Well, I don't read much romance, but I really liked these:
Junk - Melvin Burgess. Tar and Gemma are in love. Tar has reasons for running away from home that run deep and sour, whereas Gemma, with her middle-class roots firmly on show, has a deep-rooted lust for adventure. Together they explore the dark world of the streets as, together, they explore the dark world of drugs, moving quickly on from the first hit of heroin that takes them towards bliss, to the next hit that ultimately leads to despair.
Loving April - Melvin Burgess. Abandoned by his father to a life of poverty, Tony is angry with everyone, and desperately lonely. April Dean, the deaf girl, needs friends too. But their growing relationship arouses deep prejudices which threaten to engulf not only Tony and April but also the whole village. This moving and powerful love story is about two very different people, worlds apart.
The Storm Garden - Philip Gross. After the explosion at the shopping centre, Max is quick to confess. He did it. He planted the bomb. So when the police discover that there was no bomb - just a gas explosion - there are many questions to be asked. Who is Max and what is he trying to do? They're the questions Clio finds herself asking, too, when she starts to get to know Max. She's been asked to help get through to him - but almost before she realizes it she's been caught up in his lies. Now they're on the run together, hiding from the police - but why does Clio stay with him? She can't even explain it to herself. And as she becomes less and less sure what is truth and what is lies, so events spiral ever closer towards a dramatic, violent end . . .
The Shell House - Linda Newbury. When Greg goes to take some photographs of a ruined mansion, he doesn't realise how much it will come to dominate his life. He meets Faith, who ropes him into the restoration process against his will, and soon finds his casual interest in the mansion's history becoming more personal as he gradually discovers the tragic events that caused its destruction. In this way two stories emerge, about Greg in the present day, and Edmund, heir to the mansion in the days of the first world war.
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman. More of a fantasy than romance, however, this trilogy is filled with love. The final chapters of the last book are beautiful.
hope this helps
