Books as Songs from Red (Taylor’s Version)

I have been COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS until Taylor Swift drops Red (Taylor’s Version),,, and on November 12th, you can probably catch me laying on the floor of my room with a box of tissues nearby 🥲 most of those tears will probably be shed from listening to the 10 minute version of All Too Well.

Now, whether or not you’re a self proclaimed swiftie, I’ve tried my best to have a book from a variety of genres so hopefully you can find something that fits the vibe! My goal was to have a book for everyone, but it did prove to be quite a challenge. This honestly might have been the hardest post I’ve ever written, and I realized in the process that I really have not read as much romance as I would’ve thought,,,and also I’m a huge fan of second-chance romance, apparently, so expect a lot of that.

NOTE: This list does not include every song from Red. I tried my best to do most of them though!

THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by TRACEY GARVIS GRAVES || STATE OF GRACE

"I'm walking fast through the traffic lights
Busy streets and busy lives
And all we know is touch and go
We are alone with our changing minds
We fall in love 'til it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time"

📌 adult romance
📌 friends to lovers
📌 second chance romance

IT ENDS WITH US by COLLEEN HOOVER || RED

"Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark grey, all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never met
But loving him was red
Loving him was red"

📌 hard-hitting
📌 lots of tears
📌 second chance romance

RENEGADES by MARISSA MEYER || TREACHEROUS

"And I just think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive
And I would follow you, follow you home
I'll follow you, follow you home
This hope is treacherous
This daydream is dangerous
This hope is treacherous"

📌 young adult fantasy
📌 forbidden romance as a side plot
📌 slow-burn and lots of tension

GONE GIRL by GILLIAN FLYNN || I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE

"I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So, shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground"

📌 thriller
📌 so many plot twists
📌 betrayal. lies. secrets.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by JANE AUSTEN || I ALMOST DO

"And I just wanna tell you
It takes everything in me not to call you
And I wish I could run to you
And I hope you know that every time I don't
I almost do"

📌 pining. lots of pining.
📌 small moments that are everything
📌 (literally) a classic

THE MISTAKE by ELLE KENNEDY || WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACKING TOGETHER

"We are never ever, ever getting back together
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever, ever, ever getting back together"

📌 fast read
📌 second chance romance
📌 part of a series, but can be read as a stand-alone

FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE by MARIANA ZAPATA || STAY STAY STAY

"You took the time to memorize me
My fears, my hopes and dreams
I just like hanging out with you
All the time"

📌 enemies to lovers
📌 ice-skating/sports romance
📌 super cute moments

EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by CELESTE NG || THE LAST TIME

"This is the last time I'm asking you this
Put my name at the top of your list
This is the last time I'm asking you why
You break my heart in the blink of an eye"

📌 literary fiction centering around a broken family
📌 deep & dimensional characters
📌 might make you cry

STRANGE THE DREAMER by LAINI TAYLOR || HOLY GROUND

"Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress
We had this big wide city all to ourselves
We blocked the noise with the sound of, "I need you"
And for the first time, I had something to lose"

📌 fantasy with really vivid world-building
📌 two characters who are destined for each other
📌 unexpected hero

HEARTLESS by MARISSA MEYER || SAD BEAUTIFUL TRAGIC

"We had a beautiful magic love there
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair"

📌 forbidden romance
📌 queen of hearts origin story
📌 warning: lots of mentions of baking. might make you hungry while reading.

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by TAYLOR JENKINS REID || THE LUCKY ONE

"New to town with a made up name in the angel's city,
Chasing fortune and fame.
And the camera flashes
Make it look like a dream."

📌 rock & roll scene
📌 fame
📌 written as an interview

THE FRIEND ZONE by ABBY JIMENEZ || EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

"'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello"
And your eyes look like comin' home
All I know is a simple name
And everything has changed"

📌 fluffy moments
📌 also painful moments
📌 reliable romance

Phew! That was waaay harder than I would’ve thought! Hopefully you all liked this post and found something that might interest you 😊

What’s your favorite song from Red? Have you read any of these books?