Move Over Rom-Coms, ‘Rom-Cry’ Books Are Here to Wreck You—7 to Read This Fall
These heart-wrenching reads will make you swoon, sob and reach for the tissues
Key Takeaways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our editorial team.- These emotional love stories deliver romance, heartbreak and plenty of unforgettable moments.
- From 'The Fault in Our Stars' to 'The Last Letter,' these books are perfect for cozy days.
- Grab the tissues before diving into these heartbreaking romances that readers can’t put down.
Every reader (and movie goer) is familiar with the rom-com—a sweet love story that includes plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (think Bridget Jones’s Diary and anything by Katherine Center). But have you heard of the rom-cry? It’s a love story guaranteed to break your heart—a book where you’ll alternate between swooning and sobbing–and it doesn’t always have a happily ever after. And right now, the rom-cry genre is growing ever more popular. Ask any romance reader and she’ll rattle off her top rom-cry books. Here’s our list of the best rom-cries to read this fall.
‘Into The Blue’ by Emma Brodie
This book, a Reese’s Book Club selection, features AJ, who has always dreamed of being a staff writer on Saturday Night Live. As a teenager living in Massachusetts, she can’t quite figure out how to make it happen. Then, one day, Noah, from the famous Drew family of actors, comes into her life and she sees the future she has only dared to imagine. Then one day he vanishes without an explanation. Seven years later, AJ and Noah find themselves thrown back together and their sizzling chemistry is still there. But when Noah shares the devastating reason he left, AJ begins to wonder if she really knew the man she fell in love with all those years ago and what her future might look like.
What readers are saying: “This is the most devastating and heart wrenching love story I have read to date. I honestly feel like I can’t share too much in my review because I feel like there are so many parts to their story and it’s just an experience you need to go into mostly blind but just trust me I need everyone to read it!”
‘The Fault In Our Stars’ by John Green
From bestselling author John Green comes a romance novel that took the world by storm in the early 2010s. Sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster has been living with terminal cancer for three years and has accepted that she will never live a normal life. Then she meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group and the two quickly fall in love, bonding over a book about cancer that Hazel thinks has an unacceptable ending. Desperate to learn what happens to the book characters, Augustus arranges for them to fly to Amsterdam to talk with the author. But nothing can prepare the two for what they find.
What readers are saying: “With such an amazing title and simple cover, I wasn’t sure what to make of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. What I uncovered was a book that I can’t really explain with any great justice. It was a book that overwhelmed me with emotions and a book I simply could not put down. Quite simply, it was one of the best, if not the best book I have read in a long time.”
‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes
This heartbreaking love story brings together two complete opposites: Louisa Clark, a feisty small-town girl who has never left her village, and Will Traynor, a wealthy, wheelchair-bound man who no longer wants to live. When Louisa becomes Will’s caregiver, she must deal with his moody, difficult personality. And when she discovers that she’s willing to fight for his future, even when he has given up on himself, she battles to change his mind. A deeply moving and emotional tale of love and loss (with two sequels for those who can’t get enough of the story.)
What readers are saying: “Me Before You is a book that will make you laugh, make you cry and will bring out all kinds of feelings. I can’t say anything else, except that the way this book ends is so sad, but at the same time teaches us that sometimes we can’t change things but learn to accept things that we may not like but that we have to do in order to be there for someone else who needs a totally accepting person in his life that supports his decisions.”
‘The Notebook’ by Nicholas Sparks
Originally published in 1996, this bestselling novel, which was made into a tearjerker of a movie starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, follows Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson, star-crossed lovers whose love defies time and social norms. Noah and Allie first meet when they’re teens and spend a passionate summer together, but after life gets in the way, they are forced apart. Years later, the two are reunited and it’s like no time has passed at all. Years into the future, Allie and Noah and happily married, but when her memory starts to deteriorate, he does everything in is power to get her to remember who he is and what their life was like together.
What readers are saying: “I loved The Notebook. Nicholas Sparks did a great job capturing emotions and pulling hard on my heart strings. It’s sad as well as beautiful. It also reminds us of our own mortality, of love, loss, life and death. It broke my heart.”
‘They Both Die at The End’ by Adam Silvera
The first book in Adam Silvera’s bestselling They Both Die at The End trilogy begins after Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to tell them they are going to die that day. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but they are both desperate to make a friend on their last day on earth. Thankfully, there’s an app for that and soon the two meet and embark on a life-changing adventure before they meet their maker.
What readers are saying: “I feel like I should have expected this. The title, the book description, the fact that the last two Adam Silvera books have made me sad, this is no different. This story is so raw, and it makes no secret what’s coming at the end, but the journey is still a heartfelt one about two teenage boys who get their Death-Cast calls too soon.”
‘The Last Letter’ by Rebecca Yarros
One letter from Ella to her brother Ryan makes soldier Beckett Gentry fall deeply in love with her. After Ryan dies in combat, Beckett, feeling responsible for Ryan’s death, leaves his station in Afghanistan to help a grieving Ella raise her twins—one of whom is battling cancer—in Telluride, Colorado. Ella, still reeling from the loss, is unaware of the secrets Beckett is carrying. The closer they get, the harder Beckett’s secret becomes to keep—and the more devastating it will be when it comes out.
What readers are saying: “I can’t even see the screen while trying to write this because I’m crying so hard. I was in actual, guttural sobs with this book. Not cute little tears. Not silently crying while I kept listening. I had to physically stop so many times just to cry, walk around, pull myself together, and somehow convince myself to keep going.”
‘One Day’ by David Nicholls
This story follows Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, who meet one day in 1998 and become infatuated with one another. Over the next 20 years, their lives unfold through annual snapshots—each taken on July 15th. Whether together or apart, they navigate heartbreak, success, failure, love and loss, only to realize that despite all their tragedies they might just be better together than they are apart.
What readers are saying: “David Nicholls mastered the complexities and depth of both Emma and Dexter so much that we ache with both of them and want to comfort them in times of need. I was expecting One Day to be a careless romantic story and in turn, I was given a beautiful love story of friendship, respect and loyalty.”
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