Romance for young adults

A while ago a friend noticed that one of my (un) guilty pleasures is cosy/Christmas themed chick lit and she messaged me with a request: she was looking for some love themed reading books for her year 10/11 girls that didn't have too much ...inappropriate content shall we say. Luckily I was able to give her a few suggestions of titles to buy but it made me think - when I was younger my mum was a prolific Mills and Boon reader (now now no groaning!) and as a teenager I read several of her paperbacks. At that time these books were not at all explicit, any intimate scenes were suggested by a line of dots then a new sentence that started 'much later'! Nowadays there is no such veil drawn over sex scenes and indeed many of the stories that my late mum recommended to me as I got older definitely made me blush! Funnily enough I don't like my romances to be too explicit to be honest, I don't think it usually adds anything to the story. So if you are looking for some good reads for older teenage girls you could consider some of the following titles:

A Year at the Star and Sixpence, Holly Hepburn - I could have chosen any Holly Hepburn book really, I love her novels! Good fun with an interesting sibling relationship and past events coming back to cause problems. Warm and witty with some genuine laugh out loud moments.

The Little Bookshop of Broken Hearts, Annie Darling - Romance, fun and books - lots and lots of lovely books! Hey it's set in a bookshop of course I was going to enjoy it. A feel good amusing story .

Meet Cute, Various - an anthology of LGBTQ short stories telling how various couples first met.  Sweet, without being cloying, and dryly amusing often, this is a great anthology to dip in and out of, bringing a smile with each story. 

The Big Dreams Beach Hotel, Lilly Bartlett - Rosie is the manager of a slightly run down hotel in Scarborough, looking after the motley crew of permanent residents as well as dealing with the eccentric staff members. When the hotel is sold she has to contend with a change manager working on the orders of the two American brothers who want to 'update' the hotel. This was a fun, light read and I enjoyed Rosie's bristly comments and the humour throughout.

The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea , Jane Linfoot - Delicious cakes, beautiful dresses, seaside town and a gorgeous farmer to fall in love with - what's not to like?! Cheerful and good fun.