Life is way too short to pretend your favorite film genre isn’t romance. A good love story can tug at your heartstrings like no other category — whether you crave feel-good fluff or a tear-jerking masterpiece that has you running out the Kleenex, this list covers it all.

So, before the summer wraps up, make sure you complete your movie watching bucket list by adding these outstanding romance films to your roster.

Warning: you WILL swoon.

Before Sunrise

Before Sunrise is a seminal film for all you romance enthusiasts out there. Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, this indie classic explores the once-in-a-lifetime connection between two strangers who just happen to collide on a train ride to Vienna. The chemistry is so palpable that Hawk’s character, Jesse, suggests he get off the train with her so they can spend the day together.

Unable to resist his charms, Delpy’s character, Celine, agrees. They spend the whole day walking around the most scenic parts of Vienna, as they wax poetic about art, romance, and the meaning of life.

This 1994 film is such a cult classic with indie movie fans, that director Richard Lankester turned it into a trilogy. Every nine years, he creates a new “Before” film, which explores the dynamic between Jesse and Celine.

Sadly, the film ends with them parting ways, since Jesse must return to his home country in America. Yet, the two come up with a bizarre plan to meet up again in six months, at the same spot if they still feel the same way about each other. Yet here’s the kicker: they never exchange phone numbers.

Before Sunset

Nine years after the Before Sunrise cliffhanger, the second film of the trilogy released in 2004. Before Sunset explores what became of the lovers, Jesse and Celine.

As we soon learn — spoiler alert! — Jesse and Celine never connected again after that six-month period apart. Jesse publishes a book about their romantic experience shared in 1994 and Celine attends one of his book signing events in Paris. The pair are able to catch up.

As it turns out, Celine was unable to meet up with Jesse on the day they’d planned to reunite, because it fell on the same day as her grandmother’s funeral. (She and her grandma were extremely close, of course.) This disappointing, missed opportunity drove Jesse to marry his college sweetheart. Yet in the days leading up to his wedding, all he could think about was Celine.

Set in Paris, this only amplifies their passion-fueled forbidden love. Jesse and Celine must choose whether to remain practical or give in to their longstanding love for each other, after close to a decade of painful pining.

Before Midnight

As the final film in the trilogy, 2013’s Before Midnight takes a peek into Jesse and Celine’s relationship as they move into their 40s. It’s fascinating getting to see them evolve since we first saw them when they were in their early 20s. And while in many ways they’ve changed, Jesse and Celine still hold the same romantic ideologies and values that we see in the initial film.

Set in the jawdropping backdrop of Greece, we watch as these characters navigate the mundane, day-to-day aspects of their relationship. While the second film focuses on the geographic gulf between them, the third film explores how they put up with each other while living in close quarters. Before Midnight poses the question: is it possible to maintain that magnetic spark after being together for so long?

P.S. The end of the film gives you your answer!

Call Me By Your Name

Set in Crema, Italy, Call Me By Your Name is an intoxicating love story between Elio and Oliver, two young men who are sharing the same summer home. Stuck in such close quarters, Elio has no choice but to come to terms with his feelings for his summer guest, to the point where it nearly drives him mad.

Call Me By Your Name takes place 1982, when the world was still blatantly homophobic, so Elio and Oliver can’t openly express their attraction. Instead, they use French romance novels to communicate their feelings indirectly. This slow-burn romance is full of beauty, tension, and deep emotions. Get ready for a big cry as the film winds down, staring into the fireplace as Sufjan Stevens’ music wafts in the air.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Audrey Hepburn shines as Holly Golightly in this Hollywood classic. Holly — a quirky free spirit/successful Manhattan escort — managaes to maintain a sense of innocence throughout the film that her new neighbor — Paul — can’t help but see as beguiling. SO much so that he wants to protect and look out for her.

As the movie progresses, we learn that Paul also works as an escort when he’s not busy chugging away on the typewriter as America’s next great author. Holly and Paul form a deep connection, and the movie ends with one of the most spectacular “kisses in the rain” scenes in the history of cinema.

One Day

Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned friends-to-lovers romance? Based on the book by David Nicholls, One Day explores the relationship between best friends Dexter and Emma, who reveal and confess everything under the sun to each other — except their deep dark secret undying love for one another.

The film follows their unique connection over 20 years, checking in every 15th of July. Be warned: you will cry. Even if you’re not a crier. There are no exceptions. Get those tissues ready, my friends.

Pride & Prejudice

Let’s be real. You can’t call yourself an official romance movie buff unless you’ve swooned to 2005’s Pride & Prejudice thrice — at the very least. Starring Kiera Knightly and Succession-darling, Tom Wamsgans — errr, we mean Matthew Macfadyen — this adaption of Jane Austen’s classic novel captures all the book’s beauty and wit.

As soon as the opening credits roll, you’ll be bewitched, mind, body, and soul… Most ardently.

The Notebook

Now, as a romance film enthusiast, you may be tempted to skip The Notebook simply due to how “obvious” or “on the nose” it is. It’s like visiting New York and only going to Times Square. But while some view The Notebook as reductive cliché, it’s a total classic.

The passionate romance between Allie and Noah is truly moving. Life is too short to pretend you don’t love The Notebook.

13 Going on 30

13 Going on 30 may appear to be a typical feel-good rom-com, but it’s packed with several tearjerker moments that will tug (quite aggressively) on your heartstrings.

While Jennifer Garner had a lucrative career in television and Hollywood, 13 Going on 30 catapulted her into mega-stardom. And it isn’t hard to see why. Here, Garner masterfully plays Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old trapped in the body of a successful 30-something woman.

What makes this rom-com an enduring hit — even after two decades — is its creative and original premise. Unlike many Hollywood romances, it avoids typical stereotypes and stands out as unique.

So, friends, which romance movie will you swoon over next?