I do read the occasional love story

In this instance, it's 'Graveminder' (Melissa Marr). 'Graveminder' is a love story between Bek & Byron, between Maylene & Claysvilles' dead, between Cissy & Blood, & how these strands weave themselves together.

Quote 1: "Then he turned and got back in his car as quickly as he could.  He didn't run from fights or anything like that, but he didn't want to know what he didn't need to know.  Anyone who paid attention understood that there were plenty of times that avoiding questions was the best way for things to work out."  (page 35, paragraph 1)
     There are times when other peoples' love stories have consequences for generations. Unintended  perhaps, but impossible to alter.  The consequences in this story involve rituals for the dead, limited birth rate, an interesting world below, & Mr. D.

Quote 2: "Charles nodded. 'They helped make the contract with the town.  The consequence of which is that there are new Graveminders and  Undertakers who follow in their footsteps.'
  'Because you made a mistake,' she said softly.
  'Because I fell in love,' he admitted."  (page 317, paragraphs 10-12)
     The best love stories doesn't involve blind adoration, encased within a bubble of skipping giggles oblivious to all as much as they are invisible to everyone else.  No, the best love stories reverberate, change those directly involved as much as it changes those around them.  These love stories gather sorrow as well as laughter, invite the living, include the dead.  'Graveminder' is one of the best love stories.

1 Visual: "As they went further into its precints, wooden structures gave way to brick buildings and steel-and-glass structures.  Horse-drawn curricles and barouches shared space with bicycles and Model Ts and 1950s Thunderbirds.  The costumes varied as much as the conveyances: women in flapper dresses strolled past others who sported punk and belle époque attire.  There was something unsettling about the unnatural beauty of these coexisting eras."  (page 105-6, paragraph12-1)
     Interestingly, a land of the dead appears vastly different to different people.  There is a reason for this.  Read the book & find out ;)