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35 Ways to Say “I Love You”: Short Romantic Book Quotes for Love Letters, Wedding Speeches, and Cute Events

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R. Nassor

Senior Contributor

R. Nassor may spend more time with books, tea, and ceramic mugs than recommended by professionals but it hasn’t failed her so far. Nassor has a MA in English Literature from Georgetown University, where she looked at the way medieval and early modern literature reappear in fantasy books today. She’s been writing about romance, fantasy, science fiction, and pop culture for quite a while, starting at Book Riot in 2020. She’s also written for Tor.com. You can follow her on Tiktok and contact her through her website.

Are you looking for romantic book quotes that help you say “I love you?” If so, you have come to the right place. Romance writers melt hearts every day with novels exploring love, so why not look to them for inspiration. From quoting love poems to Shakespeare, there are a lot of options for opening the right speech, wedding invite, love letter, etc., but what is important is finding the right quote for you.

The Endless Potential of Romantic Book Quotes

The amount of sweet, heartbreaking or funny love quotes from books is absolutely endless. There is a long history of romantic speeches in books, however, I always think back to the tradition of the Breton lai or Arthurian romance in the medieval period. The tales often centered on love and chivalry that was unattainable in daily life but could be spoken, performed, or read for the audience. Love always finds a way into literature, so the potential list of romantic book quotes is quite large.

Romantic Book Quotes: My Smaller and Shorter Take

I have decided to compile some contemporary, historical, and paranormal romance novels, as well as a few science fiction, fantasy, and YA books with a romantic plot line. Instead of diving into every book available, I have pulled a list of quotes that popped out to me as particularly romantic from my personal reading (I often dog-ear the bottom of pages if I like a quote while I am reading, or highlight lines in ebooks).

So, here are some short book quotes about love that can help express your thoughts. I have divided the romantic book quotes into the following sentiments: Falling in Love, “You’re Amazing,” “Let’s do it Together,” “Anything for You,” and “You’re Everything.” I truly hope this list helps add a bit of romance to your life.

Falling in Love

Xeni A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon Cover

“She was falling in love with him. Falling. Just falling. One hundred percent not there, but she was definitely packing for a long trip to In Love.” —Xeni: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon

“I love you, too. A lot. I mean, a worrying amount. I’m not quite sure how it happened, actually.” —A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

“I fell in love with you, and I felt lucky that you were in love with me.” —The Love Study by Kris Ripper

“You fluster me, and I can’t think straight when I’m near you. My brain short-circuits, and I get dumb.” —I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander

“The truth is, loving you took me by surprise. The way love feels ambushed me. It feels brutal. Like an unstoppable force.” —Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore

“He’d always thought love was supposed to be soft, delicate as early spring clouds.” —From the Dark We Came by J. Emery

“I knew I was making a big mistake, but it was a glorious one, and I wanted to make it over and over again.” —Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

“You’re Amazing”

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall Cover

“I’ll never believe you’re anything less than remarkable.” —Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

“Don’t you know I’ve always loved who you are, that it was more than enough for me?” —Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson

“What kind of flowers would say ‘I love you,’ ‘I accept you,’ and ‘I’m so grateful, I could fall to my knees and build a shrine to you’ all at the same time?” —Perfect Rhythm by Jae

“I just didn’t see you coming. I didn’t know someone like you could exist.” —If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

“I think he loves you exactly as you are. You should hear how he talks about you. His face does this thing, where he’s all wide eyes and bafflement.” —Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian

“I am in love with a brilliant woman.” —The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

“Nobody could want more than who you are.” —Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

“Let’s do it Together”

Intercepted by Alexa Martin Cover

“I’m finally ready. I don’t need you, but I want you. And I love you.” —Intercepted by Alexa Martin

“I love you like an alloy.” —The Boxer and The Blacksmith by Edie Cay

“I love you. And I know love is just the beginning of what it takes to make things work, but maybe we can try?” —A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole

“I think I’ll do anything you want and everything you need as long as it means I get to try with someone as lovely as you.” —Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

“There is an unspoken agreement that she will be there, with him, until the very end.” —The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

“I wanted to marry you yesterday and I want to marry you today and I fully intend to want to marry you for all the days for the rest of our lives.” —The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean

“This ring means that I love you.” —The Devil Come Courting by Courtney Milan

“Anything for You”

A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore Cover

“What if love makes you want to fight harder?” —A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore

“You loved me…without reservation. Without expecting anything in return. You loved me, and I know that you wouldn’t stop, not unless you were forced to. And I knew then I wouldn’t stop, no matter what it took.” —Heartsong by TJ Klune

“He wanted to renovate his life for her.” —The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham

“I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you. I cannot do anything but love you.” —A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong

“And it will be worth it because I love you.” —Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

“I really didn’t expect to fall in love with you. But…you accepted me for who I was, and you made me happy. And that kind of happiness, to me, is worth fighting to hold on to.” —Human Enough by E.S. Yu

“You’ve always known me, love. I’ve always known you. And I’m so — I’m so desperately in love with you.” —Imagine Me by Taherah Mafi

“You’re Everything”

The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst Cover

“You know who you are…I’m not marrying you in hopes of changing you. I’m marrying you because I love you, all of you, even the parts of you that make bad decisions.” —The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst

“He was excited beyond measure to be sharing this part of himself with the love of his life.” —Hitting the Mark by Aidan Wayne

“If I had you, I’d still have everything.” —The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod

“Love is never safe…It’s weird. It’s magical. It’s the moment when you break through the dark shell that protects your heart and say this, this person.” —Trade Me by Courtney Milan

“My soul sees its equal in you.” —The Wrath and The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

“’I am trying to tell you I love you’ she said, adorably grumpy, ‘and you are making it impossible.’” —The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

I love you. Those words repeated themselves over and over in my mind — words that were tattooed on my skin and carved into my bones. What I felt for him was far more powerful than words, but words were important.” —The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

A Romantic Book Quote for A Romantic Occasion

Words can be hard to find, so I hope I unearthed a curated list that can help the process along. Luckily, these authors are professionals and have found ways of writing down squishy, hard-to-pin-down thoughts. May your speeches, letters, and social media posts be filled with romance, love, and affection.