Yulin Kuang, who says she’s an expert in “kissing stories,” came up with a “core syllabus” of books to read for those who want to be equally immersed.
“I love to learn, and I wanted to craft a list of books that I thought were doing something that was worth studying,” she tells TODAY.com.
The director and screenwriter of Emily Henry’s anticipated “Beach Read” movie, Kuang is also a debut novelist. Her book “How to End a Love Story” has been optioned for TV, and is set in the world of Hollywood.
Her curated list includes a blend of classics and newer titles doing “different things” in the genre.
Kuang partnered with the French wine brand Maison Louis Jadot to pair her picks with wines for the perfect reading experience.
"The Love of My Afterlife" by Kirsty Greenwood
Kuang calls this a “true rom-com,” paired with a magical realism streak. In the book, our heroine meets her soulmate in the lobby of the afterlife. She says the characters go on a “journey” as they fall in love.
“It was funny, it was warm and and it did all the things that a good rom-com does,” she says.
Paired with: Macon-Villages, a wine for drinking with friends — and she wants to be friends with Kristy Greenwood
“A Love Song for Ricki Wilde” by Tia Williams
Like “The Love of My Afterlife,” “A Love Song for Ricki Wilde” has a dash of the surreal. Normally, Kuang says she isn’t keen on magical realism, but likes that this has a “heavy emphasis on realism.”
“The concept of a generational curse or an everlasting curse is something we can picture very easily,” she says.
Paired with: Bourgogne Chardonnay, a balanced wine “with a touch of depth.”
Read TODAY.com’s interview with Tia Williams.
"The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery: Vol. 2" by L.M. Montgomery
Kuang says fans of Carley Fortune’s Canadian getaway romances will enjoy L.M. Montgomery’s collected journals. The “Anne of Green Gables” author lived in Canada, and wrote about it in her novels and diaries.
“She’s very dramatic; you can tell who she is as a person.” Kuang says. “She’s not the nicest person, but she is funny, and she’s a genuine romantic.”
Paired with: Chablis, because she thinks L.M. Montgomery would approve of its French name.
Read TODAY.com's interview with Carley Fortune.
"I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Su
Kuang calls this a “rom-com for nosy people.” Our “prickly, complicated heroine” gains access to her colleagues’ emails after an IT glitch, leading to awkward moments and revelations. The emphasis, she says, is more about her growth than romance, giving it a “Bridget Jones” feel.
Paired with: Pouilly-Fuissé, a nutty wine that’s as nutty as the book’s main character
"Summertime Punchline: A Novel" by Betty Corrello
“I have many agendas, but romanticizing New Jersey is one of my favorites,” Kuang, who grew up in the Garden State, says.
The book is about a struggling comedian forced to move back to her beach town. “Funny but troubled people are my favorite types of people,” Kuang says.
Paired with: Bourgogne Blanc because the wine's "elegant, rich fruit notes" capture the charm of the Garden State.
"Hummingbird" by LaVyrle Spencer
Kuang says this best-selling book from 1983 is one of her favorite romances. In it, a train stops in a prairie town and two men get off, injured. One is a man injured by robbers — the other is a robber.
“And so, of course, they have to stay in the boarding house of the town spinster,” she says. The townspeople convince her to get with the hero, but she finds herself compelled by the robber.
Paired with: Beaujolais-Villages, a French red that goes down as easy as a page turner.
"The Proposition" by Judith Ivory
Published in 1999 as a mass market paperback, “The Proposition” is a retelling of “My Fair Lady” starring a Victorian rat catcher and a linguist who is going to “try to turn him into a gentleman,” in order to convince an old duke he’s his long-lost heir.
“I could not believe what I was experiencing,” she says. “It’s funny, and sexy, and yearning. And the hero is not a hero I have encountered before or since in romance.”
Paired with: Pinot Noir Bourgogne, an “elegant” red that's "classic in its own right," a refreshing pairing for a "reimagined yet familiar tale."
"Luck of the Draw (Chance of a Lifetime)" by Kate Claybor
Kuang calls this an “essential” book that showed her “what the contemporary romance genre is capable of,” and she’s “constantly evangelizing about it.”
“It has this setup that it’s hard to believe that it could ever work between these two people,” she says. “Yet you you’ve watched them fall in love slowly, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God. I’m so in love with their love.’”
Paired with: Rosé, to balance the “tumultuous emotions you’ll experience reading this story.”