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Recommended Reads: From Love to Hate
Books about characters who initially despise each other but later develop romantic feelings delve into the complexities of love born from conflict and transformation.
Imagine a story where two characters can’t stand each other, always arguing and disagreeing. But as they spend more time together, something magical happens—they start seeing each other in a new light. This delightful trope is a popular theme in many books and stories, showing us that sometimes the people we least expect can become our closest allies and even our truest loves.
Digital book (DB), braille (BR), large print (LT), and audio-described videos (DVD) copies of these titles are available from the Perkins Library or the Worcester Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.
Prepared by Erin Fragola
Library Outreach Manager
Perkins Library
A Kingdom of Dreams
by Judith McNaught
DB 29032, Available as BARD Download
Jennifer Merrick, a Scottish school girl, makes a serious mistake when she fails to heed warnings about Royce Westmoreland, duke of Claymore. Although Jennifer wants nothing to do with the duke, her abduction by him results in a forced marriage. Will the duke be able to awaken a passion in Jennifer that turns her hatred into overwhelming love for him? Descriptions of sex. 1989.
Ain’t She Sweet?
by Susan Elizabeth Philips
DB 57702, Available as BARD Download
Returning home to Mississippi after fifteen years, thrice-divorced Sugar Beth Carey is not welcomed by women she treated like dirt, hearts she broke, or schoolteacher Colin Byrne, whose career she destroyed. Initially Colin plots her humiliation but begins falling in love. Explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. Bestseller. 2004.
Along for the Ride
by Sara Dessen
DB 70051, Available as BARD Download
The summer before entering college, bookworm Auden visits her father and his new family in the beachfront town of Colby. When she meets bike-shop manager Eli, a fellow insomniac, Auden realizes what has been missing in her life and seizes the opportunity to change. For senior high readers. 2009.
Angelfall
by Susan Ee
DB 77339, Available as BARD Download
The angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world and enslaved and tortured the surviving humans. When her little sister is kidnapped by the angels, seventeen-year-old Penryn risks everything to save her. Violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2012.
Beach Read
by Emily Henry
DB 99724, LT 32902, BR 23158, Available as BARD Download
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters. Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. They’re polar opposites. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block. Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really. 2023.
The Deal
by Elle Kennedy
DB 84485, Available as BARD Download
College student Hannah Wells falls for the bad boy on campus but can’t find a way to get his attention. Hockey player Garrett Graham agrees to help Hannah get her crush if she tutors him. But sparks fly when they kiss. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2015.
Eleanor & Park
by Rainbow Rowell
DB 76406, BR 24991, Available as BARD Download
After socially painful circumstances toss Eleanor and Park together, they form an unlikely–and extraordinary–romance. Although the two sixteen-year-olds know that the odds of remaining together forever are slim, they find the courage to try. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Emma
by Jane Austen
DB 23490, LT 5503, BR 8733, DBG 18035 (French), DB 106089 (Portuguese), Available as BARD Download
Published in 1816, Emma is generally considered to be Jane Austen’s most accomplished novel and its heroine, Emma Woodhouse, one of her most engaging characters. Emma is a matchmaker who sets out to find the most appropriate mate for young Harriet Smith but soon finds herself both frustrated in her plots and caught up in romance herself. It is a delightful novel, full of complications, mortifications, wit, and ultimate fulfillment. 1815.
Download Emma, BR 08733 (Braille)
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
DB 33082, BR 1609, LT 6575, DB 113051 (Mandarin), DBF 4193 (Russian), DVD 497, Available as BARD Download
A romantic Civil War epic in which Scarlet O’ Hara, a forceful and ruthless heroine, and Rhett Butler, a war profiteer, play out their tempestuous love affair against the background of the war-torn South. Pulitzer Prize winner. 1936.
Download Gone with the Wind, DB 33082
Download Gone with the Wind, BR 1609 (Braille)
Hate Notes
by Vi Keeland
DB 93917, Available as BARD Download
Charlotte finds a love note stitched into a consignment wedding gown and tracks down Reed, the real estate mogul who wrote it. He’s still unmarried, soured on love, and unhappy with Charlotte after she lies to him. His grandmother offers Charlotte a job. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2018.
Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
DB 51553, BR 13166, Available as BARD Download
First performed in 1598, this comedy in five acts concerns two pairs of lovers. Before Hero and Claudio can find happiness together, they must sort out the complications of Don John’s false accusations. Meanwhile, Beatrice and Benedick match wits and fall in love. Includes notes and explanatory essays. 1995.
North and South
by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
DB 91590, Available as BARD Download
Transplanted from the “civilized” South of England, Margaret Hale enters a grim new world in industrial Milton-Northern. The cultural shock leaves her reeling, but for her growing attraction to mill owner John Thornton. Friendship with the daughter of a union leader awakens her activism. 1855.
Obsidian
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
DB111539, Available as BARD Download
“When seventeen-year-old Katy Swartz moved to West Virginia right before her senior year, she’d pretty much resigned herself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring, but then she spotted her hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up…until he opened his mouth. Daemon Black is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. It’s hate at first sight, but when a stranger attacks her and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. The hot guy next door? Well, he’s an alien. Turns out that Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities and Katy is caught in the crosshairs. Daemon’s touch has lit her up like the Vegas Strip and the only way she’s getting out of this alive is by sticking close to him until her alien mojo fades. That is if she doesn’t kill him first.” — Provided by publisher. — Unrated. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Of Beast and Beauty
by Stacey Jay
DB 77132, Available as BARD Download
In the domed city of Yuan, the Smooth Skins live in fear of the desert Monstrous outside the city’s magical walls. Gem, a wounded Monstrous man, falls into the care of Yuan’s princess–who realizes that all may not be what it seems. Some violence. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Poison Study
by Maria V. Snyder
DB 83160, Available as BARD Download
In exchange for a reprieve from her order of execution, Yelena agrees to become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. The Commander’s security chief, Valek, trains her to taste for poisons, but it seems someone wants Yelena dead. Some violence. 2005.
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
DB 20513, BR 11521, LT 36, Available as BARD Download
A comedy of manners, first published in 1813, concerning two of the five Bennet sisters, Elizabeth and Jane, and their courtships played out in the drawing rooms of Regency England. Elizabeth and her proud suitor, Mr. Darcy, spar verbally about their relationship and social circumstances. The sisters’ comments on each other’s romance help convey the author’s views on life and love. 2016.
These Broken Stars
by Amie Kaufman
DB 78031, BR 20596, Available as BARD Download
Eighteen-year-old war hero Tarver Merendsen attends an upper-class function aboard the spaceship Icarus and falls for the unobtainable heiress Lilac LaRoux. When the Icarus fails and crashes into a nearby planet, Tarver and Lilac must work together. Some violence and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
DB 81693, BR 21282, Available as BARD Download
A human wizard (known as Dragon) takes young women from the village in payment for protecting them from the evil influence of the Wood. Agnieszka is chosen to serve Dragon, and finds she has an unexpected talent for magic. Based on a Polish fairy tale. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2015.
The Viscount Who Loved Me
by Julia Quinn
DB 60489, BR 21431, Available as BARD Download
Contrary to gossip columnist Lady Whistledown’s reports, London’s most eligible bachelor, Anthony Bridgerton, has decided to marry and begins courting Edwina Sheffield. Determined to protect her from the notorious viscount, Edwina’s half-sister, Kate, schemes to thwart their betrothal–and falls in love with Anthony herself. Some explicit descriptions of sex. 2000.
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me
by Mariana Zapata
DB 91567, Available as BARD Download
Vanessa Mazur finally got up the courage to quit her job as personal assistant and housekeeper to football star Aiden Graves. When he comes begging for her to return, she realizes he might not have been as cooly oblivious to her as she always thought. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2016.
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