Smart Bitches in People Magazine

Great day in the morning! We’re in People Magazine.

While the article doesn’t appear to be on their website, in the 3 August issue, featuring a very messy-headed Robert Pattinson and “his messy love life” on the cover, on page 46, there’s BOSOMS! And a list of our very favorite romances.

Here, a PDF for your viewing pleasure! People magazine, page 46.

People (the magazine, not the plural noun) had asked us for a list of our very favorite romances, and that list was, of course, a LOT longer when we sent it in. Five of our choices made the list:

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One of the best romances ever: unabashed and hilarious, fun and moving. Minerva’s jerkwad ex-boyfriend bets his friend Cal that he can’t get Min to sleep with him in a month. If you love stories with bickering, blistering attraction, this will keep you reading long after you meant to turn off the light.

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The premise sounds like something dreamed up in the fevered fantasies of a bad 80s screenwriter: a white ninja rescues a shy, proper seamstress from a life of drudgery. The execution, however, is flawless. Few people write with the elegance and beauty of Laura Kinsale, and this book’s emotional intensity will have you reaching for a box of tissues.

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During the course of this book, the heroine tells the hero “In my dictionary, romance is not maudlin, treacly sentiment. It is a curry, spiced with excitement and humor and a healthy dollop of cynicism.” Few romance novels fit this description better than Lord of Scoundrels. This book reliably converts non-romance readers over to the dark side. Male or female; math professor or classicist; computer programmer or chef: all are helpless to resist the razor-sharp banter and explosive chemistry between Jessica and Sebastian.

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People often sniff at Harlequins, known in the industry as “category” romances, but behind the covers, they can pack a marvelous story in a very short space. This one is a great example: a new twist on the Cinderella myth that’s set in Australia. It’s a perfect afternoon beach read.

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This is the first of an ongoing series by Nora Roberts writing as Robb.Set in NYC in the 2020s, there’s mystery, suspense, and hot, hot action of many kinds. Eve and Roarke form one of the best couples in romance today.

But there were more on the original list, which began: Seven of our favorite romances? When People asked us that question, the wailing and gnashing of the teeth began. Not only is narrowing the list down almost impossible, Sarah and Candy have divergent reading tastes and don’t always agree on what’s good. The books they do agree on have a distressing tendency to be out-of-print and very hard to find (The Windflower by Laura London, for example). We finally agreed on a few limiting criteria: nothing that’s been out of print for more than ten years, and the selection must attempt to reflect the variety in the genre. So here’s The Smart Bitches’ Top Seven Romances That Aren’t Impossible to Find.

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(The Immortals After Dark series) If you pack one of these in your beach bag, bring a fan, because holy hot steaming demons: this series is smart, savvy, and so freaking spicy. Few do hot sexy tension like Cole.

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So many amazing romances are being released from digital publishers. This powerful story from Samhain Publishing features a hero and heroine scarred in different ways who have to relearn everything they thought they knew about sex and love. It comes out in print in February.

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Shana Abe writes lyrically and beautifully, and her Drakon series (The Smoke Thief, The Dream Thief, Queen of Dragons, The Treasure Keeper) about a race of Dragon people with the ability to change form are no exception.


Obviously, when you have no limits in bandwidth, you can keep going for pages about your favorite books! But with column inches, space is tight like, well, you know where I was going with that.

SO! How about a giveaway? To celebrate I will give a set of each of the above books, including a bound galley of Butterfly Tattoo, to one random commenter in the next 24 hours. All you have to do is pick your one favorite, without question, ultimate recommendation for the Best Romance Novel Ever in your opinion. See? Easy, right? Riiiiight.

 

Comments are Closed

  1. cate says:

    Jennifer Crusie’s,  Taking Care of Bradley   still makes me howl with laughter after all these years….And I still want a sequel to it.  I don’t CARE if she doesn’t work for H,M&B anymore

  2. Mary says:

    I shouldn’t have read all the comments, because I kept changing my mind! THAT one. No, THAT one. I’ll go with Dream a Little Dream by SEP.

  3. Tinkerbon says:

    An oldy but goody from my keeper shelf: “Taming The Night” by Paula Detmar Riggs. ‘cause most of the obvious ones have already been mentioned!

    — Bonz

  4. Roxy says:

    Grats!  But I am so not feeling the enthusiasm in those recommendations.  Ugh.  Anything with the word “magnate” or “scoundrels” in the title is NOT going to speak to younger readers.  I would only read them if they were by known authors or parts of series that I *really* like.

  5. Sara N. says:

    How to choose?? I’m going to go with Judith Ivory’s The Proposition. I love a good Pygmalion story, and Mick is an utterly dreamy hero.

  6. Collette says:

    Gut reaction is Ain’t She Sweet by SEP.  I keep going back to it over and over.  (If I think about the question too long, I’ll never answer!)

  7. Caty M says:

    Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion

    If I stop and think about it, I get indecisive and dither between about seventeen.  But Cotillion was my first, instinctive answer so I’m going with that.  Freddy is adorable, and so dependable.

  8. Leeann Burke says:

    My favorite is also BET ME. I just loved that book. How can one resist a man who loves a woman with curves?

    Congrats on getting into People’s. It couldn’t have happen to more deserving ladies!

  9. S. W. Vaughn says:

    Easy. Oh, yes. Easy as cutting a finger off with a bread knife, with one hand tied behind my back. Soooo easy. 🙂

    Um…

    A recent read that blew me away was Gena Showalter’s The Darkest Night, first in the Lords of the Underworld trilogy. Oh, so much angst and darky-dark happenings and yummy men. Plus angst. Did I mention angst? I do loves me some angst. Especially torturous and bloody angst with screaming men.

    Verification is present57. Can’t I present 57 favorites?

  10. theo says:

    For me, hands down, it’s Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning. She weaves this OMGIwantthismanNOW! hero through all of her Highlander books until you get to read his story. It’s hot, sexy, heartbreaking, sexy, full of Fae and humans and intrigue and sexy and no matter how many times I’ve read it, I still cry at the end of it.

    Did I mention it’s really, really sexy?

    Because it is.

    Word: not22, and boy am I glad I’m not anymore…

  11. Carrie says:

    My favorite is Public Secrets by Nora Roberts. I have read that book every year since I was 17. It was one of the first “real” romances that I ever read.

  12. lilywhite says:

    The Spymaster’s Lady.  I’m rereading it now, as a matter of fact.

  13. Sara N. says:

    Oh, and kpsr? I adore Caroline! The Sunfire books were the best, and Caroline was one of the best of the best!

  14. Cheryl McInnis says:

    Oh gosh, decisions, decisions……I’m going to say TENDER IS THE STORM by Johanna Lindsey. It’s my comfort read and always makes
    me sigh with pleasure at the end.

  15. Suze says:

    The Windflower, by Laura London aka Sharon & Tom Curtis.

  16. Becs says:

    One?  Oh hell.  Really?  I think I have to go with Saving Grace by Julie Garwood.

  17. Terisa Wilcox

    Well, seeing I can only choose one, it would have to be The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning.  I love Adam Black 😀

  18. Jaclyn Charles says:

    Gotta be The Compase Rose by Gail Dayton.

  19. Julie says:

    Picking one is impossible, but I’ll go with the first romance novel I read: “Paradise” by Judith McNaught.

  20. Kathryn says:

    Call it sappy, but it’ll always be “The Notebook” (Nicholas Sparks) for me 🙂

  21. joanne says:

    Since you mentioned Lord of Scoundrels in People, I’ll have to say my co-fave, Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas.  I could read it 1000 times!

    Congrats on hitting the Big Time!  Awesome!

    My spamword is next54.  Can’t wait to see the next 54 magazine articles featuring the Bitchery.

  22. Alyssa says:

    My very very favorite romance depicted anywhere, in any book, anywhere is that between Liadan and Bran in Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier, which is technically a historical fantasy. I just love everything about it, but the main thing that captures me heart and soul in it is that she never tries to tame him or change him into anything he’s not, and he never decieves or betrays her. The obstacles they have to fight are not contrived but darkly realistic. It’s a relationship between two very strong, very vulnerable people who are attracted to each other not by appearance or because of a misunderstanding and who manage to finally make a life together against tremendous odds. ‘

    Pick me, pick me! I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of Lord of Scoundrels for ages!

  23. Teresa says:

    Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This is an homage to the romance novel. If I have to pick one, this is it.

    My fave SEP book is Hot Shot, but that isn’t as much of a romance novel. I just had to mention it. 🙂

  24. Alyssa says:

    Wow, that was really abominably incoherent. I suppose that just goes to show how enthusiastic I am about that book.

  25. Rebecca says:

    Congratulations in getting the People Magazine mention!

    Favorite book, ever? It’s a super hard choice, but today it’s Mr. Impossible

  26. Patrice says:

    It is crazy hard to pick just one, but I’ll say my favorite is Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon. It’s certainly one that resonated for me because when I picked up that red cover on a whim, I was going through a very difficult time and it was a much needed escape. To me, Fantasy Lover has a positive message of the multi-faceted power of love and redemption. It helped me keep hope for a brighter day during some very sad times. Plus it is funny, smart, kick ass, and at the time was very different than what I’d been reading. I became a fan of Sherri’s writing and love her Dark Hunter series. But among all the exceptional heroines/heroes my favorite will always be Julian.

    Great question! I’m getting a great new list of books to try! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
    Patrice

  27. Karen J. says:

    Best Romance Novel EVER?!?!  OK, just make it easy for us, why don’t you?  Yeah, that was indeed sarcasm.  Well, if I had to pick one book, it would be Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander but if I have to pick one that hasn’t been mentioned yet, I’ll take Linda Howard’s Cry No More.  I guess that was two books.

  28. Congratulations! How fun!!!!!!

  29. Suze says:

    Oh, you wanted not impossible to find?  Hum.  Then it has to be Kinsale’s The Shadow and the Star.  Again, you’ve already mentioned it.  I have nothing new to add.  So many favourite books, so little time to read them.  So little room to keep them…

  30. SeaGrace says:

    Several years ago I narrowed my list of favorite romance reads down to a top 100.  That’s as short as I’m willing to go.  Having said that, if I don’t read Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation at least once a year my funny bone gets all out of whack.

  31. Alia Ganaposki says:

    The Grand Sophy, Georgette Heyer

  32. Hydecat says:

    I feel like I’m jumping off a bridge by making a commitment to this, but … Bet Me by Crusie is my winner. Because I checked it out of the library, read it, and then re-read the good parts at least five times before I could let it go back to the library. There isn’t a weak moment in it.

    Now I will go apologize to my copy of Pride and Prejudice.

    Also, I was just looking at that People in the grocery store. Based on the cover, I had no idea there was so much awesomeness inside!

  33. Michelle (mlg) says:

    Hmm, hard to choose but I would have to go with J.D. Robb’s Naked in Death.  I mean Eve is such a cranky kick ass, and Roarke.  I mean can you imagine that scene where he first sees her, and the BUTTON, and Summerset.  Also I love Feeney.  Sigh so many good scenes packed into one book.

  34. phinea says:

    Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. It is so hard to pick just one!

  35. Susan Laura says:

    Best romance story evah? Has to be “Dreaming of You” by Lisa Kleypas. So good! And much too long since my last re-read.

  36. Henofthewoods says:

    Beauty by Robin McKinley might be the one that I have loved the most for the longest time. (Although I really think that she did a great job improving the ending when she wrote Rose Daughter.)

    I seem to remember searching used bookstores for a hard cover for years, even though it was in most libraries.

    But it features a bookworm who gets to enjoy a magic library with books that haven’t been written yet. Every book that will be written. Nirvana.

  37. MicheleKS says:

    My top all-time favorite Romance novel is ‘Carnal Innocence’ by Nora Roberts. It was the first one I ever read by her and I was hooked.

  38. Val says:

    You Bitches are mean, making us pick just one! It’s like choosing between children or candy bars or something.

    I’ll go with Crusie’s “Anyone But You”. It introduced me to her writing AND it was like reading about myself. And who doesn’t like finding out about their own HEA possibilities?

    Spamword main56 – Listing my main 56 favorite romances would be much more palatable!

  39. Bunnicula says:

    Ransom by Julie Garwood.

  40. Rene says:

    I’m a recent convert to romance*, so I’m working from limited data.  But I will say Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.

    * After reading this blog for ages, I finally took the plunge with Lord of Scoundrels, and OMG I’ve read everything I could get my hands on that Loretta Chase has written.  Wow. Now I’m working my way through Kinsale’s backlist, and Wow again, with angst squared.  Can’t believe what I’ve been missing all this time.

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