woman reading relationship books

5 Relationship Books for a Better Love Life

Nights curled up together with interlocked limbs. Days spent on long country walks, smiling coyly at one another as the light catches the horizon. Bliss. Indeed, if every relationship consisted of these endless moments, we’d live in a utopian world. Sadly, we do not. The reality of any relationship is a splatter of the good, the bad, and – on hungover Sunday mornings – the ugly. However, if your relationship has lost that loving feeling and you’re feeling a little blue, there may be something you can do about it. It could be time to quite literally turn the page and read your way to a happier setup. Here are five new romance and self-help relationship books to get you started along the way.

5 Relationship Books to Teach You About Love

The All-or-Nothing Marriage by Eli Finkel

best relationship booksThink that self-help relationship books are full of mindless fluff? Think again. Underscored with compelling data and scientific research, The All-or-Nothing Marriage offers a unique take on how to achieve happiness in your relationship. Northwestern University psychologist Eli Finkel dedicated this book to his own life partner with a heartfelt statement. “To my wife, Alison, who thinks it’s hilarious that I’m a marriage expert.”

The book starts with an overview of how marriage has changed over the years. Then, it takes a turn into what that means for the modern-day relationship. Combining quick tips with science-backed advice, this one ought to be your one-stop-shop when it comes to improving your relationship once and for all.

How Luck Happens by Barnaby Marsh and Janice Kaplan

How many hilariously tragic dating tales do you have to hand? If you’re the type of person who is constantly unlucky in love, here’s the relationship book for you. How Luck Happens sets out to answer its title conundrum. New York Times bestselling author Janice Kaplan and academic Dr. Barnaby Marsh tackle the superstitious myths of good and bad luck head-on.

The question at the heart of this guide is simple. Is there such a thing as luck? And, if there is, is it something that you can learn to control? After taking a look at the available research in the area, the two come up with ways in which you can realistically change your fortunes and become lucky in love, life, and just about everything in between too.

The Love Gap by Jenna Birch

Smart, empowered, career-oriented women can’t find love, right? In The Love Gap, journalist and relationship columnist Jenna Birch reaches out to all the confident single ladies to help them navigate the modern-day dating scene. Why is it that so many women find success in every aspect of their beings except relationships?

Being a serial dater herself, the central question was as much a personal quandary as it was the subject of the guide. After a year and a half of hard work and answer-searching, Birch came up with a truly meaningful romance guide. The book contains a treasure chest of information from enlightening interviews with relationship gurus to in-depth research.

Happiness Is A Choice You Make by John Leland

relationship books about happinessLessons From a Year Among the Oldest Old reads the tagline to this one-of-a-kind book. Author John Leland follows the lives of six subjects, all of whom are now in their golden years, in a bid to better understand life and relationships. Dropping in on these individuals at infrequent moments, he learns to understand the true struggles of an aging existence.

Unlike other self-help guides, the lessons learned from Happiness Is A Choice come directly from the subjects themselves. But then, who better to preach about life than those who have been there and done it all? Should you be struggling in your current relationship or desperately seeking that rare slice of joy, you simply have to read this book.

Heart Talk by Cleo Wade

Finally, let’s take a moment to appreciate a relationship book created with the Instagram generation soundly in mind. Heart Talk is an artistic take on the genre, but that doesn’t mean that it deserves to be overlooked. If you’re short on time and need a daily dose of confidence and reassurance, this short book is the way to go.

Think of it as a book of advice from your wisest friend you can keep in your purse. Wade offers mantras, poems, and affirmations that should see you through even some of the rawest times within your relationship. As though that weren’t enough, all of the above scream “beauty and truth.”

Which one of these relationship books will you read first?