Five Romances that Will make you Cry (and I love them all)

If you're anything like me, you love a good romance novel every once in a while (or all the time). While I definitely prefer my characters to all end up happily coupled off and living blissfully ever after, that is not always realistic or the best way to end a story. Sometimes the best stories have the saddest endings or not the ending you wanted for the characters. Below are five of my favorite romance novels that are beautiful love stories even though they didn't end up the way I wanted them to. Curl up, grab your tissues and maybe warn anyone in the house that it is very likely you're going to ugly cry - and it's best they leave you alone. Or lock the door so no one can take incriminating photos. Because I probably would.

1. The Fault in Our Stars, John Green // Two teenagers meet via cancer support group. You will fall in love with Hazel and Gus in this coming of age story. It's funny, sweet and tragic all at once.

2. Me Before You, Jojo Moyes // A young woman takes a position as a companion for a quadriplegic man in a small English town. I loved this all the way to the end. I'm warning you, you will ugly cry, but it's so so good.

3. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans // After a terrible horseback riding accident, a mother takes her daughter and her horse across the country seeking help from the one person who may be able to heal them all. Tissue up ya'll.

4. Atonement, Ian McEwan // A young girl's deceit affects multiple lives and relationships in this WWII novel about sisters, love and how one untruth can change everything for the future. This is one of my favorite books - ever. Read it and weep because it's so good.

5. The Awakening, Kate Chopin // One woman's affair and inner struggle with the choices she makes and the life she wanted. I remember reading this in high school and it has stuck with me as one of my favorites, it's a wonderful novel with a tragic ending.

After writing this, I realized that at least four of these books were made into films. As of this time the only film based on these books that I would recommend is Atonement which they did an lovely job with. I have seen the others (with the exception of Me Before You which comes out in June 2016) and they are not nearly as good as their written counterparts, which is not to say that they weren't good movies. They were alright - the books are just better.

-Whit