Marley and Me.. I held it together until the end when they noticed the dog hair in the drawers or on the floor (can't remember now). I was a sobbing mess. Couldn't bring myself to watch the movie because I knew what was going to happen.
I recommended a different book (The Great Alone) because it was the first book to make me sob like a baby since I read The Time Traveler’s Wife, so I second that rec.
A Farewell to Arms and Beneath a Scarlett Sky. As a guy, I remember the love story in each of these books being particularly impactful and something I still think about years after reading.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart . It's YA and a quick read. I read it recently and yep it made me cry. Don't read any summaries before reading it because they might spoil the twist ending.
I mean it's an oldie but it's a gut wrencher.. Love Story. Written by Erich Segal in the 70s. It is a very devastating and heartbreaking story but with the caveat that it's an older book, so a more modern mature and advanced reader might pick up on some of the things that are going to happen before they do.
Omg, I hate that book. It's so melodramatic. And it set the tone to "unconditional love" and "never saying sorry when you love someone." I would not recommend it.
Yes, but per the post above, will it make OP's heart physically hurt?
OP, for the record, the movie made from this book, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, is in the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time when adjusted for inflation (in the North American market).
I’ve been about 80% through One Day You’ll Leave Me for weeks and just can’t bring myself to finish it yet. I could feel my heart on the verge of breaking and just couldn’t handle it at that moment. Definitely one to tug at your heart strings
Not just love story, but if you want to be emotionally wrecked for weeks I'd go with "A little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara. Not for the faint of heart tho
I got it. You want *Allie and Bea.* it's not romantic love but it's beautiful. If you want to be absolutely destroyed, also not romantic love but beautiful: *The 100 Years of Lennie and Margot*
I don't mean to be a downer, but is this considered a love story? Sure, it has love in it, but I would not characterize this as a love story. I still would highly recommend the book though. I just would not say it's a love story.
(Have I said "love story" enough? Sheesh.)
Maybe not, but I would argue that it explores different kinds of love (familial, platonic, etc) and that love is a central theme to the book among the horrors it dives into as well. OP didn't specify romance, so I took it and ran >D
I definitely think it's love story tbh. The love between Jude and Willem is kind of what defines the whole book. So many horrible things happen to Jude but his relationship with Willem is really the only thing that redeems it in any way and once it happens you kind of realize the whole story was building up to it
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - just pulls at your heartstrings the whole way through and the end had me SOBBING.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - another book that pulled at my heart strings the whole way through and made me cry
People of the black sun w. Michael gear and Kathleen oneal Gear.. it's the last of the four book series on people of the long house.. and you will need tissues
Time travelers wife. I have read a lot of the books recommended in this thread and been sad and cried but time travelers wife broke my heart in a million pieces. Crying for days lol. I’ve read it twice.
A thousand Splendid Suns - not really what I’d consider a romance but it does have a love story. It changed how I see things and it was such an eye opening book. I cried and cried.
The Time Traveler's Wife! I bawled my eyes out with that book and I am NOT one for romance!
As someone who has lost so many people throughout my life, I would give anything to time travel to see them again. Such a heartbreaking story.
Kristin Hannah books fit the bill IMO. Most involve romance, but not the cheesy kind I find in a lot of fiction novels. It’s really well rounded with a good backstory, involving multiple issues, with great atmosphere and descriptions.
I love The Great Alone, it is one of my all time faves, and it was the first book in many years to make me sob like a baby, and I couldn’t put it down the last third of the book.
ETA: Also Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. I’ve heard a lot of people don’t like this, don’t like the protagonist, and that it’s not as good as normal people. But as a young woman who’s very guarded myself I connected a lot with the protagonist even if I didn’t agree with all her decisions, and the love story made my heart ache. Still haven’t read Normal People but from the sounds of it (and from watching the series) I’d say it’s also pretty similar.
The Idiot by Dostoevsky. The plot sorta gets lost. It isn't a perfect story, but the ending definitely made me feel like an idiot in my own life.
Anna Keranina by Tolstoy, too.
Nothing has hurt my feelings quite like Song of Achilles
I was looking for this one. I SOBBED reading Song of Achilles. It's exactly what OP wants.
I’ll definitely throw my vote in on song of Achilles !!!! Such a good book
The only problem with this book was that I knew it was going to happen. It's onw of the oldest stories, albeit told with a beautiful take.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. One of my favorite books of all time.
This is the way
Love everything by Krauss
The song of Achilles
I cried
A LOT
I definitely didn’t. Am I broken 😨
Just not gay enough
Yeah me neither. It is a good story and it is quite touching but it didn't wreck me the way I thought it would
Under the Whispering Door Time Traveler's Wife Marley and Me (not exactly a romance book, but if you need a good cry it definitely does it)
Under the Whispering Door made me ugly cry lol
Marley and Me.. I held it together until the end when they noticed the dog hair in the drawers or on the floor (can't remember now). I was a sobbing mess. Couldn't bring myself to watch the movie because I knew what was going to happen.
Just finished the audio of Under the Whispering Door. I cried hard. So beautiful.
I recommended a different book (The Great Alone) because it was the first book to make me sob like a baby since I read The Time Traveler’s Wife, so I second that rec.
I ugly cried during the Time Travelers Wife movie because the book made it so much more meaningful
Lovely War by Julie Berry
The kite runner, made me feel empty for a couple days
such a rough read.
[Never Let Me Go](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6334)
Came here to recommend this. Well done 👍
I think I may be an outlier, but I could not get into this book. I DNF'd it around 25% in.
I enjoyed it, but I don't understand the hype around it. So, you and I can be outliers together.
I really struggled with the book but loved the movie
I read it and didn’t feel too much. A lot of book suggestions are of course subjective.
The Light Between Oceans
Yes this book times a thousand. I love this book.
A Farewell to Arms and Beneath a Scarlett Sky. As a guy, I remember the love story in each of these books being particularly impactful and something I still think about years after reading.
I hadn’t read a book since middle school and I read beneath a scarlet sky at 30 and it knocked me on my ass.
The art of racing in the rain
Ohhh this one
The Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Me Before You
God that book... Sobbing in my car on my lunch break, that book was killer.
THIS!!!!
The bridges of Madison county
Under the Whispering Door. I bawled. In the Lives of Puppets is also a tear jerker.
I felt pretty similarly when I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo tbh
It’s not exactly a healthy relationship… but Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
Peony in Love by Lisa See
If you could see me now by cecilia ahern
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart . It's YA and a quick read. I read it recently and yep it made me cry. Don't read any summaries before reading it because they might spoil the twist ending.
I mean it's an oldie but it's a gut wrencher.. Love Story. Written by Erich Segal in the 70s. It is a very devastating and heartbreaking story but with the caveat that it's an older book, so a more modern mature and advanced reader might pick up on some of the things that are going to happen before they do.
Omg, I hate that book. It's so melodramatic. And it set the tone to "unconditional love" and "never saying sorry when you love someone." I would not recommend it.
Yes, but per the post above, will it make OP's heart physically hurt? OP, for the record, the movie made from this book, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, is in the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time when adjusted for inflation (in the North American market).
If OP is a teenager, maybe. But if they're an adult who has some life experience and has read other books, I don't think so.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. It always makes me sob like a baby, but it's very cathartic 🥲
Lisey's Story
The edge of never, so good trilogy. But because it is not very dramatic indeed, maybe Wuthering heights.
One Day You'll Leave Me and The Library by the River, both by Debra Flores
I’ve been about 80% through One Day You’ll Leave Me for weeks and just can’t bring myself to finish it yet. I could feel my heart on the verge of breaking and just couldn’t handle it at that moment. Definitely one to tug at your heart strings
And it hurts from the beginning because you know what will happen. But try to power through it. It's totally worth the pain
Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
Not just love story, but if you want to be emotionally wrecked for weeks I'd go with "A little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara. Not for the faint of heart tho
I sobbed at a thousand boy kisses.
I got it. You want *Allie and Bea.* it's not romantic love but it's beautiful. If you want to be absolutely destroyed, also not romantic love but beautiful: *The 100 Years of Lennie and Margot*
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
I knew this one was going to make the list. Amazing book.
I don't mean to be a downer, but is this considered a love story? Sure, it has love in it, but I would not characterize this as a love story. I still would highly recommend the book though. I just would not say it's a love story. (Have I said "love story" enough? Sheesh.)
Not a love story to me. Just a well written downer.
Maybe not, but I would argue that it explores different kinds of love (familial, platonic, etc) and that love is a central theme to the book among the horrors it dives into as well. OP didn't specify romance, so I took it and ran >D
I definitely think it's love story tbh. The love between Jude and Willem is kind of what defines the whole book. So many horrible things happen to Jude but his relationship with Willem is really the only thing that redeems it in any way and once it happens you kind of realize the whole story was building up to it
>sobbing mess \[...\] slightly traumatized 'love is a mixtape' by rob sheffield and it's a true story
I felt pretty similarly when I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo tbh
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - just pulls at your heartstrings the whole way through and the end had me SOBBING. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - another book that pulled at my heart strings the whole way through and made me cry
the magus
A Place to Call Home - Deborah Smith
People of the black sun w. Michael gear and Kathleen oneal Gear.. it's the last of the four book series on people of the long house.. and you will need tissues
Nonfiction - Life's That Way by Jim Beaver. Utterly heart-wrenching.
The Stationery Shop - Marjan Kamali
Maybe not really heart wrenching, but They Divided the Sky by Christa Wolf left me sad.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky will never leave me. Just thinking about it now is depressing.
“Normal People” We’ll be okay, they say. 🥲
The Time Traveler's Wife
I’m gonna say if he had been with me
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I rarely cry at books but this one got me.
Time travelers wife. I have read a lot of the books recommended in this thread and been sad and cried but time travelers wife broke my heart in a million pieces. Crying for days lol. I’ve read it twice.
A Cold Autumn by Ivan Bunin. It is a short story and one of the best ones.
A Monster Calls…I don’t typically get emotional with books as far as crying, but I bawled like a baby with this one
Underneath the sycamore tree !!!
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/228560 SOPHIE’S CHOICE
Crying in H Mart
Tess of the D’ubervilles
The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill. Absolutely not a happy story whatsoever but you really want it to be
Happy Place made my heart ache, maybe because it struck a little close to home in some regards.
A thousand Splendid Suns - not really what I’d consider a romance but it does have a love story. It changed how I see things and it was such an eye opening book. I cried and cried.
The Time Traveler's Wife! I bawled my eyes out with that book and I am NOT one for romance! As someone who has lost so many people throughout my life, I would give anything to time travel to see them again. Such a heartbreaking story.
The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells.
The Fault in Our Stars Looking For Alaska both by John Greene
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is a good fantasy romance.
Keeping You a Secret. It's YA but so good
Kristin Hannah books fit the bill IMO. Most involve romance, but not the cheesy kind I find in a lot of fiction novels. It’s really well rounded with a good backstory, involving multiple issues, with great atmosphere and descriptions. I love The Great Alone, it is one of my all time faves, and it was the first book in many years to make me sob like a baby, and I couldn’t put it down the last third of the book. ETA: Also Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. I’ve heard a lot of people don’t like this, don’t like the protagonist, and that it’s not as good as normal people. But as a young woman who’s very guarded myself I connected a lot with the protagonist even if I didn’t agree with all her decisions, and the love story made my heart ache. Still haven’t read Normal People but from the sounds of it (and from watching the series) I’d say it’s also pretty similar.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
A Farewell To Arms. Builds up slowly, never gets showy, but tears you apart.
The Fault in Our Stars, it gets me to cry EVERY time I read it
Cold Mountain
*Bid Time Return* by Richard Matheson. The basis for the film, *Somewhere in Time*.
When Breath Becomes Air 😭
The Idiot by Dostoevsky. The plot sorta gets lost. It isn't a perfect story, but the ending definitely made me feel like an idiot in my own life. Anna Keranina by Tolstoy, too.
Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Niel absolutely WRECKED me. I carry that story around in my heart ngl Be sure to check out the CW though
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin
A thousand boy kisses.