What romance titles or authors would you recommend?
Hey everyone – I never read romance and want to dabble a bit. What titles or authors would you recommend? thanks
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Hey everyone – I never read romance and want to dabble a bit. What titles or authors would you recommend? thanks
Nicholas Sparks might be a very good choice?
anything but nicholas sparks lol
Naah his books are plenty of romance and feelings, why wouldn’t you like them? ? i always watch the movies about his books, they’re awesome
The movies are fantastic but the books are badly written two dimensional characters.
Depends on type. I may be a closet Black Dagger Brotherhood fan but will deny any knowledge of the series ?
Me too!
Same!!!!
Ha ha! Another one here… and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Darhunter series too
Susan Elizabeth Phillips has some great contemporary romance. Julia Quinn and Stephanie Laurens write good historical romance. Heather Graham has a good paranormal romance series (Krewe of Hunters). J. D. Robb’s In Death series is futuristic crime fiction with some romance. I also like Tamera Alexander, she writes historical Christian romance. Oh, and Jay Crownover has a steamy contemporary romance series, tattoos and bad boys, starts with the book Rule.
Judith McNaught is my favorite regular romance author. She has books that take place in current times as well as in Victorian England. Can’t go wrong based on what interests you. ?
Debbie Macomber Cedar Cove series. Didn’t realize they were considered Romance genre until I went in store to buy one!
Mary Balogh, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Susan Wiggs are three favorites.
Love them all but Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my favorite. Quirky characters and laugh out loud dialogue
I like Lori Wick, Siri Mitchell, Liz Curtis Higgs, and Denna Gist. These are some non “steamy” romance authors that I enjoy. My favorite of these is Lori Wick. The Princess, the English Garden Series, and the Californian Series are my favs from her.
If you like historical try Julia Quinn. She blends in humor really well.
Cannot go wrong with Nora Roberts and JD Robb. I also love Jennifer Crusie.
I second this.
I like Robb’s “In Death” futuristic romantic thriller series.
Love all of these for fun reads.
If you like historical fiction and light fantasy, the Glamourist Histories series by Mary Robinette Kowal is romantic without being a traditional romance. The first could be read as a stand-alone.
If you like funny, smart and more modern I would highly recommend Jill Shalvis.
I recommend @Susan…..she is my all time favorite author hands down. I am usually not a fan of rereading books but have read all mine till the covers are falling off lol
Me too. Love her books!!
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Lisa Kleypas, Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean and Julia Quinn are awesome!
I’ve sampled a few of these, and enjoyed them.
Haven’t read romance drivel since I was 13. I knew it was bullshit then. Life is too short to read junk.
So…sometimes we like to eat a pint of ice cream. No harm in that.
Agreed. We can’t read Dostoevsky all the time.
Best to skip replying to posts that you don’t have anything to contribute to. Thank you!
Please be courteous about other people’s reading tastes. Thank goodness we are all different.
Love reading junk. Sometimes I watch tv too.
I dabble. What authors do you normally like to read?
For romantic thrillers, you can’t beat the classic Mary Stewart novels. I also like JD Robb and Laura Griffin. Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Darynda Jones and Jeaniene Frost all write great urban fantasy with strong romantic relationships. Penny Reid writes wonderfully quirky, smart modern romance with great characters. Most of Barbara Michaels, Katie MacAllister and Molly Harper’s books are fun. I loved a recent romantic novel by Sally Thorne, “The Hating Game.” If you want to try the Highlander genre, read Karen Marie Moning’s — they’re her first books, so they get better as they go along, and end-up leading into her “Fever” novels.
I loved The Hating Game!
I love Katie Macallister too!! And highlander genre which led me the Outlander series which is my all time fav!!
Julie Garwood is one of my all time favorites. The Secret and also Saving Grace are two of my favorites by her. Also, Nora Roberts, love her paranormal stuff and also the in death series.
Sandra Brown is my go-to in this genre.
I think The Time-Traveler’s Wife is the most romantic book I’ve ever read.
Oh I love this one.
Thank you for the question … I’ve not read … romance …. but with the recommendations here I may well try one or two…..
It’s been a while, and I’m not sure they would appeal to me anymore, but I used to love Bodice Rippers! By Laurie McBain, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Shirlee Busbee…
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4748.Best_Bodice_Ripper_Romances
Elin Hildebrand, Susan Wiggs; two of my favorite. Romantic, not overly descriptive sex. Nice easy reading.
Far more than a romance novel, but Pride and Prejudice.
Actually took a Romance Reading/writing Class and we studied P and P as a classic romance. Romance has a specific definition.
@Christy Interesting. I did not know that.
Check out Kate Canterbary’s Walsh series, Kristen Proby, (I’m partial to her With Me in Seattle series, but she has a few), Laura Kaye, Sarina Bowen (partial to the True North series), Kylie Scott’s Dive Bar series, Toni Anderson’s Cold Justice series (romantic suspense), Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series was a fun read, J. Lynn’s Wait for You series, and I recently discovered Lucy Parker’s Act Like It and Pretty Face, and they were adorable.
I tend to like the ones that feature the same characters or families, in case you couldn’t tell, LOL
If you’re interested in historical romance, I’d recommend Julia Quinn.
I agree. Julia Quinn is fun, and might appeal to a young reader as well as a reader of any age. If you’re older, you might enjoy Jennifer Crusie.
Nora Roberts
I think the romance genre is the hardest to recommend. Taste can be so specific here. What one likes offends another. What another enjoys, someone else finds too sappy. I have to go to a book store and read a few pages here and there to find an author I like. Other genres I’m more open to new styles, but it just seems romance is very personal in what appeals and what does not. Do you agree?
I agree. I like romance; but I find a lot of it immature, sappy, or offensive; so I look at people’s recommendations, and then try samples to see if I’ll like them.
If good writing is a must (as it is for me, and therefore most romance novels will not do), then I recommend Eloisa James (historical romance); as for contemporary romance, I cannot get enough of Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Oh, and I recently discovered Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers series, and they are hilarious.
I also may or may not have a crush on a fictional character named Cletus, so take that as you will.
Outlander seems to fall in the historical romance genre. A bodice-ripper, for sure.
What the Day Owes the Night, by Yasmina Khadra
KG Fletcher lives near me and a friend introduced me to her books …. she writes a new genre to me : romance suspense …. more substance than the bodice rippers …. she has three books out now … all good.
Romantic thrillers — or romantic suspense — is a great, classic fiction genre. (Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca” is a good example.) I enjoy those by Susanna Kearsley, JD Robb and Laura Griffin; but my favorites are Mary Stewart’s from the ’50s-’70s.
Anita Shreve is a literary novelist and couples relationships (with the occasional indiscretion) are her forte.
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Susan Elisabeth Phillips and Kristan Higgins are both super cute and not over the top.
Anything by Danielle @Jane.
I am a Barbara Taylor Bradford fan…..
Nora Roberts is great!
Elin Hildebrand,
Try Jane Austen,all else is dreck.
Courtney Milan.
Actually, I thought Our Souls At Night was incredibly romantic and certainly well written.
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Romance and historical fiction with some time travel.
These are really old, from the 70s and 80s, but anything by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
The Outlander series is beyond beautiful.
Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypas are my RoNo queens! If you want something more deep and psychological, try Jo Goodman. She’s literally a psychologist, so her characters are extremely interesting.
LaVerle Spencer… especially ‘Morning Glory’
Love her books!!!