Bitchin' Blog Posts
Candy’s Favorite Romances: A Work in Progress
by Candy | August 02, 2009 | Sunday at 7:45 pm | 76 CommentsWhile I was on the Book Tour of Much Bosom Heaving, one of the top questions I got wasn’t, to my surprise, “What is a cuntweasel? Is it a weasel made of cunt, or a weasel whose native habitat is a cunt, or a verb for a maneuver from a cunt that is exceptionally limber? Enlighten us, O Muse!” No, one of the questions people asked me most consistently was “Do you have a list of your favorite romance novels on Smart Bitches?” And the answer, surprisingly, was “no.” I mean, most of the regulars who’ve been around a while know how much I love Laura Kinsale, but I don’t have an actual list of the books I love enough to put on my keeper shelves. And I figured: I’m procrastinating on some other work, so I might as well put together the list of my favorite romances.
But since I’m me, I’m actually putting together THREE different lists. They are:
Books that are non-schlocky in premise and excellent in execution
Books that are schlocky in premise and excellent in execution
Books that are both schlocky in premise and execution, and I LOVE THEM ANYWAY.
I’m not going to order these lists by preference or anything like that, but the titles are going to listed as they occur to me, so the ones near the top of the list are going to be the ones I re-read and think about the most. Some of the titles receive the briefest of mini-blurbs, as the spirit moves me. And the usual caveats to these sorts of lists apply, of course: yes, these are completely subjective; yes, I know Judith Ivory is excellent, but she doesn’t quite make the cut for my favorite; and no, I’m not going to explain what “schlocky” is and why, say, Uncertain Magic is non-schlocky but Special Gifts is, even though they both involve psychics. “Schlocky” is like porn: I know it when I see it (or, more accurately speaking, I cringe hard when describing it), and if your schlock threshold is vastly different from mine, then vive la différence, and feel free to tell me why some of my schlock vs. non-schlock categorizations are wrong.
Non-Schlocky Premise, Excellent in Execution
- Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
- For My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale
- Uncertain Magic by Laura Kinsale
- Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale
- The Hidden Heart by Laura Kinsale
- My Sweet Folly by Laura Kinsale: OK, this one gets kinda schlocky partway through, but I still love it, and the overall premise isn’t schlocky, and I don’t know where the hell to put this one, and am easily swayed should you choose to argue for this either way
- To Love and To Cherish by Patricia Gaffney
- To Have and To Hold by Patricia Gaffney
- Lucien’s Fall by Barbara Samuel
- Bed of Spices by Barbara Samuel
- Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
- Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (it’s no coincidence that my two favorite Crusies feature sassy women who are child-free by choice)
- Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie
- Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie
- Sweet Everlasting by Patricia Gaffney
- Knaves’ Wager by Loretta Chase
- The Lion’s Daughter by Loretta Chase
- Captives of the Night by Loretta Chase
- My Lady Notorious by Jo Beverley: this one could’ve been schlocky, but the fact that Cyn immediately figures out Chastity’s disguise pushes this into non-schlocky territory.
- Upon a Wicked Time by Karen Ranney
- My Beloved by Karen Ranney: There’s a Big Secret keeping the hero and heroine apart, and hot damn it’s a doozy.
Schlocky in Premise, Excellent in Execution
- The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale: If I’ve said this once, I’ve said this a hundred times: do not let the white-ninja-lurves-lonely-seamstress premise keep you away, because this is some seriously, seriously good shit.
- Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale
- Seize the Fire by Laura Kinsale: right about the time the adorable penguin showed up, I knew the plot was getting kinda schlocky, but Kinsale pulls off the characterization with the deftest of touches
- Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale: let the great debate as to why this belongs here but For My Lady’s Heart is in the non-schlocky category begin
- Prince of Midnight by Laura Kinsale: the whole outlaw-with-inner-ear-damage-and-a-pet-wolf thing came close to pushing the premise into schlock territory all on its own, but lordy, it is so well-written.
- The Windflower by Laura London/Sharon and Tom Curtis: Oh, come on. Even I, who love it so, cringe a little when I have to describe it to somebody. “So, there’s this incredibly sheltered American ingénue who’s wrongly kidnapped by an English pirate, and her brother’s an American spy, so she can’t tell him the truth, and then there are these two amazing secondary characters named Cat and Raven who befriend her and protect her, and then she befriends the pet pig aboard the ship, and the hero doesn’t rape her, but comes close a few times…guys? Guys? It’s awesome. I swear.”
- Wild at Heart by Patricia Gaffney: Boy raised by wolves who falls in love and has a happy ending? Be still, my beating heart.
- Shadow Dance by Anne Stuart: It’s probably my favorite cross-dressing romance of all time (though The Lion’s Daughter is a close second)
- Special Gifts by Anne Stuart: my first Anne Stuart novel, and (as many of you know already), my introduction to the existence of oral sex. To date, I haven’t read a better tortured psychic/bullying cop novel better than this one.
- Uncommon Vows by Mary Jo Putney: that thing with the window and the retrograde amnesia? So melodramatic. I love it.
- Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie: It would’ve been so easy to fuck this one up, given the rather sleazy swingin’ singles vibe you get when you hear about the premise of the story (heroine goes on a singles retreat to find a date), but the hero and heroine are outstanding (she’s set up to be an ice-princess, but really is not, and he’s a lovable slacker, which is rare romance type)
- Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas: I’m no doubt going to catch a lot of crap for this for putting it in the “schlock” category, but come on: gentle bookish miss wins the heart of hardened cockney owner of a gambling hell? Schlocky premise. Awesome execution.
- Midnight Angel by Lisa Kleypas: Russian princess who’s disguised as a governess for the lonely, feisty child of a man WITH A HOOK FOR A HAND? So schlocky! So awesome!
- Everything ever by Shana Abe: I love her books and think she writes gorgeous sentences (when they’re not too busy being florid), but her premises, and some of her character names…. Oy.
Schlocky in Premise, Schlocky in Execution, and I LOVE THEM ANYWAY
- Mine to Take by Dara Joy: Man, remember back when Dara Joy’s stories were awesome and not, like, completely bugfuck self-published novels? I miss those books. Her former editor at Dorchester deserves some kind of sainthood, if the manuscripts she turned in were anything close to the self-published stuff she’s putting out nowadays.
- Tonight or Never by Dara Joy (you will notice a LOT of Dara Joy in this list)
- Rejar by Dara Joy (see? I do not lie.)
- Knight of a Trillion Stars by Dara Joy (OK, this is the last Dara Joy book on the list—you can breathe a sigh of relief now)
- Only With Your Love by Lisa Kleypas: Oh man. There’s so much that I should hate about this book, from the forced seduction to the virgin widow premise to the completely improbable ending, but I care not, for lo, the chemistry between Celia and Justin cannot be denied, and the whole “I fell in love with both twins” thing is both hilarious and titillating
- Vixen by Jane Feather: It’s a guardian-ward romance between a girl who’s the Regency equivalent of the manic pixie dreamgirl and her much older, tortured, kinda skeezy alcoholic guardian. I love this book like damn and like burning not in spite of its wrongness, but because it is so wonderfully, deliciously wrong.
- Morning Song by Karen Robards: What can be schlockier than a stepfather/stepdaughter romance? OK, fine, lots of things, up to and including, say, Georgina Gentry’s entire backlist. But still. Dudes. SO. DELICIOUSLY. WRONG.
- Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught: This was the first romance novel I read that I unreservedly loved. But talk about your manic pixie dreamgirls, and pointlessly tortured heroes.
- Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught: Another manic pixie dreamgirl, and another hero who’s more tortured than he needs to be. McNaught has a pattern, but these books are cracktastic.
- Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught: This time, the dreamgirl isn’t quite as manic or pixie-ish, and the hero isn’t as brooding. Still very solidly in the McNaught pattern, though, and every bit as delicious.
Right. I’m done with this list for now. I’ll be updating it as I discover new favorites and remember old favorites that need to be on this list but were omitted because my brain has more gaping holes than Paris Hilton (ha-HA, and zing, because Paris Hilton jokes are so totally funny OMG). In the meanwhile: talk amongst yourselves. Dissect and analyze this list! Speculate on my psyche based on my reading tastes! Agree vigorously! Disagree vociferously! Abuse exclamation points with abandon!
Filed: Good Shit vs. Shit to Avoid
Tagged: favorite romance novels
Jill Myles said on 08.02.09 at 08:27 PM • [comment link]
There is a ‘man raised by wolves’ romance out there? For serious? And it’s sexy? I gotta write that shit down, because I love me wildboy romance, yo.
I absolutely love Lisa Kleypas’s stuff. It’s like being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket of romance goodness. Judith Mcnaught is my crack, and Julie Garwood would be on my ‘Schlocky and Schlocky but LOVE’ list. Like, all of her books. I am all over anything that has a precious ingenue and the Alpha Hero who teaches her the wonders of sexxoring.
I’ve also noticed…no paranormals (unless you count Dara Joy, but she’s really a category all her own). Why must you hate, Candy Tan? Why? ;)
Jill
katiebabs said on 08.02.09 at 08:35 PM • [comment link]
Am I the only one who find The Windflower to be a “meh” read? Burn me at the stake cause I am not on The Windflower lover.
You need to read Lightning That Lingers by The Curtis who wrote The Windflower. IMO, best category romance ever written.
La Reine Noire said on 08.02.09 at 08:47 PM • [comment link]
Oh, Judith McNaught. Until You was the first romance novel I ever read, and I went on to read all three you listed. So schlocky. I don’t know why I loved them so much, when there was so much wrong with them, and yet…
Amelia said on 08.02.09 at 09:10 PM • [comment link]
Okay, I give. I want to know what a cuntweasel is!
Candy said on 08.02.09 at 09:25 PM • [comment link]
@Katiebabs: I totally need to include Lightning that Lingers! Also a bunch of Loretta Chase and Laura London Regencies.
@Jill Myles: Several of Shana Abe’s novels are paranormal :P . And I hate because I am a whore. Who hates. A lot.
But yeah, this list leans hard towards the historical; need to go home and re-peruse keeper shelves. I think I’m somewhat pickier when it comes to paranormal world-building, too, vs. world-building for historicals. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that I was reading science fiction, horror and fantasy long before I learned to like romance, and I’m looking for similar style/detail in my paranormals?
@Amelia: The cuntweasel is akin to a sandy vagina, except more weaselly, if you know what I mean.
Phyllis said on 08.02.09 at 10:10 PM • [comment link]
And an aside - there will be a discussion of it on Jennifer Crusie’s Cherry Forums starting on August 15th.
And thank you, Candy, for the list. I am in a bit of a slump wherein I read and read and yet nothing seems all that good to me. I’ve read most of Kinsale and Chase, but am now going to re-read.
AQ said on 08.02.09 at 10:22 PM • [comment link]
Do you realize that less 10% of your favorites are less than 10 years old, none are less than 5 years old and most fall into the fifteen plus year category?
Really, I’m not complaining. I just find it curious because I’d probably do something similiar if I created a list and I’d have to ask myself whether or not it’s because the book isn’t old enough to become a classic in my mind or because I simply don’t have the time to read as much as I used to and hence my favorites are from a time when I was more of a reading whore.
Or if I was of a certain age then and the books had more of an emotional impact on me. Or was the writing really better back in the ‘olden’ days. Or if I read of my favorites for the very first time today at my current age and life experience level would I even finish the book? Or… (stop me)
PS. Sorry for being anal. Once I looked at the list I realized that most of the stories were older and then I simply had to know so I made a chart with original copyright dates. Yes, I am a very sad person.
BTW: Great lists.
Katy said on 08.02.09 at 10:52 PM • [comment link]
Great lists! Some of my own favourites are well dispersed among the three categories. When people ask me to recommend romances to them, I always ask them if they want great books, or great cheese, because there IS a huge difference and Iove both so very much!
AQ- interesting point about the older pub dates of the books! I have to say, many of my favourites are from the 80s to mid-90s, and I definitely wonder if it’s because I started reading romance 15 years ago and so that became my golden age of romance novels. Admittedly, some of the ones I adored without reservation then have fallen to the wayside for me now (like RIDE OUT THE STORM, Ardeen Malcolm), but most of my favourites from then remain… Hmmm. Curious.
JewelTones said on 08.02.09 at 10:53 PM • [comment link]
Omgosh! Special Gifts by Anne Stuart! I have that book somewhere in the back of my closet. I haven’t read it in years. Definitely have to dig that out now to reread it. :)
JT
liz m said on 08.02.09 at 11:10 PM • [comment link]
@ Candy & @ Jill Myles - for me, an avid romance and an avid sci fi fan, paranormal is like brownies made with baby food puree to cut the fat. The resulting product isn’t healthy and it’s no longer delicious. No matter how much everyone around me raves that it’‘s fabulous, I still bite into it and go “this doesn’t satisfy me in any respect”
That said, I’m surprised Ann Maxwell / Elizabeth Lowell hasn’t dipped into the paranormal (or if she did I missed it) since her ‘dancers’ books were sort of the forerunners of paranormal romance. But with cheesy 70’s covers.
Becky said on 08.02.09 at 11:11 PM • [comment link]
You know, most of the romances on my keeper shelves are 10+ years old, too. In my case I think it’s because back in the day I read romance almost exclusively. And I inhaled them. At one point I worked as a receptionist and read almost a book a day at my desk. And since I couldn’t afford to buy new books at that rate, the library and UBS were my two best friends. Large quantities, older books. I discovered some fantastic stuff, and the crap was forgotten.
Now I read over multiple genres, and thanks to the Bitches and several other reading communities I still discover great books and authors pretty regularly. But there’s just something special about stumbling onto a new, fabulous author on your own. That’s a lot easier to do when you’re new to a genre and reading 20-30 books a month.
Candy said on 08.02.09 at 11:12 PM • [comment link]
AQ: I was just talking about that issue on Twitter with @redrobinreader, @mcvane and a few other people. Some of it’s due to decreased free time for reading, so I’m reading a much smaller sample than I used to, which means a smaller number of good books make it across my radar. I’m also a more critical reader these days, but all of the books I’ve listed are books that have withstood many re-reads, including recent re-reads; in re-reading, I’ve shifted many from the “non-schlocky” category into the “schlocky” category. Some of it’s probably due to strength of association, too, but certain books I’ve dropped out of my favorites list entirely on re-reading, and I’m not sure how or why some books stand up better than others. I think, ultimately, it’s a question of resonance. (Happens with kids’ books, too: Redwall didn’t survive especially well on re-reading, but the Darkangel trilogy, The Phantom Tollbooth, the Chronicles of Narnia, etc. did.)
I think a few different things are happening, besides my decreased leisure reading time:
1. Wordcounts are steadily going down. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this also limits the complexity of conflict that can happen. Authors I’ve been reading lately seem to consistently set up a complex conflict, and then back off on giving the necessary detail for the conflict to be real, or for it to be resolved satisfactorily.
2. Somewhat less risk-taking, especially among the big traditional publishers.
3. The compression of certain sub-genres, e.g., historicals are now mostly the Regency period. (Is this happening to paranormals yet? It’s about due to. I seem to run across a disproportionate number of ass-kicking yet funny narrator heroines who are either slayers or accidental converts, but my sample is not even close to being representative.)
liz m said on 08.02.09 at 11:13 PM • [comment link]
Oh, and sorry for the double post but also @ Jill Myles - you HAVE to track down the Gaffney wolves book. She wrote it as an answer to Hoffman’s Second Nature and for years and years I used it as my romance critic converter. I even had my english professor aunt teach it side by side with the Hoffman book one year. The Gaffney is much better. (My opinion to my aunt was that Hoffman had been coasting for years by writing an inferior romance and then removing the HEA)
Candy said on 08.02.09 at 11:34 PM • [comment link]
By the way, AQ: care to e-mail me that chart? I’d love to keep tracking my keepers via copyright date, to see if there’s a style from a particular era that I tend to enjoy more, and how that correlates with, say, what other books I’m reading at the time, how much leisure reading I’m doing in general, etc.
jessica said on 08.02.09 at 11:46 PM • [comment link]
I absolutely love Jo Beverley. I think she ties together stories well without making me start rolling my eyes (Stephanie Laurens has lost me as a reader).
I get lost in books when I can’t figure out why the characters would possibly get together. I just finished Julia Quinn’s most recent book and I thought it was excellent. It was one of the first books in a long time that actually showed that the hero and heroine actually LIKED each other.
liz m said on 08.03.09 at 12:09 AM • [comment link]
@Jessica - I can’t say enough good things about Eloisa James new one A Duke Of Her Own - if you like JB & JQ check it out - they definitely like each other - it’s a respectful triangle.
Deb Kinnard said on 08.03.09 at 12:17 AM • [comment link]
What? Nobody shelves Jude Deveraux’s A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR in the schlocky/well executed pile? Incredibibble!
Kassia Krozser said on 08.03.09 at 12:42 AM • [comment link]
Ah, you included Shadow Dance, one of my favorite (though, as noted often-overlooked) cross-dressing novels. I am a sucker for those. Another is Michelle Martin’s The Adventurers, because if there’s anything more lovely than cross-dressing, it’s Regency-era cross-dressing. It reminds of Heyer’s The Masqueraders, but is a different book entirely.
AQ said on 08.03.09 at 12:49 AM • [comment link]
@Candy: E-mailed.
MaryKate said on 08.03.09 at 01:13 AM • [comment link]
*shakes head sadly*
Oh Kate. I love you so. But girl, how can you not love the flowery, purple, rapturous prose of The Windflower? I love, love, love that book.
And Candy, I’ll take your Cat and Raven and raise you Rand Morgan. He’s my favorite secondary from The Windflower. Scoudrelly, sexually ambiguous, unscrupulous pirate ship captain? Yes please!
jessica said on 08.03.09 at 01:26 AM • [comment link]
I LOVE Eloisa James and thought the new one was terrific—no real villains.
And I honestly think A Knight in Shining Armor might be my favorite romance novel of ALL TIME!
Calila said on 08.03.09 at 01:34 AM • [comment link]
Wow, I am such a bad romance fan, I’ve read exactly one of the books on your list…I think.
In my defense I only started reading romances a few years ago.
Mary G said on 08.03.09 at 02:01 AM • [comment link]
You know this is the first time I’ve seen one of you guys list a Judith McNaught book. Her heroines are too… saintly… for my tastes (if I knew anyone like that in RL, I’d be forced to do away with them). BUT - I LOVE Judith McNaught. Kingdom of Dreams is my all-time favorite.
I cannot tell you why - but her books suck me in more than practically anyone else’s. They’re keepers and I will keep re-reading them until the pages fall apart.
So - now that I know you love stuff that you probably *shouldn’t* - I’ll have to check out the rest of your list - vacation coming up… bookaholic overdose incoming!
Zoe Archer said on 08.03.09 at 02:06 AM • [comment link]
Candy, have you read Judith Ivory? I’ve loved almost all of her books, and find the characterization and writing to be extraordinarily deft and complex. One of my favorites that actually survived The Great Keeper Shelf Cleaning of ‘07 is Bliss, written as Judy Cuevas. Openly ambitious, acquisitive American woman goes to turn of the century France as an assistant to a art dealer and meets a Frenchman who was once a famous sculptor but self destructed and is being forced by his family to detox from his ether-drinking habit. It is fucking awesome. Highly worth tracking down.
Becky said on 08.03.09 at 02:19 AM • [comment link]
Calila, don’t feel bad. I’ve been reading romance for almost 20 years now, and the only books on the list that I’m sure I’ve read are the Crusie, the Joy, and one Abe.
I love Crusie, forever and ever, amen. I used to love Joy, but her books haven’t held up so well on the re-reads. And the Abe was enjoyable but not a keeper for me.
Some of my most satisfying romance reading experiences lately have been outside the genre. Clare and Russ from Julia Spencer-Fleming’s mystery series and Julia and Brisbane from Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series are two of my very favorite romantic couples. Both relationships develop over the course of multiple books, and both are mystery series.
Candy said on 08.03.09 at 02:20 AM • [comment link]
Zoe: I have Bliss in my TBR, and I have several Ivory titles on my keeper shelves, but they’re auxiliary keepers, if that makes any sense—they’re really good, and in many ways much better-written and better-constructed than, say, Dara Joy or Karen Robards, but they don’t grab me in quite the same way. So I keep them around because I like them and because they’re really well-written, but I don’t lurve them, know what I mean?
And to those fans of Knight in Shining Armor: sorry, dudes. That book has always left me cold. It’s one of my sister’s favorites, too. The only Jude Deveraux book I’ve ever liked was Sweet Liar, and I haven’t re-read that in forever, so I don’t even know if it’s held up over the years.
@AQ: Thank you! You are a rockstar. You and your anal-retentiveness have my love and respect.
Phyllis said on 08.03.09 at 02:40 AM • [comment link]
Concerning the age of the books: I just started reading romance 4 or 5 years ago, and yet the Crusie and Chase (and a couple of the Kinsale and Gaffney, and…) books, even the backlist that was published long before I started reading romance are among my favorites. Maybe it’s because I’m as old as most people who have been reading romance for 20 years?
Zoe Archer said on 08.03.09 at 03:05 AM • [comment link]
Candy, I just read Flowers From the Storm (with Fabio!) and red myself into a piercing eye-strain headache because I Would Not. Put. The Book. Down. Even when I wanted to smack Maddy and Christian in their respective gobs. It’s staying. (I actually have Quaker in a non-romance book I’m writing, so I was curious to see how it played out in FFtS.
I found the technical writing of The Shadow and the Star to be excellent, but the characters didn’t move me as much. Ordered the wolfy Gaffney, so if I hate it, it’s your ass, bitch.
Have you tried Julie Anne Long? She is, I think, one of the strongest voices in historical romance writing now. Not all of her titles are as outstanding as others, but her ongoing Pennyroyal Green series has been kicking ass and taking names. Smart, multilayered, capable of moments of Holy Shit, This Cunt Can Write moments.
Kate said on 08.03.09 at 03:12 AM • [comment link]
Candy, you pretty much summed up what I feel about Judith Ivory but could never quite articulate. I have three or four of her books in my keeper collection, but they aren’t actually favourites- definitely “auxiliary keepers”! It’s like, I know she’s technically awesome and her writing is really good, but they never really satisfy me somehow even though I find them beautifully realistic and well-developed.
JoAnn Ross said on 08.03.09 at 03:13 AM • [comment link]
I would read Pat Gaffney’s grocery list, so I’m nowhere near impartial, but I LOVED her man raised by wolves book. And second Liz that it was much better than Hoffman’s. (Interesting idea about Hoffman writing romance, then taking away the HEA.)
Anna the Piper said on 08.03.09 at 03:37 AM • [comment link]
I must echo Candy’s general “meh” about paranormal romance—I too am coming out of a big background of reading SF/F and horror, so most paranormal romance just doesn’t cut it for me, worldbuilding-wise or plot-wise. (There are exceptions to this; I’m really digging Jessica Andersen’s Nightkeepers books for example. But.)
Now, that said, I also went “wait what?” about Wild at Heart. ‘Cause, y’know, I just got me a shiny iPhone with Stanza on it and, I, ah, appear to be buying quite a few romance novels. *^_^*;; I think I’m going to have to find that one.
And oh yeah, someone mentioned Elizabeth Lowell earlier in the thread. She’s one of the few writers I’ve actually been regularly following, and four of hers, the “Only” quartet, are in fact among the purchases I just made for Stanza. Because I really rather miss her, after that delightful burst of suspense novels she did for a while, and she hasn’t come out with anything in a while.
MamaNice said on 08.03.09 at 03:44 AM • [comment link]
Based on the simple fact that we share the love for Laura Kinsale, I’m going to trust your judgment on the others in your keeper pile and get started…I have yet to read a Loretta Chase or Patricia Gaffney - but you can bet I will now!
Speaking of “bet” it was through comments on this site that I was convinced I needed to read Crusie’s “Bet Me” - so glad I did! I found a copy of “Welcome to Temptation” at a garage sale a few weeks ago, so that’s sitting in my TBR pile.
Jenna said on 08.03.09 at 04:02 AM • [comment link]
I like The Windflower, but I have to say that I would like it much more if she wound up with Cat. He’s, you know, actually her age and kind to her. The main guy, as she mentions, near-rapes her a few million times. Plus, I’m just not an alpha male fan, generally speaking.
Zoe Archer said on 08.03.09 at 04:15 AM • [comment link]
I totally feel you on this, Jenna. I remember reading several romances in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, where the hero had a nice friend who treated the heroine well and with respect, and then she goes and winds up with the asshole. Kind of like Colonel Pickering vs. Henry Higgins. It annoyed the hell out of me.
That’s why I try to make my heroes neither alpha nor beta, but just good men who can also kick ass. I don’t want to be treated like crap in life, so I can’t seek it out in my romance heroes.
Kaetrin said on 08.03.09 at 04:17 AM • [comment link]
No Mary Balogh Candy? My very favourite of hers is Heartless and I also love the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse trilogy (includes Indiscreet, Unforgiven and Irresistible - not necessarily in that order).
What about Jo Goodman? The Compass Club series?
My favourite Mary Jo Putney is probably Shattered Rainbows but I love so many of hers (I have her new on on my Sony… *rubs hands together*)
I’m so with you on Jenny Crusie and I’ve read some Loretta Chase (Lord of Scoundrels is teh Awesome-est). I have a lot of Jo Beverley in my keepers - my favourite is Devilish - I have a thing for Rothgar, what can I say?
I don’t know whether I’m having a phase or not but I read Prince of Midnight recently (Kinsale) and actually struggled to get through it. I’d been saving it up as a special treat but for me it was just “meh”. I felt guilty. Flowers from the Storm is a definite keeper - I remember very strongly my reaction to it - it just stuck with me for days and days. I also loved the one where the couple were stranded in the Falklands after a shipwreck - Seize the Fire (I didn’t love the ending as much, but the parts when they were stranded? Oh. my. god. so. good.)
As for Judith Ivory, well I recently read Black Silk to see what all the fuss was about and I was so totally “meh” about it - I felt a bit romance-challenged afterward, like I was deficient or something. But then I found out that Jane @ DA didn’t think much of it either so I figured I was in some good company at least!
I have tried to get hold of Gaffney’s Wild At Heart but I don’t think it is available as an ebook (I’d be very happy to be wrong!) so I’d have to haunt the book exchanges for this one I think - my TBR pile is so excessively large and I just added 10 books to my Sony over the weekend, so I. MUST. STOP. BUYING. BOOKS. for a while….
Great list Candy - I’ll have to bookmark it in case I need some recommendations at some point.
liz m said on 08.03.09 at 04:41 AM • [comment link]
$ 5.81 at Books On Board.
Anna the Piper said on 08.03.09 at 04:45 AM • [comment link]
Fictionwise has Wild at Heart too, for $5.99, $5.69 with a rebate. This looks like an ebook version of an older cover and is only available in Mobi and Microsoft Reader there.
It’s also available at the Kindle store, with a more recent cover; looks like the Kindle store is doing the more recent release of the book.
lustyreader said on 08.03.09 at 04:51 AM • [comment link]
@Kaetrin, was Heartless the one where she was tied up by her stepfather/guardian? person and her virginity was taken with a d*ldo? i think i hated that book just for that. scarred me.
@Candy i just adore the breakdown of your favorites’ published dates. i recently started to realize that all my favorites are “old skool” romances. this shocks me and others in discussions of our DIK’s because…we’ll let’s just say The Windflower and I were born around the same time…
and while i glommed Catherine Coulter and Karen Robards in the 90s and thought i would love them to the ends of the earth, re-reading them did not withstand the sands of time as i expected.
but all my Johanna Lindseys, Judith McNaughts, and Jude Deverauxs have (weird they all start with J)
Katy said on 08.03.09 at 05:15 AM • [comment link]
That happened to me, too. So glad I pay attention to comments here- Crusie is now one of my favourite authors. GOOD SHIT VS. SHIT TO AVOID has been a life saver for me because I often shop at used bookstores and have too much choice in front of me.
Hortense Powdermaker said on 08.03.09 at 05:36 AM • [comment link]
Candy, I am shocked - yes, shocked, I say - that you have Dara Joy on your lists but no Georgette Heyer. And what about Austen?
Is it the dearth of heaving bosoms?
Krista said on 08.03.09 at 06:07 AM • [comment link]
Am I the only one surprised that Virginia Henley was left off the schlocky/schlocky list? When I started on Seduced at the ripe old age of 14, I was shocked she hadn’t won a Pulitzer! Upon rereading many of her old ones, it became clear she didn’t quite stand the test of time but I still loved it. Her new stuff is just plain bad. Like REALLY bad. But I will still pick up an old one just for the joy of her classic opening lines. C’mon, you know the ones I mean…
Kaetrin said on 08.03.09 at 07:47 AM • [comment link]
@ lustyreader
Yes that’s the one. I can’t say it scarred me although it wasn’t comfortable to read. I think I fell a little in love with Luke. Some of his speeches to his mother were sooooo romantic - when he told her off for getting all stroppy because Anna was late, and after the baby was born - yum! I’m a sucker for a “rescue” story and in this one, Luke “rescues” Anna and she, in true “Pretty Woman” style rescues him right back!
@ lizm and Anna the Piper
Thanks for the heads up. I will check out Wild at Heart at Books on Board - hopefully it will be in a Sony friendly format…. (I’m not good with stripping DRM so I can get non Sony friendly ebooks on my reader - not coordinated enough I guess!)
Kaetrin said on 08.03.09 at 07:49 AM • [comment link]
Excellent - Wild at Heart is in Adobe DE so I’ve put it on my wish list for my next buying spree!
@ Candy - I forgot in my earlier post - what about Nora Roberts/JD Robb - or are you just not into contemporaries (or in the case of JD Robb, Eve & Roarke)?
Candy said on 08.03.09 at 08:48 AM • [comment link]
@Kaetrin: I’ve read at least five different novels by La Nora, and while she’s a good writer, she just doesn’t touch me. I’ve heard that her J.D. Robb work might suit me better, so I’m going to take the plunge some time in the future. Also, I haven’t read any Mary Balogh that grabbed me enough to put it in my keepers list, although she’s generally enjoyable—not too different from Jo Beverley in that regard (I have Devilish as an auxiliary keeper, but the only true favorite of mine is My Lady Notorious). Maybe I haven’t read the right ones? She has a pretty fearsome backlist. And I need to get on Jo Goodman—waiting for Robin to send me an e-mail with recommendations, because she’s another author with a backlist of doom.
@Krista: Henley, alas, is not schlock I enjoy (neither is Bertrice Small).
@Hortense: I know, I forgot to include Heyer and Austen. Also, the Sharon Shinn novels that are really romances in disguise.
By the way, I am SO HAPPY that Wild At Heart is getting some new attention, because it is seriously one of my favorite books, and Michael is one of my favorite heroes of all time.
Maili said on 08.03.09 at 01:34 PM • [comment link]
With Dara Joy in mind, you might have a giggle reading Mallory Rush’s Kiss of the Beast. It’s a Harlequin Temptation, too, which makes it even more weird.
Lucien’s Fall by Barbara Samuel is awesome. A Bed of Spices is technically better, but I liked Lucien’s Fall more. Samuel is one of those authors that when I think of them, I think of other authors. In Samuel’s case: when I think of her, I think of Megan Chance and vice versa. Try Megan Chance if you haven’t yet (I think you already have, but just in case). Suggestions: The Portrait and A Candle in the Dark.
shaunee said on 08.03.09 at 04:01 PM • [comment link]
I was recently handed a Sherry Thomas romance (historical). Something about a chick who’s the chef in her ex’s house. Of course he doesn’t know she’s there and is only her ex because he’s this up-and-coming politician and she feels she’s just not good enough for him. He thinks she’s just delightful and never got over her. Also, she masturbates in his bath tub at some point. I’m making this premise sound more schlockey than it is, but the execution is utterly fantabulous. Picked up a few others by Ms. Thomas and just gobbled them down. Beautifully, beautifully written.
And, Requiem for the Devil by Jeri Smith-Ready. The devil and his minions run a highly successful political consulting firm in DC. He (Lucifer) falls for a catholic lobbyist for the poor. This book is sooooo friggin’ smart, so poignant, sooooo sexy. The writing just crackles.
AbbyT said on 08.03.09 at 04:03 PM • [comment link]
It makes me so so so happy that you have a Jane Feather up there. I LOVE her books - they are utterly cracktastic for me. Much like Amanda Quick’s early regencies. Blustocking heroines? Check. Grumpy heroes? Check. Hilarious secondary characters? Check. Older lesbian guardian aunts? Check and check.
Randi said on 08.03.09 at 04:42 PM • [comment link]
Yay! More suggestions. I have to admit to being a Laura Kinsale virgin. I don’t know how I’ve avoided her all this time.
OTOH, I love love LOVE Laura London. She was a rec from another thread months ago, and I’ve been really impressed. Super impressed. Now, quick question: Is Laura London a penname for the Curtis’?
I haven’t been able to get into Karen Robards. I have like three of her books around the house-all started-and I can’t get into any of them.
includes89: my keeper shelves have WAY more than 89 books.
liz m said on 08.03.09 at 05:32 PM • [comment link]
On the Wild At Heart thing - another all time fave for me is Penelope Williamson’s The Passions of Emma - schlocky (dying woman befriends her replacement) but OH SO GOOD.
Alisha Rai said on 08.03.09 at 05:39 PM • [comment link]
I remember trying to read a McNaught when I was very young, and it had this movie star/convict hero who kidnapped a virginal heroine and then there was a big mis, cause damn her to hell, she betrayed him…somehow. I couldn’t quite get into it. Perhaps I should try to pick her up again now that I’m older? Everyone else seems to love her.
Jude Deveraux’s Sweet Liar is my favorite by her. Wonderful hero. Lisa Kleypas, Amanda Quick, Teresa Medeiros, and Andrea Kane are my go-to authors for comfort historical reads.
Leslie Dicken said on 08.03.09 at 05:52 PM • [comment link]
Yeah, me too. *hangs head in shame* I blame my family. Why? I don’t know, but it must be their fault that I don’t have the time for more reading!
Kiersten said on 08.03.09 at 06:00 PM • [comment link]
I love finding lists that celebrate the books I’ve read and loved. Big kudos on the Crusie and Kinsale pics. Uncertain Magic was my first Kinsale - it came as a promotional extra bound with the newest Lindsey book at the time) when I was a junior in high school and it’s still my favorite, though The Shadow and the Star is a close second. I cut my romance novel teeth on those McNaught books and have just loved, loved, loved them over time. I went back and read Kingdom of Dreams last year (at least I think it was last year) and it didn’t give me the same heart-crushing bang that it used to (older, wiser, and more cynical as I am now compared to the girl I was then) but that scene where she kneels before him on the tournament field can still make me verklemp (I’m a goy, so I’m certain I spelled that wrong).
Ivory’s a good writer, but I’ve never been able to get into her work enough for it to top my list. And while I read every Henley published in the 80s, after the fifth or sixth book where every male (and some females) on the planet was making choices/changing world events/plotting evil deeds just to claim the heroine, she went into the see ya nostalgia pile.
Someday, Lord of Scoundres is going to be returned to the library by whomever has had it checked out forever and a day and I’ll finally get to see what all the hullabaloo is about!
Dagny said on 08.03.09 at 06:11 PM • [comment link]
That’s why she ends up with dear Freddie.
LaurieF said on 08.03.09 at 06:52 PM • [comment link]
Loved “Wild at Heart” by Gaffney. It’s one of my historical keepers. But when I’ve told people the synopsis of the story I’ve gotten strange looks. But I’ve convinced a few people to read it and they really enjoyed it.
willa said on 08.03.09 at 07:05 PM • [comment link]
Woohoo, I love favorites lists!
Candy and everyone else who’s said it, I also appreciate Judith Ivory’s writing skills and strong atmosphere, but her characters leave me cold. I don’t root for them. I don’t even think I LIKE them very much. They’re sexy and smart, but I just don’t really much like them or have much of a reason to like them. Meh. Oh well. But she is a very good writer, IMO.
Some people don’t like The Windflower—I don’t like Bet Me. There. I said it. I found the perpetual chicken marsala dish or whatever it was being brought up over and over again to be repeated ad nauseam for me—I just couldn’t handle that much repetitive food. That bugged me about Charlie All Night, too—the fricking Chinese food! Every night Chinese food! It was like reading the same scene over and over again. Gah. Plus I don’t like a lot of the characters in Bet Me.
But Kingdom of Dreams—love that book! And For My Lady’s heart—love that book too!
Oh my.... said on 08.03.09 at 07:56 PM • [comment link]
Glad I didn’t had any liquids in my mouth when I read your comment about Dara Joy because IT IS SOOOO TRUE! Gad I couldn’t believe when she started printing her own books and the picture she chose for the cover! The moment I saw that I stopped reading her books. She is a lunatic and the poor editors at Dorchester that had to manage her deserves sainthood!
Another writer that publishes her own materials but which I still quite adore is Deborah Smith. The writing stands on its own and does not require love scenes to move the reader along.
Another crackalious author for me is Elizabeth Hoyt. Yummers!
Sonic said on 08.03.09 at 08:39 PM • [comment link]
I totally get what Candy says about how some writers can be technically good, but don’t touch you emotionally or pull you in.
I really like Jayne Ann Krentz’s old stuff, but why? I have no idea! She’s repetitive and her style is stilted and there are so many reasons why NOT to like them, but I love her books! Same with Lisa Kleypas - she’s SO historically inaccurate and her writing style is completely lurid and melodramatic, but I have like five of her historical books. WHY??!??!
It’s like my mom says - There’s just no accounting for taste.
Nadia said on 08.03.09 at 10:08 PM • [comment link]
Great lists! I read all the Kinsales as they came out and adored them, but the books did not survive multiple moving-again-can’t-bring-all-these-effin’-books. Wish I had kept them to give them another look. I did go back and repurchase the McNaughts, they are the literary equivalent of mac n’ cheese. Not the best for a steady diet, rather unsophisticated, but ometimes, you just gotta have it.
Lurve me some Anne Stuart, I do have most of hers, even the categories. Totally with you on Shadow Dance, because who doesn’t like a hero in drag? Those of you who like wild boy books, she wrote one for Harlequin AR called Wild Thing, worth tracking it down. Fun, fun, fun book.
Karen Robards’ historicals hit a peak just before she switched to contemporary. Her early stuff is for crap, but I do remember enjoying Morning Song, Green Eyes, Tiger’s Eye, and This Side of Heaven.
Just now jumping on the Loretta Chase bandwagon (I must read in order, it’s a sickness, and finally found a copy of Captives of the Night for a reasonable price). I have not tried Judith Ivory, but will add her to the “try someday” list.
London bed and breakfasts said on 08.03.09 at 11:06 PM • [comment link]
My research work is in progress, i need reference papers,can anyone help me
Tanya said on 08.03.09 at 11:24 PM • [comment link]
The Shadow and the Star is cracktastically fantastic.
I was at a family reunion yesterday and a few of us we discussing books. My father-in-law’s girlfriend and I are swapping suggestions (you know you read waaay to much when you’ve either heard of or read every book someone else suggests)
So we were sharing the Lisa Kleypas love when my aunt-in-law (?) who happens to only be only about 5 years years older than me scoffed at “romance novels”
And how the “stupid heroines make her want to throw-up”
I had my Kindle with me. I popped up “Lord of Scoundrels” and handed it to her. Four + hours later when I finally found her to retrieve it, she went online and bought the book.
And I also pointed her this-a-way so if you’re reading this Aunt Lisa… I told you it’s cool to be a smart bitch reading a trashy book ;-)
liz m said on 08.03.09 at 11:51 PM • [comment link]
Deborah Smith is still writing? This is a self-pub pitfall - I had no idea and she was an auto-buy for me. Penn Williamson isn’t out there doing the same, is she?
SandyO said on 08.04.09 at 12:46 AM • [comment link]
I would just like to point out that Candy’s definition of a cuntweasel is A sandy vagina, not Sandy’s vagina. ;)
Lara said on 08.04.09 at 01:44 AM • [comment link]
Thank you for the lists! I’ve read a scary lot of them, and I find myself agreeing with so much. Kinsale is wonderful crack whose plots shouldn’t work and yet do, Crusie is funny and sassy and awesome, and Loretta Chase (just finished Miss Wonderful. LOVE!) may be a new favorite.
My comfort read right now is a good Liz Carlyle. I love that she has recurring characters, especially Kemble. I love her close family and sibling connections. And my lord, I do love Freddie and Bentley from The Devil You Know. Catherine and Max are a close second.
I think Catherine Anderson is my schlock. What kind of abuse can we heap on the heroine this time? How noble and cowboy-ish can the hero be? How precocious and conniving will the requisite small child be? Also Lora Leigh’s Breed series. I enjoy the heck out of them, but I find myself wishing they could be science-fiction novels with some erotica, not erotica with some trappings of sci-fi. The Breeds are fascinating!
Kaetrin said on 08.04.09 at 02:22 AM • [comment link]
@ Shaunee - the Sherry Thomas book is Delicious.
@ Candy - I’d definitely recommend the 4 books in the Compass Club series. They are 4 aristocrats in Regency England who met at school and in their names/titles are North South East and West - hence the Compass Club. I really enjoyed the Price of Desire too but I think the Compass Club series is my fave so far (although I haven’t read all of her books by any stretch).
Promises in Death, the latest JD Robb, has just been released in Australia in MMP and I picked it up on the weekend *squee* - I’ll be starting it soon. I think this is my crack. I have my mum (and her husband!) and auntie and mother in law reading them now too.
I’m listening to Black Hills by La Nora on audiobook now too and I’m loving it! Now I can “read” when I’m cooking dinner or cleaning the bathroom!
JoAnn Ross said on 08.04.09 at 03:27 AM • [comment link]
Deb Smith isn’t self-published. She’s currently writing for a company she helped start, with many names most romance readers would recognize, which is recognized by the RWA and publishes wonderful books. (Deb’s included.) Directors are Deb, Debra Dixon, Sandra Chastain, and Martha Sheilds. Here’s a clip from the company’s website at http://www.bellebooks.com:
In the fall of 1999, a group of veteran Southern authors—having published more than one hundred novels of their own with some of the biggest publishing houses in the country—decided to start their own small press to showcase the rich storytelling traditions of Southern writers. And so BelleBooks was created.
BelleBooks is based in Atlanta, Georgia with additional offices in Memphis, Tennessee and Saltillo, Mississippi. The company motto is “Southern Fried Fiction At Its Finest.” Quality, integrity, and innovation— both as publishers and as writers—guide the company’s four dedicated directors.
kinseyholley said on 08.04.09 at 04:34 AM • [comment link]
Randi: Yes, Laura London is a penname of Sharon and Tom curtis.
“Swan’s wing clouds dappled a turquoise heaven.”
“Who do I look like? Young Lochinvar?”
“I’m philosophically inconsistent. Cat says I’m to work on it.”
Those are just three lines I remember from Windflower, which I last read over 10 years ago - and I can remember every single scene in detail.
I’m going to use this list to kickstart my next round of reading. I’m loving the sound of some of those schlocky ones.
Susan said on 08.04.09 at 04:59 AM • [comment link]
I read the blog but don’t usually comment, but I had to squeal over Shadow Dance. I thought I was the only person on earth who loved that book. *grin*
And I would second the recommendation for Julie Anne Long. Her Like No Other Lover is, without a doubt, the best romance novel I have ever read. I didn’t want it to end.
Anna the Piper said on 08.04.09 at 07:32 AM • [comment link]
@Kaetrin:
@ lizm and Anna the Piper
Thanks for the heads up. I will check out Wild at Heart at Books on Board -
hopefully it will be in a Sony friendly format…. (I’m not good with
stripping DRM so I can get non Sony friendly ebooks on my reader - not
coordinated enough I guess!)
You’re very welcome. :)
FWIW to all, I tore through Wild at Heart today and second Candy’s overall description. Schlocky premise, but surprisingly charming execution. Yeah, Michael? Yum.
kc said on 08.04.09 at 04:16 PM • [comment link]
I’m so thrilled that someone else admitted to loving Vixen. I am slightly disturbed by how much I love that book, but I blame Feather. She did the same thing to me with The Accidental Bride and Vice, both of which feature really skeevy premises and hooked me immediately and forever.
If you want to experience Jo Goodman at her best, try If His Kiss is Wicked. There’s a scene with a silver hairbrush that is sort of unforgettable. Also, any of the Compass Club books or her last book, The Price of Desire. All are pretty dark, but feature really excellent writing.
Deb said on 08.04.09 at 07:42 PM • [comment link]
I went to the library yesterday and, on Candy’s recommendation, checked out two Laura Kinsale books, including “My Sweet Folly” which I read in one sitting and enjoyed it very much—although, I agree, it did sort of veer off into schlockyville about mid-way through; but I loved the premise: The h/h fall in love through their letters to each other, having never met. And there’s a haunting moment when the heroine dwells on how her life has turned out and she imagines saying to the hero, “It is as if I took a wrong turn somewhere, some random day when I might have walked on the left side of the street and ran into you, but instead I turned right, or dallied too long over breakfast, or stayed to hem a skirt. And so I missed you forever.” That is beautiful writing. It captures the sadness of lost love so perfectly.
I read a huge amount of romance in the 1970s and 1980s, then it became a sort of hit-or-miss thing for me. I’d pick up the occasional title, but I wasn’t avid about it as I had been. (Also, got married, had kids, had full-time job—so less time to read than previously.) I’ve only just come back to reading a lot of romances in the past year or so, and this site is great for recommendations—of what to read and what to avoid.
I’m really old school. Love the Regencies—especially Georgette Heyer (the Queen!) and Edith Layton (so sorry to learn she’d passed away) and Mary Balogh. I read some early Lisa Kleypas back in the day. I remember one with a time-travel theme set on a ranch. That was great…but when I read some of her others, I wasn’t as impressed.
Spam filter: looked55. Well I’m not quite there—yet!
Maggi said on 08.04.09 at 08:08 PM • [comment link]
Oh, yes, I am in the right place. McNaught ... so baaad, so goood. I have absolutely no explanation for why.
Joanne Renaud said on 08.04.09 at 09:27 PM • [comment link]
Candy, how cool to read your take on romances! I too feel a bit meh about Judith Ivory—she writes very well, but her books leave me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. As for Laura Kinsale, I have kind of a love/hate relationship with her writing—back in the day, “For my Lady’s Heart” was my favorite romance novel EVER, but her other books didn’t quite do it for me. I really enjoyed “Prince of Midnight,” but I didn’t like the ending, and I just couldn’t get into “Flowers from the Storm”—it just left me feeling pissed off.
I’m always on the lookout for new authors—so you guys have any books you can recommend? I love unusual historical settings with lots of detail, and plots with a good dose of action and adventure, but with reasonably well-developed characters. I’m pretty bored with the whole Regency/Victorian thing, and the “white people frolicking in Ethnic Adventureland” bugs me too. I still really dig Roberta Gellis… I like Michelle Styles, Haywood Smith and Merline Lovelace… and I adore Louisa Rawlings/Sylvia Halliday (though I’m sad that she hasn’t published anything since ‘97).
Any suggestions, anyone? Thanks!!
Candy said on 08.04.09 at 10:10 PM • [comment link]
@Deb: YES ! Give Me Tonight by Lisa Kleypas is the time-travel set on the ranch, and I totally need to include that in my favorites list. God, I love that book.
And thanks for the Goodman suggestions. I will toddle off to the library and Books on Board and see what I can rustle up.
Nicole said on 08.04.09 at 10:23 PM • [comment link]
I’ve been reading romances for more than 20 years and I’ve discovered that what I liked 20 years ago is not what I like today. My keeper list is mostly authors that I’ve read within the last 5 years. I used to read and reread authors like Amanda Quick and Stephanie Laurens and now I can’t stand them. I currently love Loretta Chase, Eloisa James, Liz Carlyle, Sherry thomas and Elizabeth Hoyt. These are authors that are an autobuy for me, but in a few years will I care about them anymore?
liana said on 08.08.09 at 11:28 PM • [comment link]
Seeing the Lisa Kleypas ones up there make me think of the lightning reviews you did a while back. Now I’m trying to think of whether or not Devil in Winter would be in my schlocky category…
Elizabeth Wadsworth said on 08.09.09 at 12:20 AM • [comment link]
Interesting to see Uncertain Magic listed. I just picked that up used the other day and breezed through it in one sitting. The hero was way too “alphole” for my tastes, but I enjoyed the foray into fantasy and the subtle portrayal of the Sidhe(Kinsale’s only paranormal?) and I think I have discovered the inspiration for Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse in Roddy—girl who can read the thoughts of everyone around her; falls for the first guy whose mind is clsoed to her.)
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