Valentine's Day 2026: Celebrate the season of love with these unique shows and books

Into historical love stories but don’t feel like watching sappy Regency romances? Try the dark comedy-drama series, The Great (2020-2023) on JioHotstar. It stars Elle Fanning as Russian empress Catherine The Great, and Nicholas Hoult as her not-so-great husband, Emperor Peter III. The satirical series is gleefully nasty, showing the royal couple as deeply flawed and yet fascinating characters, who go from attraction to revulsion to besotted co-dependency even as the country suffers for it.

It’s crystal queer

The big fat Indian wedding is a trope we’ve all grown up with in Bollywood movies. But what about a big fat gay shaadi? Farhad Dadyburjor’s new novel, Queerly Beloved (Penguin Random House India), is the country’s first romcom against such a setting. Follow Ved Mehra as he searches his heart for who his true love is: his soon-to-be husband Carlos, or ex-boyfriend Akshay. Releasing on February 14, it’s perfect for a cosy V-Day read.

Doctor, can you fix my heart?

We love to see women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Add a fun meet cute, and you get Love And Other Brain Experiments (Bloomsbury) by Hannah Brohm. The book is out this month, and we look forward to reading about smart and sexy neuroscientist Dr Frances Silberstein and her rival-turned-fake-lover, Dr Lewis North. Intellectual sparring with sizzling chemistry? Sign us up, doctor!

Bom-bae meri jaan

If you love Mumbai because of the space it gives you to reinvent yourself, you’ll likely enjoy Shunali Khullar Shroff’s The Wrong Way Home (Bloomsbury). This is not your typical romcom; the protagonist Nayantara is in her 40s, recently divorced, and must rebuild her life and relationships from scratch. You might not hear violins, but will rejoice her happy ending as if it’s your own.