5 alumni-written books about love and romance
Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or more of a pragmatist at heart, let these tales of love and passion—all written by Wahoo authors—sweep you off your feet.
Something Borrowed (2005)
by Emily Giffin (Law ’97)
In Giffin’s New York Times bestselling debut—which was adapted into a 2011 film—Rachel, a Manhattan attorney, has too many drinks at her 30th birthday party and ends up in bed with her best friend’s fiance, Dex. As the wedding looms, Rachel must grapple with her feelings for Dex, on whom she’s harbored a crush since law school, and her moral obligation to her closest childhood friend, who has plenty of her own character flaws. Giffin tapped into some of her own experiences for the book. “Rachel was generally a rule-follower and risk-averse until the summer after her 30th birthday,” Giffin told Virginia Magazine in 2011. “Upon turning 30, I, too, reevaluated my life and decided to make a major change.”
Like Lovers Do (2020)
by Tracey Livesay (Col ’95, Law ’98)
Like Lovers Do is the second installment in Livesay’s Girls Trip series, which revolves around four friends who met during their first year at UVA—inspired by the author’s real-life friendships from her time on Grounds. This friends-to-lovers story follows Dr. Nicole Allen, aka Nic, a hardworking orthopedic surgeon who’s in danger of losing a prestigious fellowship at Duke after making a blunder at work. She taps her friend and landlord, Ben, for help; as a thank-you, she ends up accompanying him on a trip to Martha’s Vineyard and pretending to be his girlfriend. As they get to know each other more deeply, the line between what’s fake and what’s real blurs.
Against the Tide (2012)
by Dorothy Auchter Mays (Grad ’90) writing as Elizabeth Camden
Part romance, part mystery and part thriller, Against the Tide tells the story of Lydia, a self-sufficient young woman in 1890s Boston working as a translator for the U.S. Navy. The enigmatic Lt. Alexander Banebridge, aka Bane, hires Lydia to translate some mysterious documents, and a story of crime, courage, faith and—of course—romance unfolds. Despite her initial distaste for him, Lydia finds herself falling for Bane as she helps carry out his mission. Mays, who earned her master’s in history at UVA, weaves in plenty of details about the 19th century. When asked what inspired her to write Against the Tide, Mays said: “I love rich, turbulent novels, hopefully with a great romance and smart, admirable characters in the mix.”
Paradise Close (2022)
by Lisa Russ Spaar (Col ’78, Grad ’82)
The labyrinthine narrative of Paradise Close spans several decades, beginning in 1971 with the story of teenage orphan Marlise, who is battling anorexia while maintaining a tumultuous romantic relationship with a young artist in a mental health facility. Decades later, in a seemingly unrelated storyline, we meet poet Tee, an assistant professor at UVA, who grows reclusive after a thrilling but ultimately doomed romance. With several poetry collections under her belt, Spaar ended up writing Paradise Close—her first novel—by happenstance. “The novel started out as two separate prose pieces,” said Spaar, a creative writing professor at UVA. “At some point, I realized the two stories were connected, and I bring them together at the end.”
The Half Moon (2023)
by Mary Beth Keane (Grad ’05)
Traditional romance novels tend to focus on the exciting, passionate, early moments of a relationship; The Half Moon explores the later stages, when a couple is years deep into marriage. Small-town couple Jess and Malcolm—the former an attorney and the latter a bartender who dreams of owning his own watering hole—married young when Jess found herself pregnant, only to miscarry soon after. Now middle-aged, they contend with marital woes including dashed dreams, financial struggles and infertility. Finding themselves at a crossroads as they realize that parenthood might not be in their future, Malcolm and Jess both have some tough decisions to make. The story is “about love and making a life with someone,” Keane said.