with the rude best man, Peter, at her best friend’s wedding and a subsequent meltdown on New Year’s Eve, Hazel is ready to make major changes. Realizing she’s a serial dater, she vows to take a break from dating and focus on reinventing herself in her career—and putting down roots for once in her life.

But when the jerk from the wedding moves in next door, Hazel can’t believe her bad luck. She does her best to avoid Peter until a massive blizzard forces her to take shelter at his house. The icy tension between them starts to thaw as they get to know each other, but when they’re still snowed in four days later—on Valentine’s Day—tempers flare as passions rise.

Confused and unsettled, Hazel has no idea what to do with her conflicting feelings, and avoiding him doesn’t seem to be an option.

Can she find love with this enigmatic man amid the winter storm brewing within and between them?

When the ingredients for love turn into a recipe for disaster …

Lily’s world is turned upside down when her ex-boyfriend Stephen walks into her bakery, hoping to buy Valentine’s cookies for his new girlfriend. To make matters worse, he wants Lily to decorate them with a message of love.

Determined not to let him see her heartbroken, Lily tells him she has met someone else too and has never been happier. It’s a risky deception, but luckily, she knows just the man to help her out.

She doesn’t count on ending up on a double date with Stephen and his new girlfriend. Nor does she expect her fake boyfriend to have a secret of his own.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, and Lily struggles to create the perfect cookies, she wonders whether the recipe for happiness has been in front of her all along.

With a cast of charming characters and a dash of sweet romance, A Sugarloaf Valentine is a delightful read that will have you falling in love with love all over again.