The AI Shelf · UK · Week 41, 2026
Romance novels
The books ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini recommended this week when asked for romance novels: 72 answers to 12 questions worded the way readers ask.
Ranked by the share of all answers that recommend each book. An arrow means its share really moved since last week; – means steady.
- 1–19%14 of 72 answers
- 2–18%13 of 72 answers
- 3–17%12 of 72 answers
- 3–17%12 of 72 answers
- 5–14%10 of 72 answers
- 5–14%10 of 72 answers
- 7–13%9 of 72 answers
- 7–13%9 of 72 answers
- 7–13%9 of 72 answers
- 10–11%8 of 72 answers
- 10–11%8 of 72 answers
- 12–10%7 of 72 answers
- 12–10%7 of 72 answers
- 12–10%7 of 72 answers
- 15–8%6 of 72 answers
- 16–
BridgertonSeries
7%5 of 72 answers - 16–7%5 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
- 18–6%4 of 72 answers
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The sites the assistants read for this list
Cited by ChatGPT and Claude while they answered. Sites marked Publisher list only their own books; the rest are lists, reviewers and press a book can be pitched to.
- penguinrandomhouse.comPublisherin 11 answers
- penguin.co.ukPublisherin 8 answers
- goodreads.comCataloguein 7 answers
- en.wikipedia.orgReferencein 6 answers
- time.comPressin 5 answers
- bookriot.comBook listsin 4 answers
- shereadsromancebooks.comReviewerin 2 answers
- amazon.comShopin 2 answers
- nypl.orgWebsitein 2 answers
- allaboutromance.comReviewerin 2 answers
- risingshadow.netCataloguein 2 answers
- romance.ioCataloguein 2 answers
How this list is made
Every week we ask the same 12 questions, 2 times each, of ChatGPT and Claude (both searching the web live) and Gemini (answering from what it knows; Google's terms don't let tools like ours analyse its web-search answers). The questions are worded the way readers really ask. We read which books each answer recommends, count each book once however it is spelled, leave out any book or author the question itself named, and rank by the share of answers that name it. A list is published only when every assistant answered.
This week: 72 answers (48 live, 24 from memory). Question set uk-1, run 5 October 2026.
- “What are the best romance novels of all time? I feel like I've barely read any and want to know what everyone rates.”
- “I've never really read romance before, where should I start? Not too cheesy or steamy please.”
- “What are the best romance books that have come out in the last year or so? I've finished everything on my TBR.”
- “Can you recommend some underrated romance novels that not many people have heard of? I'm bored of seeing the same ones on BookTok.”
- “I need a book for my mum's birthday, she's 62 and loves cosy love stories and Richard Osman style humour but isn't into anything too racy. Any ideas?”
- “I've got a long flight to Australia coming up, what romance novels would be good to get lost in for 20 odd hours?”
- “Can you suggest some good second chance romance novels where the couple reunite after years apart? Preferably set in a small town.”
- “I absolutely loved One Day by David Nicholls, what other romance novels would give me the same feelings?”
- “I've read everything by Jojo Moyes and now I'm stuck, who should I read next?”
- “Our book club wants a romance novel that'll actually spark a good discussion and not just be fluffy, any suggestions?”
- “What are the best romance novels written by British authors? I'd love something with proper British humour and settings.”
- “Is there a romance series that's worth starting? I like when you get to follow the same characters across a few books.”
A list shows what the assistants said that week. It is not a ranking of quality or of sales, and nobody pays to be on it.