Celebrating Valentine’s Reads
Valentine’s Day is often painted in roses and chocolates, but at Luath Press we like to celebrate love in all its richer, messier and more surprising forms. This year, our Valentine’s Reads are about connections that endure through grief and war, art and memory, childhood and poetry. Whether you are reading for romance, longing or the quiet comfort of being understood, these books offer something special.
Set against the stark beauty of the far north of Scotland, this is a story where love feels elemental and dangerous. Rob Sinclair’s life is shaped by the sea, by loss and by tradition, while Mairi arrives carrying grief, secrets and a fierce sense of purpose inherited from her mother. As they are drawn together, affection and desire are tangled with myth, vengeance and uncertainty.
This is a Valentine read for those who like their love stories dark-edged and atmospheric, where tenderness exists alongside the supernatural pull of the past.
Love in this novel is forged under extraordinary pressure. Against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, Robbie Gillan and Alice Sheridan are pulled together by loss, conviction and courage. Their relationship grows across borders, class divides and battle lines, sustained by hope in the face of brutality.
This is a powerful reminder that love can be an act of defiance, something chosen and protected even when the world is burning.
For readers who want to dip in and savour love from many angles, this collection is a gift. From passion and playfulness to heartbreak, humour and sour grapes, these poems show how love has been spoken and sung across Scotland’s languages and generations. It is a book to share, to quote from and to return to, perfect for Valentine’s Day reading that can be loud with laughter or quietly devastating.
First love rarely leaves us, even when it never quite becomes what we hoped. Set to the soundtrack of the nineties and early noughties, this novel explores childhood friendship, desire and the ache of growing up. Alex’s bond with the twins Gavin and Banny is intimate and intense, shaped by music, memory and moments that slip away too soon. It is a tender and nostalgic read about the loves that shape us and the impossibility of fully moving on.
This novel places love at the heart of creativity and survival. Based on the relationship between Margaret MacDonald and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, it shows partnership as patience, belief and quiet strength. As Charles struggles with exile, suspicion and self doubt, it is Margaret’s unwavering support that offers him the chance of renewal.
This is a Valentine story about devotion, collaboration and the power of being truly seen.
____________________________
However you choose to mark Valentine’s Day, we hope these books offer companionship, inspiration and a reminder that love is never just one thing. It can be fierce, fragile, political, playful or sustaining.
