Relationships make life worth living by completing us and ensuring we take our life journeys with the love of our life.
But relationships require work and effort, and this is why turning to the 10 best relationship books for couples is helpful if you’re ever in a challenging situation.
It might be the case that communication has broken down a little in your relationship. It might be the case that one of you has gotten cold feet. Whatever issues are arising, the wonderful news is that everything can be worked through. It’s just that, sometimes, we need a bit of guidance.
In this review guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 10 best relationship books for couples that are available right now. Each one is designed to help you overcome problems big and small. By the time you’ve finished reading, the two of you can enjoy a fruitful, long-lasting relationship in which all setbacks are overcome.
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Choose your favorite titles below:
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work was written by professor of psychology and marriage expert John M. Gottman PhD. Originally published in 1999, it’s been updated and revised for modern times - but the principles remain the same.
These principles include nurturing admiration for your spouse and developing a so-called “love map.” They also include sharing a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. In essence, you’re never turning away from your partner - you’re turning towards them.
Using an easy-to-understand writing style, Gottman has backed up his tenets and points with scientific research. It’s highly likely that 9 out of 10 couples who pick up the book will see themselves in it. Gottman expertly highlights where relationships go wrong, as well as where they go right, and demonstrates how to resolve conflicts together.
The Ultimate Relationship Workbook for Couples is the ideal companion for couples who want to work on their relationship - but who don’t want a wordy book stuffed with analysis and description.
Indeed, this popular and practical book by Ari Sytner is filled with prompts, quizzes and conversational icebreakers. These are designed to help you and your partner learn more about each other. It’s a fun but educational tool that will get you both thinking, learning and growing together.
Sections include trust, conflict and sex and intimacy. If you opt for this book, it’s super important that you each put the time aside in the evening to truly commit to the exercises.
His Needs, Her Needs is a bestseller that’s been revised and updated for 2022. Feeling as fresh and relevant as ever, the timeless wisdom offered in this book by psychologist and marriage counselor Willard F. Harley, Jr will illuminate both spouses as to the nature of their partner.
In other words, Harley, Jr demonstrates that there are differences between the two sexes. He goes on to elucidate exactly what these are, and how recognising them and understanding them can help a relationship last a lifetime.
In essence, the book is ideal for anyone who feels as though they sometimes don’t understand their partner - or the nature of their sex. Don’t understand women? This book might be for you. Don’t understand your boyfriend/husband? This book will show you what men need and why your man acts the way he does.
Another relationship book that’s been revised, Getting the Love You Want is a New York Times bestseller written by Harville Hendrix PhD. Hendrix is therapist who’s been working with couples for more than three decades.
What makes Getting the Love You Want stand out is the way it provides a template for marriages. No marriage comes readymade. Instead, you have to assemble the different parts out of a box. Getting the Love You Want is like the instruction manual you never knew you needed, which is designed to help you piece together the separate parts.
Written with a compassionate and empathetic approach, Getting the Love You Want is at once simple and full of depth. It also comes with a series of exercises that you and your partner can try at the end of the book.
Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs To Make was written by pastor Paul David Tripp, which means you can expect this top-rated relationship book for couples to have a religious slant.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing at all. In fact, Tripp’s years of experience preaching and studying theology have helped him to write a book that shows couples how they can connect with each other and God. It shows you how to put your faith in the Lord. And it demonstrates the real meaning of marriage.
If you’re struggling to make your marriage work at the moment, 6 Gospel Commitments … introduces you to the 6 core commitments needed to build a rock-solid marriage. The advice is both sage and practical. Rather than just simply telling you how to do it, it also shows you the deeper meaning behind the Why.
Are you and your partner tired of fighting … but both agree you want your relationship to work?
If so, No More Fighting by Alicia Munoz might be the perfect antidote. This insightful, practical and simple guidebook introduces you to the 52 most common relationship challenges. Anyone who’s ever been in a relationship will surely recognise them. These include sex and communication, as well as money and values.
Each challenge is given its own chapter, and at the end of each chapter are exercises you and your partner can complete together.
By the end of the book, the two of you should be in a far better position to understand your problems, as well as how to overcome challenges together.
Marriageology was written by award-winning journalist Belinda Luscombe, whose work has been featured in Time magazine and The New York Times. Her book on marriage won the 2020 Self Help award in the Relationships category of the International Book Awards.
Indeed, this concise but brilliant relationship book for couples is humorous and super easy-to-read. It conveys all kinds of valuable information that show you and your partner how to (among other things) approach an argument, work out your finances, and apologize correctly - something so many of us struggle with!
Using wit and levity, Luscombe has created an essential book for all couples. Whether you’re happy right now, content, or whether you’ve hit a bit of a bump in the road, this is a book that can help you figure it all out.
If you feel as though the fun and magic have died in your relationship a tad, Couple’s Bucket List could be the action-packed book that brings your spark back to life.
Stuffed with 100+ date ideas, the idea behind the book is that you and your partner create memories together all over again. You’ll make time for one another and plan trips big and small. You will actually do things that recapture what it was that made you fall in love the first time around.
And it doesn’t matter whether you’ve been together for 3 months or 50 years. Dr. Morgan’s book is for everyone who needs creative new date ideas but who doesn’t know where to start.
If you’re already in an amazing relationship, Gary Chapman’s bestselling book, The 5 Love Languages, will show you that it can be even better. You just have to experience a deeper level of love and intimacy with your life partner.
And if your relationship has hit the rocks? This book can teach you how to deal with conflicts and pain so that you experience a deeper understanding of yourself and your partner. At the same time, you will discover the secrets that sustain long-term relationships.
At the heart of the book is, of course, the 5 love languages. Once you learn your partner’s love language, you can then tune into them. This will enable you to understand the way they think, show love and experience intimacy.
There’s also a quiz at the end of the book that you and your partner can take together.
The Love Dare is a book about love; about showing unconditional love and receiving it. It’s about having the patience to truly understand our partner. To work through all our problems and come out the other side shining bright with our soulmate by our side.
The book is centered around a 40-day challenge that you and your partner can take. It’s a journey that will allow you to develop real intimacy, trust and a proper relationship dynamic. This will bring the two of you closer together.
The biggest challenge of the book is learning how to love your partner unconditionally. This means you might change by the end of the book - and so might your partner. However, the book isn’t about changing your partner. Read it, apply the lessons to yourself and see how they can improve your relationship.
There are at least 10 top-rated relationship books for couples available to read right now. However, our top pick is The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John M. Gottman, PhD.
This relationship book has been updated for 2022 and shows couples how to create their own love map. This will enable them to share the things that matter with their partner - including their life goals, their principles and their values.
If you feel as though you still truly don’t know your partner on an intimate level, this book is for you. Likewise, if you feel as though something is preventing the two of you from operating on the same path emotionally, spiritually and physically, this is a book well worth reading.
There are all kinds of topics that couples can discuss. Many of them are explored in the books above, such as Marriagelogy, which covers topics like money and intimacy.
Topics couples can and should discuss include their family and friends, their personal interests and their future. Other topics include the way they communicate, as well as their goals, their wins in life and their hopes and dreams.
Essentially, it’s a case of prioritizing the topics that matter to each of you. If you wish to discuss communication and your partner wants to discuss the future, it’s important to make time to talk about both.
Reading the best relationship books for couples is definitely helpful. But it’s not the only thing you can do to make your relationship stronger.
Other things couples can do to make their relationship stronger include:
If your relationship is really struggling, another option is to seek counseling.
Of course. Reading can be a joyous, shared experience. When you read a book together, you can discuss things with your partner, point out things they may have missed and - as is the case with books like No More Fighting - complete exercises together.
What’s more, when you read together, you can relax, enjoy each other’s company - and snuggle up to one another.
These are the best relationship books for couples to improve your romantic relationships. Some are well worth reading with your partner, and while some can be read by yourself, it’s much more helpful if the two of you at least read the same book and then share and apply the things you’ve learned.
Whichever books you decide to read, we wish you a happy, harmonious and amazing life together with your partner.
Got a favorite relationship book that’s worked for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Also see: 15 Best Relationship Books For Guys (Sex and Love)┃14 Best Psychology Books About Relationships ┃12 Best Relationship Books for Singles┃12 Best Relationship Books On Audible┃The 10 Best Books on Relationships ┃10 Best Self-Help Books on Relationships and Communication