I was asked recently to recommend some romances which might appeal to someone who has never read a romance before, yet disparages the genre. Discarding all books written prior to 1994, I came up with a preliminary list of 34 titles. Narrowing it down to just 10 was so hard, but here goes:
- The Promise of Jenny Jones (1997) by Maggie Osborne - Historical Romance, set in Mexico & California in the mid-1800s
- The Wives of Bowie Stone (1994) by Maggie Osborne - Historical Romance, set in the Wild West
- The Bridal Season (2001) by Connie Brockway - Historical Romance, set in England in the 1890s
- Mr Impossible (2005) by Loretta Chase - Historical Romance, set in Egypt in 1821
- The Secret Swan (2001) by Shana Abe – Medieval Romance, set in 1349
- To Taste Temptation (2008) by Elizabeth Hoyt – Historical Romance, set in England in 1764
- It Had to Be You (1994) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Contemporary Romance, 1st in her Chicago Stars series
- Faking It (2002) by Jennifer Crusie - Contemporary Romance
- Sugar Daddy (2007) by Lisa Kleypas - Contemporary Romance, set in Texas
- Out of Control (2002) by Suzanne Brockmann - Romantic Suspense, 4th title in her Troubleshooter series
I tried to limit myself to one title per author but…it’s Maggie-fricking-Osborne!
Which books would you recommend to a reluctant romance newbie?
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I’ll read one of them if you read H2G2. Or any of the 5 parts of the trilogy. Deal?
My cousin just asked me for a romance rec..she has never really read one and I was trying to think of a good one to start her off with. She didn’t want violence so I was thinking a lot of my paranormals were out. I was going to suggest Loretta Chase or Elizabeth Hoyt.
Defintely Blue Eyed Devil by Kleypas and Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. But my all time favorite romance that will have people begging for more is The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. That book had me in pieces on the floor. A true epic romance.
@Christian Do you mean ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’? OK, you’re on! Will you review it?
@Mandi Both Chase & Hoyt are really good writers, so they’re probably a good place to start. I recently loaned Karin Slaughter’s ‘Triptych’ to my mother-in-law. She couldn’t finish it due to the violence. Funnily enough, I thought it was a lot less graphic than the Grant County series.
@katiebabs I keep hearing about Paullina Simons but I haven’t read anything by her. I think I’m the only Loretta Chase fan who was underwhelmed by ‘Lord of Scoundrels’. Have you read her latest? I think it’s out in July.
I should have Chase’s next one soon. Most of her books are great reads for the non-romance reader.
@katiebabs Loretta Chase is one of the very few romance writers today who hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon of churning out more than one book per year. I think it shows in the quality of her writing.
Hoyt and Kleypass I like very much, the Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly is also a great read for the non-romance-reader, that one really pulled at all my heartstrings!!It is part one of the Rose trilogy, part three is yet to be released.
Hell yeah! Maggie Osborne! Her books are so fearless, and I love how her heroines challenge our notions of “what women should be” “what women can do” and the idea of femininity in general.
Another book I would recommend would be A Reason To Live by Maureen McKade. Definitely challenges the notion that romances are all “fluffy brain candy.”
I’d definitely include a Laura Kinsale. Her accuracy can compare with any historical fiction anywhere, and her writing is superb.
more books to request from the library
Hi Sarah,
Since I only started reading (english) romance novels a few years ago I do not have much experience with authors as Osborne, Brockway and Chase and since Hoyt, Kleypas, Brockmann and Phillips are included in your top ten, I have some others I think would be good starts for a newbie-romance reader (which by the way I still consider myself to be LOL)
Laura Griffin – All her books, she has four out now, I’ve read them all, they are perfect to ease into romance reading since the romance is very subtly imbedded in the story. (Romantic Suspense)
Cindy Gerard – Take No Prisoners, book two of the Black Ops Inc series but very doable as stand alone read (Romantic Suspense)
Lucy Monroe – The Real Deal (Contemporary Romance)
Karin Tabke – Master of Surrender (Historical, Medieval)
Sally MacKenzie – The Naked Earl, book three in Naked Nobility series (Historical, Regency)
Karen Marie Moning – Beyond the Highland Mist (Time Travel)
Anna Windsor – Bound By Shadow (Paranormal)
@Marissa I read and enjoyed ‘The Tea Rose’. ‘The Winter Rose’ is on my TBR shelf. Jennifer Donnelly also wrote an interesting YA novel called ‘A Northern Light’, set in 1906 and based on a true crime story. Have you read it?
@Wendy Thanks for the recommendation. I haven’t read Maureen McKade.
@Lynne Connolly Laura Kinsale’s ‘Flowers from the Storm’ was on my longlist and would have made it into the top 10 had it not been for Maggie Osborne!
@Andrea I’m curious to hear which romances you’ve read so far and what you thought of them.
@Pearl I read and reviewed two Laura Griffins, both featuring the Glass sisters. I must look up Cindy Gerard and Karin Tabke. Decent medievals are particularly difficult find.
Her two books in The Borderline series are great too, One Last Breath & One Wrong Step. The last is truly one of my favourite romantic suspense books. To me Griffin’s writing is of constant quality. She hasn’t disappointed with any of her books.
I think it would depend more on what they read now, although Loretta Chase is definitely a good choice. I would probably also recommend Joanna Bourne or Laura Lee Gurkhe.
@Pearl Thanks. I’ll look those up.
@heidenkind I’m one of the very few dissenters when it comes to Joanna Bourne’s ‘The Spymaster’s Lady’. I didn’t like it, mostly due to the heroine. Laura Lee Guhrke is very good. Although I preferred her earlier books, her most recent historicals have been consistently strong.
@Sarah Quid pro quo, right?!
Shana Abé has books with dragons!
!
@Christian Yes, she does! I have the first two books in her Drakon series. The first one in particular is very good. But the cover is not lurid enough for you to read on public transport. I want to know how your fellow passengers react to man titty covers!
I think it depends a lot on what they read normally..
If they read a lot of suspense/mystery fiction I would pick a romantic suspense.. etc
After reading mums romance books as a kid, when I had read through the schools library.. I actually didn’t pick one up again for several years, and as I read a lot of fantasy etc, it was a paranormal that drew me back into the romance genre.
Damn I hate it when I click submit before I have actually finished my post.. doh!
It is just that if you give someone something completely out of their comfort zone, it would probably put them off. I would probably not have been drawn into romance as much if it had been a historical that I had picked up.
@Edie True. I certainly wouldn’t recommend a paranormal romance to someone who hates fantasy/SF. I recently recommended Deanna Raybourn’s historical mysteries to a friend who reads romance but not suspense. She enjoyed them, mainly because of the relationship between Lady Julia and Brisbane. I don’t think people like to stray too far outside their comfort zone.