The Beginner's Guide to Reading Romance

Kathleen Woodiwiss, The Wolf and the Dove, one of my favorites

Kathy wrote: "Let's go back in time and add Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Kathleen Woodiwiss, the early Roberta Gellis"
That is right good old Gothic.

I definitely recommend Robyn Carr, Susan Mallery, Brenda Novak & Nora Roberts as a beginning. They all have book Newsletters to keep in touch & share with other readers.

Shawna wrote: "I read primarily in the paranormal romance genre. Here are my suggestions:
Alien romance: Susan Hayes, Tamsin Ley, Kiersten Fay, and Kate Rudolph.
Angel/Demon romance: Felecity Heaton, Larissa Ione..."

I enjoy Debbie Macomber books very much!

Mary wrote: "For Regency Romance I think everyone should start with Georgette Heyer (and Jane Austin if you haven't already read her) who I feel is modern mother of this genre. Heyer was writing primarily in th..."

agree to read Austen and Heyer first. Wonderful writing as well as engaging characters, social commentary and story lines. Sets the standard which so few ever get anywhere near. Closest I've come upon is Emily Larkin.

A smart, funny romance, perfect for beginners, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.

Lindsay J Pryor is a superior paranormal romance author. Her Blackthorn series surpasses many of those who are allegedly at the forefront in this genre.

You need Beverly Jenkins in your life for Historical Romance. Reading her books is an education and an absolute delight!

Katie MacAlister has two humorous series; the Noble books in the historical genre and her Aisling Grey series in paranormal.

Lisa Kleypas writes wonderful historical and contemporary romance. I love all her series!

Kirsti wrote: "For an authentic and accurate historical romance with genuine, relatable and lovable characters, I highly recommend Mary Balogh."

The first and the best is Georgette Heyer. The language is fun and the plots are fun. The characters are delightful. No steamy scenes though.

Marie wrote: "What about the subgenre "sweet/clean" romance? Or is that a sub-subgenre? Because each of these subcategories have romance that ranges from "squeaky clean" to "graphic smut". I really wish the was ..." The website www.allaboutromance.com offers reviews of Romances. They evaluate the book from the viewpoint of a Romance reader. And they reveal how explicit (or not) the book is.

Molly wrote: "I don't know if anyone could help with this, but I want romance & passion WITHIN a great story. I've read a few romance novels and they're all along the same vein (rich man makes woman's dreams com..."

Have you tried Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander"? Historical, but not stuffy; funny and poignant; some hot interactions and deep character connections with a strong, intelligent female character. This is the first in a series and it's really a wonderful book. Couldn't put it down. (and the original book does NOT have a naked man on the front!) 😜

OMG! For a funny "romance" read The Rosie Project, by Greame Simsion. Funny, heartwarming, and non-traditional, as far as "Romance" novels go. You'll quietly chuckle to yourself as you read it!

Some of my favourite authors...Jill Shalvis, Sarina Bowen, Devney Perry and Tessa Bailey for Contemporary. Suzanne Wright and G.A. Aiken/Shelly Laurenston for Paranormal. Kerrigan Byrne and Jennifer Ashley for Historical Romance.

I am going to find and read some Mary Balogh after reading these comments.

As for me, my favourite romantic author is Cecilia Ahern - I love the little touch of magic she puts into her romances

Any books from Sylvia day are fantastic. As well as maya banks and shayla black. I have read all their books and found them very good. They include historical, mystical, erotic and modern romance.

I am surprised that in the Regency romances was not included the queen of the all, Georgette Heyer. Though no steamy scenes in her novels, they are witty, extremely romantic and well grounded in history.
For wonderfully sexy romances LaVyrle Spencer is difficult to surpass and her novels span both historically acccurate and contemporary themes. From today's, more contemporary authors I still like Christine Hannah, Liane Morierty and Jojo Moyes. And I must not forget Susan Lewis.
All these are wonderful romantic story tellers but with a bit more to say than boy meets girl and wins her after a series of predictable misunderstandings!

Molly wrote: "I don't know if anyone could help with this, but I want romance & passion WITHIN a great story. I've read a few romance novels and they're all along the same vein (rich man makes woman's dreams com..."

Okay then. If you haven't read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and if you aren't afraid of really big books you might give this a try. You won't find it in the romance section of the bookstore but under general fiction. It's historical fiction, has hot sex and passion plus lots of action, intrigue, a witch, ship wrecks, war, Scots in kilts, time travel and is set mainly in the 18th century and some in the 20th century.

Mary wrote: "Molly wrote: "I don't know if anyone could help with this, but I want romance & passion WITHIN a great story. I've read a few romance novels and they're all along the same vein (rich man makes woma..."

A good read and very romantic, as well as historical, set in the 18th century are the two novels by Kathleen Koen. “Through a Glass Darkly” and “ Now Face to Face”.

I recommend the "Irish Born" trilogy by Nora Roberts... 3 great books!

Rebecca wrote: "are there any queer romances on this list? I expected to have a sub genre dedicated to them, and I’m definitely disappointed."

Rebecca, if you're looking for this type of reading, check out Tara Lain.

Gwen wrote: "I enjoy Debbie Macomber books and series of books."

So do I.

Melissa wrote: "[bookcover:Ms. Behave|4212116..."

These sound great! Thanks for the recommendation! Along those same lines, I enjoyed the Opposites Attract trilogy by Erin Nicholas. It features women who are into video games and cosplay.

Seantheaussie wrote: "What about people who like laughter with their romance?

The hilarious books now on my romcom reread list are —
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
https://www.goodr..."

I do! Thanks for the recommendations!

Laura wrote: "I enjoyed the Opposites Attract trilogy by Erin Nicholas. It features women who are into video games and cosplay."

I need more books like this in my life! Thanks for sharing :) I added the first book to my list!

Surprised to not see The hating game here. It is absolutely hilarious, brilliant and warm!

Joann wrote: "For historical romance start with Kathleen Woodiwiss' A Rose in Winter. Still one of my very favorites after all these years. Then move on to her other titles, including Ashes in the Wind, Shanna a..." Yes!, athleen Woodiwiss is the best Historical romance writer ever created. Her books are still shining examples after all these years. I have read them over and over, Never get tired of them.

Renee & Mary,

I have a lot of feelings about Outlander haha. I adored the first book (until the very end... Jamie always saves Claire in the knickers of time from being raped and she can't do the same for him? I'm still mad at Diana Gabaldon for this) and then the series seemed to get stranger and stranger until I gave up after the 4th book (Brianna was so boring and stupid and the whole big misunderstanding of Jamie not just asking Roger's damn name was infuriating). Anyway I definitely appreciate the recommendation, because I DID love 90% of the first book. :)

Rena wrote: "Mary wrote: "Molly wrote: "I don't know if anyone could help with this, but I want romance & passion WITHIN a great story. I've read a few romance novels and they're all along the same vein (rich m..."

I looked into it - should I read the prequel first, or start with Through a Glass Darkly?

My sister and I were lamenting yesterday about needing new authors - and here you are!! thx.
I like Stephanie Laurens - several series which bring characters in and out of continuing books. Also Elizabeth Peters who wrote the Amelia Peabody series - very good!

I'm 85 but still have hormones and enjoy romance.

Jess wrote: "It's a crime that there is not a single Beverly Jenkins book in the Historical romance section."

That was my first thought when looking at the lists.

Kirsti wrote: "For an authentic and accurate historical romance with genuine, relatable and lovable characters, I highly recommend Mary Balogh."

She's one of my favs!

For contemporary romances, I would add Sally Thorne and Lucy Parker.

How about erotic romance? Erotica is a big market and some great writers right now.

I really enjoyed Victoria by Daisy Goodwin for a historical romance. Not 100% sure how historically accurate it is, but it also has a Masterpiece TV show to watch if you enjoyed the book.

I'd highly recommend Elizabeth Boyle's Bachelor Chronicles series in historical romance and Jude Deveraux's Edilean or Nantucket Brides series' for contemporary romance. Jude Deveraux also has some historical romances. Her book "The Conquest" was the first romance I ever read. :)
Victoria Alexander has some wonderful historical romance reads too, but she's newer to me.

I love Fantasy Romance, Sci Fi Romance, Space Opera Romance, and...especially...Paranormal Romance. Also, I've been a Trekkie since the early 1970s.

I never understood the appeal of romance novels.

My romance go to is Paranormal Romance so if you are looking for one that also has humor and you love vampire ones try Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. The first book in the series is Halfway to the Grave.

Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series, Ilona Andrews's Kate Daniels series and Jacqueline Carey's Agent of Hel series are also good.

And I third the Sherrilyn Kenyon responses from the comment section especially the very first in the Dark-Hunter series which is Night Pleasures was one of my first paranormal romance books that I read and I really enjoyed it.

I enjoy Susan Mallery, Lisa Kleypas, and Sabrina Jeffries books.

ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes is NOT a romance. A romance must have a happily ever after or a happy for now, as well as a central love story that is the main focus of the novel. ME BEFORE YOU does not have any of these. The point of the story is Louisa's journey to independence, not her falling in love. And the story most certainly does not end with Louisa and Will living together happily. You can say it is a love story, or that the book has a love story, but the book itself is not a romance.
I absolutely love that y'all are promoting romance novels, but please do more thorough research as to what the genre actually is.

Georgette Heyer should totally be on the historical romance list. Her best books are far better than anything published today - try out Arabella or Lady of Quality or These Old Shades.

I also enjoyed the Cynster series from Stephanie Laurens that starts with Devil's Bride.

In Paranormal Romance, I would add S E Smith and in contemporary romance try J S Scott.

I would say as being a teenage romance reader for only about 4 years now and sticking to YA I would recommend reading Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's Beautiful Creatures as a beggining romance novel. As it was the romance novel that made me fall in love with the romance genere. It's a supernatrual romace but also includes history as a good portion of it. It is 562 pages long though, so iff that number scares you I would say to read other Kami Garcia books such as Unbreakable (a paranormal romance) and the sequel Unmarked with around 300 pages each instead. Or if you are more into contemporary romance I would recommend her books The Lovely Reckless or Beautiful Broken Hearts. If you want a more innocent romances I would read the Beautiful Creatures Series or Unbreakable and Unmarked. If you want more steamy romances I would say The Lovely Reckless or Beautiful Broken Hearts. No matter what book of Kami's you
choose they all are fantastic and leave the reader with an immense love for the characters.

You know you like Paranormal Romance when half of the suggested are read or waiting to be read.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips!!!

I agree!
Or what about romance without oiled bodies on the front cover?
ick.

I don't normally complain about these lists but I'm shocked to find the Sookie Stackhouse series listed as a romance novel.

While the Sookie Stackhouse series does contain romance, it is definitely NOT a romance novel and should be removed from this list. It doesn't contain a happily ever after and actually, the ending was panned (for many reasons, not just because of the relationships) and became infamous amongst most of the author's readers.

Ex-Seminarian Guy: A Memoir